Sunday Reading for April 21, 2024

1. 2024 Atlanta Pen Show Highlights (via Olive Octopus). Sounds like Lisa had a great Atlanta Pen Show! I was sorry to miss this show, especially given all the different makers who were there.

2. What Am I Talking About When I Talk About Paper? (via The Poor Penman). For fountain pen and paper newbies, some of the terms thrown around can be baffling. Posts like this one are incredibly helpful!

3. Best Kaweco Ever? The Kaweco Art Sport (via Figboot on Pens). While there are seemingly endless versions of the Kaweco Sport out there, this year’s Art Sport might be my favorite, at least aesthetically. Kaweco crushed it with the four resins chosen for this year’s release.

4. The Sadness of Finishing a Notebook (via A Gathering of Curiosities). A great essay on completing projects and appreciating your experience with things for what they are, which also goes for products with a finite lifespan like notebooks.

5. Pursuing Perfect Planners (via Line Variation). Yet another vote in favor of multi pens for planner purposes!

6. Paper System Changes (via Rachel’s Reflections). Do you use a notebook-based or binder-based paper system? I’m also moving more and more towards binder-based, but it can be challenging if you don’t have a clear strategy for organizing and archiving.

7. Budget Watercolor Sets for Art Journaling and Urban Sketching (via Comfortable Shoes Studio). Many people use their notebooks and journaling for art, including watercolors, and often ask for recommendations on inexpensive or starter watercolor sets. Here’s a great resource!

8. Journalize Mirror of the Sky (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Ok, just when you thought the ink companies couldn’t get more creative with their packaging or ink properties….

9. You Can Only Keep One: The Pen Edition (via Well-Appointed Desk). I havent’ decided whether I’m going to “play” this hashtag or not….

10. M1000 Renaissance Brown Special Edition (via Pelikan’s Perch). There are a few Pelikans that I regret not picking up over the years, including the M800 in the “Renaissance Brown” finish. I don’t have a M1000 - is this the year I finally take one home?

I came away from my review of the Lamy AL-Star rollerball pleasantly surprised!

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I reviewed some of the new releases that hit the shop this past month, including the Lamy AL-Star pens (and pencil) in the 2024 “Fiery” and “Aquatic” finishes, and the one I’m most excited about, yesterday’s first impressions of the Kaweco Sport Piston Filler. Don’t forget to keep checking the YouTube Channel as I plan to introduce more video-content in the coming weeks.

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This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop - More Roterfaden!

The big news this week was the arrival of a fresh shipment of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in A4 and A5 sizes. The A4 size has been a surprise hit, as so many people love a larger-format notebook yet it tends to be neglected by mainstream manufacturers. Fortunately, Roterfaden steps in and makes a wide array of these hybrid notebook covers/portfolios that form a core part of my personal rotation.

We’re also very excited to introduce some limited versions of the Jetstream 4&1 Multi Pen, which is an all-time favorite everyday utility writer. These pens ship with four different refills (black, blue, red, and green) plus a .5mm mechanical pencil! We’re also working on adding some higher-end gel pen offerings, with the Uniball One currently in the shop, again in some special finishes that include muted pastels and “Earth texture”.

Roterfaden

Uni Mitsubishi

Kaweco

Tom's Studio

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Kaweco Sport Piston Filler: Initial Impressions of a Long-Awaited "Upgrade"!

Well, it's here! After years of speculation, and much anticipation, Kaweco has released the piston filler version of the Kaweco Sport. Rather than design a completely new pen, Kaweco adapted the existing AL Sport fountain pen by adding an integrated clip and, of course, the piston filler. What are my initial thoughts? Let's take a closer look.

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The pen ships in this commemorative tin, complete with a vintage-style bottle of ink.

Initial Impressions of the Design

From the moment you open the box, there's no confusing this pen with anything other than a modern Kaweco Sport fountain pen. As mentioned, the body design draws on the existing AL Sport line, though Kaweco has added the integrated clip from the current Art Sport lineup and the now-discontinued “Luxe” model. There's also a gold band at the blind cap, which you remove to access the piston mechanism.

