D.C. Pen Show Friday Brief Recap and Some Details on Where to Find Me!

August 5, 2023

It’s safe to say that Friday at the 2023 D.C. Pen Show was the busiest I’ve seen it since pre-Pandemic (and we may be talking about some of the epic shows from 2017 and 2018). While things started out somewhat quiet early on, by lunch the main ballroom started to fill up, as weekend passholders made their morning purchases and the doors opened to the public at 12:00pm. The real rush came to our tables at around 2:00pm, as our table neighbors Pilot started giving their handwriting analysis seminar and raffling off pens (crowd above).

2023 DC Pen Show Table Setup — I brought the remainder of the T.G.S. x Hinze Pen Collaboration fountain pens with me, with both red and black nibs AND the ink and Penwells!

The DC Pen Show is always a smaller show for TGS, as we try to bring a selection of stuff to the show while also leaving enough free time to circulate and take pictures to share with the readership. This year we have Lochby cases for sale, and as per usual the in-person winner on Friday was the Lochby Venture Pouch, the reversible stationery pouch that has two separate compartments that includes a slotted pen case. The Lochby Tool Roll and Field Journal also sold briskly. If you come looking for The Gentleman Stationer, I’m at the end of the Vanness Pens setup to the right in the hallway outside the main ballroom!

The 2023 Release by Vanness Pens and The Good Blue Company — Vanness has released a second exclusive collaboration with The Good Blue, in case you’re looking for a pen to tuck into your new Lochby case! This is “Vanness Green” splattered over black Cerakote! You can read my review of their first collaboration here.

Bags by Rubbertree After-Hours Pen Show Carry — The renovated show hotel has a MUCH better setup this year for after-hours socializing, and each year the “Pen Show Carry” bags you see keep getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger….

I Almost Forgot Our Annual DC Pen Show Promotion! Use “PENSHOW10” at Checkout for 10% Off Most Orders!

Some exclusions will apply (like TWSBI), but most items are eligible for our annual DC Pen Show Sale that will run through Sunday at 11:59pm CT. Use the PENSHOW10 checkout code to claim a discount for those unable to attend the show in person, or for those who came to see something in person but found that I was unable to bring it with me!

Most of my show photos will be posted in my larger show recap next week, and I’ll have lots to talk about, both in terms of reactions to the show itself and a few things I’ll have picked up! Meanwhile, it’s time to go set up the table!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases through the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

I finally got my hands on the TWSBI 580 in “Sunset Yellow,” and it’s definitely more of a light orange, at least to me. I personally REALLY like the color.

Thursday Drops: New Notebooks, Pens, and More for Back to Work and Back to School

August 3, 2023

This week’s theme, both in Tuesday’s “New Arrivals” post, yesterday’s ode to the Uniball Jetstream, and today’s weekly drops, is back to the office and school! It’s that time of year again, when we all take stock of what we’re using, what we want to switch up, and what we need to restock after a productive year. But first, we have the D.C. Pen Show….

I’ve had my eye on these faceted dodecagonal ballpoints and mechanical pencils from HMM Project since January! They finally arrived.

