Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter SO_20 Covers with Elastic — The A5 SO_20 soft leather covers now include a slim elastic on certain models, like the olive and grey versions pictured here.

New Arrivals: Lots of New Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters Now Available!

January 23, 2024

After a week or so of delays due to the weather here in Tennessee, we’ve finally received our latest shipment of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter organizers in A4, A5, and A6 sizes, along with a full restock of Roterfaden-brand refills! This shipment has a few notable additions, including more of the A4 portfolios which have proven so popular, as well as two new versions of the A5 SO_20 soft cover. One version now features an elastic band, but my personal favorite is a limited edition in white/light cream leather with dark suede interior. You all know how much I love using light leather covers and letting them patina and age!

Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter White SO_20 — Yes. I went with white leather. No, I don’t care that it will collect stains/patina/etc. It’s a feature, not a bug!

You can check out the full range of Roterfaden products in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. Please note that the rubber “Print Blanket” covers are now available with different interior felt options. All pre-orders have now shipped - if you haven’t received UPS tracking information, please let me know!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of Roterfaden products.

Taschenbegleiter SO_20 A5 with Hobonichi Cousin — The SO_20 Soft-Cover A5 Taschenbegleiter is slightly oversized. Here is a white one shown with a Hobonichi Cousin AND a Midori MD Light A5 notebook.

Fountain Pen Inks Teals and Turquoises Set up for National Rubber Duck Day

Sunday Reading for January 21, 2024

January 21, 2024

What Are We Looking For? (via A Gathering of Curiosities). Why did you dive into the pen hobby? There’s a lot to unpack here, but I think this post does a great job of unraveling the various threads of interest.
2024 Philadelphia Pen Show Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). This is a great recap of the show, and I’m glad to hear traffic continued to pick up after I had to head out early on Saturday afternoon. Friday was a bit slow.
AI in the Pen Community (via Well-Appointed Desk). While I can see legitimate uses for AI, I would prefer to keep it out of pen community, thank you very much. (I suspect the product discussed in this review is very much tongue-in-cheek.)
Holiday Recap: 2023 Weirdoforest Reflection (via Weirdoforest Pens). 2023 reflections are still trickling out! This was an interesting one for me because it has a discussion of some pens/brands that had been off my radar.
Nakaya Hurt by Noto Earthquake (via Dapprman). Fortunately everyone working for Nakaya is apparently safe.
Gravitas Ultimate Vac (via Dapprman). An exceptionally thorough review of a pen I need to get into my own review queue.
Waterman Tender Purple: Quick Impressions (via Cheryl Lindo Jones). A great purple ink, though as noted it’s a wet ink so keep that in mind when choosing to put it in broad and stub nibs.
Early Thoughts on the Duke 551 Confucius Bamboo Fude Pen Nib (via Fountain Pen Blog). I’m intrigued a bit by these lower-cost fude nibs that other bloggers frequently write about. I may need to give them a shot!
A Bock Mystery (via Rachel’s Reflections). I’m not a heavy Bock user, as nearly all of my custom pens use JoWo-threaded nib units, so I wasn’t aware of this controversy over whether all Bock nib housings are uniform….
The Harmony in a Simple Index Tab (via mnmlscholar). Index tabs are one of my absolute favorite categories of simple stationery accessories that can transform your usage, especially if you use notebooks for multiple subjects or purposes.
Quick Look - Asvine P36 (via The Poor Penman). I was impressed with the build of the Asvine P36 for the price point, but as Paul points out, there are going to be issues with consistency and QC when attempting to keep costs down.

TGS Ink Review Archive Cover Photo — The T.G.S. Ink Review Archive is Live!

In Case You Missed It…

This week’s theme was ink! I started by reviewing several dark teal and turquoise inks I’ve been using in my daily rotation, including inks from the Iroshizuku, Laban Greek Mythology, and Wearingeul lines. I also launched a project I’ve been working on for some time: The Gentleman Stationer Ink Review Archive, which contains reviews of 110+ inks from the past decade of T.G.S.!

