Thursday Drops: Penco Perfection Alternatives and Inky New Arrivals!

After yesterday’s New York Times Wirecutter article declaring the Penco Perfection Bullet Pen to be the ideal pocket ballpoint, we had a run on those and the plastic Penco Perfection Light like never before after the Hightide site sold out of both models. While I question whether the Penco Perfection is the “best” pocket ballpoint out there, it is a very good option, and I do agree with their comments about D1 refills being versatile and inexpensive. In light of the internet’s overnight fixation on this little pocket pen that we’ve carried with moderate success for more than 5 years, I thought it would be fun to dedicate today’s “Thursday Drops” post to a few other pocket pen recommendations in addition to the Penco pens, since those are quickly on their way to selling out and I expect it will be quite some time before Penco/Hightide is able to restock.

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I’m constantly behind on all the restocks showing up. I may not specifically feature them below, but we have more Taccia Ink as well as Ohto CR series rollerballs.

As noted with this week’s “New Arrivals,” we’ve added all sorts of new items from Rite in the Rain, including not just the All-Weather pens but heavy duty mechanical pencils, more Rite in the Rain Paper, and the “Monsoon” line of pen cases and notebook covers.

Come see these and more in-shop! We will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.

1. Lamy Pico Pocket Ballpoint. Lamy’s retractable pocket ballpoint expands from the size of a tube of lip balm to a full-size writing instrument with a click. The M22 ballpoint refill is available in black or blue, and multiple tip sizes.

2. Anterique Mini Ballpoint and Brass Mini Ballpoint. The pocket-sized versions of the Anterique low-viscosity ballpoints feature a miniature version of the same excellent “mach ball” refill.

3. Rite in the Rain All-Weather Pocket Pen. These lightweight plastic bullet pens are sold in a pack of 2 and feature Rite in the Rain’s pressurized refill cartridge. Multiple colors are available.

4. Rite in the Rain All-Weather Metal Bullet Pen. Rite in the Rain’s version of the classic bullet pen features a modified formulation of the Fisher Space Pen ink, tweaked to perform optimally on Rite in the Rain’s all-weather paper. I enjoy this refill because I find it slightly less viscous, and capable of writing a cleaner line than the Fisher cartridge, but that’s a matter of personal preference.

5. Fisher Space Pen Bullet Pen. The all-time classic pocket pen, now available with Cerakote finishes!

6. Traveler’s Company Brass Pocket Pens. Whether you want a classic ballpoint or a refillable rollerball or fountain pen (or even a bullet pencil), these sturdy brass pens are built to last.

7. Penco Drafting Ballpoint Pen. Ok, so if you’re stuck on Penco, and the Perfections and Perfection Lights have sold out by the time you’re reading this,

8. Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen Restock. The excellent Platinum Prefounte - a exceptionally good choice for those just starting to explore the fountain pen segment - is now back in stock.

9. Papier Plume Bottled Inks. We’ve now added our own ink swatches of tbe Papier Plume Classic Collection, including personal favorites Moss Green, Midnight Blue, and Burgundy!

10. Anderillium Ichthyoformes Inks. If you’d like to check out the most recent releases from Anderillium, be sure to take a look at this recent YouTube walkthrough in which I swatched all of the inks, and I’ve added the swatch cards to the product listings.

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All the Papier Plume Ink Swatches

Diving Deep: On Exploring the "Back Catalog" of Established Brands

People frequently criticize established brands such as Lamy and Pilot for not introducing new products at a rapid clip, but what they overlook is the extensive back catalog of existing products that these companies have developed over decades, including dozens which don’t receive a lot of hype. Entire product lines have been ignored for so long that I was unaware of them despite nearly a decade as a blogger in the stationery world, and it was only after I opened a retail store and gained access to the full catalogs and pricing sheets that I somewhat shockingly “discovered” a treasure trove of great options that many people don’t know exist. These are excellent products that should receive far more promotion, not just by the community but by the manufacturers themselves. My observation is that most of these fall into three categories: multi pens (subject to the most egregiously unfair treatment), rollerballs, and mechanical pencils.

The Lamy CP1 Twin Pen (right) shown next to my vintage Lamy Unic (Thanks, Jim!)

