Welcome Kakimori! Including Brass and Stainless Nibs, Nib Holders, and Hardbound Notebooks

We’re thrilled to now be able to offer Kakimori metal nibs, nib holders, and hardbound A5 notebooks in a variety of Japanese fabrics. The Kakimori brass and stainless steel nibs are exceptional tools for ink sampling and swatching, in addition to calligraphy and everyday writing. I reviewed the brass nib back in 2022, and this particular dip nib (along with a Kakimori Sakura nib holder) has made ongoing appearances in my reviews and YouTube videos over the years, including the recent Inkvent video series. While Kakimori metal nibs are more expensive than other dip nibs, these are designed to last for many years, as opposed to inexpensive dip nibs that must be discarded after a month or so of use. As I hate to throw anything away, I find it to be a more sustainable approach, and the nib gains patina (and character) over time.

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The conical shape of the Kakimori nibs and the grooves on each side ensure plenty of line variation and continuous ink flow.

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Kakimori Nib Holders also come in a variety of materials, including raw aluminum, Sakura (Japanese Cherry) wood, and Aizome (Sakura wood that’s been dyed with indigo).

Kakimori Notebooks feature 64 sheets/128 pages of fountain pen friendly OK Fools paper with a light grey 5mm grid, in a Smyth-sewn binding. I’ve been testing this paper since it arrived, not previously having tried OK Fools paper, and really enjoy it. Ok Fools is a softer paper, yet still handles fountain pen ink quite well. The light grey ruling keeps the focus on the ink. Each notebook comes in a Kakimori light-grey slipcover for protection, which you can either recycle or keep for posterity if you use these to protect your used notebooks on a bookcase.

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As mentioned, Kakimori products available as of this morning in both the pen section and notebook section of the T.G.S. Curated Shop. Nibs and holders are sold separately.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized reseller of Kakimori products.

Sunday Reading for January 28, 2024

1. Adventures in Time-Blocked Planning (via Writing at Large). I’m two months or so in to my own experiment with time-blocking, and it’s definitely a new way of looking at productivity. I’m hoping it sticks because when executed well this technique is incredibly effective.

2. Writing as Part of Slow Living Movement (via Well-Appointed Desk). Relatedly, one of the things about time-blocking is that it forces you to look realistically at your day and ruthlessly prioritize, helping you to discard those things you really don’t need to do and slow down and focus on the things that are actually important.

3. #17InkQuestions: A Gathering of Curiosities Edition (via A Gathering of Curiosities). On the heels of last year’s #21PenQuestions trend, we now have an ink-themed version! Yes, I’ll be working on my own answers.

4. Floating World: Taccia Sabimidori (via A Fleeting Ripple). Taccia inks are (deservedly) getting more attention in recent years, mainly due to sheeners like Sabimidori.

5. The Retractable Ensso Bolt (via Figboot on Pens). This is the second new retractable fountain pen that we’ve seen released over the past year or so, both of which targeted a sub-$100 price point. The nib appears to be the same as the Endless retractable fountain pen.

6. Franklin-Christoph Philly Pen Show 2024 Ink (via Cheryl Lindo-Jones). I love blue-greys, and may pick up a bottle of this since I didn’t get a chance to swing back by when I was at the show.

7. Tactile Turn Side Click Review (via The Poor Penman). Tactile Turn makes what is easily my favorite “click pen” currently on the market. I have one of their seasonal editions, and have had to carefully pick and choose to ensure that I don’t end up with all of them.

8. Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year: Ancient Egypt (via Figboot on Pens). For me, these designs are either hit or miss. This particular pen is my favorite since the “Samurai” pen from a few years ago.

9. Ryan Krusac Ashbain the Dragon (via Rachel’s Reflections). Ryan Krusac’s scrimshaw pens are works of art.

10. Meet Your Maker: Rich Paul, River City Pen Company (via Pen Addict - Caroline). I enjoyed meeting Rich in Philadelphia and look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

Many different ways to use the unique paper layout in the Itoya ProFolio Notebooks!

