Sunday Reading for August 24, 2025

1. True Motivations, Revisited (via A Gathering of Curiosities). Why do you collect pens? I think I fall squarely into the “for me” category. Most of the pens I consider “prized” are used solely at home or at work in the privacy of my office.

2. 2025 State of the Scholar, Tray One (via mnmlscholar). I plan to do my own collection-level check-in later this year. This post was a good reminder.

3. A #9 Nib??? The Junlai 930 (via Figboot on Pens). I can appreciate a larger nib but at some point I think #8 nibs are as big as I will go.

4. ColorVerse’s Colorvent White Hole: Should It Have Made the Cut? (via Inkdependence). There’s some controversy over the “Top 3” inks that ColorVerse chose from the 2024 Colorvent Calendar. In my mind, Christmas Star was the only one unique enough to justify “Top 3”, and a lot of exceptionally good inks were left by the wayside.

5. #12PenPerson Questions (via Olive Octopus). Here we go! I’ll need to start working on mine. These little exercises are a great way to get to learn more about people in the community.

6. Drillog Metal Dip Pen TESTED - What You Need to Know (via Doodlebud). The original Drillog had some issues with consistent ink flow and the company has been working on v2.0 for a while now.

7. Prime Number of Notebooks (via Line Variation). I’ve looked at these Delfonics bags before and wow, they apparently can hold a LOT of notebooks.

8. The Answer to the Problem Was Obvious (via Philofaxy). The answer is ALWAYS another notebook. And that’s quite an impressive collection!

9. Will I Ever Pass Up Free Pens? (via From the Pen Cup). Of course not. Someone should do a blog devoted solely to SWAG pens.

10. Ink Review: Finding my Purrfect Brown Ink (via Well-Appointed Desk). We’re finally headed into Fall, which means that it’s brown ink season!

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In Case You Missed It….

This week I explored a new-to-me aspect of the Pilot 4+1 Multi Pen: the ability to use the Uni Style Fit Gel Pen refill in what I consider to be one of the best 4+1 multi pens (4 pen refills plus a mechanical pencil) on the market. I also wrote a piece on how I help new users choose a fountain pen, including those who have absolutely zero familiarity with pens, and what our testing setup is like in our brick-and-mortar location.

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

One key customer request over this first year as a brick-and-mortar has been for more correspondence cards and letter-writing supplies. While we’ve long had an “InCoWriMo” header tag, the easiest way to spotlight dedicated correspondence products going forward is to have a stand-alone shop page devoted to notecards, letter sets, and more. This week we added products from Belle & Union out of San Antonio, Texas, a wide array of gel pens, including the Uni RT1 and Uni Zento, as well as the recently released Platinum Preppy Wa “Edo Monogatari” Modern Maki-e Series and the new Lamy Multi Color Safari! Be sure to check out Thursday Drops for a full list of new arrivals.

We’ve also continued to add new Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter models in A5, as well as expanded sizes that include a new B5 and additional B6 models. We have new Roterfaden B6 notebook formats, as well as replacement elastics for the softcover Taschenbegleiters. The next restock of the TGS_25 A5 Slim Roterfaden is on its way to me, and will be made available for resale upon our return from the San Francisco Pen Show, making the launch date on or about September 2. Patreon members have the ability to pre-order one of these.

We will have special hours this week due to travel to the San Francisco Pen Show, and will be open Tuesday from 1-6pm. If you’d like to pick up an order or shop in person, please plan to come that day.

Lamy

Belle & Union

Kokuyo Enpitsu Sharp

Well-Appointed Desk

Consider Further Supporting T.G.S.!

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 special promotions, 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)! The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive shop releases (including the Taschenstift “Violet Tendencies” and the Roterfaden TGS_25), the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. As noted above, we’ve recently started a Discord community for all paid Patreon supporters.

Ask TGS: How Do You Recommend Fountain Pens to New Users?

We’ve had a lot of new pen enthusiasts discover our brick-and-mortar shop recently, including many who have never held, much less used, a fountain pen! As someone heavily invested in the growth of this community, it’s always incredibly gratifying to meet new users, especially when they leave with their first pen. But “Where do I start?” can be a difficult question to answer. Here’s my typical process, and I thought it might be fun to give you a behind-the-scenes look.

1. Start at the Testing Station. We have a testing station set up in-store (see pic at top) so that customers can write with a rotating selection of certain pens that we offer. As of now, the fountain pen part of the tray contains four pens: a Platinum Preppy with a fine nib, two TWSBI ECO fountain pens with a medium and broad nib, and a TWSBI Diamond 580 with a stub. I always ask the customer to write a few lines on Maruman Mnemosyne paper with the medium TWSBI nib, from which we can either go finer or broader depending on preference. I find that a TWSBI Medium serves as a nice baseline for determining preferences, so there’s usually always one of those inked up and on hand.

