2024 Year-End Review: Five Favorite Discoveries from the Past Year

It’s mid-December already, which means that it’s time to start recapping 2024. Each year, I revisit my previous content and pull out some favorites, including favorite new product discoveries, favorite reviews, favorite trips, and more. To kick things off I’ll walk through my top five “new discoveries” of 2024. Not all of these are actual new products, mind you, as many of these are things I’ve personally overlooked and which were brought to my attention by friends (the AL-Star mechanical pencil and S20 ballpoint). Others are entirely new product categories, like the refillable fineliners. Even if you’ve been a stationery fanatic for multiple decades, there are always new things to discover, which is what I love about this hobby!

1. Lamy AL-Star .5mm Mechanical Pencil. A controversial discovery, to be sure, since the Safari/Al-Star grip section draws strong opinions from mechanical pencil fans, but I absolutely LOVE this pencil. It’s been on my desk ever since I reviewed it earlier this year. The wider-diameter barrel is comfortable to use for longer writing sessions, and the triangular grip works for how I hold a pencil. (I’ve even found that I can rotate it as necessary.)

2. Refillable Fineliners. I have yet to find a variation on this stationery category that I haven’t enjoyed. Whether it’s the Tom’s Studio Lumos, the Tom’s Studio Wren, or the semi-disposable Kuretake and Kakimori versions, I’m currently using them all and have an entire pen case devoted to them.

3. Pilot S20 Ballpoint. My ballpoint find of the year, which I discovered when a friend from our local pen club gifted one to me. Featuring the Dr. Grip “Cocoon” ballpoint refill with “Acro-Ink” technology, as well as an uncommon hourglass shaped-barrel that literally molds itself to your hand, I’m starting to prefer this pen even over my beloved Lamy 2k ballpoint…

4. Good Made Better “Jester” Pocket Pen. Dan from Good Made Better launched his initial pair of fountain pen designs at the 2024 Chicago Pen Show, and knowing just how good GMB products tend to be, I insta-bought one in a beige and black mottled ebonite with a matte finish. The Kickstarter appears to have been a success, and I can’t wait to see these pens hit the general market. (Also, if you’re looking for reading and/or writing-themed gifts this year, Good Made Better is an excellent place to shop!)

5. Zebra Sarasa Grand Vintage Gel Pen. While I’m not a big fan of the standard Zebra Sarasa (as in, the kind you find a big box office supply stores), the Sarasa Grand Vintage is a Japanese import that writes differently from this pen, and comes in a wide range of cool vintage-inspired colors. Best of all, the barrels and the inks match, and feature black-infused tones that make your writing more interesting while remaining subtle enough to use for work.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you’re interested in talking inks and seeing our swatches and growing selection, come see us in-person! We’re open this week Thursday-Sunday, and otherwise by appointment.

Thursday Drops: Ice Blue Roterfadens, TWSBI ECO Amazonite, Taccia Inks, and More!

Greetings from the throes of the holiday shopping season! We still have new products arriving weekly, including a fresh shipment of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter binders from Germany with restocks of old favorites AND some new limited editions in fun leather/felt combinations. (Don’t sleep on the ice blue.) While most of the Roterfadens that we currently have are A5-sized, we do have one or two A4 portfolios remaining as well.

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Did I mention the ice blue felt looks outstanding?

As we noted on Tuesday, we recently received two different lines of Taccia Inks, including the Ukiyo-e inks (like Sabimidori), as well as the latest 849 release from Caran d’Ache and the TWSBI ECO Amazonite is on pre-order! Get those holiday orders in, because we’re shipping constantly and want to have your gifts out the door as soon as possible for on-time delivery!

Domestic U.S. orders over $75 ship free. Please review our shipping policies and time estimates prior to placing an international order. Orders to Canada may be delayed due to the ongoing postal strike, and UK orders are subject to a minimum due to VAT rules. We are open this week Thursday through Sunday! View up-to-date hours here.

1. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter: New Limited Editions! We have three new A5 limited edition Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in stock and ready to ship out! Two of them feature gorgeous ice blue felt interior, which I’ve not previously seen from Roterfaden.

2. TWSBI ECO Amazonite Fountain Pen. The latest TWSBI release, “Amazonite”, features a swirled acrylic where colors are mixed during the injection-molding process. This results in no two pens being alike, with different combinations of green and white. These pens are pre-order and should arrive by early next week.

3. Caran d’Ache Cosmic Blue and Cosmic Gold 849. This year’s winter special is a gorgeous cosmic blue and cosmic gold pair of 849 ballpoints, in metallic gradient finishes.

4. Kaweco Collection Sport and AL-Sport Pens. The Kaweco Collection pens are the annual special releases of the Sport and AL Sport models, as well as the Perkeos!

