Thursday Drops: Multi Pens, Mechanical Pencils, NJK Sharpeners, and More!

This week we have lots of new arrivals from old favorites such as Uni Mitsubishi and Maruman, with the arrival of the updated Jetstream Lite Touch 4+1 Multi Pens and the new Mnemosyne Hardcover Journals. Maruman has been teasing an update to the Mnemosyne line for a while now, with new cover options and different formats. These are the first of the new arrivals, featuring five different cover options (including a cool textured mint), 240 pages of heavier 90gsm paper, and a dot grid ruling that has markers in the page margins that allow you to easily divide the page into sections for planning and bullet journaling.

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The “Steel Blue” Jetstream Lite Touch 4+1 is a winner.

Finally, as noted in yesterday’s post, we are running a flash promotion on notebook systems through tomorrow (Friday, March 7). Take 10% off all notebook systems using the coupon code “TRAVEL” at checkout. And if you’re in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, be sure to visit the Baltimore Pen Show this weekend.

Due to my travel schedule, brick and mortar hours are slightly modified: we will be open Saturday and Sunday, and closed Thursday and Friday. We regularly update our hours page, Google listing, and Instagram stories with any developments.

1. Uni Jetstream Lite Touch 4+1 Multi Pens. The latest version of the Uni 4+1 multi pen not only incorporates the latest Uni ink formulation, but some new colors and a slightly more streamlined shape. The Jetstream Prime Lite Touch 3 Multi Pens (with no mechanical pencil) will also be restocked soon. We also have Uni Jetstream Lite Touch Multi Pen Refills in stock and ready to ship. These fit both the new Lite Touch 4+1 as well as the Prime Lite Touch 3.

2. Uni Jetstream 4+1 Multi Pen Limited Edition Colors. We have new stock of the standard-refill Jetstream Multi Pens, featuring a handful of limited edition muted pastel colors with bamboo sections that will wear nicely over time. We also have the limited edition Karimoku collaboration colors, with darker wood sections made from repurposed furniture scraps.

3. Maruman Mnemosyne Hardcover Journals. The new Maruman Mnemosyne dot grid hardcover journals have arrived! Available in five different covers, these journals feature a new 90gsm Mnemosyne paper and 240 pages for notetaking or journaling.

4. Nakabayashi Logical Air Grid Notebooks. While all of our Nakabayashi paper has been restocked, the biggest news has been the release of a new Logical Air format, which is available with grid paper in B5 and A5 sizing.

5. NJK Pencil Sharpeners. These excellent long-point pencil sharpeners are back in stock in multiple colors, along with additional replacement blades. If you’d like to see a video of this sharpener in action, check out this YouTube Short.

6. Allex Scissors. Fluorine-coated scissors (the black ones) are back in stock. The Fluorine-coated models are ideal for cutting through sticky substances such as tape or glue.

7. Platinum Preppy Fountain Pens. The Platinum Preppy is a classic inexpensive fountain pen that’s a favorite of both new and experienced users alike. We have fine and medium nibs available, and the pens ship with a color-matched ink cartridge.

8. Teranishi Guitar Fountain Pen Inks. Nearly all colors of Teranishi Inks are restocked, including favorite Gentle Green! The Teranishi inks are known for their excellent flow and offbeat shades that are visually interesting without being overly loud. Read about some of my favorites here.

9. Tombow Mono Graph Fine Mechanical Pencils. The “Mono Graph Fine” pencil line takes on a more professional look than the standard “Shaker” pencils, with either a matte black or matte silver body, a lead sleeve that offers exceptional visibility for precise writing, and a finer diameter eraser.

10. Common Modern "La Moitié" Dipped Pencils. These pencils from Common Modern are manufactured by Viarco and feature a combination of natural wood and lacquer in three different colors. Sold individually or in a pack of six.

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We’re very happy to have these gorgeous dipped pencils from Common Modern, produced by the Swiss brand in partnership with Viarco.

