Pen Show Resources: What To Do At A Pen Show, and How Do You Prepare? (Plus a Further Roterfaden Update)

We’re entering a busy stretch for pen shows, even though the 2025 D.C. Pen Show is in the books! Later this month we have the San Francisco Pen Show (August 29-31), and after that Orlando, Commonwealth (Boston), and Dallas in September. (Check out the full calendar here.) Many of you have shared that you are planning on attending your first show and have asked for some “pen show prep” posts. I’ve done a bunch of these over the years, and need to pull them together onto one page, but they tend to need very little updating as the show experience has remained surprisingly consistent.

To start, I generally link back to a series of “Pen Show Primer” articles I’ve written including Volume 1: Why Visit a Pen Show; Volume 2: Getting Ready for a Pen Show; and Volume 3: Tips for Surviving the Pen Show. While these particular articles have some age on them, I stand by pretty much all of the advice. (You’ll also note that “get a good pen show bag” has remained consistently high on the list of tips for a positive pen show experience, along with “take breaks” if you can.) For those looking for information on nib grinds, earlier this year I did a YouTube video walking through a nib grind I had done by Matthew Chen at this year’s Arkansas Pen Show.

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Be sure to build plenty of “browsing time” into you pen show schedule.

A Quick Update on Upcoming Shows and Roterfaden Restocks

I will be teaming up with Vanness Pens once again at the upcoming San Francisco Pen Show, helping at the table and with various seminars and discussion panels. There won’t be a “T.G.S. Table,” but I may have some exclusive items available at the show through Vanness, including any remaining Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters from shipments scheduled to arrive in the next two weeks. The initial shipment should arrive next week, and it will contain a restock of A6, B6, B5, A5, and A4 sizes. I do have another order of the A5 Slim TGS_25 special editions on the way, which I expect to have in hand before San Francisco provided there are no delays. Many people have e-mailed asking whether they can reserve, prepay, or receive an e-mail notifying them when they are available. Unfortunately, due to the volume of messages, I am no longer able to respond individually, and I cannot promise pre-sale or prepayment opportunities because I do not know how much lead time we will have and I generally am uncomfortable taking money until I know international shipments have cleared customs. I will be posting updates in the Patreon (members will have some stock set aside for first refusal), here on the blog a few days prior to the launch, and via the T.G.S. mailing list. I will try to give everyone as much advanced notice as possible, but due to the small-batch nature of the product, it’s possible that there won’t be enough to meet demand, and if that’s the case I will try for a third shipment.

Come see us in person, either at a show or at our spot in Nashville! We will be open this week from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-6pm Saturday.

New Lamy Safari and AL-Star Pens: Introducing Dark Dusk and Mint!

This year has been a good one for Lamy Safari and AL-Star special releases, especially fans of the midnight blue “Dark Dusk” color that keeps making appearances across multiple color lines. In addition to the “Dark Dusk” and “Sunset” Safaris, Lamy has now released the “Dark Dusk” and “Mint” AL-Stars in fountain pen, rollerball, ballpoint, and mechanical pencil formats!

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The Mint looks good, but Dark Dusk is my favorite. Shown here as a mechanical pencil.

In addition to new AL-Star Formats, the Dark Dusk and Pink color schemes from this year’s Safari releases have now made their way into Lamy’s “econ” ballpoint line, with two new additions now available. Like the Safari and AL-Star, the Lamy econ ballpoint pens take Lamy’s M16-style ballpoint refill, as well as the Uni Jetstream M17 refill. The econ is a relatively recent entry into Lamy’s lineup, and is a great choice for those who prefer a pen with a round section.

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New Lamy econ Special Editions

Come see these and more in person! We will be open this week in our Nashville location, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-6pm Saturday.

Sunday Reading for August 10, 2025

1. What’s Inside This Mystery Stationery Box? (via dwrdnet). Derek unpacks our second curated stationery box, available quarterly via our Patreon (though this time we had a couple left over so at least one non-Patreon member got to grab one). If there’s enough demand we will expand and open it up a bit in the future.

2. 2025 Washington D.C. Fountain Pen Supershow (via Olive Octopus). Lisa has a very comprehensive D.C. recap, and she brought back a lot of fun stuff. I missed the NFP Designs table so it was interesting to see some of their newer designs up close.

3. 2025 D.C. Pen Show (via Rachel’s Reflections). That’s quite the D.C. Pen Show haul!

4. BUNGUBOX: Their Fountain Pens (via Inky.Rocks). I missed getting to see the Bungubox table at the D.C. show but look forward to visiting them in San Francisco.

5. Vintage Journal Ethics (via Notebook Stories). This isn’t something I’ve ever thought much about, and I also had no idea that people were selling other people’s old journals online? I like the idea in the comments about adopting pseudonyms for yourself/others in your journals and personal writing.

