Thursday Drops: Lamy Kuru-Togas, Lochby Field Sling Plus, Galen Leather and More!

We’re back from the DC Pen Show, fully loaded with new merchandise not just from the show but from recent summer trade shows and Japan! In addition to new Galen Leather items (including the Galen x Nock Co. Sinclair leather pen cases), we have Lamy x Uni Kuru Toga Mechanical pencils, the recently arrived Lochby Field Sling Plus, and more Laurett’s Waka Ebonite ballpoints and mechanical pencils.

Yes, we have more of these in stock, in three different colors!

We enjoyed meeting everyone who came by the table in DC and visited with us this past weekend. For those who didn’t get to attend the show, we debuted two new colors of OnionBrand A5 Leather Notebook covers, and had a full array of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in A5 and A5 Slim sizes. Everything that remains is listed and available for sale both online and in the Nashville store.

The Nashville Store will be open normal hours Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and Saturday from 10am-5pm.

1. Lamy Safari “Kuru Toga Inside” Mechanical Pencils. Lamy has released versions of its Safari mechanical pencils with a Kuru Toga mechanical pencil engine inside. The Kuru Toga mechanism rotates the lead as you write, keeping a sharp point.

2. Galen Leather x Nock Co. Leather Sinclair Pen Cases. Earlier this year Galen released its collaboration with Nock Co., which included a Sinclair Pen Case in gorgeous cognac leather. The interior features handwoven Kutnu lining, a traditional Turkish fabric.

3. OnionBrand A5 Notebooks in New Distressed Finishes. Over the weekend at the DC Pen Show, we showcased at our table the OnionBrand A5 notebooks in two new finishes: distressed versions of the Chestnut Reserve and Polished Saddle colors. These finishes are more matte and not as polished/glossy as the originals, which many people prefer.

4. Laurett’s Waka Ebonite Ballpoints and Mechanical Pencils. One of my favorite takes on a classic pen format, the Laurett’s “Waka” series features knurled ebonite. We now have additional colors of the mechanical pencils to allow you to make a matching set.

5. Lochby Field Sling Plus. Lochby’s larger version of its “Field Sling” bag is in-stock as of this morning, and is capable of holding a larger notebook or tablet. We also have stock of the standard Field Sling, which is just large enough to hold an A5 notebook and some everyday stationery.

6. Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journals Edition A5 Notebooks. Planner season is almost upon us, and while the release of dated books won’t start for another month or so, undated options are being restocked. We have more of the official Leuchtturm x Bullet Journal collaboration in four different colors.

7. Leuchtturm1917 A4+ Master Classic Notebooks. Years ago I wrote a novel in one of these oversized Leuchtturm A4+ notebooks and loved it. These also work great as commonplace books and archive-style ledgers.

8. Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pens in Smoke and Amber. After a temporary backorder, we have additional stock of the Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pens in the Smoke and Amber acrylics, including the popular fine and medium nibs.

9. Galen Leather 3-pen and 5-pen Zippered Pen Cases. We took the opportunity to restock our Galen Leather pen cases in multiple colors. These three and five pen zippered cases are among our favorite classic leather pieces.

10. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Note Passport Size Restock. We just received a large shipment of Ro-Biki paper from Japan, with many of the Museum Collection notebooks back in stock.

Weekly Drops: DC Pen Show Weekend Edition!

It’s DC Pen Show Weekend! We’re looking forward to seeing many of you in person at one of the pen community’s premier 3-day events. We’ve brought Roterfaden, OnionBrand, Lochby, and of course select pens and paper with us to the show! We will of course remain open online and in-store in Nashville, with the new Blackwing Volume 458 Birding Pencil, more Lamy Meteorite and Meteora fountain pens, and restocked Nakabayashi paper.

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Online orders placed between Weds and Friday will have a 3-5 business day shipping window, instead of our normal 2-3 business day ship time. To accommodate for any delay, all orders placed between Wednesday and Sunday (8/5-8/9) will receive a special freebie (an ink sample, free pencils, etc.). Many thanks for supporting us while we are off growing the business!

The Nashville Store will be open normal hours Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and with slightly reduced hours on Saturday from 10am-4pm.

