Labor Day Giveaway, Courtesy of Rickshaw Bagworks and Nock Co.!

September 5, 2022

Brad was kind enough to send me home from the San Francisco Pen Show with an extra Nock Co. Sinclair “Model R”, in classic black cordura with bright yellow interior. While the case customizer isn’t quite ready over at Rickshaw Bagworks, you can still choose from some of Brad’s favorite color combinations, and comment below on the blog to get this one for free!

Nock Co. Rickshaw Sinclair Model R Black Yellow

I’m keeping the rules for this giveaway simple, with no widgets, third-party apps, etc. You can leave a comment on this blog post, and/or visit the T.G.S. Instagram and like the post there. I’ll number comments and likes and then pick a winner using a random number generator. The giveaway will remain open until 11:59pm Central U.S. time on Sunday, September 11, 2022. While the giveaway is open to everyone (provided it’s possible for me to ship to you), I may request that you chip in for international shipping if it ends up being prohibitively expensive. Also, if you comment anonymously or don’t allow Instagram DMs, I may not be able to contact you to tell you that you won.

Finally, remember that all orders placed in the T.G.S. Curated Shop through today will receive a freebie, such as some washi tape, an ink sample, a pen or pencil, etc. All orders over $75 ship free!

This giveaway is not a paid promotion. Nock Co. and Rickshaw donated this case for promotional purposes, and T.G.S. is not being compensated in any way by either company for running it.

From Plotters to Paper to Ebonite Pens: My 2022 San Francisco Takeaways

September 3, 2022

In my main recap earlier this week, I talked about how the San Francisco Pen Show is a different kind of event, with a focus on classes, seminars, and community in addition to the typical pen show shopping extravaganza. Well, for all of those who have been asking for photos of my show haul, this is it, and it was a bit of a doozy. I rarely do “haul” posts, but I thought it might be fun to walk through my San Francisco pen show experience photographically, discussing each of my purchases/acquisitions by category, since what I ended up taking home from this show says a lot about the feel of the show and how I hope more shows evolve in the future.

Paper = Mostly Plotter

Earlier in August, I was on the fence whether to attend the San Francisco Pen Show at all, and then Plotter announced that they would be on-site with their creative director, Takayuki Saito, hand-assembling special-edition binders in specialty leathers that would only be available at that show. OK, I was in.

My yellow Plotter A5 being hand-assembled and adjusted.

At last year’s San Francisco Pen Show (2021), I was gifted the “Narrow” in brown “Pueblo” leather as part of Plotter’s US launch, when they sent out review kits to get feedback on the product in advance of a broader release. I’ve used my Narrow Plotter as my primary T.G.S. business notebook for the better part of a year, though I’ll admit it took me a while to get a feel for the system and discovery how it fits into my particular workflow. To be honest, it was more a factor of me being out of the “ring system” mentality for the better part of a decade and having to rethink how I could incorporate the ability to organize and shuffle pages around. Having now used the system at some length, perused the full range of refills, and visited with the people behind Plotter (both the U.S. and Japanese creative teams), I feel like I understand the system a bit better and there are definitely aspects that could drastically improve my research and writing process, as well as my daily capture of thoughts I don’t want to lose/miss.

Plotter refills and accessories — Plotter: Infinitely customizable. You can make the system as intricate or as simple as you desire.

I had my personal Plotter appointment at 11:56 on Friday morning. (The time intervals were very precise, which is not strange at all for someone who has tracked their life in six-minute increments for the past 17 years.) But before my booked time slot, at which I planned to purchase a Plotter A5, Saito-san’s own personal Plotter Mini-5 caught my eye. The Mini-5 is a newer size, at least in the U.S. Market: a wallet-sized Plotter that appeared to be wallet + pocket notebook + penholder solution for which I’d been actively searching for years. I bought one in grey Pueblo leather, to match my “aged” Baron Fig wallet.

