Year-End Review, Part I: Five Favorite Acquisitions of 2023

Every year towards the end of December I take some time to reflect on some of my favorite content from the previous year, as well as on favorite new acquisitions. Today I’ll start out by mentioning five of my favorite pick-ups from 2023, which includes four pens and one paper product/organizer. These are in no particular order - I review and acquire a fair bit of stuff throughout the year, all of it different, so it’s nearly impossible to do a fair ranking beyond a “Top 5”. Enjoy!

1. Schon DSGN Monoc (Fine Nib). One of two big purchases from this year’s San Francisco Pen Show, the fine-tip Monoc features an architect-like grind on the reverse side, making it an extremely versatile writer (in addition to being a stunning visual piece, especially with the anodization).

2. Kyuseido Kakari Fountain Pen. Kyuseido’s take on the syringe filler, designed in partnership with Ben Walsh at Gravitas Pens, has been perpetually inked since San Francisco. Yes, San Francisco was an expensive show for me. And yes, I have a review of the Kakari in the works. It’s a somewhat complex review to write of a very specialized pen, but if you love highly engineered filling systems you will enjoy this one.

3. Montblanc 149, Studio Bokumondoh Edition. Earlier this summer I sent my plain black Montblanc 149 to Tokyo for an urushi treatment at Studio Bokumondoh, and received it back around two weeks after returning from San Francisco. (Did I mention August/September hurt my bank account?) I will likewise plan to write up this one in the coming year, with more details on the design, etc. The link is to my original review of the 149.

4. Kaweco Art Sport in “Terrazzo” Acrylic. I was thrilled to see this year’s Art Sport fountain pen released with the same integrated clip from the older (and now discontinued) “Sport Luxe” collection. While I enjoy all four colors, The Terrazzo and Hickory Brown spoke to me the most, and I added these two to my personal collection alongside my original Navy Blue Art Sport from several years ago.

5. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter A4 Portfolio. I’ve had an A5-sized Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter for years, but I’ve always wanted a larger portfolio that can hold both an A4 or letter-sized pad as well as an A4 notebook. This has been an excellent solution. While we are mostly sold out of the larger Taschenbegleiters at the moment, we plan to bring them back and restock around the end of the month.

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Stay tuned for more Year-in-Review content! I’ll be doing favorite my 5 favorite reviews from 2023 next week.

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

Thursday Drops: Stuff Keeps Rolling In... More Midori, Traveler's Company, and Craighill!

Despite inconsistencies with the frequency of scanned packages, we’re not seeing that much delay in delivery times, considering the volume of orders currently being shipped. We continue to receive new stock, and I plan to continue posting and listing new arrivals up until December 23 or so, when we’ll take a break for a couple days! This week, we received restocks on Traveler’s Company notebooks, refills, and brass accessories (including pens), as well as the full Midori MD range of notebooks and writing pads. Finally, we’ve received a shipment of Craighill pens and accessories, including bookmarks and pocket/desk knives.

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The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. Traveler’s Notebook Starter Kits. We were running low on Traveler’s Notebooks for a while there, but I believe we now have all Passport versions in stock and all Standard colors other than Olive, which are on backorder.

2. Traveler’s Company 2024 Diary Refills (Marked Down!). Now’s a great time to pick up a Traveler’s Notebook in the color of your choice and set it up for the upcoming New Year. All 2024 Diaries are on sale through year-end. Passport sizes available as well.

3. Craighill Kepler Pens. These received a lot of attention at the San Francisco Pen Show, with their contoured grip and retractable mechanism that accepts a universal D1 refill. The “Vapor Black” finish is in my own personal carry.

4. Craighill Caro Pens. I’ve been looking for a viable keychain pen option for some time, and I think I finally found it. Available in the same finishes as the Kepler pens, the Caro pens feature a spring-loaded snap cap that closes securely. I’ve been carrying one on my keychain, in my pocket, for a week or so without the pen coming loose once.

5. TWSBI ECO Creme & Rose Gold Fountain Pen. This year’s holiday TWSBI release looks amazing - the rose gold trim paired with a muted creme acrylic is a great combination. We also have last year’s Jade + Rose Gold ECO-T available, which comes paired with a bottle of

6. TWSBI Precision Fountain Pen. Can you believe I’ve never used the TWSBI Precision? I absolutely love this pen, which doesn’t necessarily match the other pens and mechanical pencils in the “Precision” line, but is an interesting departure from the standard TWSBI aesthetic.

7. Kaweco Art Sport Fountain Pens. We’re now sold out of two colors of the TWSBI Art Sport, but still have both “Pebble Blue” and “Mineral White” pens in stock.

