Sunday Reading for January 12, 2025

January 12, 2025

2025 New Year New Notebooks (via A Fleeting Ripple). How are you using your new notebooks in the New Year?
Looking Back to Go Forward (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Using stationery to set personal goals, and then revisit them at the end of the year while you plan for the next.
The New Year Diary, 2025 (via Fountain Pen Blog). A very nice diary/planner, from a local stationer.
Pen Resolutions Tag 2025 (via Rachel’s Reflections). I have not even begun to formulate my own pen and stationery resolutions for 2025. Better late than never, right?
2025 Theme: Let Them/Let Me (via From the Pen Cup). I always enjoy reading Mary’s posts, and this one is thoughtful as always. Looking forward to more in 2025!
Planner Set Up: Use It Up! (via Well-Appointed Desk). “Use it up” might be one of my own stationery themes for 2025, now that I’m thinking about it.
Montegrappa 007 Goldfinger (via Figboot on Pens). Yes, I know it’s ridiculous, but for some reason I love these Bond pens.
William Hannah (via Philofaxy). Many of you inquire about William Hannah disc-bound planners from time to time, and I’ve really enjoyed them, though I use mine more as a standard notebook. This post compiles a bunch of different resources on the brand for those who are curious.
State of the Collection (via Weirdoforest Pens). It’s that time of year when everyone begins to take stock of what they have, what they are using, and what they might want to move on from.
Visit to Yotsuba in Shizuoka, Japan (via Inkredible Colours). All of these stationery stores apparently have their own custom inks; these are made by Sailor!
Pilot Custom 823 (Amber) (via Scrively). The Custom 823 is one of my favorite pens on the market, and if I had to choose one to keep, it would be the Amber.

In Case You Missed It…

This week I did my final post on Inkvent/Colorvent, including my thoughts on who “won” this year’s calendar competition. (Spoiler: I personally think it was Colorverse.) I also reviewed an “old” pen for the first time: the Kaweco Perkeo in the “All Black” finish, and came away impressed.

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

Despite distributor shipments being somewhat slow at the beginning of January, as people count inventory and prepare for the upcoming trade shows. We did receive the Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pens, and also have restocked Midori and Caran d’Ache, including the favorite Fixpencils! Finally, don’t miss new arrivals such as our line of Fisher Space Pens and Rite in the Rain paper.

Our brick-and-mortar shop was closed this past weekend due to inclement weather, but we will be open again this coming week during normal hours (unless we get another snowpocalypse, which at least for now looks unlikely).

Kaweco

Pilot

Book Darts

Fisher Space Pen

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Pen Review: The Kaweco Perkeo, On Its Own Merits

January 11, 2025

Today’s review looks at a lower-priced pen that seems to be growing in popularity as a sleeper workhorse: the Kaweco Perkeo. I sometimes see the Perkeo dismissed as Kaweco’s “other inexpensive pen,” for those who feel the Kaweco Sport is too small, or as a “first fountain pen”. I’ve tried the Perkeo many times over the years, but have never fully reviewed the pen until now. It tends to fall off my radar because other pens in this price bracket receive more attention and publicity, like the Pilot Kakuno and Platinum Prefounte/Preppy/Plaisir. As you’ll see, I think this sort of oversight is unwarranted, as the Perkeo is quite a nice pen for the money and stands on its own merits.

First, the Perkeo has a distinct look and arguably more “style” than other offerings at the sub-$20 price point. You can rarely say that an inexpensive fountain pen looks distinctive, but the Perkeo does, with the faceted design lending it a classical look, reminiscent of architectural columns. The cap includes the signature Kaweco medallion on the finial, and the nib bears Kaweco’s signature engraving.

Kaweco Perkeo Cap Finial — Kaweco’s signature finial medallion is one of my favorite design touches, across all their product lines.

Second, I found the writing experience excellent, and the Perkeo to be a functional, if no-frills, daily driver. It’s an extremely lightweight pen, but long enough and adequately balanced so that it doesn’t feel flimsy in the hand. The facets on the cap keep the pen from rolling off your desk, and the even narrower facets on the barrel give the pen a comfortable, “grippy” feel in your hand. Like the TWSBI ECO-T and the Lamy Safari, the triangular grip section will be something that either works for you or not, but I personally don’t really notice it.