I will have here at the show with me the remaining Hinze Pens and the Summer Sangria ink! Tomorrow morning at show opening (8:00am ET), I will be removing them from store stock to avoid any conflicting inventory issues. If you want to reserve one for yourself at the show, I’d recommend that you purchase online today and select “local pickup” - you’ll still have choice of whatever pens are available when you arrive if you want to choose your specific pattern in person. The same goes for the Lochby cases (but I have plenty of those with me so it’s unlikely I will run out on Friday or Saturday). Come visit me at the Vanness Pens table, in the hallway to the right as you enter!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR “Sunset Yellow”. The latest TWSBI release has arrived and I have one in hand at the D.C. Pen Show if you’re here and would like to check it out in person!
TWSBI ECO Heat Fountain Pen. If you feel like there’s been a color trend in TWSBI’s recent releases, you’d be right. The Sunset Yellow 580 and the “Heat” ECO make for a great combination. The Heat is more of a reddish orange, while the Sunset Yellow is lighter and on the gold side, but still definitely orange to me.
Nakabayashi Notebooks and Paper. In addition to restocking on the “Logical Prime” series of paper, we’ve added “Logical Air” and “Yu-Sari” lines of paper, all of which are superbly fountain pen friendly. For more details on the differences between them, check out this recent post.
Clairefontaine Paper Restock and New Arrivals! We fully restocked on Clairefontaine notebooks and paper, including several new formats that we’ve not carried in the past. Clairefontaine makes some of the best, and most cost-effective, fountain pen friendly paper on the market.
Craighill Kepler Pen. Available in three different finishes (stainless steel, PVD-coated stainless steel, and black), the Kepler Pen is a retractable pen that features a unique rippled barrel and click mechanism that takes a D1 refill for maximum versatility.
HMM Ballpoints and Mechanical Pencils. HMM Project (which stands for Human.Made.Method) specializes in fine coffee and writing accessories, making them a company close to my own heart. These dodecagonal ballpoints and .7mm mechanical pencils are machined from milled aluminum and feature rounded facets for a comfortable grip over longer writing sessions.
Lamy 2000 4-Color Ballpoint (Multi Pen). Following up on yesterday’s post, if you’re looking for a versatile everyday carry pen that takes D1 refills, the Lamy 2000 version remains my all-time favorite multi pen.
Anterique “Mach Ball” Ballpoint Pens. If I found myself in a position where I had to stock an office supply closet with an interesting click pen that contains an excellent refill while still maintaining a more accessible price point, it would be with these Anterique “Mach Ball” pens. They come in a couple dozen colors, and there are brass-barrel versions and mechanical pencils as well.
Caran d’Ache 849 Paul Smith Limited Edition, No. 4. The fourth release of Caran d’Ache’s collaboration with designer Paul Smith features six new color combinations, including some excellent muted colors that stand out.
Caran d’Ache Claim Your Style Ballpoint Limited Edition, No. 4. We still have a few remaining colors of the latest Claim Your Style release (Clay Green, Quartz Pink, and Iced Lemon), and honestly these are real sleepers.
Imported High-Quality Scissors and other Desk Accessories. If there’s one category of office supplies that I believe is unduly neglected, it’s scissors. I actually didn’t know how convenient it is to have one or two good pairs until I started buying something other than grocery store versions. We have scissors from Midori, Nakabayashi, and HMM in stock, along with other desk gear.

Uniball Jetstream Multiple Tip Sizes Lined Paper

Three Ways to Use Uniball Jetstream Refills to Upgrade Pens for Work and School

August 2, 2023

I say this every year, but the end of the Summer vacation and travel season seems to come earlier every year. For our family, school starts Monday, and based on order patterns and inquiries I’ve been receiving through the blog, readers have begun winding down their Summer travel adventures and preparing to head back to the office, more often than not in-person. In the past, I’ve used this time of year to talk about some of my favorite everyday working stationery, which includes the beloved Uniball Jetstream - one of the best all-around pens (and refills!) on the market. Today, the goal is to take the opportunity to discuss how you can use the Jetstream to “upgrade” pens you may already own.

Many popular non-fountain pens on the market today ship with the Schmidt P8126-27 capless rollerball refill. (For those unfamiliar with the technical name, this is the same refill included with the Retro 51 Tornado and Baron Fig Squire. The P8127 is the medium-tip version, whereas the P8126 is a touch finer.) While this refill is probably the best capless rollerball refill available, I personally dislike it. Rollerballs in general are far more finicky for me to use than fountain pens, and with the exception of a few specific cartridges I enjoy, I nearly always swap out the stock refill for a new option. My swap refill of choice for Schmidt capless rollerballs is the Parker-style Jetstream SXR, but you’re not limited to that format for the Jetstream writing experience. I kit out most of my multi pens with Jetstream D1 refills, and am always looking for other Jetstream (or Jetstream-like) low-viscosity cartridges to “upgrade” my non-fountain pens.

Craighill Kepler Pen in Vapor Black PVD-coated stainless steel — The Craighill Kepler pen: a recent discovery. Check out the unique D1 refill mechanism below.

Why I Love the Uniball Jetstream

It writes smoothly, dries quickly, and doesn’t bleed through paper. As a low viscosity “hybrid” ballpoint pen, Jetstream ink combines the smoothness of gel ink with the quick drying and permanence of a ballpoint. Uniball was one of the original manufacturers to introduce this type of pen, and the category (which includes other excellent options) has exploded in popularity in recent years.
The standard Jetstream pens are easy to find in most stores, and we’ve recently been able to source the Jetstream SXR-600 Parker-style refills from Japan. I’ll talk further below about my favorite ways to use these cartridges in non-Jetstream pens.
Across the board, Jetstream pens and cartridges last a long time and are relatively inexpensive. The SXR-600 cartridges can be found for roughly $7-8 per unit, and the D1 refill for even less than that. While that might seem high, due to the nature of ballpoint ink, these last for a very long time without drying out (as in, years), especially if you like your tip sizes in .5mm or narrower

Craighill Kepler Pen D1 Refill Nock Mechanism — The Craighill Kepler pen kitted out with a Uniball Jetstream D1 refill.