Travel Interlude: First Bag Dump of 2025, Plus a Travel/Pen Show Week Promo

It’s been a while since I did a “Bag Dump” post, probably because I haven’t traveled much in the last six months. For a short 2-day trip like this one, I still carry a fair amount of stationery, especially when the travel relates to a work conference where I’ll be taking a lot of notes. Because this trip doesn’t involve a pen show (sorry, Baltimore!), you won’t see any fountain pens featured here, and this particular Rickshaw Sinclair Model-R permanently holds a fistful of workhorse rollerballs, ballpoints, fineliners, and gel pens, which is what you see above from left to right:

• Rickshaw Bagworks Sinclair Model-R Pen Case in Saffron Yellow. One of my absolute favorite pen cases for travel, the Sinclair Model-R (and previously, the Nock Co. Sinclair) makes a great modular case that’s simple to move between bags.

• Leuchtturm Drehgriffel Gel Pen. A review in process, and one where I keep going back and forth on how much I like the product. Some days, I love the Drehgriffel; on other days I wish it were slightly larger. Stay tuned.

• Lamy 2000 Rollerball. I’m not a proponent of the Lamy 2000 fountain pen for air travel, since hooded nib pens don’t generally don’t handle the pressure change well and tend to burp ink into the cap. Given how much I love the overall design of the Lamy 2000, however, one of the other Lamy 2000 formats always comes with me. Here, I’ve hacked a .5mm Ohto rollerball refill by taping a small piece of paper to the end to make it longer, so this is a rollerball pen with a fine refill that doesn’t feather or bleed. Perfection? Possibly.

• Tom’s Studio Lumos Pro Duo Fineliner, with Leather Rollstop/Grip. You all know how much I use these things, so I won’t belabor the point, but I added the rollstop to ensure this one doesn’t end up rolling off the table onto the floor. I don’t want to be that guy crawling up the aisle at a conference in the middle of the presentation looking for his pen. I swore that would never happen again.

• Gravitas Twist Ultemate Ballpoint. A pen that I picked up some time ago but have held off on reviewing while Gravitas worked through some production issues. It’s back in the queue for future commentary.

• Uni Jetstream Prime Lite Touch 3 Multi Pen. I don’t go anywhere without at least one Multi Pen. The recently released Lite Touch 3 made the cut for this outing.

• Lamy Swift Retractable Rollerball. Stay tuned on this one, as it has a few cool aspects that I’ve never seen on another pen. (Like a retractable clip?) I received a couple of these pens with the large rotating Lamy display I ordered earlier this month, and I plan to have more to list in the coming weeks.

• Montblanc Classique Ballpoint with Monteverde for Montblanc Gel Refill. Yes, you can turn your Montblanc twist ballpoint into a gel pen. These Monteverde for Montblanc gel refills are still around, and very good.

• Pilot S20 Ballpoint. While I love my Jetstreams, Pilot’s “Acro-Ink” is excellent, and the Pilot S20 might be my favorite ballpoint for long writing sessions.

• Notsu Vegan Leather Notecard Holder. It fit perfectly inside the Sinclair, what do you know? I plan to have this with me at my conference to discretely jot down any non-conference related thoughts that may be worth retaining.

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So what about notebooks? With me this week are the same three notebooks I picked to start 2025 (the Musubi is very close to completion), along with the Lochby Field Journal Mini, which sadly will be out of stock for a while, from what Lochby tells me.

And What’s a Pen Show Week Without a Promo? This Time on Notebook Systems!

If I’m attending a pen show, I’ll always have something on special to compensate for the fact that I’m away from the shop for a few days (until Friday), and also to let those who can’t attend the actual show to get in on the fun. Even though I won’t be at the 2025 Baltimore Pen Show, I thought it might be fun to do a flash promo on notebook systems through Friday, March 7. Take 10% off notebook systems, including Traveler’s, Midori, Lochby, Laconic, and Stàlogy, using the code “TRAVEL” at checkout. I hope you use them for something fun!

