Introducing "On the Paper Trail," a New Podcast/Video Collaboration with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens!

I’ve been mentioning this in passing for a few months now, but since we’ve been trickling out some excerpts from this ongoing collaboration, it’s time to make a formal announcement! My friend Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens and I are collaborating on a video series/podcast with the working title of “On the Paper Trail.” We both have a decade+ of experience in the stationery community and industry so we’re hopeful you’ll find what we have to say interesting and helpful. As we’ve been working through the technical side of things and getting used to recording, we’ve been releasing our “practice” episodes to the T.G.S. Patreon community, which has been a invaluable source of feedback and encouragement. Members can still access the full episodes via the Patreon feed. (There are four.) When the project officially launches it will have its own channel. Follow the T.G.S. and Vanness YouTube Channels for updates.

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Not a customer order, but representative of what we’ve been seeing.

Holiday Shipping PSA - If You Need Something by Mid-Month Get Your Orders In As Soon as Possible.

The content we’ve chosen to share so far relates to holiday shipping timelines, since that’s a topic of concern given questions we’ve both been receiving through our respective businesses. Now is the time of year that we start to see shipping delays, missed package scans, and lost items. While both T.G.S. and Vanness ship quickly (within 2 business days if not sooner), increased order volume not only impacts our fulfillment but results in a general slowdown across carriers. The TLDR version is: get your orders in soon, especially if you need something by Christmas or New Year’s. Once we hit December 15, it’s probably going to be better to shop in person for last-minute gifts, as we cannot guarantee any delivery times given general unreliability of carrier estimates.

If you enjoy our content, please consider supporting us through the T.G.S. Curated Shop or by visiting our Patreon, which features extra content and more hangout opportunities. And, of course, you can also come visit us in person at our Nashville Shop!

Ask TGS: Can I "Flex" a Pilot Soft Nib? What Does "Soft Fine" or "Soft Medium" Mean?

Because I’ve received this question two times in the past three days, in connection with the release of the Pilot Custom 74 Lavender Fog, I figured I would go ahead and answer because it’s important. To be clear, the Pilot “Soft” nibs are not flex nibs, and trying to force these nibs to flex may result in damage to the nib if you press them too hard.

So What Is a “Soft” Nib?

Some Japanese brands, namely Pilot and Platinum, sell a “soft” version of their fine, medium, and fine-medium 14k nibs. These nibs are slightly bouncier than the relatively stiff standard Japanese gold nibs, and will feel springier and put more ink on the page with a wetter line. That said, there is a fair bit of misinformation out there on whether or not these nibs are “flexible”, and whether you can press down on them to get additional line variation. I have to reiterate - do not try to flex these pens as you would a vintage flex nib, calligraphy nib, or even a Pilot FA nib. While they have some give to them, they are simply not designed to “spring back” into shape like a true flex nib.

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I find the soft nibs very pleasant to use to write standard cursive. As you can see, the additional bounce in the nib gives some slight variation to your letters, and the ink flows nicely.

Some of the confusion may stem from the fact that nib technicians advertise these nibs as suitable for conversion to a more flexible nib. For example, I have a pen that I sent to Custom Nib Studio, to which Gena added flex by thinning out the tines. Soft nibs from Pilot and Platinum often make very good candidates for this nib modification, but they are a starting point, not a finished product in that regard.

For the U.S. market, Pilot releases specialty nibs such as the “soft” nib series in specific models - typically the Custom Heritage 91 and the Custom 743. I was thrilled to see these nibs released in the Custom 74 model, which remains one of my favorite everyday writers because it’s nearly the perfect size for my hand. As I noted yesterday, I picked a Soft Fine-Medium in the Lavender Fog because I wasn’t going to let this one go.

The “Ask TGS” series of blog posts features questions from readers and customers that frequently appear in my inbox, social media DMs, and customer questions. When one of the questions has immediate relevance and/or urgency - such as this one - I will bump that question to the top of the list. Some of the most frequent posts are summarized on our FAQ page.

Ask TGS: Do I Have to Use Fountain Pen Ink from the Same Manufacturer as My Pen?

I’ve always wanted to directly address this question because it’s one I get a lot (including multiple times today in-shop). Many pen companies - especially luxury purveyors such as Montblanc - make a point of emphasizing in their warranty materials that you should only use their in-house brands of ink. For example, only use Montblanc ink in a Montblanc pen, Pelikan ink in a Pelikan pen, etc. The reason for these disclaimers are straightforward: If you damage your pen by using another brand’s ink, they shouldn’t be held responsible for you using a product over which they have no control. But how likely is it that you will actually harm your pen by mixing pens and inks of different brands, or from using any given ink in general? In my experience, not very likely, and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen someone do truly irreparable harm to a fountain pen by using the “wrong” ink.

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I have no issue using boutique inks (like the Wet Pen inks shown here) in any of my pens. With any fountain pen ink, typically the worst thing that can happen is that the pen clogs, which a flush with water will fix. If you have any doubts, test with a glass pen or steel dip pen first.

Most Standard Fountain Pen Inks Are Perfectly Safe to Use in Any Pen

Fountain pen inks are generally water-based, so unless you are using calligraphy ink or ink with some sort of special chemical property (discussed further below), you are unlikely to cause permanent harm to your pen. Note that when I say that an ink is “safe,” I mean that it will not destroy the nib, feed, or filling system to the point where you will need to send it in for any sort of warranty repair. The pen will continue to write. HOWEVER, if you are using any color other than black or standard blue - and especially brighter colors like red or purple - you do run the risk of staining clear acrylics or lighter-color materials. My personal recommendation is that if you have a pen you are extremely concerned about staining, use only standard blacks and blues made by companies like Pelikan, Waterman, Herbin, etc. These inks tend to be on the less saturated side, and I have found them less likely to stain.

