T.G.S. Cyber Monday! Last Chance for the "GIVETHANKS23" Promotion!

Happy Cyber Monday everyone! While I enjoy the hype and excitement (as much as anyone can), I’ll certainly be ready to get back to the “normal level of craziness” of the holiday season. Just a reminder that the “GIVETHANKS23” promotion will expire today at 11:59pm US Central Time. The other promotions will run through Friday, December 1!

• Take 10% off most brands using the coupon code “GIVETHANKS23” at Checkout. Brands including TWSBI, Roterfaden, and Allex are excluded.

• Automatic 15% off at checkout for brands including Nahvalur, WMS & Co., and Mazzuoli. No coupon code necessary. (Through Friday, 12/1)

• Starting today, Traveler’s Notebook 2024 Standard and Passport Diary Refills have been marked down, and this price reduction can be combined with the “GIVETHANKS23” coupon code. (Traveler’s Company 2024 Diary Markdowns will run through the end of the year.)

I’m also in the process of getting ready for Inkvent 2023! For those who haven’t yet picked up a Diamine Inkvent Calendar, there are only a couple remaining. It’s a great way to use your Cyber Week Discount!

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

Sunday Reading for November 26, 2023: Cyber Week Edition

1. 10 Things I’m Grateful For, the Fountain Pen Edition (via a Gathering of Curiosities). I’m thankful we have posts like this one.

2. Using an A4 Organizer on a Daily Basis (via Philofaxy). Sure, it takes a bit more planning and slightly more complicated logistics to carry every day, but count me a fan of the A4 organizer.

3. 2023 Hannukah Gift Guide (via Penquisition). Looking for Hannukah gifts? Start here! (And check out Evan’s new Benu collaboration!)

4. Plotter Alternatives (via Rachel’s Reflections). Interested in a binder system like Plotter, but don’t want leather, want a slightly thicker binder, etc.? Here’s a comprehensive series.

5. Splitting the Difference (via mnmlscholar). Part of the fun with inks is finding one equally suited for work and fun.

6. Best Sale - FPD v Black Friday v Boxing Day (via Dapprman). This is an interesting post from a UK perspective. Here in the U.S., what I’ve noticed is that many larger retailers are simply running sales for the entire month of November.

7. Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Sketchers (via Writing at Large). This is an interesting new twist on the gift guide, from a different perspective!

8. Cleaning Tips That Will Help Keep Your Fountain Pens Writing Great (via Fountain Pen Love). It’s almost time for the great year-end fountain pen cleanout! I’m slowing the pace at which I’m inking pens, in the hopes of starting fresh on 1/1/24.

9. Reflections on Some Currently Inked Pens (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). The TWSBI Classic is the one TWSBI I’ve never tried, believe it or not….

10. Find Those Black Friday Deals! (via Well-Appointed Desk). Yes, go ahead and get that pen you’ve been eyeing, but remember to support smaller retailers as well.

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Three years’ worth of Camel Pencils from my personal collection

In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog I reviewed one of my favorite woodcase pencils of all time, the Camel HB Pencil. I also wrote the first post in a contemplated series: “From the T.G.S. Mailbag,” in which I answer three frequently asked questions that I receive from readers.

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

Through tomorrow, take 10% off your orders with the coupon code “GIVETHANKS23” at checkout! There are also markdowns throughout the store, including automatically applied 15% discounts on certain items. You can see the details here, including any exclusions.

We’ve recently added Allex Scissors and Camel Pencils to the shop, which are two of my favorite all-around stationery products. We also have special editions from Caran d’Ache, a Write Notepads restock and more!

Allex Scissors

TWSBI

Book Darts

Anterique

How to Support TGS!

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), there are several ways that you can support us. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop, especially during the upcoming holiday season! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which also includes early access to quarterly gently used sales. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

TGS Responds: Questions from the TGS Mailbag!

So I had grand ambitions to finish a couple of reviews in-progress this weekend, but the combination of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, shipping, etc. didn’t leave me enough time for the photography stage. So, I decided instead to jump-start a project that I’ve been wanting to do for some time: answer questions I receive via e-mail, DM, etc.

I do get a lot of mail, and unfortunately there just aren’t enough hours in the day for prompt responses. I try to get back to everyone eventually, but as the readership grows logistically it may not be possible to do personalized responses (though please do know that I read everything that comes my way). I figured a happy medium might be to take some of the more common or interesting questions and publish the responses in a new series of posts. Enjoy the first three!

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From artisanal correspondence cards to a simple A5 or A4 writing pad, there are many different options for letter writing.

Question 1: What is the best paper for written correspondence, such as letter writing?