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I’ve switched things up some lately, but since I prefer aisle seats with little under-seat storage, this week’s travel companion was my classic Filson Twill Briefcase.

Did you like this post? The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. To accompany this post, I filmed a short “unpacking” video (a true “bag dump”), which you can now view on the YouTube Channel!

New Arrivals: Uni Jetstream Lite Touch 4+1 Pens, Plus New Tombow Mono Graph Fine Pencils!

Lots of new stuff is landing this week from Japan, including a fresh shipment of Uni Jetstream Lite Touch Multi Pens in the classic Uni 4+1 format! (Well, a slightly modified version of the classic format.) The Lite Touch version features not just the new ink formulation, but a slightly more streamlined, compact pen body which some may find to be a better fit than the original. You do, however, lose the bamboo or Karimoku wood sections on this particular pen. :) Note that we now have the Lite Touch Multi Pen refills available for purchase separately. These will also fit the Jetstream Prime Lite Touch 3 pens.

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The metal barrel has a “softfeel” texture over the grip area, which makes the Mono Graph Fine quite comfortable to use.

We also have a new arrival from Tombow: The Tombow Mono Graph Fine, which is a new softfeel mechanical pencil that features a .5mm or .3mm lead size plus a more precise eraser. This pencil has a more professional look than the “shaker” line, though it still lands at a very reasonable price point.

Our brick and mortar store hours will be slightly different this week. I am traveling Thursday and Friday, so we will have open hours Saturday from 9am-6pm and Sunday from 1-5pm. I hope to see you this weekend!

Sunday Reading for March 2, 2025

1. Wancher Kyoto Celluloid (via Figboot on Pens). Wancher is at it again, with a rare or relatively high-end material with a price aimed at keeping the product accessible. These celluloid pens will be available via Kickstarter. In the past, I’ve seen this particular celluloid referred to as “Koi” style.

2. What Works: Pocket Notebooks (via Line Variation). A shout out to the practicality of pocket notebooks, and particularly the top-bound variety.

3. Spring 2025 London Pen Show (via Dapprman). If you’re in the UK, and aren’t at the ongoing London Pen Show, you’re running out of time! Let me know how it was.

4. Iroful A5 Dot Grid Review - The Perfect Notebook for Vibrant Colors (via dwrdnet). Iroful paper shows off color quite well, and has been described by many as a replacement for Cosmo Air Light (now discontinued?).

5. Colorverse v. Kakimori: Dip Nib Showdown (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I need to get my hands on a couple of the new Colorverse Dip Nibs for more extended testing. I like the reservoir idea, but found that they had a very “sharp” feel in the limited experience I’ve had with them.

6. Zebra 301: A Ballpoint Pen Review (via Writing at Large). Sometimes a ballpoint pen absolutely is the right pen for the job.

7. 1912 Diary from France (via Notebook Stories). I love reading the antique notebook and memorandum posts. This one is in great condition, with a lovely stylized title page.

8. Laban Skeleton Fountain Pen Review (via Pen Addict - Sarah). Sarah’s longer review confirmed my initial impressions about this pen. Visually, it’s quite nice, but the price point is challenging for the build quality.

9. Have You Joined the Ink Pony Club? (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana discusses a fun idea from Olive Octopus Ink! If you enjoy coloring/painting with ink, check this one out.

10. Index Cards That Actually Work Well with Fountain Pens (via dwrdnet). Many thanks for running through all these index cards. I’m becoming more of an index card enthusiast and have started carrying many of these brands.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I looked at Levenger’s latest “Freeleaf” paper iteration, as a brand I’ve used forever but which has shown some batch inconsistency over the years in terms of how their paper behaves with fountain pens. Spoiler: the current Levenger paper is quite nice. Yesterday I also talked about three desk accessories that I find critical to my own productivity, and which often go overlooked as “upgrades” by stationery enthusiasts despite not costing a lot of money.

