New Arrivals: The Caran d'Ache "Black Code" Lineup Has Expanded!

For 2025, Caran d’Ache has expanded their line of “Black Code” products to include a new “Black Code” Fixpencil and an 849 “XL Ballpoint” - a more substantial version of the classic 849 ballpoint pen with similar dimensions to the ever-popular Caran d’Ache 849 Rollerball. These join the Black Code 849 Ballpoint and Black Code Mechanical Pencil in what Caran d’Ache is now referring to as the “Black Edition” collection.

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I’ve been anxiously hoping for a Black Code Fixpencil for quite some time.

The “Black Code” ballpoint has been a T.G.S. hallmark since we launched in 2020, and the entire collection features a matte black finish with a matte black clip and matching black knock. The standard Black Code Ballpoint and Black Code Mechanical Pencil have also been restocked.

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BONUS: We have a small stock of a much-anticipated Uni Jetstream refill available for purchase in the store. We’re not sure when/if we will be able to get more, but if the Jetstream M17 interests you, be sure to pick one up!

In-Person Store hours will be our standard operating hours this week! Please come by and say hello if you are in the area.

Sunday Reading for April 13, 2025

1. New Project! Gravitas BiFrost (via Figboot on Pens). Though it looks like these have sold out already, congrats on another great project!

2. Shorthand Shop Visit (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I love a good shop visit recap. While I’m familiar with some of their notebooks, I didn’t realize that they also had a physical store.

3. Pocket Notebooks Are Back? (via Stationery Pizza). I’ve been noticing more interest in pocket notebooks once again, from Field Notes to the new Lochby Sidekick. Is the trend coming back around?

4. Thank You Atlanta, I Think? (via Pen Addict). While I wasn’t quite as down on this particular show as Brad - I think the issues with organization are a one-off and the result of a set of circumstances that likely won’t happen again as help arrives for the future - he makes some valid points applicable to all existing pen shows, which need to up their game as there’s a lot more competition for attendee dollars.

5. Top 5 Fountain Pens Under $50 (via Blake’s Broadcast). Some great options here! There’s at least one that I haven’t considered.

6. How Will Tariffs Affect Notebook Prices (via Notebook Stories). I guess we will find out over the next 90 days - or beyond. I talked a bit about this in Wednesday’s post.

7. Ensso Bolt (via Dapprman). I applaud Ensso for original ideas, as new riffs on retractable fountain pens are few and far between. I think it remains to be seen how the silicon membrane/seal stands up over time.

8. Unboxing the Rickshaw Banzai Bag: The Ultimate Pen and Stationery Bag (via dwrdnet). I agree that the Banzai Bag is likely the “ultimate” in stationery carry. It’s an exceptionally good pen show bag where you don’t want to have a huge clunky bag knocking into people.

9. Video Review: TWSBI Go (via Scrively). The Go has always been a great option for serial ink samplers, since it’s extremely easy to clean and fill.

10. Why Pencil? (via Pens! Paper! Pencils!). If you’re not following this site, you should. Ian’s pencil drawings are absolutely incredible.

11. Review and Giveaway: Benu Pixie Fountain Pen (via Well-Appointed Desk). The Pixie has certainly garnered a lot of attention since it’s release. A bit too small for me, but pocket pen fans should check it out.

In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog, I recapped my trip to the 2025 Atlanta Pen Show, where I personally had a great weekend visiting with readers and customers in person. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road at shows this month, and while I was away I filmed a ton of video content in addition to taking pictures. This week I released a video showing what it’s like to get a nib ground at a show, when my friend Chad had Matthew Chen grind a broad Pilot nib into a Kodachi. I personally had two pens ground to Kodachis, and I talked about these particular grinds in my video where I broke down my Arkansas Pen Show Haul.

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Introducing the T.G.S. x Hinze Pens “Violet Tendencies” Taschenstift: Our Latest Exclusive Release!

At last weekend’s Atlanta Pen show, we did a “soft launch” of our latest exclusive release: the T.G.S. x Hinze Pens “Taschenstift” fountain pen in a CrazyFiber micarta material called “Violet Tendencies”. CrazyFiber/micarta is a unique material made from stacked cloth that has been treated with resin and cured so that it can be turned on a lathe. This gives the pen a unique feel in the hand, and this particular Taschenstift model is designed to post by friction fit rather than threads on the barrel. We have a limited number of pens for this round, with more as a possibility if there is sufficient interest. Patreon members and newsletter subscribers get a special price, so be sure to check your Patreon feed/e-mail inbox for details.

This week we also received a full Pilot restock, additional Kuretake Art Nouveau inks, Herbin Inks, and new to us Lamy models!