2. Don’t go too expensive for a first fountain pen. I hesitate to venture too far outside the $20-40 price range for a first pen, and usually have an even less expensive option (here, the Preppy Wa) just to show that it’s possible to find a reliable everyday writer at a relatively inexpensive price point. Spending too much can lead to frustration with the inevitable learning curve, and I want people to feel free to take their new pen everywhere and write with it as much as they can without being overly afraid of loss or damage. I tend to start with Lamy Safaris, Kaweco Sports, or TWSBI ECOs.

3. Emphasize the combination of pen, ink, and paper for a good writing experience. Brands like Moleskine serves as a gateway to “nice” stationery for many people, so if I see that they come in with relatively non-fountain pen friendly paper I try to take time to explain that certain papers generally work better than others with fountain pens, and if there is a specific paper you want to use you may have to adjust the ink, nib size, etc. to get an optimal result if the paper isn’t intended for fountain pens. The Maruman Mnemosyne and Basic range works well and is usually what we have available for testing.

Sometimes people immediately recognize that a fountain pen isn’t for them, either because they don’t like the feel or because they hold the pen in such a way that it makes writing a clean line difficult. If that’s the case, we have a selection of gel, ballpoint, and rollerball pens (as well as pencils) available to compare. Even if they don’t find a fountain pen, it's valuable to be able to confirm preferences, which is the main reason I love having an in-store shopping option.

If you’ve been wanting to try a fountain pen (or any other type of pen for that matter), come see us in person and please don’t be embarrassed to ask questions. We wouldn’t have opened the store if we didn’t want to help new users discover this world. We are open this weekend from 10-6pm on Saturday, and will have special hours next week since we are traveling to the San Francisco Pen Show Thursday - Saturday.

For further reading and additional pen recommendations, please do check out the “Ask TGS/FAQ” page, as well as our “Best Pens” Guide that has been updated for 2025.

For those who will ask, here’s the current lineup, from left: Zebra Sarasa Grande Vintage, Uni Zento Flow, Uni One, Ohto CR02, Uni Jetstream Prime, Anterique Ballpoint in a custom parts-bin combo by yours truly, a Platinum Preppy Wa, TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Nickel, TWSBI ECO Creme/Rose Gold, and a standard TWSBI ECO in black.

Thursday Drops: B5 and B6 Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters, Correspondence Cards, and More!

Part I of our anticipated Roterfaden restock has landed, with nearly all of the standard edition Taschenbegleiters now available for purchase. Most interesting from this batch are the Red B5 folio (which also fits A5 due to adjustable clips!), as well as new soft leather B6 covers in brown and grey. We also have additional stock of the four-clip standard and four-clip adjustable in A5.

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Yes, that’s a Roterfaden with a Lochby B5 Notebook and Rhodia Composition Book.

As noted earlier this week, we have opened a new section of the store devoted to written correspondence, which will include letter sets, correspondence cards, and more going forward. We’ve also been busy restocking our standard ballpoints and gel pens for back-to-school and back-to-work season, including brands like Anterique, the new Uni Zento, and even more multi pens including the Pilot 4+1 and the Uni Style Fit. Happy shopping!

Come see us this week on Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, as well as Saturday from 10am-6pm, so you can see all of these and more in-person! Always check this cite here for updated hours.

1. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter B5. This size accommodates B5 notebooks, composition books, and the adjustable clips will shrink down to hold an A5 notebook as well. This is an experiment, so hopefully it will prove popular and Roterfaden will make more color options.

2. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter SO_20 in B6. B6 has become a more popular size in the U.S., and we’ve had more requests for different colors. We now have light brown and light grey.

3. Diplomat Viper Fountain Pens and Rollerballs. The Diplomat Viper is back in stock! This excellent hooded fountain pen features a smooth fine/medium nib and the ability to pair it with a ballpoint to create a matching (or non-matching) set. Personally, I picked a blue fountain pen and brown rollerball.

4. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Covers in Mint Green. We have a third color of the excellent Yamamoto Paper Ro-biki canvas notebook cover, “Mint Green,” along with the other Ro-Biki colors and all of the standard and passport refills.

5. Belle & Union Letterpress Correspondence Cards. These excellent fountain pen friendly cards are made here in the U.S.A., and feature stationery-themed designs, including two fountain pen versions. Envelopes included.

6. Belle & Union Die-Cut Vinyl Stickers. These analog and stationery-themed vinyl stickers feature motifs that include fountain pens, typewriters, and even a full-size pencil sticker!

7. Mottanai Memo Pads. While you can of course use these memo pads however you want, we’ve enjoyed them for short personal notes such as those you might include with a gift. Made from scraps of specialty Japanese paper generated by the offset printing process, each pad features three types of textured or patterned paper.

8. Anterique Restock. The Anterique “Mach Ball” .5mm ballpoint is one of our top-sellers, and probably the one product that people return to the store to stock up on because they like it so much.

