Gravitas Sentry Big Dropper & Delrin Fountain Pens (via Pencilcase Blog). I had the pleasure of meeting Ben Walsh and handling some of the Delrin and “Big Dropper” models at this year’s D.C. Pen Show. I was impressed with all of them and need to bring some in for review soon.
2022 Dallas Pen Show Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I’m happy to see a good overall review of the Dallas Pen Show, and heard great things from many attendees. There needs to be a strong lineup of smaller, regional shows.
Newsflash: Cosmo Air Light (via Well-Appointed Desk). Daryl at Musubi broke the news last week that Cosmo Air Light paper was being discontinued.
Kokuyo Auxiliary Hardcover Notebook (via Blake’s Broadcast). Kokuyo makes excellent hardcover notebooks, and these bound ledger-style notebooks look very interesting.
Semikolon Grand Voyage Notebook (via Fountain Pen Blog). I’ve always loved the look of Semikolon notebooks but in the past the paper has not worked well for me. I’m excited to see that the paper in this particular notebook got good reviews.
Diamine Monboddo’s Hat on Midori MD (via Inkredible Colors). Monboddo’s Hat is often recommended as a substitute for the coveted Lamy Dark Lilac, FWIW.
Do You Ever Regret Getting a Custom Nib Grind (via Chicana Writes). Early on, absolutely, but I’ve since accepted that sometimes I just made a bad choice and have passed those pens along to others. These days I try to keep a wider range of custom and standard grinds on hand since I know my preferences tend to change and I do different kinds of writing.
Endless Stationery Recorder Notebook Deep Ocean with 80 gsm Regalia Paper (via Rants of the Archer). Endless has moved away from Tomoe River 68gsm (presumably for supply reasons) and has substituted their own in-house paper.
Lamy Charged Green (via Dapprman). Reviews of this ink are few and far between, especially given how prevalent it was (as in, it was a difficult color to sell when Lamy issued it). Those who like bright green inks for annotation and possibly highlighting may want to consider it?
Troublemaker Grand River Sunset (via Mountain of Ink). I’ve recently discovered Troublemaker Inks, another brand from the Philippines that specializes in shading/sheening/shimmer/you-name-the-special-property.
In Case You Missed It…
This week on the blog, I reviewed the Nahvalur (formerly Narwhal) “Original Plus” Fountain Pen, which is Nahvalur’s revamped version of their inaugural pen from 2019, featuring a vacuum-filler fountain pen and redesigned materials. I also published Part III of my ongoing series on Notebook Systems, this week focusing on Traveler’s Notebook and what I refer to as “modular” notebook systems.
New This Week in the Curated Shop
This week saw the arrival of the TWSBI ECO in Cerulean Blue, an eye-popping deep-sea blue that I would actually describe as a more vibrant turquoise. We also restocked on the glow-in-the-dark TWSBI ECO Glow fountain pen, and launched Anderillium Inks as a new brand, so that you now have additional ink choices to pair with fountain pens purchased from our shop. Finally, the Mark’style Tous les Jours Needle-tip ballpoint is back in stock, in nearly a dozen different colors. These needle-tip ballpoints are a personal favorite. The refills last forever and will soon be sold separately (they use an Ohto cartridge).
Many Thanks for Your Shop Support, and Please Consider T.G.S. Patreon!
We’ve been surprised at the level of enthusiasm and support for our curated retail strategy over the past couple of months, and after careful consideration are beginning to build out our inventory with more brands and product categories. I love managing this aspect of T.G.S., as it offers me the opportunity to directly put great stationery - including brands I feel are underappreciated and underemphasized - into your hands. For those who want to support T.G.S. without necessarily adding to their accumulation, the Patreon Program offers two options for tiers of support: $3 and $5, and plan on making monthly meetups, pen show events, and periodic exclusive content the primary benefits. Of course, Patreon members will continue to get first access to periodic sample sales, with right of first refusal on gently used pens. (Reminder that those pens which made it through Patreon are now available to the general readership!)