1. Lamy Safari Meteorite and Meteora Fountain Pens. We have additional stock of this summer’s Lamy special edition releases, Meteorite and Meteora!

2. Blackwing Volume 458: The Birding Pencil. The latest Blackwing Volumes release is a colorful homage to birding, a hobby that’s coming back into vogue along with other analog pursuits.

3. Nahvalur Nautilus Ebonite Fountain Pens. The Nahvalur Nautilus has been redesigned with a more streamlined modern look. We’re happy to have these pens back in the shop!

4. Nahvalur Nautilus: Ti Fountain Pens. This upscaled version of the Nautilus features black or toffee titanium finishes, and adds an ebonite feed to the nib unit for enhanced ink flow.

5. TWSBI Rootbeer with Bronze Trim Fountain Pens. We have additional stock of the TWSBI ECO in Rootbeer and Bronze finish! This translucent amber ECO is one of the more popular releases this year and we will continue to stock it as it is available.

6. Nakabayashi Logical T-Line Paper. Multi-lined paper similar to Nakabayashi’s Logical Prime, only the guide lines are faint so they only appear when looking at the page under direct light or from a certain angle. It’s a cool ruling similar to other “whitelined” papers.

7. Midori Kirei Letter Pads for Fountain Pens. By popular request, we are now carrying these fountain pen friendly pads that come with 25 sheets each of white and cream writing paper.

8. Teranishi Guitar Taisho Roman Haikara Fountain Pen Inks. We have all colors of the Teranishi inks back in stock at the moment, including favorites such as Antique Black, Emotional Olive, Nighttime Soda, and more.

9. Teranishi Capped Glass Pens. I’ve come to depend heavily on glass dip pens for ink swatching, journaling with multiple ink colors, ink comparisons, and more. These capped glass pens for Teranishi are excellent options for pen show meetups,

10. Clearance Section. Just a reminder that we have lots of items still on Summer Clearance. Clearance discount will be applied at checkout automatically, no coupon code necessary.

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Thursday Drops: Kaweco Sport Marble Ocean and Lunar Blue, Nahvalur Fountain Pens, and More!

At long last, our shipment of the latest Kaweco Sport fountain pens has arrived! We have the new Kaweco “Collection” Marble Ocean, as well as the Lunar Shadow Blue and Lunar Light Blue - two new variations on the current Lunar Green pens. The Kaweco distributor has communicated that these pens will be in short supply for the next few months, so apologies to everyone if we run low quickly.

The Nahvalur Eclipse is available in a wide range of color and trim combinations. (Black and Burgundy, anyone?)

We also have a fun announcement, in that we’ve brought Nahvalur (still pronounced Narwhal) back into the store! We have additional Nahvalur Nautilus fountain pens in both ebonite and titanium (!!) with their redesigned silhouette, as well as the retractable Nahvalur Eclipse fountain pen with its recently upgraded mechanism.

You can come see these and more in our Nashville shop, which is open from 1pm-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. For our Tennessee customers, Friday-Sunday is tax-free weekend in Tennessee, where certain items $100 and under are exempt from sales tax. Finally, Saturday (8/1) is Stationery Store Day, and we will be running in-store promotions with freebies!

1. Kaweco Collection Sport Marble Ocean Fountain Pen. The latest Kaweco Sport has landed, and yes, they nailed the “Earth-from-Space” look. The marbled acrylic is translucent in places, maybe making this one a candidate for Sport eyedroppering?

2. Kaweco Sport Lunar Shadow Blue and Lunar Light Blue Fountain Pens. To accompany the “Lunar Green” pens released earlier this year, Kaweco has released two new colors in the Lunar series that feature blue-tinged takes on the Lunar “Shadow” and “Light” looks. What’s your favorite?

3. Kaweco Perkeo Iridescent Pearl. We have additional Iridescent Pearl Perkeo fountain pens, available now! By far the most popular take on the Perkeo series Kaweco has released to date, Iridescent Pearl has been difficult to keep in stock.

4. Nahvalur Nautilus Ebonite Fountain Pens. Completely redesigned since we last carried this distinctive ebonite piston filler, the Nahvalur (pronounced “Narwhal”) Nautilus still features it’s signature “porthole” ink windows but now is paired with a more streamlined trim. Bronze and Black trim versions available, as well as a limited number of silver trim pens in the older design.