My Favorite Iterations of the Uniball Jetstream and HoW I use them

Uniball Jetstream D1 Refill. The Jetstream D1 refill shot the Lamy 2000 4 Color Ballpoint (Multi Pen) to the top of my non-fountain pen everyday carry. But lately, I’ve also discovered that this refill fits the Craighill Kepler Pen, which I previously had assumed was another retractable rollerball pen but actually uses a unique D1 mechanism. Available colors include black, blue, and red.
Jetstream SXR-600 Parker-Style Cartridge. I have this refill loaded into pens including the Retro 51 Tornado, the Baron Fig Squire, the Schon DSGN Classic Machine Pen v.2, and the Caran d’Ache 849 “Rollerball”. This cartridge features an absolutely massive ink capacity, and I have yet to experience one running dry, especially in the finer tip sizes. The drawback is that they apparently only come in black ink. Blue, red, and green, please!
The Uniball Jetstream 3&1 or 4&1 Multi Pen. While you can’t swap the refills into a different pen body - at least not to my knowledge - Uniball makes its own multi pens, and they’re excellent. I personally prefer the “&1” series, which indicates that a mechanical pencil is included as one of the functions. On my recent trip to Kinokuniya in NYC, I went a bit crazy and picked up a handful of these in some less common collaboration colors. I love that the Uniball multi pens often contain red and green Jetstream refill options.

Uniball Jetstream pens and Kuru-Toga Mechanical Pencils Laid Out on table

If there’s one piece of “advice” that I would want readers to take away from this post, it’s not to give up on a pen just because you don’t like the stock refill. Unless a brand (like Lamy) heavily invests in proprietary refill designs, you can often find other compatible cartridges that will fit your pen and might better match your writing style. For a refill compatibility resource, I generally refer people to this comprehensive post by my friend Ana over at The Well-Appointed Desk.

Note: I will be attending the D.C. Pen Show from Thursday, August 3 through Sunday, August 6. While orders will still ship within our typical 2-3 business day processing time, if you’d like something to arrive early next week, please get your orders in by 5:00pm U.S. Central Time today.

Shop Arrivals: New Nakabayashi Notebooks, and More Desk Accessories!

August 1, 2023

Nakabayashi Logical Prime Paper has become one of the top sellers in our shop, nearly overnight! In addition to restocking on the Logical Prime W-Ring (spiral-bound) and threadbound A5 notebooks, we’ve added the larger A4 spiral as well, in nearly all rulings! (One request that we’ve received over the past months is to bring in more A4-sized notebooks, and we’re actively working on it.)

Nakabayashi Lined Ruling Notebook A4 Lying Flat — Nakabayashi’s 6mm and 7mm lined rulings are similar to French-ruled paper, and come in lie-flat threadbound notebooks in A4, A5, and B5 sizes.

Also now available in the shop: Nakabayashi Logical Air and Nakabayashi Yu-sari notebooks, both of which are extremely fountain pen friendly but differ slightly from the standard Nakabayashi Logical Prime. I would compare them as follows:

Logical Prime paper feels like “standard” Japanese paper with a slightly quicker dry time than other brands. The paper showcases ink well, especially shading and sheening inks.
Logical Air paper is lighter, as the name implies, and feels softer and more absorbent than the Logical Prime. Fans of Cosmo Air Light might enjoy Logical Air, as it has that same “cushiony” feel when you’re writing. Available in B5 and A4 sizes, lined ruling only.
Yu-sari paper is thicker and feels more like Clairefontaine or Life. It has a slightly slower dry time than the Logical papers, but is absolutely fountain pen friendly. Available in both B5 and A5 sizes, as well as in A5 blank sheets.

Nakabayashi Yu-Sari Loose A5 Sheets — The thick Yu-Sari paper is perfect for letter writing. Pick up some of these A5 sheets for your correspondence needs!

As mentioned in the original post announcing the arrival of Logical Prime, the Nakabayashi lined ruling somewhat resembles Clairefontaine French-ruled paper, so fans of this ruling may want to check out these new notebooks, especially if they’ve been searching for a lie-flat option.

Selection of imported scissors available for purchase — We now have a wide selection of imported scissors in various sizes and functionalities.