Multi Pens: “Tri Pens”, “Twin Pens,” and 4+1 Options

Is ignoring multi pens a U.S. thing? Did the proliferation of low-quality multi pens in the U.S. market during the 1980s and 1990s spoil the category for most people, outside of dedicated Japanese stationery aficionados? Apparently Lamy, Pilot, and Uni all have deep lineups of multi pens in their back catalogs, but with very little presence at U.S. retailers. I find this surprising given the enthusiasm among my own readership and customer base for multifunction pens, especially those slimmer models that take nonproprietary D1 refills. I took a flyer from Lamy on three multi pens that I had never used before: the Logo Tri Pen, the CP1 Multi Pen (both Twin and Tri versions) and the ST Tri Pen. All of these are exceptionally good, and I’ll call out the CP1 Twin Pen as my personal favorite of the three. The matte black finish and squared off clip are reminiscent of the Lamy 2000, and I like the slim design. Fun note: Gerd Müller, designer of my beloved Lamy 2000, also designed both the Lamy CP1 and ST series of pens. All of the multi pens take the D1 refill so you can customize them with the gel or ballpoint refill of your choice.

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The Lamy Swift in the Special Edition “Black Forest”. Did you never hear about this one until a year after it was released? Me neither. I just got mine yesterday.

Rollerballs

Many people (including myself) had essentially written off rollerballs as overly wet, gloppy writing instruments that tend to bleed through every type of paper and offer very little variety in terms of writing experience. There are some excellent rollerballs out there, however, including the Ohto Ceramic Series (CR01 and CR02), as well as the underappreciated Lamy Swift retractable rollerball. The Ohto Ceramic Rollerball refill is one of the best “capped” rollerball refills I have used, and with modifications (i.e., a spacer) it can even fit into the Lamy 2000 Rollerball. The Lamy Swift is a retractable rollerball with a cool design feature: when you depress the knock to extend the refill, the clip retracts into the body of the pen. This not only gives you the comfort of a clipless pen - no clip digging into your hand - but it prevents you from accidentally sticking the pen in your bag or pocket with the tip extended (and ruining fabric).

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There is no better $4 mechanical pencil than the TWSBI Pagoda. I’m confident of that.

Mechanical Pencils

Ok, so it’s probably not fair to say that mechanical pencils go “overlooked”. There are vibrant online communities solely dedicated to pencils (woodcase and mechanical), but for much of the stationery community mechanical pencils don’t receive a lot of attention. Personally, I think it’s because apart from the Uni Kuru Toga Dive, companies haven’t innovated all that much over the years, and most of the excellent mechanical pencils on the market have been around for a while. (In some cases since the 1960s, like the Pentel Sharp Kerry. If you’re interested, I did a review a while back looking at the Kuru Toga Dive and Sharp Kerry side-by-side.) In addition to the Sharp Kerry, check out the TWSBI Pagoda ($4, really?), and the gorgeous Pilot S20 at 1/4 the price of a Kuru Toga Dive, which is a great pencil but I would question whether it’s worth the current U.S. asking price.

And because I will get a dozen comments/emails asking if I don’t do this, the pens are, from left: TWSBI Pagoda, Uni Jetstream 4+1 Lite Touch, Uni Jetstream 4+1 Standard, Uni Jetstream Lite Touch 3 Prime, Lamy CP1 Twin Pen, Pilot Acroball 4+1, Pilot E95s fountain pen (because it IS underappreciated), Pilot S20 ballpoint, Pilot S20 mechanical pencil.

All of the pens and pencils discussed in this post are available to enthusiasts if you dig around enough, though sometimes U.S. retailers have to import directly from Japan, especially with some of the more uncommon mechanical pencils. While new product releases can be fun, I don’t get my stationery thrills from special and limited edition releases, but rather undiscovered (to me) gems that many people have been using as their everyday writers for years. Personally, I find many of the “innovations” in recent releases gimmicky, and would prefer to concentrate my efforts on raising awareness of existing products that are well made, that meet the needs of most people, and that I want to promote and support so that companies will continue making them.

Do you have a long-term favorite stationery item that you think tends to go un- or under-appreciated among stationery enthusiasts? Drop a comment below or send me a note. As you know, I’m always looking for new products to explore, and yes, we are still growing our own shop and looking for unique stuff that nobody else carries!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.