5. Nahvalur Nautilus: Ti Fountain Pens. In addition to the classic Ebonite, Nahvalur has released the Nautilus in a Titanium body in both black and toffee finishes. For this specific model, the nibs have been paired with ebonite feeds for an exceptionally good writing experience.

6. Nahvalur Eclipse Fountain Pen. The redesigned version of Nahvalur’s “Eclipse” retractable fountain pen has arrived, and it may be the pen that does what Platinum attempted with the now-discontinued Curidas.

7. Pilot Custom 74 Lavender Fog Fountain Pen. We have received more of Pilot’s recent North American exclusive - the Custom 74 Lavender Fog, which features nibs from Pilot’s “Soft” series along with a double broad (BB) option that is perfect if you’re looking for a nib to customize at one of the upcoming pen shows!

8. Pilot Custom 912 Fountain Pen. We have newly arrived stock of the Pilot Custom 912, including Falcon (FA) nib and Soft Fine-Medium (SFM) nibs. The Custom 912 essentially serves as a vehicle for Pilot’s specialty nib lineup - once available only in Japan, Pilot has made them available in the U.S.

9. Teranishi Guitar Fountain Pen Inks. The entire line of Teranishi inks is back in stock, all at one time! One of our most popular series, these inks flow exceptionally well and feature a broad range of deep colors.

10. Kakimori Pigment Inks. If you listen to our latest podcast episode, you can learn more about pigment inks, how permanent they are, and how they can be mixed with one another (within brands) to create your own custom specific colors.

Thursday Drops: 10 Fountain Pens, "Permanent" Inks, and More!

We’ve been hard at work restocking most of our favorite fountain pen and ink lines in advance of the back-to-school and back-to-work rush, including nearly all Pilot fountain pens, the popular Diplomat Viper, and many different Lamys including the Lamy 2000. Both Lamy and Pilot are well-represented in my recently published “10 Fountain Pens list”, as they are long-time personal favorites that I use on a near-daily basis. We also continue to have very good stock of TWSBI fountain pens (particularly the ECO) despite the brand being low at the distributor level. We are trying to restock on the newer models so if a specific colorway is currently out check back frequently as new stock arrives all the time.

The Pilot E95s is back in both colors and all nib sizes!

Finally, we’ve been receiving questions about fountain pen inks with permanence - typically lightfastness and water-resistance. In response, we’ve been making an effort to bring more pigmented and iron-gall inks into the shop, including different options from Platinum and Kakimori, which have the most extensive color ranges.

You can see these and more in our Nashville Shop this week, in addition to online. We are open regular hours, 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday. Online is of course available 24/7!

1. Pilot Capless Vanishing Point and Decimo Fountain Pens. Vanishing Points are back in stock, in most finishes and both sizes.

2. Pilot Custom 74 Fountain Pens. This popular Pilot serves as an excellent entry point to Pilot’s 14k gold nibs, with the high capacity pump-piston CON-70 converter. If you still prefer a piston filler, the Custom Heritage 92 features the same nib.

3. Pilot E95s Fountain Pen. Looking for a gold nib pocket pen? The E95s is a portable, smooth writer with a unique look drawn from vintage Pilot fountain pens from the 1970s and 1980s. And yes, we do have the Ivory/Burgundy color combination, which is now exclusive to the U.S.

4. Lamy 2000 Fountain Pens. We cannot stay stocked with Lamy 2000s. Many of you have been asking about availability, and we recently received a shipment of fines and mediums.

5. Platinum Carbon Inks. Platinum’s line of pigmented “Carbon” inks are the most permanent inks that we have in stock, in terms of lightfastness and water resistance. Carbon Black is an ink of choice for those looking to do ink washes and artwork to which water might be applied.

6. Platinum Chou Kuro Ink. Looking for the “blackest of the black” inks? Chou Kuro is it. There is no ink more black. Think “black hole” black.

