Weekly Links for June 7, 2021

1. Esterbrook Scribe Nib (via Rants of the Archer). Joining Esterbrook’s “Journaler” specialty nib is the newly released Esterbrook “Scribe,” an architect’s nib developed in partnership with J.J. Lax Pen Company.

2. Esterbrook Gold Rush Frontier Green (via Rants of the Archer). The Esterbrook Estie fountain pen featured in the prior review caught my eye, and apparently it’s the new ‘Gold Rush Frontier Green” release! Don’t forget to check this one out - Esterbrook is killing it with some of these new materials.

3. Kasama Tala Ultem (via Dapprman). A Kasama fountain pen has been on my radar for a while now, and this is the year it’s probably going to happen. This review looks at the Ultem version, in the smaller size. (I didn’t realize there were two sizes of Kasama pens.)

4. The Big Paper Retesting and Rerating (via Fountain Pen Love). John has an incredibly thorough and well-thought out rating system for how he evaluates fountain pen friendly paper. He’s actually in the process of updating his ratings, and you can read more here about the process he uses.

5. Getting to Grips with The Otto Hutt Design08 (via UK Fountain Pens). I can appreciate the adventurous design, but this pen simply has too much going on to pique my interest.

6. Diamine Writer’s Blood (via Mountain of Ink). Writer’s Blood is an ink developed for members of the Reddit community r/fountainpens, where I’ve been spending more time lately. It’s an interesting color and I need to pick up a bottle. These burgundy shades are right up my alley.

7. Jesi Answers All Your Questions About Tomoe River Paper (via Well-Appointed Desk). You may have heard the news, that Tomoe River paper is being discontinued. We’ll see if this is truly the end (there have been rumors of its imminent demise in the past), but based on Jesi’s research production has actually ceased.

8. M605 Green-White Special Edition (via Pelikan’s Perch). Followers of Pelikan will want to check out this latest release in Pelikan’s white M605 series. I’d like to see it in person, but the green/white combination looks very nice.

In Case You Missed It…

I’m out of town this week, but in my absence I’ve arranged for several “recap” posts, with one discussing the reader favorites from the first half of 2021, and the other discussing my own personal favorites so far this year. I also have a post talking briefly about the announced “end” of Tomoe River and some possible replacements.

Shop Updates and Ship Dates for Orders Placed This Week

As I’ve mentioned in a couple of different places, I’m traveling this week to visit family that I haven’t seen in over a year, so any orders placed will ship next weekend upon my return. Thanks very much for your understanding, and I’ll be sure to include some extras in any orders placed this week to compensate for the delay. I have a bunch of new products arriving that will be listed in the coming weeks, so any help you all can give me in clearing out current stock is greatly appreciated! Finally, the “library pocket” promotion discussed this week will continue for as long as I still have stock, and given the popularity, I may make it a regular thing.

Visit T.G.S. on Reddit, and Consider Joining TGS Patreon for Access to Monthly Meetups and More!

I’ve been trying to expand into social media beyond Instagram, due to my dissatisfaction with the direction that platform is taking. Currently, you can also engage with me on Twitter, Facebook, and now on Reddit. (Honestly, I’m active on Twitter and Reddit moreso than Facebook, but I do read all the Facebook comments, eventually.) Mainly, I’m doing this because of Instagram’s algorithm-driven approach that buries content unless you’re endlessly posting to their various formats (“Reels,” Stories, posts, etc.) and actively monitoring your account to where you’re basically having to respond to comments and DMs in real time. This is impractical, because you end up spending all your time on their platform and not actually writing or running your business, and then most of this content is temporary (24hrs) and you have to jump on the “hamster wheel” again. Many people just want an easy way to receive updates on when I post new content to the blog. Twitter and Reddit allow me to do that reliably. If there’s one thing you can do to help support T.G.S., it’s sharing our content and spreading the word!

For some additional fun, and to help support the blog consider joining the Patreon program. You can read more about T.G.S. Patreon here. This year I’ve introduced monthly online meetups, which take place on Friday or Saturday and have been super enjoyable. We’ve discussed our thoughts on pen shows restarting, recent arrivals in our personal collections, and more. I will also continue with periodic “sample sales” of gently used review items, to which Patrons will have first access. The current sale is now live!