Pilot Pens

Clairefontaine

Kaweco

Uni

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

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), and would like early/extra access to shop releases and gently used stationery opportunities, consider supporting us via Patreon. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, the T.G.S. Patreon includes these as well as access to early shop releases (including the Taschenstift “Violet Tendencies”), the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly Zoom meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount.

What's It Like to Get a Nib Modified at a Pen Show? Follow Along!

So this year at the Arkansas Pen Show, I decided to do something a little different, and filmed a video of Matthew Chen of Matthew’s Nib Works grinding a broad Pilot nib into a Kodachi (his take on the Naginata-Togi style grind that has become so popular lately). In this video, I show Matthew grinding the nib, and I also filmed the post-grind testing process and talk a bit about how the Kodachi is shaped and how the nib writes.

The Kodachi grind on my Lamy 2000 Stainless Steel.

For those interested in reading more about Naginata/Kodachi grinds, you can check out my review of Gena Salorino’s (Custom Nib Studio) “Perspective” grind, which has similar features. My prior video breaking down my Arkansas Pen Show “haul” also had a couple of Kodachi grinds featured - both from Matthew - though they are not the exact pens featured in today’s release. I hope you enjoy, and I have at least one more video of pen show content on the way!

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us by purchasing directly through the T.G.S. Curated Shop, or by pledging via Patreon.

Thursday Drops: New TGS x Hinze Pens Taschenstift in Violet Micarta, Pilot Restock, Lamy Swift Capless Rollerballs, and More

The big news this week is the launch of the latest collaboration from T.G.S. and Hinze Pen Company: a micarta “Taschenstift” Pocket Pen in a material dubbed “Violet Tendencies"! We’ve worked with Hinze for over a year on a special Taschenstift model for this material, and have opted for a micarta pen that friction-posts the cap on the barrel rather than the standard design that uses threads. The pen features a dark purple section and Lilac anodized nib. All pens are hand-turned by Hinze Pen Co., feature hand-tuned nibs, and will ship with a mini converter to allow you to fill from a bottle. Retail price is $250, with a special price available for T.G.S. Patreon members.

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The Lamy Swift Capless Rollerball (shown here in matte black) has been a favorite new addition.

We’ve dodged a bit of a bullet on price increases (for now) as many tariffs have been postponed. In any event, we’re continuing to increase our stock to ride out any future tariff-related volatility, and have received restocks of Pilot, Lamy, and more. We’ve also added some new products, including Clairefontaine Hardcover A4 Notebooks, which many have requested, and brought back the A7 Life.Unplugged pocket notebooks which will fit the Lochby Sidekick.

We are open this week, Thursday-Saturday! Check out our hours for each day here. Saturday is always the long day with 10-6 opening hours. I hope to see you all in person soon!

1. T.G.S. x Hinze Pens Taschestift “Violet Tendencies”. Our latest release in collaboration with Dallas-based Hinze Pens! All nib sizes remain available.

2. Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pens. We have additional stock of the Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pens in the matte trim finishes, as well as the black and blue “Carbonesque” barrels.

3. Pilot Iroshizuku Ink. We are restocked on most colors of Pilot’s excellent Iroshizuku bottled ink, and we have them in cartridges as well as bottles.

4. Lamy Swift Capless Rollerball Pens. One of my favorite new discoveries from the deep LAMY back catalogue, which I’ve never used until this year.

5. Lochby A5 Field Folio and A5 Field Journal. The Field Folio adds a zipper closure to Lochby’s popular A5 Field Journal.

6. Lochby Sidekick. This small wallet/notebook/penholder is sized to fit A7 notebooks, which we now have back in stock. See the entry immediately below.

7. Clairefontaine A7 Notebooks. These popular two-packs of A7 notebooks are back! Featuring fountain-pen friendly Clairefontaine paper, each comes with one black notebook and one colored version. Colors are sorted randomly.

8. Blackwing x George Harrison Songwriter’s Notebook. Developed in collaboration with the George Harrison Estate, this A5 notebook features 80gsm paper and comes with one exclusive Blackwing pencil unavailable anywhere else.

9. Kuretake Ink Café Art Nouveau Fountain Pen Inks. These inks feature some of the prettiest box/bottle artwork I’ve ever seen, based on classic Art Nouveau posters and advertisements.

10. Clairefontaine Hardback A4 Notebooks. These hardcover notebooks contain 96 sheets/192 pages of fountain pen friendly Clairefontaine paper (lined/ruled).