New Arrivals: Rite in the Rain All-Weather Pens, Mechanical Pencils, and Cases!

I’ve been aware of Rite in the Rain for a long time, mainly due to their “all weather” line of notebooks and notepads (including some really nice hardbound field notebooks) that are a favorite of field researchers, backpackers, boaters, and really anyone who needs a notebook that will perform under non-standard conditions. While the paper doesn’t work with writing instruments that use water-based ink (since the paper is designed to repel water), those looking for an all-weather solution typically use a pencil, ballpoint, or marker, so it tends to be a non-issue in this specific case.

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Shown here is the Rite in the Rain Monsoon “Dirtbag” (Yes, that’s the name :) ) which is a waterproof/dirtproof pouch designed to protect your notebooks while offering easy access to pens, pencils, and accessories.

As of this week, we’ve also added Rite in the Rain’s line of 1.3mm mechanical pencils, click pens and bullet pens, and “Monsoon” waterproof pouches and cases. The mechanical pencils have been a frequent request, as many of you are apparently looking for pencils that use sturdier lead in the .9mm to 1.3mm range. The standard Rite in the Rain pencil uses a very dark 1.3mm 2B graphite, which I’ve found quite nice to write with. The ballpoint refills are manufactured for Rite in the Rain by Fisher Space Pen, but per Rite in the Rain feature a slightly modified ink formulation optimized for Rite in the Rain’s paper. Personally, I find the Rite in the Rain refill slightly less viscous, and that it leave a finer line.

We are an authorized reseller of Rite in the Rain products. Come see these and more in-shop! We will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.

Sunday Reading for June 8, 2025

1. A Less Expensive Entry into A5 Planner Systems? Exploring the Laconic System (via dwrdnet). Tempted to try a 6-ring planner system but intimidated by what can be a high price of entry? Derek tested out the Laconic inserts that we’ve started stocking recently.

2. The Hooligan Pen Experience (via Pen Addict). It was fun getting to meet Tim in Atlanta this year, and hopefully I’ll be able to check out one of his pens in the future.

3. Live from the Triangle Pen Show 2025 (via Inkdependence). Mike has his live stream from this weekend’s 2025 Triangle Pen Show up and ready to go. I’ve never made it to Triangle - it’s not THAT far for me so this probably needs to change at some point.

4. Fifth Anniversary (via Inkredible Colours). Congrats on a five-year bloggiversary!

5. Holme and Hadfield Pen Deck (via Figboot on Pens). I enjoy seeing more accessory reviews, including creative solutions that combine pen storage and display.

6. Montblanc 146 Bespoke Calligraphy Left Oblique Fountain Pen Review (via Blake’s Broadcast). Looking for a highly specialized, very expensive custom nib? A crazy price comes with three tines!

7. Writing Around the Block (via Pen Addict - Sarah). Sometimes the writing comes, sometimes it doesn’t. I enjoy these dispatches from a working writer.

8. Mid-Year Techo Kaigi (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana walks through her mid-year planner and notebook setup on video. I’m coming around to video being the better format for these sort of walkthroughs.

9. Hurtling into Posthumanism (via Writing Ball). You wouldn’t guess it from the news but not everyone is looking forward to handing over all of human experience over to AI. It’s refreshing to see it everyday at the shop - across generations - and the last paragraph of this one really hit home with me.

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I do love my Pilot Decimo in Harvest Yellow!

In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog, I previewed an ink swatch session in which I took a look at all eight inks from the recently released Anderillium Ichthyoformes Series (Inks Inspired by Fish). The three dark reds were my favorites, and you can check out the entire video on the YouTube channel. This weekend I inked up both a Pilot Vanishing Point and a Pilot Decimo, because I wanted to revisit these pens to see whether my personal preference for the Decimo still held. It does, but I can use both pens. In Saturday’s post I offered five points of comparison and things to keep in mind when considering one over the other. Also, for those curious about how the filling mechanism works on this pen, I posted a short video demonstration showing how a cartridge works differently than a converter for this pen.

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Planner stickers like these allow you to turn any notebook into a planner.