Plotter Mini-5 compared against Bifold Wallet

Later that afternoon, as I watched Takayuki Saito - Plotter’s creative director - assemble my binder (A5 ochre/yellow leather with gold trim), I started thinking about the accessories I needed and how I would use the Plotter system. I ended up purchasing a wide selection of add-ons and different refills to set up each Plotter for the various roles I have planned for each size. While most of this will be featured in a longer series on Notebook Systems/System Techo that I have in the works, I’ll give a brief photographic overview below:

Plotter Mini-5 Grey Pueblo Leather — My Plotter Mini-5 in grey Pueblo leather has replaced my wallet since approximately an hour after I bought it. If you intend to use it as a wallet, you’ll need at least one of the cardholder accessories. The pen loop is also an add-on, if you want to carry a pocket pen. (The one shown here is a Penco “Perfection” Bullet pen - back in stock in the shop!)

Plotter Narrow Brown Pueblo vs. Plotter Grey Mini-5 — My Plotter Narrow (in more worn/aged brown Pueblo), vs. my Mini-5 in grey Pueblo. The mesh bags seen behind them are one of the more intriguing Plotter accessories that I ordered after the show, and were delivered yesterday. The Narrow will remain my TGS business notebook for checklists, posting schedules, etc. The Mini-5 will serve as my wallet and pocket notebook.

My yellow Plotter A5 - I’m not sure what this leather is called, or whether it will be generally available, but it’s gorgeous and about as close to my beloved natural undyed leather as you can currently get in the Plotter lineup. This one will age beautifully. I intend for this notebook to serve as a general purpose creative and idea inbox - a place to sketch out ideas before moving them into storage or figuring out where they will permanently live.

Plotter A5 vs. Plotter Narrow vs. Plotter Mini-5 — A Plotter group shot so you can get a sense of the different sizes in relation to one another.

Plotter refills in various sizes and rulings. One of the unique things about Plotter “refills” is that many are sold as bound pads that can be used as stand-alone notebooks. That way, you can selectively choose which sheets to remove and store in your binder. I’ll discuss this concept in more depth as part of a forthcoming review, but Plotter is not necessarily a planner system - you can use it that way, but it was originally conceived as curated binder system allowing you to carry with you those ideas that you’re currently working on, while archiving others elsewhere.

If you’re a fan of compartmentalized packing, bag-within-a-bag organization, etc., I highly recommend the Plotter Mesh Cases. Each case has a hinged opening that securely closes, two interior compartments, and while they are sized for the various Plotters (as shown in my pictures above), you can use them for an infinite number of other purposes.

I didn’t limit the “paper” theme of this show to Plotter. On Saturday, I scored a seat in the “paper tasting” seminar with Taizo Yamamoto and Bruce Eimon, and following that fascinating hour and a half session, picked up ten different memo pads full of unique, fountain-pen friendly Japanese papers at the Yamamoto Paper booth. I later discovered that the small square memo sheets can be hole-punched to fit perfectly into the Plotter (or any standard six-ring binder), should you want to keep any loose notes.

Yamamoto Paper Tasting Seminar Notes — My takeaways from the Yamamoto Paper class and table!

Yamamoto Paper Sample Box 1 — Of these five, the Sleight White and the Soliste papers were the ones that pleasantly surprised me.

Yamamoto Paper Sample Box 2 — I doubled down on Soliste, though the textured Air Mail Bond White was also a lightweight favorite. I’m going to buy some full-size sheets because I suspect it will make for excellent typewriter paper.

Yamamoto Memo Pad Boxes — The Memo Boxes themselves are well designed and useful. I really hope these become more readily available outside of pen shows.

Yamamoto Notes in Plotter — You can use a standard Rapesco or Filofax hole punch to insert notes into the Plotter system (or whatever standard six-ring system you use). Plotter rings are not proprietary, so you don’t need to purchase an expensive proprietary hole punch to use your own paper with the system.