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog the theme was paper! I updated the “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper” resource, and reviewed one of the new additions: the Itoya ProFolio Oasis Notebook, which has gained popularity in recent years as a lie-flat alternative with a multi-lined ruling.

New Curated Shop Arrivals - New Roterfaden Shipments, Including New Designs!

The big news from the shop was the arrival of additional Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter organizers, including multiple new larger format A4 Portfolios, at least one 4-clip A5 organizer, and a restock of A5 favorites and Roterfaden’s own notebooks. We also received our shipment of TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Black fountain pens, and these have sold so well that we only have two pens left in stock. We’ll plan to reorder soon…though this last shipment did contain a restock of nearly all TWSBI inks and pen models!

TWSBI

Pilot

Roterfaden

Clairefontaine

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Notebook Review: ProFolio Oasis Notebook

ProFolio Oasis notebooks landed on my radar at the first San Francisco Pen Show that I attended, where I had a chance to browse the Sailor/Itoya table. As a huge fan of multi-lined rulings such as Clairefontaine French/Seyes ruling and the Nakabayashi “Logical” lined rulings, I immediately jumped at the ProFolio layout, which distributor/manufacturer Itoya describes as a combination of “dots, graph, and lines.”

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The ProFolio Oasis multi-lined layout.

Itoya highlights versatility as the main selling point of this notebook:

“The Profolio Oasis Notebook was designed to make the hard choice of “which journal” much easier. While many people have a hard time choosing between dot grid, graph, or lined, the Oasis Journal combines the best of all three with its new proprietary paper pattern. The combination of dots, grids, and lines as well as their light application makes this notebook ideal for handwriting, bullet journaling, and even drawing straight lines without the necessity of a ruler.”

— Itoya Marketing Copy

I promise current and former co-workers who may be reading this that the meeting reflected in these notes is entirely fictional.

Personally, I use rulings such as this one to alternate the size of my script, which allows me to take different types of notes and make annotations all over the page. If I need to emphasize a certain note, I’ll use larger letters, and if I want to add annotations I’ll not only write smaller but will use the interior dotted lines instead of the wider, bold ruling. Each page of the notebook features a header section, so that you can date and label as necessary. Some of you may find the header section useful for summarizing meetings or key takeaways from a page of notes.

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The paper is excellent. The current version of the ProFolio notebook features lightweight 75gsm Japanese paper that handles fountain pen ink quite well. If you enjoy the look of Clairefontaine French-ruled paper, yet find Clairefontaine too slick, the ProFolio paper has a softer texture more akin to Nakabayashi. (It might even be the same paper used in the Logical line, though that is pure speculation and there are slight differences in layout, particularly the header.) I picked an A5 version in “Brick Red” to test, and so far this paper has performed quite well with every fountain pen ink I’ve tried. Other available sizes include A6 and B5.

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Takeaways and Where to Buy

The Itoya ProFolio Oasis series gets the T.G.S. stamp of approval. In addition to featuring quality paper with a versatile ruling/layout, ProFolio earns bonus points for multiple convenient sizes and a lie-flat binding. These Oasis notebooks are now available in our own shop and priced from $9.99 to $15.99, depending on size. As noted above, these come in A6, A5, and the coveted B5, which sits between A5 and A4. There are also five different colors. I didn’t realize the extent to which people appreciated this B5 size until I started carrying Nakabayashi and ProFolio, and I’ll try to find more in the future.

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In recent years there has been a proliferation of notebooks marketed as “fountain pen friendly”, and not all of them live up to their billing. Given the current demand for good paper, I make it a point to test as many notebooks as I can because I know that eventually I’ll get questions on brands that are receiving a lot of attention on social media. If you’d like to read more on what I consider to be fountain pen friendly paper and specific brands you might want to try, I recently updated the “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper” site resource.