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2025 Atlanta Pen Show Recap: Time for a Reboot (Plus a Note on Tariffs)

I want to start by saying that I had a great time at the Atlanta Pen Show this past weekend, and overall T.G.S. did very well at this event. Despite all the economic uncertainty, our community is vibrant, energized and supportive, and I have no doubt pen shows and the community as a whole will come through this latest crisis. In my view, if the 2008 financial crisis and the multi-year pandemic shutdown didn’t kill shows, they must have a pretty strong foundation and people will figure out how to keep them going. For most of us (myself included), this isn’t a hobby, it's part of who we are and how we think and work, and I plan to do whatever I can to stick around and pull through and make sure readers and customers continue to have as wide a selection as possible for their stationery experience.

That said, more than the depressing state of world affairs cast a pall over the 2025 Atlanta Pen Show. The show was not nearly as well-run as in years past. The vendor and seminar lists were never updated (even now the site shows 2024 names), no seminars were even held, and there was a lot of confusion among potential attendees about whether the show would even take place. This wasn’t an economy issue - it was purely on the showrunners. While the organizers certainly dropped the ball for 2025, I don’t expect these problems to continue next year as I understand they were plagued by a lack of available help, which is already being addressed.

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Tri Star Studios attended as a vendor for the first time. I ended up buying a pen from Scott, who also had ceramics from Tracy Cullen Pottery. See Saturday’s post for details.

While it’s never fun when a show doesn’t run smoothly, I still had a blast. I’ve never had a table at the Atlanta Pen Show, and like the Arkansas Pen Show, I really enjoyed getting to meet so many long-time customers in person. As long as my family schedule permits, I will continue to return. Despite organizational snafus, there was a good mix of vendors, including many independent makers showing for the first time, though the show did lack a major source of ink because both Vanness and Dromgoole’s could not attend this year.

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I’m perfecting the art of the one-table setup. :)

T.G.S. also had a good show, business-wise. As I discussed post-Arkansas, my goal for shows is to bring goods that other vendors don’t tend to focus on, including non-fountain pens like the ever-popular Tom’s Studio Lumos and Wren series, notebook systems from Roterfaden and Lochby, and more unusual niche inks. (This past weekend I brought inks from Teranishi and Tom’s Studio.) I had several people comment on the selection and express appreciation for doing something different, which makes me think I’m on to something. :)

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I was most disappointed that the bar no longer had any beer on tap. And ran out of most bottles on Friday.

Response to Reader Questions: What About Tariffs?

Like many other retailers, I’ve been fielding inquiries since the weekend about how U.S. tariffs will impact the pen industry and U.S.-based retailers. Unfortunately, I have to say that the likely impact is obvious: there will almost certainly be higher prices in the future if the current tariff rates hold. Most of the industry is, at least for now, import-dependent. While there are some stationery products that are made in the U.S.A., even these may have ties to imported components and raw materials, machinery, and other elements of the supply chain that are not immediately obvious. Please remember that retailers have very little control over prices, which tend to be dictated by manufacturers and/or distributors. Most of us sell our goods at the lower end of the permissible range at whatever markup is necessary to support a viable margin that allows us to keep the lights on. The prices we charge are directly impacted by the prices we are charged, and contrary to some of the speculation I have seen in various pen forums, stationery is not a high-margin business capable of completely absorbing tariffs of this magnitude. Brick and mortar retailers have even slimmer margins due to overhead costs.

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Post pen-show and restocking chaos. We will be cleaned up and ready to go by Thursday, and the brick and mortar shop will be open Thursday-Saturday for the foreseeable future. Check out this page to stay up to date on hours.

That said, I believe that it’s also unlikely the current tariff rates will hold. [Edit: They’ve been paused as of 4:00pm on 4/9. Guess we’ll talk again in 90 days?] The more plausible scenario is that over time, they will be negotiated down to something that still stings but will be more manageable. Most retailers and distributors have likely been stocking 4-6 months worth of inventory - if not more - to ride out the initial turbulence, but for things like limited edition releases that need to be ordered in the next several weeks, it may be a different story. I try to be transparent so I will keep everyone updated as I hear more about how the industry is responding, but for now it’s fair to say that nobody really knows how this will all shake out.

Many thanks to everyone who has expressed support and/or concern, and I’m extremely grateful for your patronage! T.G.S. is in a good position, and because we’re small with lower overhead than most we will be nimble enough to adjust as circumstances dictate. In addition to having a large supply of most major brands, we try to stock a range of goods across many different price points to ensure that people will be able to continue to enjoy their stationery no matter the circumstances.

Come see us in person this weekend! Our physical shop is open Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and 10-6pm on Saturdays.