5. Taccia Ukiyo-e Inks. These inks from Taccia feature uncommon, subtle colors similar to the Teranishi line (though different colors, not dupes). The Ukiyo-e line is inspired by Japanese artwork from four different artists of the Edo period, including some exceptionally good blues, greens, and reds.

6. Taccia Fountain Pen Inks (Standard Line). While different from the Ukiyo-e line in that these inks are more vibrant than the subtle Ukiyo-e colors, the inks behave the same.

7. Teranishi Guitar Taisho Roman Haikara Ink. Made by the same manufacturer as the Taccia inks, these cult favorites from Japan need more exposure here in the U.S. Check out this post for my five favorite inks from this line.

8. Diamine Bottled Inks and Inkvent Calendars. I’ve tried to curate some of my favorite inks from the expansive Diamine lineup, including the entirety of the 150th Anniversary and 160th Anniversary releases. We also have a few of the Diamine Inkvent Calendars left.

9. Midori MD 10th Anniversary 3 and 5 Year Diary Limited Editions. These beautiful fabric covers are paired with the standard multi-year Midori journals, which would make a great gift for anyone (including yourself) this holiday season.

10. HMM “Mugr” and “Patio” Coffee Accessories. These textured ceramic mugs feature beech or walnut woods on the handles, are functional, and look absolutely stunning on your desk. I’ve not done nearly enough to promote these.

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Inkvent is in full swing! Check out yesterday’s post for my favorites so far.

Inkvent and Colorvent 2024: Recapping the First 10 Days of December

There’s pretty much an Advent calendar for every interest these days. Tea, coffee, beer, wine, chocolate, pencils, art supplies, and - of course - fountain pen ink! Believe it or not, there are now three different fountain pen ink advent calendars on the market: the Diamine Inkvent Calendar (the original); the Colorverse “Colorvent” Calendar (new this year); and the Enigma Stationery Inkvent Calendar (put together in-store, and which collects different brands).

This year, I purchased a Diamine Inkvent and Colorverse Colorvent calendar, and have been walking through each of the inks on the T.G.S. Instagram Account (check out the stories). As a bit of a twist, this year I added a highly scientific poll to each Instagram Story that allowed readers to vote Yay, Nay, or “Blah” for each ink. Here are the top three inks for each calendar, by vote:

Top Three Diamine Inkvent Inks So Far

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Diamine Inkvent, Day One: Baltic Breeze. This one surprised me a bit with it’s popularity, but I guess it appeals to a lot of people.

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Day 8: Marley. A bit of a multi-shader and subtle color, so no surprises this one was a favorite.

Again, this one was not one of my top three, but these icy cool shimmer inks are always favorites.

Top Three Colorverse Colorvent Inks So Far

Cool color, but not my personal favorite. I think people were just happy to see something other than red, taupe, or navy blue.

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It will not surprise anyone that Red Horizon is my personal favorite of all the inks to date. Colorverse indicated they might add a few of the more popular Colorvent inks to the standard line, and I hope this one makes it as I’ll want a giant bottle.

It only took two days for a typo! I was kind of surprised that this was one of the more popular Colorvent inks. It’s a great color - don’t get me wrong - but not as festive as some of the other calendar options.

Takeaways and General Observations on Each Calendar as a Whole

I don’t have a clear “favorite” in terms of Inkvent vs. Colorvent. The two calendars are VERY different, and will appeal to different people. I’ll share my own thoughts on each, as well as one ink I felt was unfairly maligned at the polls.

• Overall Festiveness. Diamine Inkvent wins by a long shot. Nearly all of the inks are winter and holiday-themed, and of the first 10, a whopping six are shimmer inks, compared to one for the Colorvent.

• Usability. Of the two calendars, the Colorverse Colorvent calendar has more inks that I would use for everyday writing. There are fewer shimmer inks and bright holiday-themed colors, and as a whole - at least through the first 10 days - the colors are more muted, understated tones which I appreciate. So far, purchasing the Colorvent calendar would give you a very nice collection of inks that are usable year-round.

• Value. Here, I’ll probably give the slight edge to Diamine, mainly due to a greater ink variety and a much lower price, but it’s close. While neither calendar is inexpensive, with Diamine Inkvent priced at $120 and the Colorvent Calendar at $180, Diamine is 30% less. Diamine gives you 24 12ml bottles of ink and one larger 30ml for the last day. Colorverse gives you 24 15ml bottles. I will add that the Colorvent Calendar makes a more impressive gift - Colorverse uses its signature glass bottles (making for a substantial-feeling package), and also went above and beyond on the packaging design, including a short blurb “behind the door” that describes the inspiration for each ink.

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And finally, here’s the one ink that shocked me with how poorly it did in the polling. Diamine “Wishing Tree” doesn’t photograph very well because there’s a lot of subtle color-shifting and understated shimmer going on. I’ll have to post some additional photos later, because I’m probably keeping this one.