Finally, we’ve added additional desk accessories, including high-end imported scissors, to our Reading and Desk Accessories Section! Be sure to check these out as we have models ranging from larger curved scissors to smaller “Exacto” scissors for precision cutting.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Nakabayashi.

Pens for the DC Pen Show, packed and sitting atop their case!

Sunday Reading for July 30, 2023

July 30, 2023

2023 Pacific Northwest Pen Show - Recap and Report Card (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). For the first year of a pen show, I can only say that this one appears to have been a rousing success!
Journaling Series: Journaling to Clear Your Mind (via Writing at Large). I’ve been following this regular series on journaling techniques. It’s excellent if you’re looking to start journaling and need prompts and/or exercises to help you get started, or if you’re an experienced journaler who feels like the practice has gotten stale and needs a refresh.
21+5 Pen Questions (via Weirdoforest Pens). Yay! My five extra pen questions have caught on!
21 Pen Questions (via Rachel’s Reflections). Rachel takes her turn with the 21 Pen Questions.
#12PencilQuestions (via Well-Appointed Desk). Now we’re moving into the pencil world!
UNICEF Blue (via Line Variation). By far one of the more underrated “semi-standard” Montblanc Inks, UNICEF Blue is a gorgeous turquoise!
Dingbats Wildlife: Notebook Review (via Stationery Pizza). Dingbats notebooks don’t get the attention they deserve. The company markets itself as vegan and eco-friendly, and the paper in the two notebooks I have tried is very good.
On How I Did Not Buy a Meisterstuck 149 (via Fountain Pen Blog). I love these “in the wild” stories about hunting pens.
What’s My Hobonichi Done for Me Lately? (via mnmlscholar). I’m intrigued by the Hobonichi Day Free, and how people are using it.
Hamelin’s Intentions Clarified (via Pelikan’s Perch). I’ve been fairly quiet on the acquisition of Pelikan’s stationery business by Hamelin, a French stationery company, mainly because I don’t really understand all the “alarm.” While there’s always some uncertainty around acquisitions like this one, Pelikan has been bought and sold a few times over the years, and the latest go-round seems to be an instance of one large conglomerate selling the brand (or a part of the brand) to another large company. Joshua has a follow-up article that nicely summarizes the current status of the transaction.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I wrote a post about one of my favorite “go-to” fountain pen friendly papers, French powerhouse Clairefontaine, and why it’s long been my default for everyday writing paper. It’s also time for Part II of my recent “Bag Dump” series, in advance of this week’s upcoming DC Pen Show.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

It’s time for the mid-year stationery markets, both in-person and online, so you’ll be noticing several new arrivals hitting the store in addition to restocks on most of our existing lines. Big news from this week include the release of the TWSBI Sunset Yellow Diamond 580 AL fountain pen, which will ship Monday or Tuesday and is now available for purchase. We also received a huge shipment from Exaclair (distributor of Clairefontaine, Quo Vadis, Herbin, and Rhodia), as well as most Anderillium inks.

Hinze Pens

Clairefontaine

Midori

TWSBI

Pen Show Schedule for the Upcoming Month and Orders for Pen Show Delivery

This year in DC you can find me sharing table space with our friends at Vanness Pens. TGS won’t have a stand-alone table, but I’ll be bringing a handful of items with me, including Lochby cases and notebooks, washi tape, and whatever stock remains from the TGS-exclusive Penwells and Hinze Collaboration pens. While I plan to have a full table setup in San Francisco, I tend to use the D.C. Show to visit with people and scope out new releases. Note: If you have your eye on something from the shop and want me to bring it to the show for you to pick up, you can select “Local Pickup” at checkout to drop the shipping charge and send me a message to arrange for delivery. Just be mindful that I probably won’t be able to bring heavier orders (i.e. 5 or 6 notebooks) due to airline weight restrictions.

Rubber Stamps for your Notebook at the Table — I’ll plan to bring some stamps that you can use to decorate your notebooks at the table!

Other Ways to Support T.G.S. and Gently Used Update!

Everything that didn’t sell to Patreon members, including some older limited edition Baron Fig items and notebooks, is now available for general purchase on the “Gently Used” page! If you’re interested in early access and a right of first refusal for the periodic sales, consider T.G.S. Patreon, which features not only access to meetups and the early gently used sales, but more exclusive content. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. In addition to purchases from The Curated Shop, Patreon allows us to continue to grow the site without relying on advertisements and affiliate marketing. If you’re interested in meetups and exclusive content, or simply supporting the site, we greatly appreciate your support!