Kaweco Perkeo All-Black Fountain Pen, In Hand — Those who enjoy the light weight of the Sport line, but wish it were longer, even posted, should give the Perkeo a try. The Perkeo posts easily, and I think it feels most balanced with the cap posted on the back.

In my experience, standard Kaweco nibs write best in the fine and medium widths, and the Perkeo is no exception. Actually, the Perkeo is only available in a fine or medium, and this medium I chose for review is an excellent writer, with a moderately wet, classic medium line. Perkeo nibs are slightly larger than Sport nibs (Bock No. 5s, I believe), and have a smooth-but-still-tactile writing feel that I enjoy. The model that I’ve chosen for review is the “All-Black”, which has a matching black-plated nib. Clips are also available, and the Perkeo also takes a full-size international converter, with both sold separately.

Kaweco Perkeo All-Black Plated Nib — The black plating has almost a “steel blue” cast to it.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I’ve been quite surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed the Kaweco Perkeo. While not an official “TGS 2025 resolution,” a goal of mine is to better familiarize myself with the entry-level and lower-priced fountain pen market, as I’ve recently had many new customers come into the shop looking for their first fountain pen. Every time I do a deeper dive into this particular market segment, it amazes me just how good the pens are. The Perkeo is an exellent writer, not just for beginners, but for anyone looking for a no-nonsense everyday fountain pen. (Now if only Kaweco would bring back the old “Indian Summer” color pattern with the black and gold/green color combination….)

Kaweco Perkeo Fountain Pens in a Rainbow Range of Colors — The Perkeo comes in a great selection of colors. I believe the bicolor models are being phased out in favor of solids, but hopefully they will bring them back.

We’ve begun stocking the full line of Kaweco Perkeos in our own shop. As you can see above, I chose the sharp-looking “All Black” model, which retails for $18 (the standard price). Kaweco has also started to release Kaweco Collection special editions in the Perkeo range, including last year’s “Infrared”. Like the Kaweco Sport line, the Perkeo can be customized with clips made especially for this pen (coming soon!), as well as a standard full-size international converter.

Thank you for reading! The Gentleman Stationer is supported by the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you’d like to visit our in-person location, you can view directions and up-to-date hours here.

Thursday Drops: Pilot Dip Pens, Midori MD, Caran d'Ache Fixpencils and More!

January 9, 2025

As we await anywhere from 6-10” of snow in the Nashville area, it’s a great time to be inside enjoying your stationery! We have a few new arrivals this week, ranging from the Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pens, to a fresh restock of Midori, to Caran d’Ache Fixpencils and more! It’s the perfect weekend to get some journaling in. Don’t forget to check out our Gently Used and Clearance, where we have some individual Inkvent samples and other products we’re clearing out at year-end.

Please note that due to the impending inclement weather, our brick and mortar store will likely be closed Friday and Saturday. Keep an eye on this page as well as our Instagram account for updates. Orders will continue to be packed and shipped, though please do not worry if you don’t see “movement” for a few days, as USPS and UPS will likely be delayed. Stay safe out there!

Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pens. These simple dip pens from Pilot have garnered rave reviews, mainly due to their excellent performance at a very low price point. The woodgrain versions have a larger diameter and feature a facet to prevent the pen from rolling off the desk.
Caran d’Ache Fixpencils. Both the standard matte black Fixpencil and the Fixpencil 884 (color versions) are back in stock! In addition, we have a few remaining “Creative Nomad” lettering sets, featuring brush pens and fineliners in addition to a limited edition Fixpencil.
Viarco Pencils. From one of the last operating European pencil factories, we are happy to offer these Portuguese woodcase pencils in six different vintage inspired designs, as well as a gift set where you can purchase a dozen of each style.
Midori MD and MD Light Notebook Restock. Midori MD and MD Light notebooks are a favorite, not least because they fit many different standard A5 notebook covers and notebook systems.
Midori MD Thick Paper. A thicker version of MD Paper, for those who really like to layer on the ink or use their journals for multimedia projects. We have both the A5 and Square versions in stock.
Stalogy 1/2 Year and 365-Day Planners. For those looking for a flexible undated planner (or a very functional notebook) with thinner paper, Stàlogy should be on your list of things to consider. We also have the Stàlogy heavy-duty stitched paper covers in stock, which are sized to fit both styles of notebooks.
Midori Notebook Tabs. We found a large stash of these Midori Notebook Tabs and Dividers that had fallen out of the online inventory. These are exceptionally useful for those who want to create their own planners and organizers using standard undated notebooks.
Tom’s Studio Lumos Refillable Fineliner Pens. Before the New Year, we received a restock of the Lumos Pro Duo and Lumos Pro fineliners in most colors.
Tom’s Studio Wren Refillable Fineliner. The compact, pocketable Wren was a surprise success last year! The matte blue (“Midnight”) and matte black colors are hard to keep in stock. We also have a restock of the Midnight Blue Fibre-Tip Ink, specially formulated for the Wren and Lumos Pens. Standard fountain pen ink works just fine, in my experience, but this stuff is excellent and I love the color.
Tom’s Studio Pocket Fountain Pens and Architect Nibs. During this same restock, we added pens that ship with the architect nib pre-installed, though you can also order the Architect Nib separately.

