Finding Each Other: Social Media (via A Fleeting Ripple). This is a great idea for a post - most forms of social media are constantly changing, including in the fountain pen world, and it’s important to keep up with where people are as certain communities we’ve come to rely on to connect us change (or close altogether). See the last section of this post for details on where you can find me on social media and/or the broader internet these days.
#21PenQuestions from Inkdependence (via Inkdependence). This was a fun read. I’m going to go start working on my answers.
Finding the Purposeful Center of Writing in Analog (via mnmlscholar). A thoughtful reflection on why and how we do the work we do, and may or may not choose to do it in analog form.
Montblanc 149 Calligraphy Curved Nib (via Scrively). Depending on how you hold this pen (similar to a Kodachi or Naginata-Togi-style nib), you apparently can get some very nice line variation in a single nib. It’s interesting to see Montblanc get involved selling these kinds of nibs.
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Portable Watercolor Palette (via Fueled by Clouds and Coffee). While I don’t own a Watercolor Palette, or even any watercolors, I’ve long been curious about how palettes are used and refilled.
Life Schöpfer Notebook Review (via Blake’s Broadcast). Blake reviews a vintage exercise book-style notebook from Japanese stationery company Life.
Kaweco Bronze Sport (via Dapprman). While it’s a more expensive option, I also enjoy how bronze works as a material on pens.
Ink of the Week - Visconti Blue (via Fountain Pen Love). Visconti inks used to receive a lot more attention than they do today. They make a generally well-regarded blue ink that’s aptly described here as a bright “pure” blue.
Montblanc Writer’s Edition Franz Kafka Review (via SBRE Brown). The insect engraving on the nib does it for me.
Seven Years of Morning Pages (via From the Pen Cup). That sort of consistency is a huge accomplishment. Congratulations!
The Pen that Started It All (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Everyone has that one first pen that kicked off the hobby for them. Mine was a Waterman Laureate.
In Case You Missed It….
This week on the blog, we featured a guest post from R.B. Lemberg titled “The Ark of Pens,” which contained their thoughts on collecting and the fountain pen hobby. Since I’ve been doing a LOT of writing and editing this week, I’ve been using a combination of workhorse Pilot pens and blue-black inks. I wrote a post on six of my blue-black inks of choice, after I noticed that they showed a surprising amount of variation. Finally the YouTube Channel has a new “Currently Inked” video, in which I talk about three of the capless/retractable fountain pens I’ve been using lately.
The Platinum Matte Curidas Fountain Pen comes with everything you need to get started writing!
This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop - Plus a Father’s Day Promotion
First things first: Through tonight at 11:59pm CT, grab an extra 10% off certain paper and desk accessories in the T.G.S. Curated Shop using the code “DAD10” at checkout. Also, if you’re looking for a last-minute gift (for Father’s Day or any occasions), after repeated request there I’ve introduced an electronic gift card option.
New arrivals this past week include the Matte Curidas Retractable Fountain Pen from Platinum, available in all three colors. We’ve also restocked on Midori MD Cotton Paper in both the pad and notebook format, and have A4 sized Midori MD Light Notebooks.
Where Am I Online? (Other than Here)
Prompted by Dennis’ post above, maybe this is a good time to take a moment to talk about where I live in the online pen world, and where you can find me other than here on the primary T.G.S. website. I’m most active on Instagram (@gentlemanstationer), given that the visual aspect of pens, ink, and paper lends itself to a more photo and video-intensive application. While I do repost content to Twitter (@vintagegntlmn), for those of you who I know use it like a news feed, lately I’ve been more active on Mastodon (@gentlemanstationer.mastodon.social) since I feel that community tends to lend itself to more civil discussion and has a growing stationery contingent.
While I’m interested in participating more in communities such as Twitch, Slack, Discord and Reddit (u/gentlemanstationer and r/gentlemanstationer), and agree that all of those platforms have vibrant communities of enthusiasts, my time commitments are limited and I can’t really do anything justice by trying to engage everywhere on a deep level. Because any content/advice/interactions you have on traditional social media can be fleeting and subject to the whims of third-parties who probably don’t have “growing community” and preserving knowledge long-term as their central aim, my central point of engagement will always be here at T.G.S., since I own the platform and have a large degree of control over what happens to my content and can take steps to keep the dialog on a respectful level. If you’d like to participate in more personal interaction (including monthly meetups), consider joining our Patreon. I’m also working on more video content over on the T.G.S. YouTube Channel.
As always, many thanks for your support!