Sunday Reading for October 26, 2025

1. Inked Up for the 2025 Pelikan Hub (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Kimberly completes her annual inking of the birds for this past Friday’s Pelikan Hub!

2. Pelikan Hub 2025 in Bremen (via Bleistift). I was also curious how the first Hub would go, given the merger and corporate upheaval at the company.

3. Pelikan Hubs 2025 and On Being a Female Collector (via Writing at Large). Not all experiences were necessarily positive, and efforts need to be made to ensure everyone’s experience is as welcoming as possible.

4. Three Months Without Wanting to Buy a Pen (via a Gathering of Curiosities). I feel this. These sorts of periodic breaks seem necessary in any sort of acquisition-driven hobby.

5. Fill ‘em Up! (via From the Pen Cup). Mary writes about an interesting idea for a journaling technique that I’ve never heard of.

6. My Ensso Bolt V2 Fountain Pen Finally Arrived! (via dwrdnet). I finally got my hands on one of these at Friday night’s Pelikan Hub and came away impressed with the mechanism and how smooth the nib wrote. I’m looking forward to a long-term review!

7. “Risou No Heya” Stationery Store in Taipei (via Inky.Rocks). What a cool visit to a stationery store specializing entirely in washi, stamps, and stickers.

8. A Pen Made from Skateboards? Black Robin Pens Skatepen (via Figboot on Pens). This sort of creativity in both materials and design is what I love about the small maker community.

9. Most Satisfying Capping Ever? Laurett’s Stealthread (via Figboot on Pens). One of the coolest capping mechanisms I’ve seen, with superbly detailed machining.

10. Uni-Ball Zento Gel Pen (.38mm): Comparing the Standard and Flow Models (via Well-Appointed Desk). The Zento continues its crazy rise in popularity. We had to restock again long before I thought we would. The Flow is probably my favorite, as I don’t get the secondary market craze on the Signature.

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In Case You Missed It…

After finishing the move to the new shop space and taking a breather after last weekend’s event, I finally got around to reviewing one of the last “standard” pens I’ve never really used or reviewed, the Pilot Prera. I also wrote a piece on my favorite pens for long writing sessions, which is a topic I’ve been thinking about this week in response to both customer questions and my own efforts to restart a languishing journaling habit.

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The interior of the new Roterfaden TGS_25 Cover!

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop: Roterfaden TGS_25 Covers Return in a new colorway

Wow, we had a ton of new stuff hit the shop this week! The big news is that our Roterfaden exclusive, the TGS_25 in an A5-slim size, is back in stock. We now offer this cover in both dark green and light grey leather exteriors, with dark grey and light green suede interiors, respectively. We also now carry one of my favorite journals, the Bindewerk Flex Linen A5, soft and hardcover Tomoe River notebooks in 52gsm and 68gsm paper weights, and a major Kaweco restock with nearly all of our Sports and AL-Sports restocked, in addition to some new releases and colors! Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for details on recent new arrivals and releases.

Our brick-and-mortar shop will be open this week normal hours, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm Saturday. Please note that our shop/showroom is in a new space on the front of the building in Suite 107.

Kaweco

Tomoe River

Carl Pencil Sharpeners

New Anterique!

How You Can Further Support 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. The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive shop releases, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly meetups. Patreon supporters also have access to the first two episodes of a new podcast experiment I’ve been working on with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. More on this later, but for the time being the initial episodes are Patreon-exclusive.

My Favorite Fountain Pens for Longer Writing Sessions

I frequently get this question, and it’s one that I feel is important because it touches on one of the key reasons that so many of us get into fountain pens in the first place: They offer a much more comfortable writing experience over longer sessions, whether that means an extended journaling session, drafting a novel, or pulling together a longer professional document like a report or a legal brief. Personally, I think better when I’m working by hand offline, and over the years I’ve explored pretty much all the analog writing techniques out there. A fountain pen and a good writing pad remains my favorite.

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Both of these grips are extremely comfortable for me to use.

What Factors Are Important for Comfortable Long-Form Writing?

If I’m preparing for a longer working session, I’ll consider three main factors when choosing a fountain pen: comfort, ink capacity, and the nib. In terms of comfort, I’m mainly talking about grip and balance. I have to be able to hold the pen easily for a long period of time, which means a comfortably grippy section and a pen barrel that doesn’t feel too weighted towards the front or the back of my hand. In terms of ink capacity, the pen doesn’t necessarily need to hold a ton of ink, but if I’m going away on a writing retreat or work trip I often will choose a piston filler just so I don’t have to worry about refilling (though a Pilot cartridge will last me a VERY long time). Finally, I’ll typically opt for a smooth medium nib, which gives me the least fussy writing experience and lets me “get lost” in whatever project I’m working on.

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The Lamy 2000 (top) next to the Pilot Custom 74.