I get this question at least twice a week. It’s by far the most frequently asked, and to answer categorically, since people respond to letters in different ways. For example, some people love to adorn their letters with calligraphy, ink washes, mixed media, etc. - which necessarily requires thicker art paper - and some people simply like to respond to letters with postcards, especially if they receive a lot of mail and can’t respond at length to everybody.

That said, generally speaking, I offer three specific recommendations. For standard A4/A5 writing paper, the gold standard is Clairefontaine Triomphe, which is bright white, fountain pen friendly and showcases ink well. It’s also fairly inexpensive. Fans of laid paper enjoy both G. Lalo and Original Crown Mill, both of which are excellent though I’d recommend trying textured paper once or twice before stocking up, as it can be an acquired taste. For something special, check out the lightweight onionskin Life Airmail Paper. Of course any quality paper works for writing letters - you don’t need to limit yourself to “letter writing paper” - but these are good options specifically advertised by their manufacturer for that purpose.

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Question 2: Where is the best place to sell used pens?

This is a question I get all the time, but is another hard one. Certain resellers (Peyton Street Pens and Chatterly Luxuries are two that come to mind) sometimes purchase secondhand pens for trade or resale, but given that retailers need to maintain a margin, you will nearly always get less money selling to a dealer or retailer than by selling to an end-user directly online. Whenever I look to offload pens, I first try to sell directly to friends and acquaintances at pen shows or my local pen club (so they can see the pens in person), but barring that I use direct channels such as the Pen Addict Slack Group, my Patreon, and the Gently Used page here. In the past, I have sold via forums such as FPGeeks and Fountain Pen Network, but it’s been years and can’t vouch for them as current options. Many people use r/pen_swap on Reddit and/or Discord Channels, but I have no personal experience.

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I still have a LOT of “old” Tomoe River Paper, shown here in my Nanami Paper Cafe Note

Question 3: Which notebooks still use “old” Tomoe River Paper?

Right now, it’s safest to assume that nearly all notebooks being sold are the new Sanzen Tomoe River paper unless expressly stated otherwise by the seller in a product listing. While I’ve heard that the 68gsm paper currently on the market is “old” paper (i.e. non-Sanzen), I’ve also heard rumors that there is a “new” 68gsm paper being made. Most makers don’t specify because they either have mixed stock or don’t want to create expectations when they can’t be guaranteed a supply of the old paper going forward.

Submit Your Questions to TGS!

I’ll plan to do this periodically, and keep a running list of questions that might make for interesting responses. You can submit questions through the “Contact” link on the header, which is by far the easiest way for me to keep track. While I do read and sometimes respond to comments, those get buried and are hard to manage, especially recent comments to posts published years ago.

Note: All Thanksgiving Weekend Specials run through Monday, November 27 at 11:59pm. Many thanks to everyone who has supported us so far this year! The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Thanksgiving Weekend Drops and "Black Friday" Sales!

For our Thanksgiving Weekend Sale/Promotion, we have a couple of things going on. First, a few brands are automatically marked down 15%, including Nahvalur, WMS & Co., Mazzuoli, and more! The discount will appear automatically in your cart at checkout, and cannot be combined with other discounts and coupon codes, with the exception of free shipping on orders over $75.

In addition to these markdowns, you can take 10% off most other brands (with the exception of TWSBI, Roterfaden, Allex, and one or two others) using the coupon code GIVETHANKS23 at checkout. Since it’s sure to be a busy weekend, please review our shipping policies, including the 1-3 business day timeframe to ship orders, and remember to show grace to all of the retailers out there this weekend, as we all have little to no control over things like delivery delays, etc.! All remaining gently used items have been marked down an additional 10%.

Happy shopping!

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

1. Caran d’Ache Keith Haring Limited Editions. We have ballpoints, Colored Pencil Sets, and more from Caran d’Ache in collaboration with the estate of pop artist Keith Haring.

2. Lamy Studio Fountain Pens. We recently introduced Lamy Studio fountain pens with the 14k nibs, currently available in both Piano Black and Palladium finishes. We also have the Lamy Studio All-Black fountain pen, as well as a few ballpoint and rollerball versions.

3. Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pens. The holiday sales events are a great time to pick up a core workhorse for your fountain pen collection, including the vacuum-filling Pilot Custom 823. The Pilot “Custom” series features some of the best nibs on the market. You can read my review of this pen here.

4. Pilot Custom 74 Fountain Pens. In my opinion, the Pilot Custom 74 is one of the most underappreciated “unsung heroes” of the fountain pen world. Between the Custom 74 and the 14k Lamy Studio, it’s hard to find a better sub-$200 fountain pen. You can read my review of this pen here.

