Closing It Out: The 2024 "Best" List Is Complete! Now With Woodcase Pencils

As part of my “10 Years” of TGS retrospective, I wanted to overhaul and fill out what I’ve called the “Best Pens” list, though by adding mechanical pencils and woodcase pencils to our comprehensive list of recommendations I probably should try to name it something else. (Another project for another day!) As of this morning, the list now features a series of woodcase pencil recommendations. These aren’t necessarily lists of “my favorite” pencils, but rather the pencils I’m comfortable recommending to those looking for an everyday user, or for those looking to try out quality pencils for the first time. You can check out the full list here, but the pencils that ended up in the pencil section include:

• The Tombow 2558, which I consider the best all-around “yellow/orange No. 2 office pencil,” with an outstanding eraser.

• The Caran d’Ache “Edelweiss” series, which comes in either HB or 3B hardnesses and costs less than $1.

• The Musgrave Tennessee Red or Tennessee Round, which is the only pencil I’m aware of currently made from Eastern Red Cedar, and certainly the most “aromatic” of the group.

• The Blackwing 602 or Blackwing Natural, which feature the “firm” and “extra firm” graphite formulations that probably work best for most people.

• The Uni Hi-Uni 2B, which I consider the premiere Japanese graphite pencil in terms of wood, graphite core, and lacquer finish. If you’re a fan of lacquer-capped (no eraser) pencils, it doesn’t get much better than this.

For an interesting comparison, see this “Top 5 Pencils for Everyday Writing” list I did back in 2016. There’s still some overlap, but a few of the pencils on this original list are either no longer widely available or have experienced a manufacturing change.

A note on Recommendation lists and how they relate to the T.G.S. Shop

For each entry on the list, I typically link to a review that I’ve done of the product, and then provide a link where the product can be purchased. For many of the pens and pencils that appear on the list, that link is now to our own store. I do want to clarify: This list predates the shop by many years (you can see link to prior versions at the bottom of each rendition), and has provided the blueprint for how we’ve built out our shop, not the other way around. Back in 2020, I set out to create a curated retail experience as an alternative to the referral link and ad-supported revenue model that was prevalent at the time. My goal has always been to sell directly only those things that I’d recommend myself, so some overlap is inevitable. For those items that we don’t sell, our primary retail partner is Vanness Pens, or I’ve linked directly to the specific maker.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases through the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

2024 Update to the "Best Pen" List: Top 5 Mechanical Pencils

Or maybe I should now say “Best Pen/Pencil” list? Earlier this month I teased some impending updates in the form of Mechanical and Woodcase pencil categories, and the “Mechanical Pencil” category is now live. I was waiting on an initial shipment of this favorite shown below to arrive before I launched, but overall there shouldn’t be too many surprises on the list! Enjoy!

If you don’t need the automatic lead advancement mechanism of the Kuru Toga Dive, the Pentel Sharp Kerry gives you a capped mechanical pencil option at a more reasonable price point.

A Huge Thank You for a Wonderful 10 Years: The 10th Anniversary T.G.S. Best Pens Update Is Live!

I did some more extensive revisions for this year’s “Best Pens” update, revising some of the list to reflect price changes, new additions, pens that have fallen out of production, and older companies that have become a bit stagnant. I won’t be overly long summarizing the update: you can read the list for yourself here! There is plenty more 10th Anniversary content on the way, including a pending “Best Pencils” list (both mechanical and woodcase), as well as a Multi-Pens category for the main Best Pens list. I wasn’t in a position to finalize all of those today, as I’m still considering whether to break pencils into a separate list. I hope you enjoy! I’ve really enjoyed being a part of this community for the past 10 years, and hope for at least 10 more!

Updated 4/14/24: I receive a lot of comments and messages whenever I update my “Best Pens” list. I can’t respond to all of them, but as a general matter I want to clarify a few things.

• It goes without saying that any TGS review/ curated list reflects my opinion, based on my own decade-plus experience of buying, using, collecting, and selling fountain pens. The fact that a pen is not featured on the list should NOT be considered a judgment on a pen that you otherwise personally enjoy.

• I cannot review everything. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different pens available on the market and to keep things manageable I reduce each category to five entries. If there is a pen that I have not reviewed on the site or featured in the list, that you think I should consider, please send me a message through the “Contact” link and I promise I will look into it.

• Because the overwhelming majority of my readership is in the United States, I generally limit “recommendations” - especially for beginners - to pens that are readily available in the U.S., from U.S. based retailers, so that it’s unnecessary to mail a pen overseas for warranty service. Of course I still import pens and review them and enjoy them, but this list is written with a different set of considerations in mind.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you enjoy our content, please consider supporting us directly.