Mid-Year Review: Five Favorite Posts from the First Half of 2024 and a Big Announcement!

Most years, I take vacation during the month of June and use the time off to recharge. New content takes a back seat to a bit of rest, but for several different reasons (one of which is pretty exciting and discussed at the end of today’s post) that’s not the case this year. Nonetheless, I love doing the mid-year recaps and reviews because it lets me take stock of what I’ve done so far, compare it to my strategic plan, and plot the course for the second half of the year in terms of informational resources I plan to write, products to review, and - especially relevant this year - shop strategy! Today’s post looks at the five posts I had the most fun writing during the first six months of 2024, and which prompted the most reader feedback and engagement. Enjoy!

1. Strategic Paper Replacement: Adventures in E-Ink, Part I (The Physical Writing Experience). Yes, additional installments in this series are coming, but I’m taking my time with it because I’m still working through exactly how to explain the role these devices have come to play in my workflow. I will say that I’ve completely moved on from the iPad Pro and most “electronic handwriting” that I do is now on e-ink-based systems.

2. Pen Myth-Busting: Remember That Information on the Internet Has an Expiration Date. You may have noticed that in several posts so far this year, I’ve revisited reviews from the early years of T.G.S. That’s intentional, because companies change, manufacturing improves, and observations and conclusions from ten years ago aren’t always accurate.

3. #17InkQuestions from The Gentleman Stationer. I’ve enjoyed these writing prompts that have become popular over the past year or so. If you’re interested in learning about how different community members use their pens and inks, and how they got into the hobby in the first place, check out these posts.

4. How Fine is “Too Fine”? Comparing Tip Sizes Across Different Pen and Pencil Types. I’ve been trying to compile more informational resources for readers, and this post was an experiment that many have found useful. .38mm in one type of pen or pencil doesn’t necessarily equate to .38mm elsewhere.

5. First Impressions: Is the Tom’s Studio Lumos Series the Refillable Fineliner I’ve Been Waiting For? While this was a “first impressions” post, I can easily say that no pen has made its way into my regular rotation quicker than the Tom’s Studio Lumos fineliner. Refillable fineliners are one of those product categories that many have attempted but nobody seems to have really nailed, until now….

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Packed for vacation? Not quite.

And Some Big News for T.G.S. Fans… A Physical Location Later This Summer!

I wasn’t really sure how to drop this, but we’ve just signed a lease on a physical space in the Nashville, Tennessee area to house T.G.S., a project which has been taking up much of my time for the past year! While eventually there will be an in-person shopping option such as a showroom/retail store once I have it set up, the immediate need is office and warehouse space that lets us bring in additional help with fulfillment during the busier times of the year. The space is extremely flexible, and once we’re able to take possession later this summer I’ll be posting additional photos, hours for order pickup, and a further timeline on public hours once we’re ready. Stay tuned!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We greatly appreciate your support, especially as we grow.

2023 Mid-Year Recap: Reader Favorites from the First Six Months of 2023

As part of my annual mid-year review, I always take a look at the blog statistics and see what type of content readers have enjoyed. The five posts featured here are the ones from 2023 that either received the most traffic and/or comments (relative, of course, to how recently some of them were posted). In terms of overall popular content, our posts on Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper, Picking a Workhorse Pen, and Fountain Pen Inks for Everyday Writing continue to be popular among T.G.S. readers, especially those new to fountain pens.

Many thanks for all your support and readership! For additional installments of our 2023 Mid-Year Recap, check out this post on my own personal favorite posts (with minimal overlap), as well as the favorite new product releases from the Curated Shop.

1. Workhorse Pens: Considerations and Pitfalls of High Capacity Pocket Fountain Pens. It’s extremely interesting to me that this particular post is among the most popular new content from the first six months of the year. The TWSBI Diamond Mini and Vac-Mini, as well as smaller Opus 88 pens, get very little attention, generally in favor of their larger counterparts. TWSBI at least has started paying some attention to the Diamond Mini, with the recently released Mini AL Grape.

2. Schon DSGN Full-Size Fountain Pen with Monoc Nib. Well, this is timely, because Schon DSGN announced recently (and posted pics last night) that they are working on anodized versions of their in-house Monoc nib. These look absolutely stunning. Follow them on Instagram to learn more and see what might be coming down the pipeline!