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

So this was a big week in the shop. Not only did we get the entire Anderillium Ichthyoformes series inked and listed, but we also received a shipment of the Classic Fountain Pen Inks line from Papier Plume, along with the new TWSBI ECO in Matcha Green, the latest arrivals from Field Notes, and additional undated planner formats from Laconic Tokyo (including yet more Planner Stickers that you can use in notebooks)! Check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for updates on new releases and any specials we are running.

Papier Plume

Anderillium Inks

Multi Pens

Notsu

NEW T.G.S. Patreon Features - We’ve started a discord community!

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 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.

Workhorse Pens: Vanishing Point or Decimo for a Capless Fountain Pen?

A handful of iconic fountain pens appear on everyone’s “you-need-to-try-it-at-least-once” list. The Pilot Vanishing Point is one of those pens. Not only has it been around since the 1960s, making the original design approximately the same vintage as the Lamy 2000, but after all these years it remains the default option for a retractable nib fountain pen.

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I did a review of the Pilot Decimo several years ago, so I won’t go into the nuts-and-bolts details again. I will, however, spend today’s post talking about 5 specific things to understand about the Vanishing Point and Decimo, including what I consider to be key differences between the classic VP and the slimmer Decimo, and how those differences have impacted the pens’ functionality for me over the years. The purpose here isn’t to say that one is better than the other - it’s purely a matter of preference and what will work for you based on how you hold and intend to use the pen. Both pens are the same price, after all, so it’s not a question of saving money by going for one as opposed to the other.

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No, this “Harvest Green/Yellow” color isn’t available anymore. And no, my pen is not for sale. :)

Vanishing Point vs. Decimo: 5 Considerations

• Both Pens Use the Same Nib, Cartridge, and Converter. Since the Pilot Vanishing Point and the Pilot Decimo use the same nib units, ink cartridge, and converter system, you can experiment with both pens without worrying that your parts and accessories will only fit one or the other. This also means that you can easily move nib units between pens, and purchase additional nib units for more versatility without accumulating additional pens that you won’t use. As an aside, you can check out this short video showing how to install a cartridge in both pens. (They work the same way.)

• The Decimo is Slimmer. The Decimo is lighter weight and slimmer than the Vanishing Point, which means that it will fit many people’s hands better. This is purely a matter of personal preference, since the pens otherwise function in the same manner and use identical components, as noted above.

• Both Pens Feature the Same Clip (But Consider…). One “controversial” aspect of both the Pilot Vanishing Point and Decimo is the clip placement. The clip necessarily has to sit on the nib end, since the pen must be carried nib-up, but some find that it interferes with their grip due to finger placement. This is yet another matter of personal preference, but I tend to find the Decimo more comfortable because the slimmer barrel alters how the clip fits in my grip. (And, yes, you can remove the clip entirely, but understand that it will void your warranty.)

• The Decimo Fits More “Pen Loops,” Including on Plotters. One reason I absolutely love the Decimo is that it fits my Plotter pen loop and in most other planners. The extra-fine nib writes well on most papers, regardless of quality. This makes it a perfect “planner pen” for me.

• The Vanishing Point Comes in a Wider Range of Colors. If you’re looking for matte black trim or the iridescent “carbonesque” finishes, you’ll be limited to the Vanishing Point model. That said, Pilot periodically releases Japan-only Decimos in gradients and other unique finishes, though you may have to pay a premium.

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A comparison between Vanishing Point/Decimo nibs (top) and the E95s nib (bottom).

TLDR Version: Pilot’s retractable nib Vanishing Point and Decimo Capless fountain pens are the best version of the “Retractable Nib Fountain Pens” product segment. Over the years, I’ve gravitated towards the Decimo, since a slimmer pen better fits how I use retractable fountain pens, but I do own and use both. As you can see from the photos, I’m also experimenting with the E95s, which is not retractable but highly portable, and which also features an excellent inlaid nib that’s the spiritual successor to the Pilot Myu.

We currently carry select models of the Pilot Vanishing Point (Matte-Black Trim and Carbonesque) and Decimo, with most nib sizes available in pens and as separate nib units. If you enjoy our content, we are entirely self-supported through our online shop and physical store, as well as the T.G.S. Patreon Program.