Thursday Drops: New Arrivals from Tom's Studio, Anterique, Toyo and More!

Just in time for the summer season, we’ve received a restock of shop favorites including Toyo Steel Boxes and the Tom’s Studio Fineliner lineup. In addition to the Lumos and Wren, we now have the Ori “Infinitely Refillable” Highlighter, as well as the Tom’s Studio Highlighter inks and a full lineup of Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks in both standard colors and shimmer. Certain colors (specifically Clementine and Espresso) have been in high demand and are now back in stock. Note that we also have Tom’s Studio replacement nibs, ink reservoirs, and other parts.

Did I mention we have additional TWSBI fountain pens in many different materials and nib sizes?

If you would like to see how the Tom’s Studio pens work, yesterday I wrote a post discussing how I set up the Ori Highlighters, and also did a short YouTube demonstration of how the reservoirs and tips fill. In addition to the large Tom’s Studio shipment, we have new stock of Toyo Steel boxes in many different colors, Diamine ink in favorite colors (including Writer’s Blood!) and more!

Come see these and more in-store during normal hours this week, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday.

1. Toyo Steel Boxes in New Colors. We received a new shipment of Toyo Steel Boxes in several sizes and several new colors, including gorgeous indigo and lilac shades. These steel boxes from Toyo are useful for storing small bottles of ink, washing tapes, and other desk and office supplies.

2. Tom’s Studio Ori Refillable Highlighters. The latest release from Tom’s Studio features refillable highlighter pens in three different color combinations and six different fluorescent inks. Two of the inks (green and purple) are dye-based and can be used in the Lumos pens.

3. Tom’s Studio Lumos Refillable Fineliners. We received a shipment of Lumos Duo pens in all colors, so we are fully stocked. For those of you coming to see us in person in the Nashville shop, we have new Lumos testers inked up with several different tip sizes. You can read more about how these work and why we like them here.

4. Tom’s Studio Wren Fineliner Pen. If you are looking for a pocketable refillable fineliner to use mainly for writing, consider the smaller Tom’s Studio Wren!

5. Tom’s Studio Fountain Pen Inks. Safe for use in all fountain pens and Tom’s Studio refillable fineliners, the Tom’s Studio line of inks features 20+ ink colors. We have all of them currently in stock as of the time of this post.

6. Anterique GP1 Gel Pen. Is it a click pen, or a capped pen? This new gel pen from Anterique features a smooth .5mm gel refill in multiple colors that match the “cap” of the pen. (It’s not a capped pen - it’s actually a click pen that looks like a posted vintage-style ballpoint!)

7. Anterique Classic Ballpoint Pen. The cult classic that went viral overnight is back in stock in many popular colors. These Anterique ballpoints feature a smooth low-viscosity ballpoint refill that’s perfect for everyday writing.

8. Life Paper. We are restocked on Life Noble Note, Typewriter Paper, and Airmail/Onionskin pads. Life Paper is widely regarded as some of the most fountain pen friendly paper available and is prominently featured in our long-running post “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper.”

9. Diamine Bottled Ink. We recently received a restock shipment of Diamine Ink, including favorite colors like Writer’s Blood, Oxblood, and Lady Grey. We even have single bottles of some of our favorite past Inkvent Colors!

10. Diamine Ink Cartridges. In addition to the Diamine assortment packs, we now have single-color packs of select Diamine Inks, including Writer’s Blood, Early Grey, and more.

Oh, and as a special surprise, we have a couple of Itoya Helvetica ballpoints that I brought back from Japan! These won’t be a regular item so be sure to grab one as available.

New Pen Day! Setting Up the Tom's Studio Ori Refillable Highlighter (And Cleaning Out the Lumos)

Tom’s Studio recently announced their latest product - an “infinitely refillable” version of a product that isn’t supposed to be refillable: the highlighter. Dubbed the “Ori,” this new pen works on the same principle as the Lumos and Wren refillable fineliners. Each Ori highlighter pen features a double-ended design with two replaceable cotton reservoirs and marker-style tips. To fill the pen, you dip the end of the reservoir into the ink and watch as the ink saturates the filling system and the tip. Each bottle of Tom’s Studio highlighter ink also includes a small eyedropper, and Tom’s Studio suggests that you apply a drop or two to the tip of the marker to ensure adequate saturation and ink flow.

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It never gets old watching these things fill up.

I’m really happy to see a product like this reach market. Way back in the early 2010s, what prompted me to start exploring better stationery was the waste inherent in disposable pens, and especially plastic highlighters. Working in a research-intensive profession, I would churn through highlighters at a somewhat astonishing pace, though my current burn rate has slowed somewhat due to a focus on finer tipped products like the Zebra Mildliners, which use less ink.

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While it might look like a bit of a project at first, setting up the Ori (and the Lumos and Wren) is fairly simple even if you get inky fingers!

Tom’s Studio currently makes six different fluorescent highlighter inks that you can use with the Ori: Yellow, Orange, Blue, Green, Pink, and Purple. These are available individually in 5ml dropper bottles, or as a set of 6. Each individual Ori comes packaged with the two colors that match the pen’s anodization, and if you spring for the set of three pens, you’ll get all six inks plus a set of the bullet and brush tips. As of today, all products are available in our own shop.

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The three-pen set comes nicely packaged, with inks and all the tips.

If you only want one pen, you can also buy the set of six inks separately.

Inevitable Question: Can I Use the Ori Inks in My Tom’s Studio Lumos Pens?

