Nashville T.G.S. Special Event Recap, Day One, Plus Saturday Details

It’s taken me about a year to get here, but a primary reason I wanted to open a store was so that I could host events like the current weekend pop-up with Vanness Pens and Newton Pens! While we have moved the main T.G.S. Shop to Suite 107 on the front of the building, making it easier to find, Suite 113 (the “old” store) will be opened for special events like this weekend, and will also continue to serve as our office, warehouse, and fulfillment location. Come see us today (Saturday) from 10-6pm!

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Sign work courtesy of Shawn Newton, Photo courtesy of Lisa @ Olive Octopus!

Friday turned out to be super busy! We kicked off the weekend with normal business hours, and everyone had fun shopping our normal offerings as well as Shawn’s custom pens and specialty inks, ink samples, rare pens, and accessories from Vanness. After the shop “officially” closed we had a special Middle Tennessee Fountain Pen Club event with food and space to spread out. As we get settled into the new store and organize our warehouse, I plan to add additional seating, table-space, couches, etc. so that it’s easier to plan and grow these types of events. If you’re in the Nashville area (or reasonably close by), be sure to join the Middle Tennessee Fountain Pen Club, which now has a website in addition to the Facebook Page, so you’ll receive the announcements.

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Pre-opening setup with some of the stuff from Vanness, including Rickshaw, Galen Leather, Robert Oster Inks, Nagasawa Pens, and more! There is plenty of stock so if you missed Friday you have all day Saturday from 10-6pm to catch up.

For those coming by today, there will be a sign on the sidewalk outside directing everyone to where we’re set up. Many thanks to all of you who came out to support us in the new location, and to welcome everyone who to visit from out of town. I look forward to hosting more of these events in the future and further growing the pen community in the greater Nashville area!

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Also: Diamine Inkvent Calendars Are Here In-Store!

The 2026 Diamine Inkvent Calendars arrived Thursday afternoon, and I was able to swing by to pick them up on our way in to Friday’s event prior to opening. They’re now available both in-store and online, but supply is somewhat limited so please be sure to grab yours while they’re available.

Our regular in-store hours are Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and Saturdays from 10am-6pm. Be sure to check our Google Profile or main store page for up-to-date hours and special event details.

State of the Shop Update, Part II: Build-Out Progress!

A couple weeks back we celebrated our first anniversary as a brick-and-mortar store, and thought it might be fun to share some progress photos from the ongoing buildout of our new shop area, which will be located on the front of our existing building. Why this new shop? Mostly because our online business is growing and we need to use our current location as pure warehouse/office space. It’s become too difficult to clearly separate the two, and we’ve had issues with customers trying to enter off-limits areas in order to “look around.” As noted below, after we get the store moved over, we still plan to open this space up for special events, but the primary location for picking up orders and in-person shopping will be the new showroom in Suite 107. This location will also be clearly marked and easier to locate on the front of the building. Our first date in the new space will be Thursday, October 16, so until then, you should continue to visit the current location (Suite 113).

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The new space will have a more traditional showroom/pen shop location, with enough space for most of the products that people tend to want to see in person.

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I’m looking forward to the new space being better organized, with clearly delineated “sections” for different product categories.

Don’t Miss Our Nashville In-Store Event Scheduled for October 17-18 with Vanness and Newton Pens!

Lisa Vanness and Shawn Newton will be in-store on Friday, October 17 and Saturday, October 18! Be sure to stop by if you are in the Nashville area, as we will be opening up the new shop (Suite 107, on the front of the building), as well as the existing T.G.S. entrance (Suite 113) which we will continue to use for special events such as this one. Lisa will be bringing rare inks and other Vanness Pens exclusives, and Shawn will of course have a selection of Newton Pens available to see and purchase!

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The shop will be open normal hours: 1-6pm on Friday (10/17), and 10am-6pm (10/18) on Saturday. Though no reservation or appointment is necessary, please do note that the shop tends to be busiest from between 12pm-2pm, so arrivals outside of that time slot may have an easier time finding parking. We hope to see you there!