3. Ark of Pens (Guest Post from R.B. Lemberg). We had an outstanding response to the first T.G.S. Guest Post in a while, where R.B. went through their personal pen collecting story and discussed how they came to the hobby and collecting in general.

4. Triangular Grip Pens: Love ‘em or Leave ‘em? Nontraditional fountain pen sections are a love/hate proposition. Either people love the added structure intended to “guide” their fingers into writing position, or it simply doesn’t work for them. Personally, I’ve come to appreciate the slightly rounded triangular shape of the TWSBI ECO-T, and the Safari and AL-Star have never bothered me all that much. I never could use those molded “pencil grips” though….

5. Fountain Pen Basics: Five Best Practices for Fountain Pen Users. This post sparked the most comments, all of which I enjoyed reading! Everyone uses and cares for their pens in different ways - there really is no “right” or “wrong” way (other than anything that results in a puddle of ink in your bag, pen case, or pocket). I’ve made an effort to do more “Fountain Pens 101-style” posts, since I know we have a lot of readers who are coming to fountain pens for the first time this year!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We greatly appreciate your support! If you’ve been considering the Patreon, now is a great time to join, as we are preparing to launch a new exclusive fountain pen release, and are in the middle of the Patrons-exclusive “Gently Used” sale.

2023 Mid-Year Recap: Five Favorite Posts from the First Half of 2023

Every year around this time I take a pause from creating new content to assess where I am in terms of the goals I set for myself and the site at the beginning of the year. This provides the opportunity to reflect on the progress made and to reassess priorities and make adjustments in light of new developments. As part of that review, I’ll look at both the shop and the blog, and always start by evaluating what worked, including my favorite posts from the first part of the year. This year, they include:

1. Journaling in 2023: Use It or Lose It? Well, did I use it or did I lose it? Neither. I've kept up on my journaling, but irregularly. Now is the perfect time to jump back into the daily habit, because I definitely start feeling off-track and disconnected without taking that time for myself. I’d also like to add in 20-30 minutes of morning pages, but that’s adding something entirely new to my routine so I’ll have to see how it fits.

2. Serious Nibbage: Do No. 8 Nibs Live Up to the Hype? Yes, they do. I’ve continued to use my No. 8 nibs regularly, and am actively looking to add more to my collection. In addition to just being more visually interesting, I love the way they write. Smoother? Slightly more springy?

3. Schon DSGN Full-Size Fountain Pen and Monoc Nib First Impressions. Schon DSGN’s completely in-house Monoc nib is easily my favorite product released this year. I can’t wait to pick up one of the color-anodized versions at a pen show later this summer.

4. Review Revisited: Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo and Tsuki-Yo. As the year has progressed, one of the projects I’ve picked up along the way is revisiting things I first looked at in the early days of T.G.S., and if they’re items I continue to use, why they have such staying power. These two inks started out as two of my favorites, and remain at the top of my list.

5. Catching Up with Tactile Turn: The Side Click "Deep Space" Seasonal Edition. I still love my Tactile Turn “Deep Space” Side Click, as much as I did the day I purchased the pen. Just a reminder that the current seasonal release, “8-Bit”, is about to go away, so if you’ve been looking to get one now’s your chance.

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

Mid-Year Review: Top Five 2022 Acquisitions

I’ve been more selective with my acquisitions this year, having previously pared back my personal collection and consciously taken on fewer items for review, preferring instead to focus on more in-depth consideration of those pens I do choose to write up. Mostly, this has involved further refining exactly what I enjoy in a pen and/or a nib that makes me want to use it every day. Somewhat surprisingly, I’ve gravitated more towards smaller, more streamlined designs, and my nib choice has moved towards those grinds with an architect/Naginata profile as opposed to the cursive italics and stock mediums that previously made up the bulk of my rotation. For this year’s Mid-Year Review: Top Five Acquisitions, I’ve chosen three pens and two nib grinds, all of which have been in continuous rotation for multiple months. To the extent you’ve not seen a stand-alone review of specific pens (such as the Stacey Robinson Navigator), look for one later in the year.

1. Schon DSGN Full Size Fountain Pen. By far my favorite pen release from the past two years is the Schon DSGN Full Size Fountain Pen, and I’ll include in this entry not just the anodized pens, but the “engineered plastics” collection as well, including both the ultem and PEEK models. Ian nailed the size, shape, and balance on this pen - it’s the ultimate all-day, everyday writer.