Nahvalur Nautilus Pen of the Year — As of the time of posting, we have exactly one of these pens left in stock.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop: Nahvalur Dragon, Clairefontaine Looseleaf, and a Black TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR!

Lots of new arrivals hit the shop this week, including Nahvalur’s 2024 Pen of the Year, designed around the Year of the Dragon. This pen features a stunning black, red, and gold resin plus a 14k nib option. (These sold incredibly quickly, and currently only the 14k nib pens remain!) The Black TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR is also available for purchase, with the pens set to arrive and ship on Tuesday. Check out this week’s Thursday Drops post for all of our recent arrivals!

Nahvalur

Pilot

TWSBI

Clairefontaine

Bear with us as we are still iced in, and USPS, Fedex, and UPS have all postponed most pick-ups and deliveries until Monday when warmer temperatures arrive. While we have been packing and delivering orders to the drop-off points near my office, I doubt many packages have moved due to the treacherous road conditions.

How to Support T.G.S. - Plus a Patreon Meetup This Coming Saturday

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 past month, Patreon supporters have had 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!

Lots of Ink - TGS Ink Cabinet — One of the major things that also shocked me was the number of inks I thought I had reviewed, but actually had not.

Introducing the T.G.S. Fountain Pen Ink Review Archive!

January 20, 2024

Last year, I compiled and launched an archive containing all of the T.G.S. fountain pen reviews organized by brand. This morning, I finished updating an addition: a full archive of ink reviews, organized by color family and brand. I was surprised to learn that the current total is 114 ink reviews going back to 2014! There are also some editorial “best inks for ____ purpose” posts which are organized elsewhere in the informational resources section.

A note on this archive: One of the fun things about fountain pen inks is that some of them defy categorization. An ink that might appear green to me might lean more brown or grey to others, so please don’t take any of my “labels” as definitive. I hope you enjoy, and this will be regularly updated as more reviews are completed!

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!

Four Offbeat Blue Inks for the Office: Writing Sample on Clairefontaine Paper

Offbeat Blue Inks: Trying Darker Teals and Turquoises

January 17, 2024

While blue ink is often the “safest” fountain pen ink out there - both for your pens and your reputation at the office - using a standard blue as your daily driver can eventually start to feel stale. I love my Waterman Blue, but given how much writing I actually do on a daily basis, I always try to keep a steady stream of “alternative blues” at the ready to avoid ink burnout. One of my favorite color families to explore are dark teals and turquoises, which add variety and possibly even a touch of sophistication to your notes and/or signatures.

Offbeat Blue Inks: Four Bottles on a Desk with a Rubber Duck — Did you know that it was National Rubber Duck day at the Philly Pen Show last weekend?

Lately, I’ve focused on four inks for my core “office” rotation: Pilot Iroshizuku Sui-Gyoku, a new release which might be my current favorite from the line; Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku, an old favorite which shares many of the same tones as Sui-Gyoku, only slightly darker; Laban Poseidon Green, which I consider a blue ink despite how it’s marketed; and Wearingeul Wayfarer, a shimmer ink with subtle pink sparkles that can also be used as a standard ink if you fill the pen without first shaking the bottle.

Writing Sample of Four Turquoise Inks on Clairefontaine French-Ruled Paper — For my “office paper” writing sample, I chose Clairefontaine Seyes/French-Ruled.

None of these inks would typically be considered exciting, but for work they strike an appropriate balance. “Professional” doesn’t have to mean “boring” - you just have to know where to draw the line. My own rule of thumb is that the ink you use in the office shouldn’t overshadow or distract from the substance of the work you are trying to do. (i.e., You want the person whose memo you are commenting on to focus on the substance of your edits, not the fact that you wrote said edits in fluorescent orange shimmer ink.) On most standard office paper, and to the fountain-pen-uninitiated, these inks will appear blue. When you’re back at your own desk, however, writing on your quality paper of choice, you’ll enjoy the bit of dark red sheen on the Iroshizuku Inks, the shading on the Laban Poseidon Blue, and if you’re really daring, the faintest hint of pink/red shimmer on the Wayfarer!