6. Chopping Block (via Line Variation). Sometimes you have to thin the accumulation. What process do you use to think through what to keep and what to let go?

7. Visit to Hands (Suntec Outlet) in Singapore (via Inkredible Colours). The fact that this isn’t even a true stationery store, and still has a selection like this, is incredible.

8. Dominant Industry Takasago Ink Swatch Paper Review (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). There’s a plethora of ink swatch cards and paper tools on the market these days, from brands like Col-o-Ring, Dominant Industries, and Iroful.

9. Ink Review: Wearingeul Wafarer (via Well-Appointed Desk). I’m not usually a shimmer ink fan, but the subtle Wayfarer is one that finds its way into my rotation semi-regularly.

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In Case You Missed It…

I spent most of this week recovering/getting caught up from the D.C. Pen Show, which I recapped on Wednesday. Yesterday I published a post on a topic that I’ve been thinking on for some time, and which has been the subject of several reader requests: my current favorite pencils. Note that my “favorites” posts are different than my “recommendations”, the latter of which focus much more on pens and pencils that might appeal to a broader audience as opposed to my specific needs. Check those out here.

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Iroful has come out with a set of 100 Ink Cards, perfect for sampling and swatching inks.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop: New LAMY AL-Stars!

The big news from this week is that the 2025 Lamy AL-Star releases (“Dark Dusk” and “Mint”) arrived over the weekend. Personally, my favorite is the Dark Dusk, as it’s a gorgeous deep purple blue worthy of its namesake. We also added knurled ebonite ballpoints from Laurett’s, a Japanese company that specializes in precision machining. Matching mechanical pencils are also available. On the paper side, we have Traveler’s-sized hardcover notebooks from Archer & Olive, as well as Iroful Planner-punched paper in Bible, Mini, and Mini 5 sizes.

Store hours for this coming week will be as normal! We will be open in-store Thursdays and Fridays from 1-6pm, and Saturday from 10am-6pm. We hope to see you in Nashville.

Laurett's

Lamy

Iroful

Kutsuwa Sharpeners

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”), 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.

My Favorite Pencils: 2025 Edition

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve published any sort of “Favorite Pencils” list - lately many of you have been reminding me of this fact - so it’s time to revisit what is probably my second-most-used category of writing instruments. For purposes of this list, I’m going to mix woodcase and mechanical pencils to actually reflect what I’ve been using on a daily basis.

Note that this list is not intended to be a “Best Pencils” recommendation list, though I think all of these are very good. If you’re looking to get into quality writing pencils for the first time, check out our “Best Pens” Guide (which has a “Pencils” section). Today’s post is more of a discussion of what I personally have been enjoying, which is not necessarily what I would recommend to someone else.

1. Lamy CP1 “Twin Pen.” I’ve only recently discovered this 2-stage “multi pen” that combines a .5mm mechanical pencil with one D1 ballpoint. It’s an interesting format, and one that I’ve been using more around the shop. It lets you switch quickly between a pen and pencil, and since there’s only one pen option, there’s no paralysis-of-choice with respect to which ink color you’re going to use.

2. Camel Pencils. While the integrated eraser is cool, the two main reasons I love Camel pencils for everyday writing are (1) the relatively dark, not overly-smooth graphite and (2) the rounded hex barrel and smooth clear lacquer, which makes this pencil incredibly comfortable to hold. I also still have a personal stash of an old C.W. Pencil Enterprise 2B exclusive, which features a round barrel.

3. Blackwing Matte (i.e., “The Original,” MMX, "Black”). The original “new” Blackwing remains my favorite, even over the Blackwing 602. While the closest graphite equivalent is a 4B grade, the Blackwing Matte is remarkably non-smeary for a pencil this dark and I use it for writing in addition to sketching. Blackwing has also recently released red and green-barrel versions, and the soft core has been incorporated periodically into the Volumes series.

4. Pilot S20 .5mm Mechanical Pencil. I’ve raved about the S20 ballpoint, but I’ve only recently been able to get my hands on the mechanical pencil version. Both have the same “inverted hourglass” silhouette, which molds to my hand. The S20 Ballpoint and S20 Mechanical Pencil are rapidly becoming almost as critical to my everyday carry rotation as the Lamy 2000 fountain pen and Multi Pen.

5. Uni Kuru Toga KS or Alpha Gel Switch. I’ve tried the more expensive versions of Uni’s flagship mechanical pencil, like the Kuru Toga Dive, but I keep going back to the basic (and inexpensive) Kuru Toga KS and Alpha Gel models because I don’t have to worry about misplacing them around the house and the shop, or when I travel. While not a necessity, the Kuru Toga’s lead-rotation mechanism ensures that the point wears evenly, which not only keeps the lead sharp but reduces breakage. As I’ll discuss further below, I’ve been experimenting with softer mechanical pencil leads up to 4B, so this has come in handy.