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I’m sold on the integrated clip. It’s a matter of preference, but I was always a fan of the now-discontinued “Sport Luxe” pens that had this same look.

In terms of size, feel, and overall setup, you shouldn't notice much of a difference between the Sport Piston Filler and the existing AL Sport line. My red AL Sport shown below weighs 18g, and my 3/4 full Kaweco Sport Piston Filler weighs 24g. While the piston adds some weight, given the Sport's small size, I don't really notice it.

The pen posts nicely, and the ink window allows you to see how much ink you still have in reserve.

The biggest difference in the body is the vintage-style ink window, which allows you to see the ink level in the pen. The piston filler holds more ink than a cartridge, certainly holds more ink than the small Kaweco Sport “Mini” converter, and while it's not quite at eyedropper level, you don't have to deal with silicone grease, ink burping, and other considerations that pop up when you pour ink directly into the barrel.

Remove the blind cap to access the piston knob and refill the pen.

The piston design on this pen is a bit unique. You access the piston by removing the blind cap to reveal the piston knob. Why would Kaweco do this? I suspect it’s because nearly everyone posts the cap on the back of the Kaweco Sport as they write, and this design minimizes the risk of the piston accidentally engaging and expelling ink while writing.

Nib and Writing Experience

The first thing I noticed after inking up my medium piston Sport for the first time was how much the standard Kaweco nib benefitted from the increased ink flow the piston mechanism offered. Piston fillers often deliver a more consistent flow of ink to the nib and feed than cartridge/converter pens, which in turn makes the pen feel like a smoother writer. I find this effect more pronounced with smaller No. 4 and No. 5 nibs. Again, this is strictly a matter of personal preference, but the medium nib in the pen I chose for myself is excellent. (It's also possible that a higher degree of quality control went into the nibs on the $165 pen than goes into the standard $28 Sport. One would hope so.)

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The Kaweco Sport Piston Filler uses the same nib as the other Kaweco Sports, but the nib unit is different. My understanding is that Kaweco will start selling replacement nib units specific to this pen.

I won't write much more on the writing experience - I've previously reviewed multiple versions of the Kaweco Sport and the feel of this pen in the hand as you write isn't significantly different. You either like these smaller pens or you don't, and nothing about the filling system really changes that.

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"But I Like the Vintage One Better...."

Initial reactions to the Kaweco Sport Piston Filler have been mixed, not necessarily due to the pen itself but rather because nobody knew what to expect, with expectations all over the place. Some, frankly, were wildly unrealistic. (I'm not sure in what world people were expecting an inexpensive piston filling Kaweco fountain pen with a 14k gold nib, or an exact replica of vintage pens featuring materials that can’t be sourced.)

Keep in mind that the modern company we know as "Kaweco" is different from the legacy company that produced vintage “Sport” fountain pens. Much like "the new Esterbrook", the rights to the Kaweco name were acquired by a new manufacturer who began making modern pens inspired by the heritage designs.

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My vintage Kaweco Sport from the early 1970s (right) next to the modern pen. For a more fulsome comparison, check out this YouTube video, which includes writing samples.

I believe this context is important to understand because creating a piston filling Kaweco Sport is not as simple as "turning on the old machines". As with most vintage pens, the machines and tooling used to make the pens likely don't exist anymore - much less in workable condition - and the gold nibs and other materials used in the vintage manufacturing are either much more expensive or entirely unavailable to modern manufacturers. A piston-filling Kaweco Sport in a vintage-style body different from Kaweco's current lineup, featuring a 14k gold nib, would easily top $200, and I would probably pitch it closer to $300+.

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On the "Value Proposition" and Appreciating Trade-Offs

Now for some “market discussion”: There has been a lot of talk about the price point of the Kaweco Sport Piston Filler ($165), which many believe is too high. While the pen is certainly not inexpensive, I don’t see how a German-manufactured piston fountain pen from a mainline brand could cost less than $130 given the realities of the market. (At some point in the future, we might see some minor price drop on this pen as we did with the Art Sport, thus I’m calling $130 as the ultimate floor here even thought the price currently sits at $165 for the pen / $175 for the pen+ink set. A cheaper pen would almost certainly be a resin model.)