Exercise Caution When Using Inks with Special Properties

By “Special Properties,” I mean things like permanence, heavy shimmer, no-freeze, super-sheen, and other attributes that you increasingly see advertised in today’s market. While most of these inks will not cause issues in modern fountain pens, if an ink clogs or otherwise causes an issue with your very expensive piston filler, the original manufacturer may decline to cover the pen under the warranty if they didn’t make the ink themselves. Again, while issues with these inks aren’t common, and the worst that usually happens is a clog that can be flushed out with water at home, you do proceed at your own somewhat low, but not zero, risk.

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Don’t get me wrong, I also have a selection of calligraphy inks and other non-fountain pen safe supplies. I just keep a selection of dip pens close at hand.

The MOST IMPORTANT RULE IS TO Only Use Fountain Pen Inks in Fountain Pens

By far, most of the stories I hear about inks damaging pens involve people attempting to use calligraphy and India ink in a fountain pen, which is a big no-no. Not only do these inks stain, but some contain glue-like substances such as shellac. For obvious reasons, introducing these inks into a fountain pen is a bad idea because you will literally never get them out, and any integrated filling system will likely be ruined. (It’s basically the equivalent of using paint.)

So, the short-form, TLDR version of this answer is “Don’t worry too much and enjoy your pens, as long as you are using inks by a reputable company advertised for use in fountain pens.” Clean your pens semi-regularly and don’t allow the ink to evaporate. If you have a very expensive or sentimental pen that you are concerned about damaging (especially staining), consider only using standard blues or blacks, and never, ever, use India ink in any fountain pen!

I periodically take a day to answer reader questions, some of which you can find archived in the FAQ section of the site. If you’re in the Nashville area, we’re always happy to answer your questions in person at our Nashville shop.

Ask TGS: How Do You Recommend Fountain Pens to New Users?

We’ve had a lot of new pen enthusiasts discover our brick-and-mortar shop recently, including many who have never held, much less used, a fountain pen! As someone heavily invested in the growth of this community, it’s always incredibly gratifying to meet new users, especially when they leave with their first pen. But “Where do I start?” can be a difficult question to answer. Here’s my typical process, and I thought it might be fun to give you a behind-the-scenes look.

1. Start at the Testing Station. We have a testing station set up in-store (see pic at top) so that customers can write with a rotating selection of certain pens that we offer. As of now, the fountain pen part of the tray contains four pens: a Platinum Preppy with a fine nib, two TWSBI ECO fountain pens with a medium and broad nib, and a TWSBI Diamond 580 with a stub. I always ask the customer to write a few lines on Maruman Mnemosyne paper with the medium TWSBI nib, from which we can either go finer or broader depending on preference. I find that a TWSBI Medium serves as a nice baseline for determining preferences, so there’s usually always one of those inked up and on hand.

2. Don’t go too expensive for a first fountain pen. I hesitate to venture too far outside the $20-40 price range for a first pen, and usually have an even less expensive option (here, the Preppy Wa) just to show that it’s possible to find a reliable everyday writer at a relatively inexpensive price point. Spending too much can lead to frustration with the inevitable learning curve, and I want people to feel free to take their new pen everywhere and write with it as much as they can without being overly afraid of loss or damage. I tend to start with Lamy Safaris, Kaweco Sports, or TWSBI ECOs.

3. Emphasize the combination of pen, ink, and paper for a good writing experience. Brands like Moleskine serves as a gateway to “nice” stationery for many people, so if I see that they come in with relatively non-fountain pen friendly paper I try to take time to explain that certain papers generally work better than others with fountain pens, and if there is a specific paper you want to use you may have to adjust the ink, nib size, etc. to get an optimal result if the paper isn’t intended for fountain pens. The Maruman Mnemosyne and Basic range works well and is usually what we have available for testing.

Sometimes people immediately recognize that a fountain pen isn’t for them, either because they don’t like the feel or because they hold the pen in such a way that it makes writing a clean line difficult. If that’s the case, we have a selection of gel, ballpoint, and rollerball pens (as well as pencils) available to compare. Even if they don’t find a fountain pen, it's valuable to be able to confirm preferences, which is the main reason I love having an in-store shopping option.

If you’ve been wanting to try a fountain pen (or any other type of pen for that matter), come see us in person and please don’t be embarrassed to ask questions. We wouldn’t have opened the store if we didn’t want to help new users discover this world. We are open this weekend from 10-6pm on Saturday, and will have special hours next week since we are traveling to the San Francisco Pen Show Thursday - Saturday.

For further reading and additional pen recommendations, please do check out the “Ask TGS/FAQ” page, as well as our “Best Pens” Guide that has been updated for 2025.

For those who will ask, here’s the current lineup, from left: Zebra Sarasa Grande Vintage, Uni Zento Flow, Uni One, Ohto CR02, Uni Jetstream Prime, Anterique Ballpoint in a custom parts-bin combo by yours truly, a Platinum Preppy Wa, TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Nickel, TWSBI ECO Creme/Rose Gold, and a standard TWSBI ECO in black.

Ask TGS: New Notebook Systems Informational Resource Page

As part of the ongoing site refresh of the various T.G.S. informational resources, I’ve created a page specifically dedicated to notebook systems and select blog posts and YouTube videos from over the years. I regularly receive questions from readers and customers who are considering investing in a notebook system and want to be sure they are choosing the best one for their specific needs, so a resource such as this one is probably long overdue. I plan on updating it as I work on new content, some of which is specifically designed to fill the gaps in what already exists here. I hope you find it helpful.

Don’t forget that all weekend, we are running a special on planners and some notebook systems in the shop! Take an extra 10% off your order with the coupon code “FIREFLY” at checkout, and come see us in-store. We are here Saturday until 6pm.