The Colorverse Colorvent Calendar and the Enigma Inkvent Calendars sold out long ago, so you’re probably too late to pick one up unless you can convince someone to sell you a calendar on the secondary market. It’s not too late to play along with Inkvent, however! Diamine makes a LOT of Inkvent Calendars, and they are still available at many retailers (including us). We only have one or two left at the time of publication.

If you missed out on the inky Advent calendar that you wanted, we still have plenty of ink available in our shop, including lots of recently added brands! If you’d like to peruse ink in person, we have extended holiday hours Thursday through Sunday. Come see us!

New Arrivals: Two Ink Series by Taccia

We’ve been sitting on this release for a couple of weeks - not because we’re holding out on you, but simply because it’s taken us this long to swatch, photograph, and list nearly 30 new Taccia inks, including both the standard line and the gorgeous cult favorite Ukiyo-e line, inspired by the work of four different traditional Japanese artists. All of these inks are now listed online and available to ship immediately!

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Uguisu is one of the more interesting greens that I’ve used, featuring a lot of depth. Great lighter green colors can be hard to find.

I’ve long been a fan of Taccia Ink, as the colors are vibrant and the ink demonstrates excellent flow. Of the standard line, the blues and greens really shine (particularly Uguisu), and of course from the Ukiyo-e series, Sabimidori steals the show, with the blue-grey Ainezu another personal favorite. If you enjoy these types of colors, be sure to check out the Teranishi Guitar Inks as well, which feature similar ink formulations and 16 more interesting colors.

Sabimidori is loved for its color shift from blue to green/grey as it dries.

An update on shipping: Many thanks to all of you who supported us during our first Thanksgiving Weekend as a brick-and-mortar retailer! The new space has definitely made shipping more seamless, and orders are currently shipping within 48 hours. That said, we don’t have control over carrier processing and delivery speeds, so if you need something by a specific date, give yourself plenty of time by placing orders earlier rather than later.

Sunday Reading for December 8, 2024

1. A Mini Techo Kaigi, and Plotter A5 Setup Thoughts (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I find simple, straightforward planner setups like this to be the most effective, mainly because they’re the ones you’re more likely to stick with for the long term.

2. Visit to Ishimaru Bunkoudou in Nagasaki, Japan (via Inkredible Colours). The stationery selection at this department store looks absolutely incredible, particularly the ink selection!

3. Diamine Inkvent 2024: Spoiler Free Introduction (via Writing at Large). A great annual Inkvent series revealing each of the colors as we go through December. I’m only linking to the introductory page to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t started yet, but at this point I think most people have seen at least one of the inks.

4. Year End Pens: December Blues (via Line Variation). Both the Parker Sonnet and the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 are vastly underappreciated pens.

5. Guest Post - Archiving Solutions (via Philofaxy). What do you do with those planner inserts and pages you are not actively using? Some sort of archive is usually necessary to manage any sort of notebook system.

6. Distracting: KWZ Stardust Blue Fountain Pen Ink (via A Fleeting Ripple). As someone who is not typically a shimmer ink enthusiast, I’m intrigued by these inks with a formulation that allows the shimmer particles to remain suspended without shading….

7. Montblanc 145 Classique S Nib Fountain Pen Review (via Blake’s Broadcast). These round nibs with lots of tipping are gaining in popularity. I’ve honestly never been tempted, as I prefer nibs with a bit more angular line variation than these seem to offer.

8. Discovering the Aurora Marco Polo Fountain Pen (via Fountain Pen Blog). Now that’s a market find! a cool retro-themed design, too.

9. Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pen Review (via Pen Addict-Jeff). These Pilot dip pens have garnered rave reviews. I need to get my hands on some and test them out.

10. ‘Tis the Season to be STICKII (via Well-Appointed Desk). A sticker advent calendar? If you’re a sticker fiend you may want to check this one out, if not this year then next.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog, we’re well into the throes of the holiday season, so I published a short counterpart to the T.G.S. Annual Gift Guide, which is a post titled “5 Bad Stationery Gift Ideas” that I hope you all find entertaining. I also posted an update on how I’ve been using my Bible Size Plotter binder to help manage my growing brick-and-mortar shop.

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

We’ve recently restocked on Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter binders, as well as Pilot E95s fountain pens, Book Darts page markers, and more! We also have a large volume of new inks coming into the shop from brands including Diamine, Teranishi, and Kuretake, most of which have already been added online but all of which are available to peruse in-person. Be sure to check out our weekly Thursday Drops post for stock updates, as well as the Tuesday “New Arrivals” post which also contains any updates to weekly shop hours.

We are currently caught up on orders, nearly all of which are shipping within two business days. While we do our best to get holiday season orders shipped quickly, we have no control over carrier timing and delivery - if you need something by December 25 or earlier, please get your orders in as soon as possible!

Diamine Inks

Pilot

TWSBI

TRAVELER'S Company

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