While I was at the Yamamoto Paper table, I also spotted some of their Ro-Biki Notebooks along with a cotton wrap-style case. Since it’s a long-narrow format, the Ro-Biki notebooks caught my eye, and I picked one up for experimentation. While most Traveler’s Company refills are too wide for this particular wrap, I found that I can make the MD Cotton Letter pad from the B-Sides series work. Honestly, though, the artwork on the Ro-Biki is what drew me in (that and the rumor that they may be moving to the Soliste paper in the future, which I adore.)

The Yamamoto Ro-Biki Cotton Canvas Cover plus two refills.

Yamamoto Ro-Biki and Traveler's Refill — I love the details on the “Star Map” Cover.

The Canvas Cover Folds over and closes with an elastic strap.

Pen Cases = Mostly Rickshaw Bagworks

The other big piece of news in advance of San Francisco was the re-launch of the Nock Co. Sinclair (aka the Arguably Greatest Pen Case of All Time), in collaboration with San Francisco-based Rickshaw Bagworks. Rickshaw brought at least one tubful of the new Sinclair “Model-r”, one of which I purchased, and Brad supplied me with another for review purposes. The Sinclair is still an outstanding pen case, and Rickshaw has made some slight adjustments to the design (with more possible as customizations).

Rickshaw Bagworks Sinclair Mode-R Cases — The Rickshaw show sticker was also available - if you picked up a fortune cookie at the entrance to the show, the “Fortune” was, at a minimum, a free sticker from the Rickshaw table!

Ink = Finally, Some Wearingeul (Plus a Lot of Giveaway Freebies)

Later on Saturday afternoon, Jesi over at the Dromgoole’s table finally got me with the Wearingeul Inks. Once again, I’m blown away by how many different ink brands there are now, and how many new inks they can bring to market. Sure, some companies aren’t very creative and don’t pay attention to whether or not they’re duplicating colors that already exist, but others - like Wearingeul - continue to amaze me with unique muted colors that are interesting but still suitable for everyday writing.

Six Wearingeul Inks from San Francisco — I can’t pick a favorite. All of these are good, if not amazing.

Did I mention I can’t pick a favorite? The paper shown here is Midori MD Cotton - my new favorite paper for ink sampling, but in a test run Plotter refill where Plotter took A5 sheets and letterpressed lines into the cotton paper. Please do me a favor and e-mail Plotter USA ***now***, and demand that they bring this paper into the standard lineup. It’s amazing. For now, I’ll have to settle for taking the standard MD Cotton A5 pad and punching holes in it.

Nagasawa was selling Kobe ink for $10 a bottle on Sunday. Was I really going to pass that up? Plus I picked up a bottle of Ferris Wheel Press Mirror, Mirror of Moiraine, which I’ve been obsessing over for the better part of a year.

I swabbed for posterity/sampling far more bottles than I brought home!

Pens = All Ebonite

So, Joe, no pens? That was the plan, and I held out until Sunday, when I found myself eyeing Ranga premium ebonite pens over at the Peyton Street Pens table. Never having owned a Ranga pen, and loving ebonite in general, I acquired a dark red/black striated Bamboo model, as well as one of the Abhimanyu models in a green/yellow color. Ranga pens take No. 6 (and sometimes, No. 8) JoWo nibs, making them perfect platforms for nib customization.

Ranga Ebonite Pens Bamboo Abhimanyu — The Ranga Abhimanyu (left) and the Bamboo (right).

I love the color variation on the section of this pen. It’s what sold me on this specific piece. All of the pens are different.

I’m not sure there’s a color of ebonite that could speak to me more.