7. Platinum Classic Ink (Iron Gall Formulation). Iron Gall inks are more “water resistant” than “waterproof” - if they get wet they will leave behind the blue-black iron content that has bonded to the paper. A traditional ink formulation that Platinum has released in multiple colors, which will darken to a black-tinged hue as they dry on the page.

8. Kakimori Inkstand Colour Pigment Inks. We recently added the full line of mixable Kakimori pigment inks to our inventory. These particular inks are intended to be mixed with one another to create the color of your choice, or they can be used as stand-alone colors.

9. Kakimori Standard Line Pigment Inks. A range of more unique, subtle colors mixed by Kakimori. These inks can also be mixed with each other (or with the Kakimori Inkstand Colour inks) should you so choose.

10. Kakimori Ink Mixing Kit. This handy kit contains three small plastic measuring cups, pipettes, and instructions for mixing your own fountain pen inks. The precise measuring cups allow you to measure, document, and recreate your own ink mixes for future use.

Thursday Drops: Lamy Safari Meteorite and Meteora Special Editions, Diplomat Vipers, and More Pilot!

Three new Lamy releases arrived in the shop this week: Meteorite and Meteora Safari Special Editions, as well as the new version of the “Steel Black” Safari, which has been revamped to better differentiate it from the matte grey “Charcoal” finish. We also have a fresh batch of Diplomat Viper fountain pens and rollerballs, in all five colors including the Green and Blue (the two top sellers). Finally, most Pilot is restocked, including nearly all the colors of Iroshizuku ink, Iro-Utsushi dip pens, and Vanishing Points, E95s and Custom 74 fountain pens.

The new Lamy Safari “Steel Black” finish, which I believe I prefer to the original. Not even close, actually.

Come see these and more in person this week in our Nashville shop, where we are open Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm and on Saturday from 10am-5pm.

1. Lamy Safari Meteorite and Meteora Fountain Pens. These special edition Lamy Safaris feature a glossy finish with texture - something Lamy has not done in recent memory (if ever?). Meteorite is black and Meteora is a dark purple/indigo. Rollerballs, ballpoints, and .5mm mechanical pencils are also available.

2. NEW Lamy Safari Steel Black. Lamy recently revamped the “Steel Black” finish to give it more of a blue-black hue and further distinguish it from the Charcoal (matte black). Steel Black is a standard color - not part of the special line, and should be available going forward.

3. Diplomat Viper Fountain Pens and Rollerballs. Diplomat’s hooded-nib Viper fountain pen is an excellent everyday writer. Now available in five different colors with an etched finish, you can easily create a matching fountain pen and rollerball set.

4. Lamy Safari Neon Series. Lamy has been on a bit of a roll this year, with neon/black and neon pink Safaris in addition to their other special releases. Rollerballs/ballpoints and .5mm pencils are also available.

5. Lamy AL-Star Roller Skate and Disco Special Editions. What do you think? 1970s or 1980s? I’m leaning 1980s but people disagree. This is one of my favorite multicolor releases from Lamy to date, with rollerballs/ballpoints and .5mm pencils in addition to the fountain pens.

6. Lamy 2000 Fountain Pens. The Lamy 2000 fountain pen has been restocked, including fine and medium nibs. The Lamy 2000 continues to be one of our best selling fountain pens and an excellent option for those looking for a gold-nib piston filler that can be used every day. Read our Workhorse Pen writeup to learn more about why we love this one.

7. Pilot Custom 74 Fountain Pens. The summer Pilot restock is slowly trickling back in, and we have new arrivals in the popular Custom 74 model. We currently have 4-5 colors in stock with additional options arriving soon.

8. Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pens. We’ve been sold out of matte-trim Vanishing Points for a long time, but we have all matte colors available at the moment, in addition to all the colors in the Decimo size.

9. iLootPaperie Stickers and Washi Tape. All of our snail mail-themed stickers from iLootPaperie are back in stock! We also have our fun “grown up washi tape” back in the store. (I have this in a drawer in-store, so be sure to ask for it.)

10. IPaintBirbs Stickers. We’re happy to announce that we’ve added a new sticker brand from local Nashville artist Liz Clayton Fuller! Don’t miss bookmarks in addition to the stickers.

In addition to the stickers, we have these awesome IPaintBirbs bookmarks. Don’t sleep on these!