Colorverse Colorvent Favorite Inks-2024 — Four favorite Colorvent Inks from 2024.

So Who Won 2024? Final Thoughts on Inkvent vs. Colorvent

January 8, 2025

This “Inkvent Season” was the first year that Diamine and Colorverse went head to head with their respective “Inkvent” and “Colorvent” ink advent calendars. So who did it better? In my opinion, Colorverse, and it wasn’t even particularly close. This was a bit of a reversal, where I thought Inkvent was leading for the first 10 days. Colorverse not only grew on me over time, but ran away with the victory starting about halfway through the month.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Diamine Ink, but primarily their standard colors. I’m partial to more subdued, muted shades - even if I do enjoy a subtle shimmer ink on occasion - and this past year’s Inkvent focused too much on “extreme sheen”, which might be my least favorite ink property. I found these inks slow to dry, and they often featured so much gold or green sheen that you couldn’t even see the base color once the ink was on the page.

Diamine Cosmic Glow Sheen — Yep, the sheen on this ink led to smearing weeks later.

Of all the Colorverse Colorvent Inks, however, there were only a handful that I couldn’t see myself using on a regular basis. The Colorvent Calendar went heavy on the blues, reds, and multi-shading greys, and while many of these colors aren’t particularly “festive”, I personally appreciate the fact that I can use them year-round, especially after shelling out close to $200 for the Colorvent. It’s a lot of ink, and I actually plan to keep most of it!

Wishing Tree Inkvent 2024 — Diamine Wishing Tree was my favorite of the 2024 Inkvent Inks. You can check out my overall favorites from the first half of the two calendars here.

Colorverse Colorvent NGC-2264 — I REALLY want Colorverse to add this particular ink to their permanent collection. This was prominently featured in my recap of Inkvent/Colorvent, Part II.

Grab Some Select Inkvent Samples, While Supplies Last!

I can’t keep everything, so I’ve dropped this year’s Inkvent samples and some remaining from prior years into the “Gently Used/Clearance” section of the shop. Patreon Members already have had first crack at these, but there’s still a lot of ink left to go out the door. Also, please be sure to check out the rest of our brands, as we’ve recently brought in several new lines including Teranishi, Taccia, Diamine 150th Anniversary, and more!

Our brick and mortar shop is typically open for regular hours Thursday through Saturday, and otherwise by appointment. For directions and specific hours keep an eye on this page, which will reflect any changes due to anticipated inclement weather later this week.

Pilot Iro-Utsushi DIp Pens in Five Materials

New Arrivals: Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pens

January 7, 2025

By customer request, Pilot Iro-Utsushi dip pens have arrived! These relatively inexpensive dip pens feature a simple holder and a fountain pen nib in either fine or medium, and have become a favorite of enthusiasts looking for a simple way to write from an ink bottle or to sample fountain pen inks. Not as delicate as a glass pen, and not as temperamental as some calligraphy dip nibs, Pilot designed the Iro-Utsushi line for simplicity. Pens are available in five different colors: Black Wood, Natural Wood Grain, and Clear, Clear Blue, and Clear Black Acrylic.

Pilot Iro Utsushi Nib Close-Up — The pens do not have a cap, but Pilot does include a reusable rubber sleeve in the box that you can use to protect your nib during travel.

The Pilot Iro-Utsushi dip pens are priced as low as $8 for the resin models and only $20 for the wood grain versions, the latter of which have a facet on one side to serve as a roll stop. Available now!

Our brick and mortar shop is open for regular hours Thursday through Saturday, and otherwise by appointment. For directions and specific hours keep an eye on this page, which will also reflect any changes each week due to inclement weather, travel, etc.