Will we see more colors of the Kaweco Sport Piston? Probably eventually, but not right away.

Does it represent "good value"? Frankly, I’m not sure how a piston-filling pocket fountain pen, styled in very specific manner, can even be viewed from a “value” perspective. I see this as a niche product that will likely appeal to a smaller number of people than something like a TWSBI demonstrator. The price reflects that. If what you're looking for is a durable pocket fountain pen with a decent nib that easy to refill and costs as little as $28, that already exists in the form of the standard Kaweco Sport. You can also purchase the AL Sport for $90, which is virtually identical to the piston filler (albeit with different trim and minus the integrated clip). Honestly, the price point here surprised me in a very different way from most people, as I was expecting $200+, especially after the $300+ Ebonite Sport release.

And, yes, if you really want a gold nib, and you prefer the vintage styling, those are very much available on the secondary market (an entirely different set of considerations unique to vintage pens and their maintenance).

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I'm enjoying the new Kaweco Sport. Like most Kaweco releases, the build quality feels high, and Kaweco has done a nice job translating the piston filling system to the existing AL Sport format. Because smaller nibs can sometimes be stingy with ink flow, the piston mechanism seems to vastly improves the writing experience for those who enjoy a wetter nib, and for this reason alone the Sport Piston Filler will likely become my default Kaweco for when I want to do a lot of actual writing, as opposed to quicker notetaking on the go.

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You can purchase the new Kaweco Sport Piston Filler at most Kaweco retailers, including directly from us via the T.G.S. Curated Shop. We currently stock the pen in a gift set that ships in a commemorative tin with a bottle of Kaweco Royal Blue ink for $175. The pen on its own sells for $165, and after this initial shipment Kaweco will begin stocking retailers with stand-alone pens. It will be interesting to see whether this takes off, with more colors available, or whether it remains a one-off in the overall lineup!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We greatly appreciate your direct support!

Thursday Drops: New Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters Have Landed; Plus Jetstreams and More!

This week we received a restock of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter organizers, which included several old favorites such as the recycled leather “LB_23” organizer, a four-clip limited edition (the LTD_020), as well as new colors and layouts. We have all sizes available, ranging from A6 (Roterfaden Small), to A5 (Roterfaden Medium) to A4 (Roterfaden Large).

I ran an Instagram poll the other day asking you all to guess which color I went for: It was the “Mimosa Yellow” in the Bamboo Jetstream 4&1. More and more, I’m opting for yellow/saffron color options.

Finally, a shipment of new products from Japan arrived this week, including Uni Jetstream 4&1 Multi Pens and unique colors of the Uni-ball One Gel Pens! We offer an expanding range of Uni Mitsubishi products, which are excellent tools for everyday work. Happy Shopping!

1. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter. One of our best-selling products over the past year, Roterfaden makes versatile handcrafted organizers from materials that include leather, recycled leather, and even vegan-friendly options such as danceflooring (used to surface ballet studios) and tent fabric! For an overview of how I set up my own personal Taschenbegleiter, check out this video walkthrough.

2. Blackwing One Step Pencil Sharpeners in New Colors! The excellent Blackwing “One Step” long-point sharpeners are now available in white and grey. I love this sharpener for the concave, slightly curved point and the capacity to hold as many as three sharpenings’ worth of shavings.

3. Uni Mitsubishi Jetstream 4+1 Multi Pen, Bamboo Edition. One of my all-time favorite multi pens is now available in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. These muted pastel colors feature a soft matte texture and ship with four different .5mm refills (black, blue, red, and green), plus a .5mm mechanical pencil.

4. Kaweco Sport Piston Filler Fountain Pens. Kaweco released the long-awaited piston-filler version of their Sport fountain pen, which features a matte-black finish and integrated filling system that holds a surprisingly large amount of ink. Be sure to check out my video overview, which shows how this pen compares to the vintage version.

5. Tom’s Studio Fountain Pens. UK-based Tom’s Studio started off making tools for the calligraphy space, but has recently expanded their fountain pen related offerings to include “The Studio” and “The Studio Pocket” fountain pens, as well as a range of specialty nib units that include an exceptionally good broad architect’s nib.