This post does not contain third-party advertising or affiliate links. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Thursday Drops: A Whole Lot of Roterfaden, Plus a TWSBI Pre-Order Update

We’ve spent the last few days unpacking a massive shipment of new Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in all three sizes, including a major shipment of the larger A4 covers in some unique color combinations, and we even have one four-clip version for those who want the ability to carry four, as opposed to three, notebook refills. We’ve also restocked on Roterfaden-branded notebooks, and in today’s post I’ll also highlight some of my favorite Roterfaden-compatible inserts.

I’ve heard that people are still looking for Traveler’s Notebook 2024 Calendar Refills - we still have a limited number in stock, and they are on sale! Once they’re gone, they’re gone so if you’ve been looking to build out your Traveler’s Notebook as a planner get these before the last of them sell out.

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Finally, a note for all who have pre-ordered the TWSBI Black Diamond 580 Pens: They have arrived! Pre-orders are shipping out today, January 5, and the pens are now available for immediate shipment, along with a full restock of most TWSBI models.

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

1. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter. This German clip-based cover system has long been a favorite of mine. Since they come in A4, A5, and A6 sizes, you have the choice of using standard notebooks or Roterfaden’s own proprietary refills.

2. Midori MD Light Notebooks. While I tend to carry thicker notebooks in my personal Roterfaden covers,

3. Midori MD Light 70th Anniversary Notebook Set. We still have limited stock of these seven-notebook sets, each with a different color grid ruling and thread binding.

4. Lochby A5 Tomoe River Notebooks. Featuring 68gsm Tomoe River Paper and four different ruling formats, these A5 notebooks from Lochby are excellent options for Lochby’s own Field Journal or any option including Roterfaden.

5. Laconic Tokyo A5 Notebook Refills. These slim A5 notebooks feature a wide range of different layouts, from daily, monthly, weekly, and 100-day diary/planner to the (much) less common Gantt Chart and Spreadsheet.

6. Traveler’s Company 2024 Diary Refills. We’re down to our last stock of the Traveler’s Company Planner refills for 2024. It’s not too late to get started, and if you’re looking to build out the system we have all of the Starter Kits and accessories.

7. Life Noble Note. Another quality Japanese Paper Brand, Life notebooks even make a version that comes with the super-small Kleid grid!

8. Anterique Brass Ballpoints. Looking for a planner pen to fit your Roterfaden (or other) pen loop? These slim click ballpoints feature an excellent refill

9. Pilot Vanishing Point. Retractable Fountain Pens are an essential for some of us who work on the go, and the Vanishing Point is both the original and best (in my opinion) iteration of this design. Nib units are also interchangeable, so you can switch from an EF to a Stub depending on the type of writing you want to do.

10. Pilot Explorer. As a less expensive, slimmer fountain pen, the Pilot Explorer has become a newfound favorite. This pen features Pilot’s reliable stainless steel nib and ships with both a cartridge and a converter.

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I went for some wild colors this time around!

Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper, Updated as of January 24, 2024!

I’ve taken some time this week to update another site resource, as part of an ongoing project that I plan to continue in response to reader feedback. Apparently many of you find these comprehensive resources helpful, especially for those new to fountain pens, inks, and quality paper!

This particular post, titled “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper,” originated back in March 2021 in response to reader requests for an overall “guide” to fountain pen friendly paper. Honestly, there are so many different paper options out there that it’s impossible to rate, much less rank, them all, but this post grouping some of the more popular brands into “Tiers” of fountain pen friendliness has proven helpful to a lot of you so I’ll keep it going! I also want to maintain this as a “post”, as opposed to a “page”, because it has a rich comment section with lots of different recommendations for papers not yet available in the U.S. market. Today’s update adds a few new brands that I’ve discovered, and deletes some paper options that are no longer available due to their having been discontinued. Enjoy!

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