5. Caran d’Ache Colormat-X Pens. This past year, Caran d’Ache released their classic 849 ballpoint pen in a new range of bright matte-textured color options. Personally, I think Caran d’Ache’s matte finishes are among their best, as they provide a soft surface for comfortable longer writing sessions.

6. Caran 'd’Ache Paul Smith Limited Edition 849 Pens. This year’s Paul Smith limited editions (the fourth series) feature six different combinations of Paul Smith’s signature colors!

7. Craighill Kepler Pen. Craighill’s Kepler Pen sports a contoured grip section and a unique D1 click mechanism, that allows you to use pretty much any kind of refill available in this format. The pen has some heft to it but remains well-balanced.

8. Lochby Cases and Notebook Covers. The holiday shopping season is a great time to stock up on notebook covers and other organizing supplies, as we prepare to turn the year over in a month or so. Lochby’s range of durable waxed-canvas goods includes the Field Journal A5 Notebook cover, as well as pen/pencil cases such as the Quattro and Venture Pouch, among others. (All Lochby notebooks feature 68gsm Tomoe River Paper.)

9. Lamy Pico Pocket Ballpoint. The Lamy Pico is another Lamy modern classic, in my opinion up there with the Lamy 2000, Safari, and Studio. While small in the pocket or pen case, it extends into a full-sized writing instrument when deployed.

10. Kaweco Sport Fountain Pens and Sketch-Up Pencils. We’ve recently expanded our range of Kaweco fountain pens significantly to include the Kaweco Collection colors! There are some excellent muted greens and blues in there, among my favorite that Kaweco has released.

Pencil Review: Camel Pencils and the Joy of the Integrated Eraser

While Camel Pencils were added to the shop yesterday, they’re not new to me: I’ve used them for years and other than a short piece to discuss how I seriously stocked up during C.W. Pencil Enterprise’s closing sale back in 2021, I’ve never reviewed them. Why do I like these pencils so much? Because you have a stationery company known for doing one thing very well, and the one thing is a delightful twist on something as “standard” as the woodcase pencil. I love this sort of single-purpose excellence.

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The eraser makes the Camel pencil. There is no ferrule (the metal sleeve that holds the eraser on most woodcase pencils), and instead the eraser is fitted to the end of the barrel like a “cap”, where it sits flush. The end result is an extremely well-balanced pencil that combines the lightness of an eraserless, capped pencil with the utility of an integrated eraser. I’ve noticed very few tradeoffs with this type of pencil: other than the one instance where I deliberately removed the eraser, I’ve had no issues with it coming lose, nor have I had the eraser “run out” before I use up the entire pencil. Camel uses high-quality eraser material, which removes marks efficiently without a lot of residue.

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The eraser attaches to a notch on the barrel. It’s glued, so it will stay put. I pulled this one off “for science”.

I’ll admit, part of my interest in Camel is the intrigue surrounding the company, which has remained a bit of a mystery outside of Japan despite the popularity of their products. I understand that the company is a very small, family-owned operation that manufactures a handful of products under their own name, and I suspect contracts with other brands and independent stores on a “white label” basis. (I know they have done this for Craft Design Technology). Camel’s website contains only basic information about the company, which dates back to the late 1930s/early 1940s.

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Will I ever get through all of these? Probably not, but I’ll try.

The clear lacquered pencils that I currently stock, and which are shown here, contain standard Japanese HB graphite, which leaves a dark line while still erasing well. While a 2B pencil is, generally speaking, my “perfect” grade of graphite, I’ve found that with Camel, the difference primarily lies in the feel. I purchased a half-gross of the 2B C.W. Pencil Enterprise store exclusives, and they aren’t much darker than the HB but definitely have a smoother, waxier feel to them. Both grades are pleasant to write with, and I don’t really prefer one over the other here.

[Note: When I discuss the difference between grades of graphite, such as HB, B, and 2B, it will differ significantly across brands. In general, I’ve found Japanese and American pencils tend to write a darker line for their designation than European equivalents. For example, a Camel HB is roughly similar to a Caran d’Ache or Staedtler 2B.]

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I love Camel pencils - they’re among my favorite everyday writers, and frankly you get a much higher quality writing experience than you pay for. At roughly $2 per pencil (purchased individually), and under $10 for a pack of six, you get excellent Japanese graphite, a cedar barrel, and a good eraser with the cool design. Plus they’re gorgeous to look at and make excellent office conversation pieces. For some reason I always get more comments about my pencils than my fountain pens….

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A selection from my Camel Pencils over the years!

As I mentioned above, you can now purchase Camel pencils directly from the T.G.S. Curated Shop in two different lacquered wood tones. At some point we will have more options, and some are currently on order with an indefinite arrival time. Stay tuned!

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