Four Ink Writing Samples on Tomoe River Paper in Hobonichi A6 — Writing samples on Tomoe River paper in a Hobonichi A6 Journal.

General Takeaways and Where to Buy

If I recommend an ink for “office use”, it’s because I’ve found the ink to dry relatively quickly, and to resist bleeding and feathering on all but the cheapest of papers. All three meet these requirements, and they’re also relatively inexpensive. The Iroshizuku and Laban inks are priced at under $25 for a full 50ml bottle, and while Wayfarer is a bit pricier at $22 for 30ml, you do tend to pay more for inks with special properties like shimmer. I have to add that I love the look of the Iroshizuku bottles, and have for years kept at least one on my desk at the office as a conversation piece.

If you enjoy our content and are interested in any of the inks featured, we would greatly appreciate your support by visiting and purchasing via our shop. We carry both Pilot Iroshizuku and Laban Greek Mythology Inks in the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and for brands we don’t carry (such as Wearingeul), we would refer you to our friends at Vanness Pens!

Wearingeul Wayfarer Close-Up Shimmer Shot — Every so slight shimmer can be work-appropriate. Just know your workplace!

Editor’s Note: Why Should You Care About Ink Color?

Whenever I write a post like this one, I receive questions and comments about “why I care what people think” about the ink I use in the office. First of all, let’s be realistic - while there are workplaces that would tolerate the use of glitter/shimmer ink on professional correspondence, many do not. You know your office and what you can get away with. For many of us, simply writing with a fountain pen - and the “messiness” it entails - pushes the envelope in and of itself.

Second, many professions (like law) require the use of certain ink colors for specific purposes, with blue the most common for signatures and official documents. In my experience, standard blue ink tends to be the most universally accepted and to behave the best on the widest range of different paper, including cheap recycled copy paper. Teals and turquoises, such as those shown here in today’s post, have mostly similar ink formulations so the performance does not change dramatically.

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!

Clairefontaine Looseleaf Sheets A4 and A5 Packs

New Arrivals: Clairefontaine Looseleaf Sheets Are Back, in both Individual Sheets and Booklets

January 16, 2024

Two years ago we brought in an old favorite: Clairefontaine French-ruled paper in looseleaf individual sheets and booklets. This particular product holds a special place in my heart - especially the double booklets - because it was the first fountain pen-friendly stationery product from my time abroad that I “smuggled” back into the country and hoarded because you could rarely find it in the U.S. These days, “Seyes” paper is somewhat more widely available but still unusual, so I’ve tried to keep it in stock when I can. We recently procured another large supply in both A4 and A5 formats, with A4 available in both formats and A5 (17 x 22cm) available in the single sheets.

Clairefontaine Seyes Ruled Booklet Open on Desk

You can read more on why I love this particular ruling here, but needless to say I rotate it through most of my notebooks and use it for a variety of notetaking, drafting, and letter-writing projects. I’ve tried to curate the shop in a way that we can offer French-ruled paper in all available formats. A few notes on the individual sheets:

A4 paper comes in packs of 50, 100, and 200-count sheets. Individual sheets are hole-punched for various three-ring binder layouts. The double-sheet booklets are not pre-punched.
A5 paper comes in packs of 50 and 100 sheets. As those familiar with Clairefontaine French-ruled notebooks know, the “Seyes” ruling is slightly larger than traditional A5, at 17 x 22cm. That said, it’s fairly easy to trim to fit A5 binders from Plotter, William Hannah, Levenger Circa, Staples Arc, etc., if that’s what you’re looking for.