Nib Grinds = Further Exploring Naginata Styles

I picked up four nib grinds: two Nag-architect hybrid nibs with ultra-fine points from The Nib Tailor, and a Mini-Nag and architect from C.Y. of Tokyo Station Pens (who I enjoyed meeting for the first time!). The Naginata-style grind deserves its own post, so I won’t write at length here, but the grind features line variation similar to an architect (thick horizontal, thinner vertical), with less definition and a slightly smoother feel, plus the ability to vary line thickness depending on the angle at which you hold the pen. Different nib grinders use different techniques and have their own style, so no two pens will be the same. You really need to experiment to find your preference with this grind, which is why I’ve requested nibs from various people and will be doing a longer comparison post in the future. (For reference, check out my review of the Custom Nib Studio “Perspective” grind, which so far I consider one of my favorite Naginata-style nibs out there.) As an FYI, Gena is now offering pre-ground Naginata-style and cursive italic nibs through Schon DSGN, at least at pen shows. I picked up one of the former and it’s really, really good.

Once again, many thanks to everyone who made the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show such a great experience. I can’t wait to see you all again next year! If you have specific questions about any of the products featured here, feel free to reach out.

** I have strategically omitted certain purchases from this recap since I did pick up some cool things for upcoming birthday and holiday gifts. (The recipients read the blog.) :)

This post does not contain affiliate links or paid sponsorships, and unless expressly indicated otherwise, the products purchased here were acquired with my own funds at full price. Certain of the Plotter refills I ordered online were subject to a discount code that was floating around the show. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

DesignPhil Plotter Traveler's Notebook Table

2022 San Francisco Pen Show: The Main Event for the Modern Enthusiast

August 31, 2022

There is a key difference between the San Francisco Pen Show and pretty much every other pen show out there: Other legacy pen shows are primarily geared towards the “collector” or “hobbyist,” whereas the San Francisco Pen Show goes out of its way to appeal to true enthusiasts, or those who see stationery as an integral part of their life. Sure, there’s a lot of buying, selling, and trading - I enjoy those things as much as anyone and shows are a great place to indulge - but it begs the question: what do you do with it all? For those looking to lean heavily into analog and incorporate it even further into their daily routine, this past weekend offered a lot.

The Nib Tailor Setting Up Friday — The Nib Tailor (JC Ament) setting up on Friday. Note the space surrounding the table.

Creating a More Easily Navigable and Enjoyable Show Experience

Let’s start with the basics: the San Francisco Pen Show is incredibly well-run. The organizers carefully think through everything, from table layout to aisle spacing to food and after-hours events. And while the show itself is carefully planned, there’s still enough flexibility to allow vendors to experiment with the user experience. For example, this year Atelier Musubi “inverted” their three tables into a horseshoe shape, essentially creating a “shop” where you could walk in and explore their offerings. (You can watch my walkthrough video here.) The ballroom certainly became crowded at points during the weekend, especially on Saturday, but I never witnessed the kind of congestion and table backups I’ve seen at many other shows, except maybe at the Toyooka Craft table on Friday, which is another story…. More on that below.

I basically learned to make an inky mess at Leigh’s first class (Mad Scientist Mode).

Seminars, Meetups, and Classes Throughout the Weekend

While most pen shows these days offer classes and seminars, the roster is fairly predictable and rarely ventures beyond vintage-pen education (repair, history, etc.) and calligraphy. Don’t get me wrong - these events should exist and often see strong attendance, but the range of interests in the pen community is far more diverse. An example of what else is possible: San Francisco featured free seminars that included an “Introduction to System Techo” (i.e., how to use Japanese-style notebook systems) and “Paperchase!”, a paper-related class by Daryl Lim of notebook-maker Atelier Musubi. In addition to calligraphy, paid classes included multiple journaling workshops, a class on sketchnoting, class on travel sketching and ink washing, a workshop on modifying Pilot Parallel calligraphy pens, and more.

Please don’t balk at paying class “tuition”. In addition to compensating the teachers for the time spent in organizing and putting on the seminar, it often includes a full toolkit that you can take home to continue whatever it is you learn that day.