6. Tom’s Studio Lumos Refillable Fineliners. The “Lumos” pens are something I’ve been looking for over the years: a refillable fineliner that actually delivers on performance. Lumos pens use a wick-like capillary filling system that accepts pigmented and fountain pen ink, with interchangeable, replaceable tips in different styles. We did a full review here last week.

7. Lamy AL-Star Special Editions in “Fiery” and “Aquatic”. We currently have stock of the 2024 Lamy AL-Star releases, in fountain pen, rollerball, and ballpoint formats, as well as a mechanical pencil. Until this past month, I had never actually tried an AL-Star rollerball and came away pleasantly surprised!

8. Lamy 2000 Pens. We received a full restock of Lamy 2000s, including fountain pens, ballpoints, rollerballs and mechanical pencils. The Lamy 2000 remains one of my all-time favorite writing instruments, and a core workhorse in my rotation.

9. Uni-ball One Gel Pens. Uni’s latest gel pen technology features a smooth, bold pigmented ink that makes dark inks darker and colored inks brighter. The One is available in both muted pastel and “Earth Texture” finishes.

10. Allex Scissors. A quality pair of scissors should be at the top of everyone’s list of essential desk accessories. These high-end scissors from Japan come in both fluorine-coated and non-coated versions. (The coating helps if you regularly cut through sticky materials like tape, plus the matte black versions just look cool!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We greatly appreciate the support of our readership.

As much as I love black and red color combinations, if you were to ask me for my favorite new arrival, it would be this smoke blue and honey A5, which is a gorgeous pairing.

Exploring New Formats: Lamy AL-Star Rollerball and Mechanical Pencil

Over the years when evaluating the latest releases from Lamy (and most other brands), my default has been to review the fountain pen and, occasionally, the ballpoint. But what about the rollerball? As I was writing last week's review on the Tom's Studio Lumos fineliner, I was struck by the simplicity of writing with basic black ink, and the focus it allowed in terms of not being distracted by all the various elements that go into writing with a fountain pen. When I decided to do my initial review of the new Lamy AL-Star pens that arrived last week, I pulled one of the Fiery AL-Star Rollerballs and the Aquatic .5mm mechanical pencil - two formats that don't receive a lot of attention.

The Lamy AL-Star Rollerball: Taking a Second Look

We sell a fair number of Lamy AL-Star and Safari rollerball pens, but it's not a format I've personally used very much. It's only fair that I take one for a test drive, right? So far, the experience has been mostly positive, and largely consistent with the writing experience offered by other rollerball pens using a standard medium refill. The pen itself looks nearly identical to the AL-Star fountain pen, with the exception that there is no "cutout" in the barrel to allow you to view the ink level in the cartridge or converter. (This feature would serve no purpose in a rollerball pen, as you can't view the ink level in a metal refill, and it would look pretty ugly to see the silver peeking out, IMHO.) The grip is the same, as is the overall feel and balance of the pen.

Balance in the hand is very similar to the AL-Star fountain pen, posted or unposted.

With respect to the writing experience, it all comes down to whether you enjoy writing with a rollerball pen, which typically write a wetter line than a ballpoint or gel pen. The refills contain very dark pigmented liquid ink, and in a wider tip size, have a tendency to bleed through paper - even good paper such as the Lamy notebook in the photos below, or Tomoe River (!?!). That said, if you want a pen that writes a smooth, bold black/blue line, breaking out a rollerball can be quite satisfying. Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon outlining the main ideas for a legal brief on a legal pad, and while I had some show-through and feathering from the rollerball cartridge on the thinner paper, I would compare the experience to working with a marker on a whiteboard. There was no need for me to write small, as my primary goal was to get the "big ideas" on paper so that I could later organize them into a coherent rough draft. For this, the rollerball was perfect, especially since I didn’t plan to preserve this writing for posterity.

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Pro Tip: I hardly ever purchase rollerball cartridges in bulk. Over the years, I've noticed that they don't age well (across brands), and can become skippy and dry out quickly. For that reason I typically purchase rollerball refills in smaller batches, if not one at a time, as I need them.