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Why the move towards mechanical pencils? A lot of it has to do with convenience. As I’m moving around the shop, checking inventory, working on purchase orders/accounting, etc., it’s easier to work in pencil, and sometimes I don’t want to stop to manually sharpen a woodcase pencil. Though I tend to prefer darker graphite, I’ve brought in some mechanical pencil leads in softer grades. Currently, I probably wouldn’t recommend anything beyond 2B to customers for everyday writing, but if you are adventurous, I’ve personally been able to use 4B!

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Writing samples on the wonderfully toothy Appointed paper (great for graphite). Wood pencils sharpened with a NJK long point sharpener.

The last time I did a list like this was in January 2021, four-and-a-half years ago. Since today’s list looks completely different, it might be reasonable to ask whether I no longer enjoy the pencils on earlier versions. That’s not the case at all - I actually still use many of those pencils - but my life has changed quite a bit, and so have my needs, thus the greater emphasis on mechanical pencils. This is a great time to be a pencil fan, and I believe that overall selection and quality has increased in recent years, making it much more difficult to pick favorites.

If you enjoy our content, please consider supporting us by shopping our online store, visiting us in person at our Nashville storefront, or supporting us via Patreon.

Thursday Drops: Laurett's Pens and Pencils, Archer & Olive Notebooks, Plus Diplomat, TWSBI, and Nakabayashi Restocks

We’re back from the D.C. Pen Show and came home to a stack of boxes in our receiving area! As noted on Tuesday, we now have Archer & Olive hardcover A5 slim notebooks, which are the equivalent of a Traveler’s Notebook standard refill in hardback format. We also have freshly arrived Diplomat Viper fountain pens and a full TWSBI restock, including more of the recently released Serpentine Bronze fountain pens.

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Archer & Olive’s paper features a bright white dot grid ruling and is ink-friendly!

But what I’m most excited about today are these “WAKA” ebonite ballpoints and mechanical pencils from Laurett’s, a Japanese precision manufacturer known for their ultra-fine knurling. I visited the Laurett’s table at the D.C. Pen Show and couldn’t resist bringing some of these home with me. If they do well I will add additional colors of ebonite, of which there are plenty!

Come see all this stuff in person! We will be open at our Nashville location this weekend from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday.

1. Laurett’s Ballpoint Pens and Mechanical Pencils. Laurett’s Japan is known for precision machining, and offers ebonite and anodized aluminum pens with some of the best knurling I’ve experienced. Limited quantities on these!

2. Archer & Olive A5-Slim Notebooks. We recently learned that people really love TN/A5-slim notebooks, and these hardcover notebooks from Archer & Olive feature 160 gsm dot grid paper that’s ink friendly, with three different cover designs in canvas or vegan leather.

3. Archer & Olive Vinyl Planner Tabs. These planner tabs allow you to organize your planner or notebook by month. Each set contains 24 tabs, with two stickers for each month.

4. Diplomat Viper Fountain Pens. The hooded Diplomat Viper is a unique fountain pen that you can pair with a matching rollerball to create a set (or you can mix and match colors like me). We currently have black, blue, and brown pens available.

5. TWSBI ECO Serpentine Bronze Fountain Pens. Our initial shipment of Serpentine Bronze fountain pens flew off the shelves, but we have more in all nib sizes.

6. Nakabayashi Paper. Nakabayashi offers fountain pen friendly paper in a wide variety of formats, led by the fountain pen friendly Yu-Sari paper in both notebook and looseleaf. Of all the paper we carry, Nakabayashi is our fastest-growing brand.

7. Nakabayashi Shredder Scissors. This unique desk accessory was a longtime favorite, and we’re happy to have more! If you need an easy way to quickly shred a document but don’t have access to a full-size shredder, these scissors offer a portable solution.

8. Uni Style Fit Meister 5 Multi Pens and Gel Refills. A classic conical-tip gel multi pen, the Uni Style Fit is one of those classic pens that has been around for a while but features a wide range of refills in a multitude of different tip sizes.

9. Pilot 4+1 Acroball Multi Pens. Did you know that these Pilot multipens take both Pilot’s excellent Acro Ink refills and will also work with the Uni Style Fit gel refills? They’re incredibly versatile!

10. Faber-Castell Perfect Pencil. The Perfect Pencil is a combination pencil cap/extender/sharpener that ships with one Faber-Castell “B” grade pencil but is compatible with most standard woodcase hex pencils.

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And, yes, we still have Yamamoto Bullet Jotters, plus the refill pads that include the newly released “Meringue” paper and others.