8. Traveler’s Company Brass Bullet Pens and Pencils. These are top-selling favorites, and also make great gifts. I personally have three of the ballpoints stashed all over the place. If you’re a reader, they make great needle-tip ballpoints for annotation.

9. Anterique Stationers Pens. If you’re looking for a gifts for someone who would appreciate a nice pen, but don’t know where to start, these ballpoints feature a vintage-inspired design in both brass and plastic barrels. Unlike the pen that inspired them, these are NOT diposables. The refill is excellent and back in stock.

10. Anderillium Ink Sampler Sets. We are now fully restocked in the Anderillium Ink 8 bottle sample sets for all three lines, including Cephalopod (Squids and Octopuses), Avian (Birds), and Lepidopteran (Moths and Butterflies).

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Oh, and there’s also been a Penco restock, including all colors of the newly release Perfection Light Mechanical Pencil, to match your bullet pen!

TGS Responds: How To Get the Best Writing Experience with Shimmer Inks

Maybe because it’s Inkvent Season, but over the past several weeks I’ve received a few different e-mails asking a version of the same question:

I love shimmer inks, and want to use them in my fountain pens, but I’ve been experiencing lots of hard starts and instances where the ink clogs the nib. Is there any way to prevent this and have a better writing experience?

First, I have to admit that I’m not a shimmer ink aficionado, though I have reviewed them and tested them out a bit over the years. They are NOT, however, part of my regular writing rotation, so my experience is more limited than many. That said, I believe I’ve used them enough to offer some advice here.

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A dark burgundy ink with red/gold shimmer? Diamine Bah Humbug (Inkvent Day 12) might be my favorite so far!

1. Accept that some flow issues are inevitable. You’re using an ink with large particles suspended in the ink, so eventually, you will probably experience some instances of clogging and skipping when using these inks, especially if the pen is left unused for longer than a week or so. While there are steps you can take to minimize problems, which I’ll address below, shimmer inks are never going to behave exactly the same as standard writing inks. That said, newer shimmer inks flow much better - and generally dry faster with less smearing - than the first batch of inks released several years ago. The “ink technology” has gotten a lot better and each new shimmer ink release that I’ve tried has written better than the last, with fewer issues.

2. Clean/flush your pen regularly. While you can leave most standard inks in a pen for months without serious problems, the inevitable evaporation will make a shimmer ink thicker and cause more frequent issues. As liquid evaporates in the pen, the shimmer particles make up a larger proportion of the ink, creating a thicker consistency that doesn’t flow as well. Also, any ink that dries up in the feed will leave shimmer residue behind, causing clogs. If you ink up a pen with a shimmer ink, I recommend writing that pen dry within a week or two, and cleaning it out as soon as you begin experiencing any issues with ink flow.

3. Relatedly, use pens that are easy to clean. Cartridge-converter pens, Japanese-style eyedroppers, and piston fillers that can be disassembled are all great options because they allow you access to the internal parts of the pen where you can flush them out with a syringe or run them through an ultrasonic cleaner.

4. Use a broader nib. I’ve always had much better luck with shimmer inks in broader nibs - both round broad nibs and stubs are good options. Not only will you use up the ink faster, but you’ll put more ink on the page which gives you a smoother-feeling writing experience and also allows you to enjoy the shimmer effect since the shimmer tends to pool in the broader lines. My go-to shimmer ink pen is any sort of TWSBI with a broad nib.

5. Use smoother paper with less texture. Smooth, bright white paper not only shows off the color best, but you avoid having paper fibers contribute to any clogging issues, something that can happen with heavily textured paper. I enjoy using Clairefontaine, Write Notepads, and of course Tomoe River papers with shimmer inks.

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Believe it or not, most pen companies did not design their pens to accommodate the amount of shimmer many ink manufacturers now offer!

Finally, it goes without saying that writing with shimmer inks is supposed to be pure fun, so don’t take the process too seriously. A fountain pen is a higher-maintenance writing instrument to begin with, which requires some level of attention to things such as pen cleaning and ink/paper combinations. Using specialty inks such as shimmer inks, heavy sheeners, multichromatics, etc. introduces new factors into the equation, so be prepared to experiment to find what works best, and remember that experimentation is part of the fun in this hobby! It’s also important to remember that most pen manufacturers do not make shimmer inks and accordingly, do not design their pens to use these inks. If a specific pen “doesn’t work well with shimmer,” it doesn’t mean that the pen is “defective,” just that the specific design of that pen is incompatible with how you personally want to use it.

Shimmer ink lovers - I want to hear from you! What are your tips for enjoying shimmer inks in fountain pens? Leave a comment or send a message through the contact link!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you’re looking for gift ideas, check out our 2023 Holiday Gift Guide!