My Top Three Fountain Pens for Long Writing Sessions in My Personal Collection

• Lamy 2000. Long-time readers of the blog won’t be surprised by my top choice. I tell anyone who will listen that if I had to get rid of all my fountain pens and keep just one, I would probably keep a Lamy 2000 (though depending on the rules I might try to keep multiple Lamy 2000s in different nib sizes). For whatever reason, this pen fits my hand perfectly. I love the lightweight Makrolon (brushed fiberglass composite) construction, which when posted has near perfect balance. And Lamy’s 14k medium nibs are among the best out there, in my opinion.

• Pilot Custom 74. A close second to the Lamy 2000, Pilot’s Custom 74 is my cartridge-converter fountain pen of choice. I actually use refilled Pilot cartridges more often than Pilot converters, given how much ink they hold. The Custom 74 is another one of those pens that seems to mold itself to my grip, to where I can write with this pen for hours with very little hand fatigue.

• Leonardo Momento Zero. The Momento Zero has a similar shape to the Lamy 2000, perhaps slightly larger, and if you prefer an even larger pen you can always opt for the Momento Zero Grande. Personally, the standard size fits my hand better than the Grande. Leonardo mainly uses JoWo nibs, which are reliable, if unspectacular, writers. As I mentioned above, sometimes when you want to get lost in a project, choosing a somewhat boring nib over a temperamental needlepoint or an exotic grind lets you focus more on the project itself than the tool you’re using.

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What About Budget-Friendly Choices?

The three pens I’ve chosen above are big purchases, and those looking to experiment with fountain pens for the first time probably don’t want to splurge on a $200+ gold-nib fountain pen that they don’t necessarily know if they’ll like. Two pens that I’ve used in the past for travel writing (in places I didn’t necessarily want to take an expensive pen) are the ubiquitous TWSBI ECO and the even more inexpensive Pilot Kakuno (complete with smiley-face nib). Despite garnering reputations as “beginner” fountain pens, these are excellent low-cost writing instruments. I consider both well-balanced with reliable nibs.

Conclusions and Further Reading

There’s no real one-size-fits all analysis here. I can offer my recommendations, as I frequently do at shows and in the shop, but choosing a fountain pen that you can write with for long periods of time takes a lot of research and personal experimentation to determine what meets your needs and preferences. One resource you may find helpful is the “Workhorse Pens” series of articles that I’ve written over the years. Do you have a favorite pen for longer writing sessions? Tell us about it in the comments below!

I try to periodically answer questions from readers and customers that frequently appear in my inbox, social media DMs, and customer questions. You’re always welcome to stop by our store and talk to me in person, and I maintain a FAQ (Ask TGS) section on the site. If you enjoy our content, we are supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Thursday Drops: Roterfaden TGS_25, Inkvent Calendars, New Lochby, and a huge Zento and Anterique Restock!

While I took a couple days earlier this week to recover from last weekend’s festivities, we’re right back at it today with all sorts of new arrivals, including plenty of items that just cleared customs! Our pre-holiday shipment of Roterfaden TGS_25 Taschenbegleiters arrived today, with both the Dark Green and new Light Grey versions available for purchase immediately. This will likely be our last shipment for 2025, but I ordered a lot and I expect them to last.

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The Lochby Quattro v2 is longer and capable of holding larger pens more comfortably.

Diamine Inkvent Calendars have also arrived and are going fast. While I’ve yet to open one, I hear that this year’s calendar will feature permanent inks as well as sheen, shimmer, and standard versions. Finally, we have the 2026 Traveler’s Notebook Diaries and Special Accessories, new Lochby Cases and Notebook Covers, and additional Uni Zento gel pens and Anterique Pens.

We are open in-store this weekend, 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday and 10am-6pm on Saturday, but please keep in mind that the main shop has moved from Suite 113 to Suite 107. Come see these and many other products in person!

1. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter TGS_25. Our A5 Slim Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter has cleared customs, with a fresh shipment arriving today! I have made both the dark green version and new light grey version available for purchase. This will almost certainly be our last shipment of these before the holidays.

2. Diamine Inkvent Calendars. The Colorverse Advent Calendars sold out just in time for Diamine to arrive! We still have a handful of Inkvent Calendars remaining, and I don’t expect these to last through the weekend.

3. Bindewerk Flex Linen Cover A5 Journals. Those who enjoy textured paper should love these Bindewerk books, which feature a laid texture with light ruling on ink friendly Italian paper. Many different colors are available!

4. Traveler’s Company 2026 Dated Refills. We have both Standard and Passport sizes available.

5. Lochby Mini Venture Pouch. Lochby has released the classic Venture Pouch in a smaller size, for more compact modular carry! These feature the same inverted design, with a pouch on top and a zippered pen case on the bottom. Watch a demonstration of how they work here.

6. Lochby Quattro v2 Pen Case. The original Quattro pen case has been a best seller for us ever since it launched, and the Quattro v.2 adds a touch of length and wider slots to hold up to 8 pens, if they’re slimmer and/or you don’t mind your pens touching.