2025 D.C. Pen Show Recap: The Big Show Gets Bigger

Can you believe that I just returned home from what I’m pretty sure was the biggest D.C. Pen Show ever and I feel like I barely got to see any of it? Sometimes that’s what happens when you’re busy behind the table! I had a great time visiting with all of you who stopped by, either during the show or after-hours, and my suitcases came home much lighter than when I left. Unfortunately, because I was behind the table for most of the weekend, I only made it into one of the four ballrooms, and even then only for a few minutes. Where did I go when I did have free time? More on that below but some of you can probably guess from the pic above. IYKYK.

I posted a short YouTube video this morning showing how the Kaweco D.I.Y. machine works.

What Did I Do All Weekend? Teach Classes, Sell Notebooks, and Staff the Kaweco D.I.Y. Station

For those of you who missed my weekend updates, I didn’t arrive until late Friday afternoon due to flight cancellations on Thursday, and couldn’t set up until Saturday morning. Despite missing an entire day, the crowds on Saturday more than made up for it, and even Sunday was brisk, which was unusual. I was able to teach two sessions of my “Notebook Systems 101” workshop in the Vanness Pen Lounge, and both classes ended up with good turnouts and active question and answer sessions.

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The Kaweco D.I.Y. Sport: Joe’s Version.

Surprisingly, the most fun I had was working the Kaweco D.I.Y. Sport station. For those unfamiliar with Kaweco’s “D.I.Y.” setup, for the past couple of years they have been shipping two machines to retailers, which when set up allow customers to assemble their own Kaweco Sport fountain pen. It’s a pretty simple process, where you use one machine to press the nib unit into the section, and another to assemble the blind cap, outer cap, and finial. Vanness Pens had two different color options, and you could mix and match between the two. I chose a teal pen with a burgundy section, and filmed the assembly process.

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My D.C. Pen Show Haul

I had a very small D.C. Pen Show haul, which included the one item I was hoping to track down at either the D.C. Pen Show or the San Francisco Pen Show later this month: a glass pen from Hanabi Glass Studio. I’ve long admired Lucas’s work, and with my limited time, I made a beeline for his table on Sunday morning during the slower weekend pass early admission hours. While he had sold a lot of pens on Friday and Saturday, plenty remained and I was able to get one of the styles I’ve been admiring. It writes exceptionally well, with a tip size that I would characterize as a fine. Look for more of this pen as I do ink samples and comparisons in the future. It’s a work of art.

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I also stopped by the Laurett’s table late on Sunday before they packed up, in order to pick up some of their ebonite ballpoints and mechanical pencils. I brought home several for the shop, so look for these in the coming days. (Let’s just say I bought every red and black version I could get my hands on.) For those unfamiliar with Laurett’s, it’s a Japanese precision machining company that specializes in knurling. And it’s great knurling, if you’re into that sort of thing.

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The Laurett’s “WAKA” ballpoints feature intricate knurling on the grip section. It’s insanely comfortable to hold.

Overall, this was an outstanding D.C. Pen Show, reminiscent of the 2015-2017 era. Do I wish I had more time to roam the show? Sure, but I should have that opportunity in San Francisco since I will not have my own table and will be mainly helping out my friends at Vanness Pens. (I may bring some Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters with me if I can get additional stock - you all cleaned me out in D.C. and we currently have very few units remaining.) That said, I’m looking forward to a few weeks at home and in the shop. I have a ton of new arrivals, and some BIG news that we will be announcing towards the end of the month. Stay tuned!

We will be open at our Nashville location this weekend from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. We’d love to see you in person, or you can support T.G.S. by shopping via our online store or visiting our Patreon. Many thanks!

A New Take on an Old Favorite: The Kobe Affection Kyomachi Legend Blue 1911L Fountain Pen

Well, that’s quite a name! As I may have mentioned, one of the many things I got to see first-hand during my August pen show excursions was the development of a new partnership between our friends at Vanness Pens and Nagasawa Stationery in Kobe, Japan. What does that mean to me? Well, for starters I have access to a ton of exclusive Nagasawa Stationery special edition Sailor fountain pens to review, including the “Kobe Affection Kyomachi Legend Blue 1911L Fountain Pen,” a royal blue and gold-themed fountain pen that adopts the same general format as the Sailor 1911 Black Luster, a long-time favorite and one of my more comfortable everyday writers.

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The gold flecks in the blue acrylic make for a stunning, yet still understated, material.