2. Custom Nib Studio “Perspective” Nib. Gena Salorino’s “Perspective” grind is one of the most versatile I’ve ever used, easily allowing me to move between an extra-fine and bold line within the same sentence, as necessary, depending on how I angle the pen. Be sure to read my review for some additional discussion on how the right nib grind can transform a pen from “meh” to one that you want to pick up and use every day.

3. Stacey Robinson “Navigator” Fountain Pens. A perfect example of why you should attend pen shows to find those makers who might otherwise fall through the cracks, Stacey Robinson’s “Navigator” fountain pen easily qualifies as my personal “pen show find” of the year. Featuring a size and shape similar to the Schon DSGN Full Size fountain pens, I picked up THREE of these pens in Atlanta - two in relatively rare Conway Stewart acrylics I’ve been coveting, and a third in a gorgeous beige striated ebonite.

4. Schon DSGN Pocket Six in Aged Copper. While the standard Schon DSGN Pocket Six has been around for a couple of years now, Ian has been known to bring one-off “show special” finishes to pen shows, like this copper faceted pen with an applied “antiqued” patina. (My challenge for the rest of the year is to NOT spend all of my money at the Schon DSGN table in the first fifteen minutes.)

5. Mark Bacas “Predator” Nib. Another custom nib makes this mid-year list - the “Predator Hybrid” by Mark Bacas, which combines a XXF tip with a reverse architect. I’m beginning to value versatility in nib grinds, including not only the writing properties of the nib itself but also the ability to swap the nib between different pens. (For this grind, I sent Mark a TWSBI Diamond 580 nib unit so that I can use it in any of my TWSBI 580 fountain pens.)

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My Schon DSGN Pocket Six in Faceted Antiqued Copper (right), next to a Pocket Six in Faceted Brass.

Further Reading

This post is the last entry in a three-part “Mid-Year Review,” which I typically do when I take my summer vacation every June. Don’t miss Part I: Favorite Review Posts from the First Half of 2022, and Part II: Favorite Shop Additions. For more general “Top 5” lists, check out the annually updated 2022 “Best Pen” Recommendations.

This post does not contain paid third-party affiliate links. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

2022 Mid-Year Review, Part II: Favorite Shop Additions and A Huge Thank-You!

Thanks to you all, both the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program have grown significantly over the past year, which has allowed this site to shift from near-complete reliance on a third-party sponsorship/affiliate supported business model to one that’s self-sustaining. Not only do I believe that this is the healthiest approach in terms of keeping the site economically viable over the long term, but it’s been far more satisfying to me personally to select, vet, and choose my own curated set of recommended products, as opposed to relying on third-parties to deliver the writing experience readers ultimately expect after making a purchase following a review or other guidance I’ve offered.

For today’s mid-year recap post, I decided to focus on my five favorite products introduced in 2022, with a single selection from different product categories. I’ve got one pen, a paper product, a planning product, pen cases, and some washi tape (NSFW alert). I hope you enjoy using these products as much as I’ve enjoyed selecting and stocking them.

1. TWSBI Swipe Fountain Pen in Salmon. While the Swipe fountain pen is available in several other colors, for some reason this muted orange grabs me. I still haven’t picked one out for myself because I haven’t decided on the perfect matching ink (as one does).

2. Clairefontaine French-Ruled Looseleaf Sheets. My favorite stationery product of all time, and the one that started me down this personal rabbit hole of obsession, is now available in the shop! While the looseleaf sheets are a personal favorite, I love Clairefontaine’s French-ruled paper in general, and it’s available in notebook form.

3. Midori MD Diary Stickers. While they’re not huge sellers - probably because people are puzzled as to how, exactly, to use them - these simple and inexpensive planning products have revolutionized my own work notebooks because they easily allow me to set up a month-per-page calendar. The stickers come dated or undated.

4. Lochby Cases. I talked yesterday about the Quattro Four-Pen Case, and how it’s one of the best products I’ve reviewed this year. In general, the Lochby case lineup (and accompanying 68gsm Tomoe River paper products) have been a massive success, as I’m always on the lookout for quality waxed canvas products given their durability and aesthetics as they wear over time.

5. Grown-Person Washi Tape. Because sometimes you just need something that quickly describes the day in your journal without having to actually rehash it.

Please note that I am traveling the week of June 11 and orders placed during this time will ship out in five business days. I always include extras (stickers, notecards, ink samples, washi tapes, etc.) to orders placed during a travel period! Many thanks for your support.