As I noted on Saturday, I attended two journaling workshops: “Mad Scientist Mode ON” and “Notes to Self” by Leigh Reyes, both of which were excellent and focused on visual and nontraditional journaling exercises, in addition to just having fun playing with inks an paper in ways most people wouldn’t think you could. I also sat in on the System Techo seminar by April from DesignPhil (parent company of Traveler’s Company and Plotter USA), which I found fascinating as she not only talked about products but the results of the interviews they conducted with individuals who used them. I came away with plenty of ideas not just for more content I can bring you but how I plan to use my own notebooks more on an everyday basis. Finally, I attended “Every Paper Has Its Origin Story,” by Taizo Yamamoto (of Yamamoto Paper) and Bruce Eimon, which allowed participants to sample and learn the details/origins of eighteen different Japanese specialty writing papers. (I visited the Yamamoto Paper table after the class and took home samples of ten of them - there’s a LOT out there beyond Tomoe River, and I personally wouldn’t have known about any of them absent this class.)

Wearingeul Ink Dromgoole's — I spent some time exploring the ink racks at the Dromgoole’s tables, and ended up coming away with some Wearingeul inks. (Finally!)

And, of Course, There Was Shopping

The San Francisco Pen Show is famous for drawing vendors and brands from Japan, and while this year’s show didn’t quite hit pre-2020 levels of international attendance, Toyooka Craft, Nagasawa, and Bungubox all attended the show. Bungubox and Nagasawa brought plenty of exclusive pens and inks, and Nagasawa was running some crazy promotions on Sunday as they certainly didn’t want to carry any of it home to Japan. As you may have heard, the Toyooka Craft table was more or less stripped bare of all the pen chests and larger items by noon on Friday! Given the size of a wooden pen chest, it wasn’t something that I planned to carry home with me cross-country, but it would’ve been nice to have a look, y’all. :)

Ink Sorting after hours — No, I didn’t buy all this ink. Someone had a “free ink” box that was being passed around and I grabbed a handful of bottles and paid the rest forward. The things you see at pen shows!

I won’t go through the roster of show vendors who attended - you can view that on the show website - but I will make a general observation that I enjoyed seeing a focus on notebooks and paper that can be lacking at other shows. In addition to Traveler’s Company and Plotter USA (which make Japanese-style planner/journal systems and related products), Yamamoto Paper had two large tables full of specialty papers in both samplers and full-size pads and notebooks, and Atelier Musubi completely sold out of their high-end journals and notebooks. While people certainly bought pens, there was a level of excitement around the paper and paper-related events that I had not seen before at other shows.

Kobe Ink Nagasawa — Nagasawa brought all of their Kobe inks (Sailor inks in colors drawing on locations in Kobe, Japan), as well as many limited and special edition pens. This was a very popular table throughout the weekend.

Takeaways from the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show

If you can’t tell already from my Saturday recap and the discussion so far, I thoroughly enjoyed the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show. In order to stay relevant to the modern enthusiast, I would argue that pen shows need to accommodate a broader range of vendors and events, including more classes and seminars that focus less on acquisition and more on use. Shopping is fun, but the items I buy are meaningless to me if I don’t do anything with them. That said, I plan to do a further post this weekend highlighting what I picked up and why, as well as some nib grinds I had done. (I still have not finished unpacking.)

If my show description isn’t enough to draw you to the San Francisco Pen Show, I hope this is. Did I mention there’s a great food scene?

Will I be back in San Francisco? Absolutely. I try to plan my “show calendar” at the beginning of each year, and during that process identify the 2-3 shows that are “must-attend” events for me. After two consecutive “excellent” shows, San Francisco will replace D.C. at the top of my list in terms of priority scheduling, and I’m strongly considering reserving a table or two when registration opens back up for 2023.

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

Pilot Specialty Nibs — Pilot USA attended with all of the specialty nibs available to test!