7. Lochby Field Folio, Now in A6! Lochby has expanded the Field Folio range to include not just B5 and A5 but also A6. If you’re looking for a zippered cover for an A6 notebook (including a Hobonichi Techo), please give this one some consideration.

8. Pilot Prera Fountain Pens. Pilot recently released the Prera in a range of new vintage-inspired colors. You can read my own assessment of this excellent midrange fountain pen in yesterday’s post.

9. Uni Zento Flow and Zento Standard Gel Pens. The popular Uni Zento is back in stock, in both the metal barrel Zento Flow and the standard Zentos, in .38mm and .5mm tip sizes. More details here.

10. New Anterique Bicolor Ballpoints, including TGS Colors! I really stocked up on new Anterique colors in this latest order, after you all cleaned us out. Let’s just say I bought a lot of the Maroon and Black Colorway, for obvious reasons.

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Just a few of the new colors that arrived this week! We now have 20+ color combinations to choose from in the BiColor Pen section.

Pen Review: The 2025 Pilot Prera Revamp

Believe it or not, there is a very popular pen that I’ve never reviewed, and that pen is the Pilot Prera. The Prera has been around for years, and often recommended as a solid “next step” option for those upgrading from a pen like the Pilot Kakuno, Metropolitan, Explorer or other basic “entry level” pen. The $50-75 price range can be pretty sparse, and the Prera has long been one of the stalwarts in this bracket.

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Why have I never reviewed the Prera? Well, for years the Prera was only available to the U.S. market in a clear body style that never appealed to me enough to buy. Since I run a highly curated retail store, I never previously explored carrying the Prera since I tend to focus mostly on pens that strongly appeal to me personally and that I like to recommend. Was this 100% fair to the Prera? Probably not, but in any event, the recent release of four new solid colors (Porcelain White, Honey Yellow, Empress Teal, and Cinnamon Brown) caught my attention and prompted me to reconsider. I’ve been using a yellow Prera nearly exclusively for the past two weeks and I like it.

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The Pilot Prera compared to a Kaweco Sport, Pilot Custom 74, and Tom’s Studio Wren. The Kaweco Sport and the Tom’s Studio Wren are what I would consider true pocket pens, while the Custom 74 is more full-size so you can see how they compare.

So what are my thoughts? For starters, I can see why this pen is popular. Compact fountain pens such as the Kaweco Sport, Sailor Pro Gear Slim, and Pilot E95s are favorites for a reason, in that they “carry small and write big”. While I wouldn’t put the Prera in the “pocket pen” category (it has a friction-fit cap), it’s small enough to be portable, and it would fit nicely with a planner or small organizer. Posted, the Prera is large enough for me to use comfortably for longer writing sessions, and I’ve used it to journal nightly without issue.

Though labeled a medium, the steel Prera nib could best be characterized as a “Fine Medium” nib, IMHO. It’s a perfect width for my own everyday writing.

Pilot’s main draw, in my experience, is the brand’s rock-solid reliability. The stainless steel medium nib on my Prera is a smooth writer and on the fine side for a medium steel nib, which I prefer. While not inexpensive at $64, the Prera does ship with both a cartridge and converter, so you’re able to use both Pilot cartridges and bottled ink out of the box.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Though more expensive than the Metropolitan or Explorer, the Prera offers a more traditional flat-top format somewhat reminiscent of the Sailor Pro Gear or Pro Gear Slim. A reliable writer that will perform as expected, these pens are great for those seeking a fountain pen with a “professional” look, or simply a more compact writing instrument for use on the go. Personally, I think the new colors are outstanding, with Honey Yellow and Empress Teal being my favorites since they remind me of classic vintage pens. Cinnamon Brown is also more of a burgundy than a true brown, and not a color that you typically see from Pilot.

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The Prera is priced at $64 and ships with a squeeze converter included. Currently available with either a fine or medium stainless steel nib, I understand that additional nib options are on the way, including a steel stub/italic that I look forward to trying out once it’s available. For now you can find the new Preras in our own shop, and we may consider adding the clear Prera’s going forward if there is enough interest.

Come see these pens in person! Visit our shop, currently open Thursday and Friday 1-6pm, and Saturdays 10-6pm. Check this page to keep up to date on our current hours, which may change depending on travel schedules during pen show season.

New Arrivals: Linen Flex A5 Notebooks by Bindewerk!

I’ve been building up to including these flexible linen Bindewerk notebooks in our curation, and was finally able to bring in a fun selection of covers in dot, lined, and at least one blank variant.

Bindewerk notebooks are handmade in Germany, and feature lightly textured/laid paper with an unobtrusive dot grid that disappears while you write. The flexible cover opens and lies relatively flat, for a comfortable writing experience both on the go and at your desk. The paper is excellent with fountain pens, and absorbent with relatively quick dry times. I already have a yellow one lined up for my next journal!

Be sure to check out these and the rest of our Curated Paper offerings in both our online and brick-and-mortar stores. Our Nashville shop will be open standard hours this week, from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. Please note that we have moved the shop/showroom area from Suite 113 to Suite 107, so look for us on the front of the building.