9. Viarco Pencil Restock. All of the Viarco Vintage Series pencils are restocked, along with the standard Viarco office line.

10. Viarco Pencil Caps. These customer favorites are back! Sold in packs of 8 or 20, these simple spring-loaded Viarco pencil caps protect your long-point in your pencil case or pouch. It’s great that they’re inexpensive enough so that you don’t need to worry about losing them.

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Multi Pen Versatility: Combining the Pilot 4+1 Multi Pen with the Uni Style Fit Gel Refill

When I had ordered these Pilot 4+1 Multi Pens, I knew that they used the exceptionally good Acro ink BVRF-9 low-viscosity refill. I was NOT aware that Uni’s Style Fit gel refill uses the same format, and therefore fits this pen. For today, I wanted to do a quick post showing off this feature because I love when multi pens are versatile enough to allow you to use both ballpoint and gel inks at the same time, and the contoured grip on this Pilot makes it not only versatile but extremely comfortable to use.

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Here, you can see that I have taken one of the blue Pilot 4+1 pens and swapped in two .5mm Style Fit refills in Mandarin Orange and Blue-Black. The Acro Ink and Style Fit refills are exactly the same size and shape, allowing you to choose from among the 16 Style Fit gel colors in addition to the Acro Ink set.

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The Acro-Ink Refill (left) alongside the Style Fit (right). Note that the Style Fit and Pilot BVRF-8 refills DO NOT fit Uni 4+1 Multi Pens, as these use a shorter Jetstream Refill. It’s also excellent but just a different format.

Both the Uni Style Fit and Acro Ink refills provide a smooth writing experience. Of course, the edge in smoothness and color saturation will go to the gel pen, but Pilot’s Acro Ink deserves a place among the best ballpoint refills on the market. We added one of these Pilot multi-pens to our most recent Patreon Curated Box, and received a ton of positive feedback on the stock refills so these will be a shop staple for as long as we can continue to get them. (They are imports.)

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From top: Pilot Acro Ink in black, Uni Style fit in blue black, Pilot Acro Ink in red, and Uni Style fit in Mandarin Orange.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Personally, I favor the Pilot 4+1 body over the Uni Style Fit Meister 5, though both are good. The contoured wood grip on this Pilot Multi Pen is among the most comfortable I’ve used, and I was thrilled to discover that there is a gel refill I can pair with it that offers .28mm, .38mm, and .5mm options in 16 different colors. (Just to be clear, the reverse is also true - the Style Fit body will take the Pilot refill.)

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The Pilot 4+1 Multi Pen (Top) next to the Uni Style Fit Meister 5 (bottom). I prefer the Pilot’s grip, but the Uni does come in nearly a dozen different colors.

You can get the Pilot 4+1 and Uni Style Fit Multi Pens in our shop, along with the refills for both. As noted above, the Pilot 4+1 ships with four .5mm Pilot BVRF-8 refills (black, blue, red, and green, plus a .5mm mechanical pencil). The Uni Style Fit bodies are sold separately from the refills, so you can assemble your own customized pen.

Come see these pens in person! We are open this week from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Check out this page for up-to-date hours and news on special hours when we have to travel.

New Arrivals: Pre-SF Pen Show Roterfaden Restock, Part I (A4 and A5 Covers)

“Part One” of our Roterfaden restock is now live on the website! This first shipment contains a limited number of A4 covers (one, to be specific :)), and lots of A5 versions, including softcovers, a standard four-clip version, and the adjustable four-clip version that allows you to switch between A5 and A6 notebooks. I know that many of you are waiting for word on when we plan to restock the TGS_25 A5-slim, but all I can tell you is that those are still in production and have not yet shipped from Germany.

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The plan for this shipment is the same as with the last one: I plan to bring everything that does not sell in the next week or so to the San Francisco Pen Show, where they will be made available through the Vanness Pens table where I’ll be stationed. (T.G.S. will not have a stand-alone table at this show.) If you’ve been looking to pick one of these up, please get your order in within the next two weeks because I didn’t bring many back from D.C. (Even though I did order a larger volume this time, I wanted to give fair warning!)

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At Customer Request: More Formal Correspondence Stationery is coming

One repeat request that we’ve had from both our online and in-store customers is a section of the store devoted to correspondence cards and formal letter-writing stationery. We hear you! While of course you can always use standard looseleaf paper and writing pads for your longer letters, many customers have expressed a desire for notecards and “formal correspondence” supplies. Therefore, we’ve decided to separate this category out entirely to make it easier to do product referrals. During the most recent round of trade shows, we’ve ordered a LOT of new items, so look for these to be added in the coming days as we unbox and photograph the new arrivals.

You can always come see us in person, where we are expanding our store! Check this page for updated details on hours. This week we will be open from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and 10am-6pm on Saturday.