Three Things That Make This Pen Stand Out from the Rest of My Collection

Three things make this particular fountain pen something of an outlier for me personally, almost to the point where I’m surprised I chose to review it. (Almost.)

1. The pen not only has gold trim, but gold flecks throughout the royal blue acrylic, creating a shimmery appearance or, per the current lingo, “chatoyance.” I typically don’t go for gold, but I couldn’t pass up this combination and it literally grew on me within minutes of inking it up.

2. The pen has a broad nib. While medium (or a medium stub) is typically as wide as I’ll go with my everyday writers, lately I’ve experimented with broad nibs and this broad Sailor 21k nib might be the best of the lot. More on that below.

3. The pen has a metal section. While I don’t consider a metal section “disqualifying”, I tend to be quite picky about which metal sections I’ll use. At a minimum, they need to have some texture, and I find the plating on Sailor’s metal sections to have a more tactile feel that avoids slippage during longer writing sessions.

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I reviewed the Sailor 1911 Black Luster back in 2017, and everything I enjoy about that pen still holds true today, especially with respect to the weight and balance. The only difference I would call out is that for whatever reason, the non-black-ion-plated Sailor 21k nibs (such as the gold one here) feel much more substantial and less “fragile”. As I noted in my prior review, I’ve bent two black Sailor nibs in the past with minor bumps and table drops, but this broad seems more durable and less “soft” for lack of a better term, though I still wouldn’t describe it as a stiff nib.

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The Sailor Kobe fountain pens are also notable because they feature Nagasawa’s weathervane logo. I enjoy this design, probably more than the standard Sailor scrollwork.

With respect to the nib, I love how it writes. When most people think of Japanese fountain pens, they focus on the extra-fine and fine nib sizes, but often neglect the mediums and especially the broads. I find such oversights unfortunate. If you’re a fan of medium 14k nibs from German makers such as Bock and JoWo, the Sailor broad nib has similar line width yet offers a smoother writing experience. I’ve heard the same about Pilot, and I’ll be looking to try one of their broad nibs soon.

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For those who will ask, this paper ruling is Clairefontaine Seyes-Ruled, or “French Ruled”. The review ink is Sailor Souboku pigmented blue-black. Here, I’ve compared a writing sample from the Sailor 21k broad nib to a writing sample from a JoWo extra-fine Stainless Steel nib. While noticeable, there’s much less of a difference between a German stainless EF nib and a Japanese 21k Broad nib than I would have expected.

Notes on the Name: Why “Kyomachi Legend Blue?”

The name “Kobe Affection Kyomachi Legend Blue” continues Nagasawa’s trend of naming their special edition pens and inks after specific locations in Kobe, Japan and the immediate vicinity, which is where Nagasawa Stationery is based. Per the information provided by Nagasawa, Kyomachi is the area where the Kobe City Museum is located. If there’s one thing that will catch my interest about a line of limited edition fountain pens or inks, it’s when the product has a strong sense of “place” and reflects something of its designer/creator. Every time I research a Nagasawa product, I learn something new about Kobe, which makes me want to visit all the more. (If you’re curious, the popular “Sailor Kobe Ink” series is also developed for Nagasawa, and you learn a lot researching the origin of the various names in the lineup and how the specific colors were carefully matched to each theme or location.)

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The balance of this pen, when posted, is nearly perfect for my hand size and writing style.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Like the 1911 Black Luster, I love this pen and it makes for a great daily writer. That said, you’ll have to really love Sailor and their Japanese special editions in order to spring for it. Sailor pricing is what it is, and doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Once I have one of their pens in hand, however, I tend to forget about the cost. Sailor delivers a quality high-end writing experience and the “Kyomachi Legend Blue” is no exception.

With the Black Luster priced at $392, the Nagasawa Kyomachi Legend Blue in the 1911L format tops that and goes for $450. The 1911S (“standard” or “slim” size) version lacks the metal section and is priced at $300, and, yes, there is a King of Pen version (again without the metal section) priced at $880. Vanness Pens is the exclusive U.S. retail partner for Nagasawa Stationery, and you can view the rest of their current stock here.

