Thursday Drops: Labor Day Weekend Arrivals from Roterfaden and TWSBI, Plus More Correspondence Cards!

It’s San Francisco Pen Show Week, and I’m super excited because the San Francisco Show is always one of my favorite annual events. I unfortunately had to miss last year’s festivities, but I’ll be set up in the Oak Room sharing table space with Vanness Pens and Galen Leather! Note that we don’t have a full show setup, just Roterfaden, including a handful of the TGS_25 A5 Slim Binders. Be sure to come by early on Friday if you’re looking to pick one up in person, but the easiest way to be sure that you get one is to order online. Over half of this shipment has sold within 24 hours of being made available for purchase, and while I expect it to slow down some, I can’t guarantee that anything will be available through the weekend. I’ve also brought a fairly large selection of Roterfaden A5 Taschenbegleiters with me, and I’ve split the stock so that most of these will remain available for online purchase as well as in-person in San Francisco.

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If you miss out on the stock available at the table in San Francisco, I will have my personal Roterfadens available for attendees to check out in person.

We also have the new TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Affogato, which pairs a deep brown expresso finish with TWSBI’s Onyx Trim, as well as a restock of the Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen, Lamy Dark Dusk AL-Stars, and Well-Appointed Desk Letterpress notepads in new designs. Happy Shopping!

Please note that our Nashville Brick-and-Mortar Store is closed this weekend due to Pen Show Travels. Thanks to everyone who came by for special hours on Tuesday. We will reopen the week of 9/2 for normal hours, and online orders will continue to ship in the normal 2-3 business day time frame. Kindly remember that Monday is Labor Day, which is a business/postal holiday.

1. Roterfaden TGS_25 Special Edition Restock. The second round of our collaboration with Roterfaden has arrived and is now available for purchase! This A5 Slim Taschenbegleiter fits most Traveler’s Standard refills, as well as the Lochby Voyager notebooks that contain 68g Tomoe River.

2. Roterfaden Replacement Elastics. Many of you who are interested in the TGS_25 expressed interest in replacement elastic bands. These thinner bands will fit A5 and B6 Taschenbegleiters, and are sold in two color sets each containing three different cords.

3. TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Affogato with Onyx Fountain Pen. The latest release from TWSBI’s “Breakfast Collection” has arrived, and this one is a stunner, pairing espresso-colored anodized trim with the black onyx plating.

4. Lamy Safari Multi Color Special Editions. The latest Lamy Special Edition release features an All-Black and All-White gloss Safari, paired with a multi colored finial and swappable bands that you can use to customize your pen. (I went with the All Black Safari and paired it with a Saffron/Orange band, which looks amazing.)

5. Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pens. At long last, we received a restock of the Pilot Custom 823 in Amber and Smoke. Between the three available colors, we have most nib sizes available.

6. Lamy “Dark Dusk” and “Mint” AL-Star Fountain Pens. Our allocation of the Dark Dusk fountain pens sold out nearly immediately and I had to reorder. While the midnight blue Dark Dusk has been the most popular by far, the cool green “Mint” pen should also prove popular.

7. Uni Signo RT1 Gel Pens. The RT1 is Uni’s upgraded retractable gel pen that features its signature fine tips but with a soft textured barrel that’s comfortable to hold. Ink is vibrant and dries quickly.

8. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Canvas Cover in Mint. The Ro-Biki notebook system uses another “A5 slim” style refill that’s slightly narrower than standard Traveler’s/TN. We have the Ro-Biki canvas cover available in a new Mint Green. To see how this system works, check out this YouTube video where I do a walkthrough demonstration.

9. Well-Appointed Desk Memo Pads. These letterpress memo pads from the Well-Appointed Desk/Skylab Letterpress now come in additional designs, including the popular “Side Quests” and all T-Rex/Velociraptor motifs.

10. Well-Appointed Desk and Skylab Letterpress Greeting Cards. As noted above, we continue to build out our correspondence and greeting card offerings in their own shop page. These vintage-inspired greeting cards are available individually or as an assorted pack of four, with one of each design.

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On the Way to San Francisco: Guess What Showed Up on the Way Out?

They’re back, and a day earlier than expected! We have a fresh restock of the TGS_25 Roterfaden, in the A5 Slim/TN size, ready to head out the door. Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered one of these covers via Patreon - we have plenty remaining from this shipment and have made them available for purchase via the standard store page. Additional Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter sizes are also available.

While I am working to get as many of these shipped and out the door to you today before we leave for the San Francisco Pen Show this afternoon, online orders for the TGS_25 may ship next week. We will have a handful of these available at the show (we will be combined with Vanness Pens at their table in the Oak Room), but given the crowd expected at the San Francisco Pen Show the best way to reserve one is to order online. Stock will NOT be held by request. Many thanks for all your support, and if you will be at the San Francisco show, come say hello!

Note that our brick and mortar store is closed this weekend (Thursday 8/27-Saturday 8/29) while we travel. We will reopen the week of September 1. Please check the main store page or our Google listing for current hours.

New Arrivals: The New TWSBI Diamond 580 AL Affogato with Onyx Trim, Now Available for Pre-Order!

TWSBI’s latest entry in the “breakfast collection” introduces the Diamond 580 ALR “Affogato” fountain pen, featuring TWSBI’s black onyx trim. The coffee inspired breakfast pens have proven popular, and this larger pen features the same black trim as the 580 ALR “Caribbean with Onyx” model. For those who prefer the TWSBI ECO, we are restocked on the other pens in this line, including the ECO Espresso Bronze, Caffé Bronze, Crème Rose Gold, and Matcha Green.

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On a slightly different note, we continue to expand our selection of high-end (yet “everyday”) gel pens and mechanical pencils, which now include the Uni Signo RT1 as well as the Kokuyo Enpitsu Sharp series. The Enpitsu Sharp pencils are particularly interesting because they come in lead sizes ranging from .3mm all the way up to 1.3mm!

Note that we have special hours this week since we are traveling to the San Francisco Pen Show. Our brick-and-mortar store will be closed this weekend (Thursday - Sunday), but online orders will continue to be processed/ship within our standard 3 business-day time frame. We are having special hours today (Tuesday 8/26) from 1-6pm, so get your shopping in if there’s anything you’d like to come see in person!

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.