New Arrivals: Pocketable EDC Goods from Craighill

Craighill Co. is one of my favorite makers of boutique stationery goods and everyday carry accessories, featuring durable construction and a brass-steel-matte-black aesthetic that speaks to me. We’ve previously stocked the Kepler Pen (a versatile retractable click pen with a contoured grip and a D1 mechanism), as well as a range of practical desk and reading accessories that includes bookmarks and a hefty desk knife/letter opener.

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Yesterday we added two new additions from the Craighill lineup: the “Caro” Ballpoint - a small pen designed to fit on a keychain and deploy from a friction-fit cap - and the “Lark” folding knife - a compact 1.5” blade that can either serve as a very small pocketknife or a utility “penknife” that lives in your stationery pouch or on your desk. As with other Craighill products, both are available in brass, stainless steel, “Vapor Black” (DLC-coated stainless steel), or combinations of the three.

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The Lark, shown here, is roughly half the size of a Kaweco Sport when closed. (Lanyard with bead not included. I added that myself instead of putting the knife on a keychain.)

Many thanks to the readers who brought the Caro pen to my attention and asked me to consider stocking it. I’ve been searching for a keychain pen to replace one that I had carried years ago and either had to retire (or lost), and I never found a replacement. The body of the pen connects firmly to the keychain cap using a garter-spring, and so far I’ve had no issues with the pen coming loose in my pocket. As of this morning, we are also restocked on all colors of the Kepler Pen!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Craighill.

Sunday Reading for December 10, 2023

1. Grail Feeling: Aurora Internazionale Orange (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I find myself wishing I had picked up an Internazionale in blue, when they were available!

2. Interview with Daisy from Yoseka Stationery (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I love reading interviews with other shop owners!

3. Diamine Inkvent 2023 Days 1-5 (via Mountain of Ink). It certainly is that time of year again! I love reading everyone else’s impressions of the various inks.

4. Diamine Inkvent 2023, Day 9 (via Cheryl Lindo Jones). Day 9 (“Moonbeam”) might be my favorite “Inkvent” ink thus far.

5. Montblanc Writer’s Edition Agatha Christie Fountain Pen Review (via SBRE Brown). Reviews of this pen are few and far between, so when I see one, I will post it!

6. Cartier Diablo (via Dapprman). I have a Cartier nib from the late 1980s/early 1990s on a custom pen in my collection, and I enjoy it very much. I’m not sure the original Cartier bodies are to my taste.

7. Dip Pen Handles (via Goodwriterspens). Many people collect dip pen holders/handles, in their various formats. In addition to vintage options, I’m starting to see more custom turned versions as well.

8. Sakura Retrico Ballpoint (via Left Hook Pens). This is cool to see. I love ballpoint pens more of a technical, mechanical pencil format.

9. On Planners: The End… and the Beginning (via Well-Appointed Desk). It’s that time of year again, when we all finish our current planners and/or journals and start new ones!

10. Faber-Castell Electric Pink (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). Faber-Castell makes a very nice series of often-overlooked inks, and this vibrant pink is one of the more legible (usable) pinks on the market, IMHO.

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What’s one thing I pretty much use every day? Bookmarks.

In Case You MIssed It…

I took a crack at Part II of my “TGS Responds” Series, answering questions from my mailbag about how I curate items in the shop! I’ve enjoyed writing these posts and may continue once a week or so through the month of December. I also wrote the first of a few contemplated year-end “check-in” posts in which I talk about five of my most-used non-pen stationery items.

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TWSBI ECO Creme + Rose Gold pens are now available!

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

This past week saw a restock of most Hightide and Penco products, including Sandglasses and Penco Perfection Bullet Pencils! We also have some remaining stock of the new Kaweco Art Sports in all but one material (Hickory Brown is now sold out, unfortunately). Finally, TWSBI ECO Creme + Rose Gold Fountain Pens will begin shipping out tomorrow. Don’t forget to check out the 2023 T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide, and remember that in order to give yourself the best chance of receiving items by December 25, please try to place your orders by December 15. While we will be shipping up until December 23 before taking a short break, the sooner you get orders in the better.

Penco

TWSBI

MT Tapes

Traveler's Company

Check Out TGS Patreon for Free This Week - including Inkvent Content!

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), there are several ways that you can support us. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop, especially during the upcoming holiday season! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which also includes early access to quarterly gently used sales. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. This month, Patreon supporters have access to additional Inkvent content, including commentary on my favorite Diamine Inkvent inks and more. The first of these Inkvent posts is public, so please check out Patreon to learn more!

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!