Further Reading

If you’d like to see a video of this pen, including a writing sample, please check out this short video that I filmed for our YouTube channel. For reviews of other Sailor Pens, check out the “Sailor” page in our Fountain Pen Review Archive.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. As always, many thanks to our friends at Vanness for providing this pen for review.

Pen Review: The Good Blue R615 "Titanium Blue" Vanness Exclusive Edition Fountain Pen

The pen I'm reviewing today is part of my ongoing effort to break out my fountain pen comfort zone and try things that I wouldn't typically purchase to use at work, but rather pick up just for fun. The Good Blue is a London-based company that specializes in flexible-nib fountain pens paired with a unique feed system designed to ensure and adequate supply of ink to the nib, which is where most "modern flex" pens have underwhelmed. So how does The Good Blue R615 perform? Honestly, very well.

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I absolutely love the color of the Cerakote on this pen. Read more on the history of the pen design and materials used directly on The Good Blue website.

Pen Design and Aesthetics

This particular model, the R615 "Titanium Blue" is a special edition collaboration between our friends at Vanness Pens and The Good Blue. The pen features a streamlined, 6082 Aluminum body with "Titanium Blue" Cerakote coating, paired with a section machined from untreated CZ121 brass. The body of the pen is deceptively comfortable - I expected the step down from the pen body to the section to be too steep and severe for my taste, but as it turns out the grip area is long enough that this is not an issue.

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The brass section will patina due to both your grip and exposure to ink. Note the porous feed and compare to the photo of the un-inked pen below.

While the R615 has no clip, the streamlined body features a facet on one side, which acts as a roll-stop. It's a simple, practical design. The brass components, per the company's website, are untreated and "precision textured with a surface roughness for ergonomic grip." Note that the untreated brass will absolutely patina, and may also change color due to exposure to ink. This doesn't bother me at all, and I find it to be part of the charm of the pen.

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The pen doesn’t post, given the design, but is very well balanced in the hand.

Nib and Writing Experience

As I mentioned above, the main issue that people run into with so-called "modern flex pens" is ink starvation. Namely, modern plastic feeds have a difficult time maintaining ink flow sufficient to write broader lines as you flex the nib from extra-fine to double-broad. The Good Blue appears to have solved this issue by using in-house polymer feeds made from an absorbent material that not only absorbs the ink to keep the feed saturated but changes color to match the ink (helpful if you, like me, often forget what ink you have in a pen.)

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The engraving on the nib says “For the love of flex.” These nib units are in JoWo-threaded housings and therefore interchangeable with pens from other brands.

The Good Blue offers several different nib options. There are, of course, standard stainless steel nibs available, but with a company known for flex, I had to try the titanium flex nib. Once broken in, the titanium nib lays down a ton of ink, and line width ranges from a bouncy fine/medium, writing with little pressure, to around a double broad if I really try to push things. (By “broken in,” I mean that the nib will soften with use. Mine was fairly stiff when I first received it, but has gradually opened up to where I can get significantly more line variation.) I have experienced zero "railroading" as long as I use moderately wet inks, and have only had issues with a couple of drier or extremely saturated shimmer inks.

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Writing sample on Write Notepads paper with Iroshizuku Asa-Gao fountain pen ink.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I didn't intend to purchase this pen, but after playing around with the demo model at the Vanness Table at the Arkansas Pen Show (dangerous table neighbors there), I couldn't pass it up. My R615 has remained inked ever since March, and while I don't write with it every day, it sees regular use in my journal and written correspondence, as well as when I'm doodling around with ink - something I've tried to do more of for the simple joy of it. The Good Blue makes one of the best modern "stock" flex nibs I've used, and I'd like to try their calligraphy and 14k nibs in the future.

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Because this particular pen is exclusive to Vanness Pens, you can only purchase it through them (though it is currently out of stock as of the time of writing). Vanness does carry other versions of the R615, including the acetate and Ultem versions, as well as a selection of the standard and flex nibs. Prices start at $140 and increase depending on your choice of materials and nib, with the pen shown here coming in at $220 for the special finish plus the titanium flex. The pens and various specialty nibs (including 14k flex and untipped "Calligraphy Flex") can also be ordered directly from The Good Blue, though they will ship from the U.K.

I purchased this pen from Vanness Pens with my own funds for my own collection, though I received a discount for review purposes. This post does not contain affiliate links or paid advertising. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.