2022 San Francisco Pen Show Recap, Day 1

August 27, 2022

Is it possible to get the entire pen show weekend experience on a single day? It might be. Day One (Friday of the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show was a whirlwind of shopping, seminars, and of course visiting with friends - some of whom I’ve not seen in person in several years. After commenting that the 2022 D.C. Pen Show had a somewhat lackluster energy, especially where it came to organizing and promoting non-shopping related activities such as classes and seminars, I was ready for a different experience, and after only a day I can say that the San Francisco Pen Show delivers.

Plotter USA Three Sizes — Three different sizes of Plotters, ranging from A5 (left) to Narrow to Mini 5. The Mini 5 size is a show discovery that I would not have discovered had I not attended the San Francisco Pen Show in person.

If You’re At All Interested in Japanese Paper and Notebook Systems, Try to Attend the San Francisco Pen Show.

Disclaimer up front: I’m a bit biased, since you all know that I am a longtime notebook/planner/paper enthusiast as well as a Midori MD and Traveler’s Notebook dealer, but this particular show has been a bit of an ultimate holiday for me. Not only does the vendor roster feature Traveler’s Company, Plotter USA, and Atelier Musubi (all makers of excellent notebooks that use high-end paper), but I had the opportunity to sign up for a time slot with Plotter and have them make a semi-custom A5 binder for me out of a selection of show-exclusive leathers. I opted for “Yellow”, which has more of a natural look that should age with a nice patina.

But what to do with all of this paper? While I use most of my notebooks for work notes, journaling, and writing, I’ve been trying to incorporate more creative use of my pens and inks. So I signed up for both of my friend Leigh Reyes’ workshops this weekend, the first of which (“Mad Scientist Mode ON”) was yesterday. The focus of the course involved experimenting with inks, papers, and other tools in counterintuitive ways to create different effects (i.e., spritzing ink drawings with bleach). Leigh also taught us how to make our own shimmer and “special effects” inks by adding shimmer particles of various colors and even glow-in-the-dark compounds!

Leigh Reyes Mad Scientist Mode On Shimmer Ink — By using micah particles, you can create your own shimmer ink by adding shimmer to your own favorite colors. (Use caution when introducing your own mixtures into fountain pens - this was done with a refillable fiber-tipped marker.)

What’s on the Agenda for Today?

In addition to trying to meet up with more friends and acquaintances, including saying hello to as many different Patreon supporters as possible, I’m attending a free seminar put on by Plotter USA titled “Beginners Guide to System Techo,” a 1.5-hr walkthrough of all the various ways in which the Plotter and its intricately detailed, versatile refills can be used. (I suspect that a lot of the concepts will translate directly to other notebooks/planners as well.) Many of you have requested specific site content discussing how to maximize the potential of your Plotters, Traveler’s Notebooks, and Lochbys, so I’m hoping to learn more and get some ideas so that I can better understand and recommend the products that I use and sell myself.

Plotter Customization System Techo — Be sure to stop by the Plotter USA Table!

I also plan to attend a paid class by Taizo Yamamoto (Yamamoto Paper) and Bruce Eimon, titled “Every Paper has an Origin Story,” discussing the histories, use, and properties of all sorts of specialty Japanese paper. While this specific class is currently full, if you’re in the area and considering attending the show, be sure to check out the class and seminar rosters on the show website. Stay tuned for more updates, and of course I’ll have a full recap this week with more pictures and general takeaways from San Francisco!

Show refills and the Traveler’s Company Art Toolkit from the Traveler’s Company booth.

T.G.S. Store Update!

If you can’t partake in the fun at the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show, we recently restocked on the full range of Midori MD and Traveler’s Company notebooks and accessories. There’s a vibrant culture that has developed around all of these brands, which you really appreciate at a show, especially the degree to which people use the products as designed, and integrate them into their everyday lives. It makes me proud to be associated with companies like these!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by sales in the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges from the T.G.S. Patreon Program.