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The Tombow Mono Graph Fine mechanical pencils hit the shop this week, which feature either a .5mm or .3mm tip size, as well as a fine diameter eraser.

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

We’re constantly bringing in more products, including a lot more useful desk and office accessory-type items such as more Notsu note/index card sets, and Levenger pen cases. We’ve also received more fountain pens across the price spectrum, from Platinum Preppies to the latest TWSBI Espresso Bronze Eco to the Lamy 2000 in Stainless Steel. Oh, and did I mention we just got more of the Uni Jetstream Lite Touch Multi Pens in the 4+1 format? Be sure to check out the weekly Deals and Drops post for up-to-date information on the latest arrivals.

Mnemosyne Journals

Uni Jetstream

Tombow Pencils

Platinum

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives and Sample Sales

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Desk Accessories: What's on My Desk, at Work and at Home?

I’ve written a lot about desk accessories this week, and I mentioned in an earlier post that as a shopkeeper, the desk and reading accessories section is probably my own favorite area of the shop since so much of myself goes into the curation. In talking to customers, I’ve found that a lot of people focus on the pens, pencils, and paper side of things but don’t put as much thought into other aspects of analog work. Today I want to talk about three categories of desk accessories that I personally recommend, and which can immediately upgrade your workflow.

• A Book or Pad Holder. In today’s world, even if you take notes by hand, on paper, you will, in all likelihood, eventually need to either type those notes up and/or incorporate them into a longer form piece of writing. The single most used piece of office equipment (other than my pens and my computer) is the Hightide folding metal bookstand. I keep one in my home office and one at each of my work desks, and use them to hold notebooks, notepads, tablets, or anything else I want to be able to look at while I transcribe notes or review source material. Anecdotally, I’ve heard they are also very useful for those who transcribe books as part of their journaling practice. I’m not sure there are a ton of options on the market here, and in any event I’ve settled on the Hightide version because (1) they’re relatively inexpensive, making it easy for me to have duplicates pretty much everywhere I work; and (2) they fold flat, so they slip into a briefcase and I can take them with me when I travel.

• Scissors. Don’t underestimate the utility of a quality pair of scissors. I used cheap scissors for years, but until I spent just a little bit more money on a pair of Allex desk scissors at C.W. Pencil Enterprise (R.I.P.), I didn’t realize what I was missing. Quality scissors tend to be sharper, more precise, and don’t gum up when you have to cut through things like glue and tape, especially if you buy scissors with fluorine-coated blades.

• Page Markers. I’m a heavy annotator, meaning that I mark up documents and books as I read, and I nearly always end up tagging passages for later review. My own personal favorite is the Book Dart, but people also love Levenger Page Nibs and even Washi Tape, where you can mark a passage by folding a tiny piece over the edge of the page. If there’s one category of office supplies where I probably should try to economize but can’t, it’s on page markers, because I go through tins of these things and can’t stop. Pro tip: use them to divide your notebooks into multiple sections.

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Why Do You Focus on This Stuff and Where Can I See It in Person?

I enjoy helping people assemble a workspace that’s both functional and enjoyable for them to use, which is why I like maintaining a physical shop location in addition to having an online presence because this type of product can be hard to visualize without seeing it in person. I can talk about this stuff for hours, and even though T.G.S. would probably make more money focusing on more expensive luxury goods, desk accessories provide a LOT of value to users because they tend to be “buy-it-once” items. (My Allex Scissors are now six or seven years old and work as well as they did when I bought them, and my Hightide Bookstands are the same ones I purchased for myself back in 2020.) If you can’t come see us in person in Nashville, I’ll be taking T.G.S. to the Arkansas Pen Show at the end of March 21-23, where I’ll have desk accessories as well as all the pens, pencils, and paper you can handle.

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.