Lamy AL-Star Mechanical Pencil: Rotate to Your Heart’s Content

One of the curious decisions Lamy made during this recent product cycle was to release the AL-Star .5mm mechanical pencil in the new "Aquatic" finish. Why do one color but not the other? Regardless, I'm enjoying this new pencil and somewhat disagree with critics of the design, particularly those who dislike the molded grip on the AL-Star and Safari mechanical pencils.

AL-Star and Safari Grip Sections are triangular, meaning that you can rotate them as needed (at least in the non-fountain pen versions).

The major gripe that I hear is that the molded grip supposedly prevents users from rotating the mechanical pencil as you write. Some - but not all - users rotate their pencil in order to prevent flat edges from forming on the lead and to maintain a sharp point. (Uni's Kuru-Toga pencils do this automatically, which is their key selling point.)

The AL-Star Grip Section, viewed sideways.

I don't consider that critique entirely on-point for a couple of reasons. First, the molded grip on both the Safari and AL-Star is symmetrical and triangular, so rotating the pencil shouldn't affect your grip too much as long as you are someone who can actually use the AL-Star or Safari. (The molded section just doesn’t work for some people given issues of comfort and how they hold the pen/pencil.) If you rotate the pencil, there will be three different angles at which the grip remains the same. I don't personally use the molded grip to guide finger placement, as Lamy intends, and have no issue resting my fingers on top of the triangular edges, so this has never been a problem for me as someone who does rotate their mechanical pencils as I write.

For my own purposes, I wanted to find out whether the weight of the pen would affect lead breakage in the .5mm size. The AL-Star and Safari mechanical pencils are bigger pencils with a thicker diameter, and the AL-Star is metal. My concerns turned out to be unfounded. The pencil writes nicely, even with the thicker aluminum barrel. Those who sometimes find standard mechanical pencils too thin should definitely check this one out.

The fountain pen barrels in Aquatic and Fiery, for comparison purposes.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

A couple of years ago I reviewed the Lamy Safari ballpoint for the first time and (virtually) kicked myself for not testing one out sooner. The same goes for the rollerball and mechanical pencil versions of the AL-Star. I'm liking both of these and may even take a pass on the fountain pen versions of the new releases as I seek to diversify my personal collection.

The AL-Star ballpoint in Fiery and Aquatic, also for comparison purposes. I like the colored sections that complement the overall tone of the pen.

We currently stock the entire range of the Lamy AL-Star "Fiery" and "Aquatic" pens (and pencil), as well as remaining stock of other special and limited edition AL-Star finishes from recent years. Priced at $28 for the rollerball and $16 for the mechanical pencil, The Lamy AL-Star represents good value and should serve you well over the long-term, despite sitting at what many consider an entry-level price point. We also have all the refills you may need, should you wish to change ink color and tip size from the stock black medium rollerball refill, or swap out the stock HB mechanical pencil lead.

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

New Arrivals: Jetstream 4&1 Multi Pens and Uni-ball One Special Editions!

As a self-proclaimed multi pen connoisseur, it was only a matter of time before I really began building out our own multi pen offerings here in the shop. One of my personal favorites is the Uni Mitsubishi Jetstream “4&1” pen, which features a textured (yet still smooth) bamboo grip section, four different Jetstream .5mm refills, and a .5mm mechanical pencil option. The Uni-ball “One” gel pen showcases Uni’s latest gel pen technology - a new smooth, dark ink formulation in both .38mm and .5mm tip sizes.

Uni-ball One Gel Pens are available in both .38mm and .5mm tip sizes. Refills in the stock pens are black, but extra refills in blue, blue-black, red, and orange are also available for purchase separately.

We currently have interesting versions of both the Jetstream 4&1 multi pen and the Uni-ball One gel pen available in the shop. In addition to the “Bamboo” series of the multi pens, we have Uni-ball One pens in both solid muted colors as well as the “Earth Texture” series. Multi Pens start at $25 and Uni-ball One Pens at $4.50. Refills are also available for both.

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The “Earth Texture” barrels are gorgeous. I’ve not seen anything else quite like this in the gel pen world!

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