Yes and No. Per Tom’s Studio, the Green and Purple Fluorescent inks are dye-based, and can therefore be used in the Lumos pens with the fibre or brush tips (i.e., the marker-style tips). The other four inks are pigment based, and should only be used in the Ori Highlighters because they will clog the Lumos. However, all six inks can also be used with dip pens.

These colors are all super saturated and appear as bright as your standard disposable highlighter. Even on the cheapest paper, I’ve had minimal bleedthrough.

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The chisel tip on the Lumos (left) is much finer than the Ori’s tip, though it’s not angled and will need to be held vertically.

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The brush tip on the Lumos can also be used as a highlighter. For both the brush tip and the chisel tip, I’ve chosen not to use the brass tip protector because it covers too much of the marker.

Another note: given how brightly colored these fluorescent highlighter inks are, and the fact that most of them use pigment, I do not expect that it will be easy to rinse out the reservoirs and tips and change colors. Fortunately, both replacement tips and reservoirs are fairly inexpensive, and even with the Tom’s Studio Lumos and Wren refillable fineliners, I’m finding it easier to simply use a new reservoir or tip rather than spend the time required to rinse these things clean enough to change colors. These reservoirs can be flushed a few times before they will no longer hold ink, but it requires a LOT of work. As you can see below, with certain brightly colored inks, you will likely never get the reservoir completely clear of ink residue.

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Despite a lot of washing, these are about as clean as you will get a used reservoir. The top two are probably fine to change colors. The bottom one should only be used with a similarly-colored ink.

The TGS Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of Tom’s Studio products, including pens and inks. We also sell replacement nibs, marker tips, and reservoirs. In addition to our online store, you can see all of these products in our Nashville shop.

New Arrivals: A Cap Pen, Click Pen, or Both? Introducing the Anterique GP1

Do you remember last year when seemingly the entire world discovered Anterique’s flagship ballpoint pen as a result of a viral news article? We do, because overnight we shipped 1,000+ of these things. Well, not only do we have additional stock of the standard Anterique low-viscosity ballpoints (which continue to be a favorite of TGS readers and customers), but we’ve added additional Anterique products as they become available, including the recently released Anterique GP1! The GP1 (“Gel Pen 1”, presumably) is a click pen that looks like a classic stick pen with the cap posted, but is in fact retractable. We currently stock the pen in four different colors and also sell the refills.

Be sure to check out the entire line of Anterique pens, which we offer both online and in our Nashville store. If you visit in person, note that Anterique makes more than 100 color combinations, not all of which can be displayed at the same time, so if there is a specific pen you are looking for it may be easiest to place an online order for pickup. (Select “Pickup” as your shipping option at checkout).

Our Nashville shop is open 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-5pm on Saturday. Online shopping is available 24/7! Come see us in-person this summer either in Nashville or at a pen show!

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We also have stock of the standard Anterique Low Viscosity Ballpoints, Mechanical Pencils, Highlighters and much more!

Sunday Reading for June 7, 2026

1. My Top 5 Stationery Favorites for 2026 (So Far) (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana walks us through her top finds for the year to date.

2. My Solution to the “I’m Dead, What Happens to My Journals?” Question (via From the Pen Cup). Another perspective that’s different from the usual “Burn them” response.

3. Halfway Through the Year with a Sterling Ink Common Planner (via Dime Novel Raven). I personally am using the Wonderland222 this year, but the Sterling Ink Common Planner is another that I see heavily recommended.

4. Every Pencil in the New Blackwing LOTR Set (via dwrdnet). This was a wild idea. So far I have still resisted.

5. Live from the Triangle Pen Show 2026 (via Inkdependence). The Triangle Pen Show (North Carolina) took place last weekend, and Mike always does his show walkthrough and livestream.

6. Top 10 Fountain Pen Makers You Should Know (via Figboot on Pens). There are many new makers who have entered the pen world over the past few years it can be difficult to keep up, and videos/posts like this one are helpful keeping track if you’re interested in exploring custom pens.

7. Sixth Anniversary (via Inkredible Colours). Congratulations on a six-year bloggiversary! Always a huge accomplishment!

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Patreon members know what I’m talking about here…

In Case You Missed It….

I’ve been back from Japan for a week or so now and have had a chance to start going through all of the stationery I brought back! This week I posted an entry in my “Japan Trip Journal” series discussing the inks I found, and I also did a YouTube video on the Top 5 Cool Things I Brought Back from Japan with me! Yesterday I posted a pen review of one of the pens I ended up taking with me on that trip, the Pilot Custom Heritage 92, which is the sole piston filler in Pilot’s lineup and a highly underrated workhorse pen.

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

We had several new arrivals land in the shop this week, including restocks of most TWSBI fountain pens, Diamine Ink, additional nib sizes of the Pilot Custom 845 Urushi and Pilot Custom 912, and additional TRAVELER’S Notebooks. New Anterique pens (the click-cap GP1) arrived, as well as additional colors of their standard click-pens. We’ve also added the last few Summer Clearance Mystery Boxes to the clearance section of the shop, and once these are gone we’re done until the fall. Be sure to check each week’s Thursday drops post for a full list of all new arrivals and restocks.

Our Nashville shop will be open this week normal hours, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday! Please come by and see us in person.

Pilot Pens

TWSBI

Diamine

Anterique

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If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), and would like early/extra access to shop releases and special promotions, consider supporting us via Patreon. In addition to exclusive content, Discord access, and online meetups, Patreon supporters have access to one or more initial “practice” episodes of “On the Paper Trail” which have not been publicly released.

Workhorse Pens: Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Fountain Pen

Pilot’s Custom Heritage 92 piston filler stands as both a source of joy and one of my greatest regrets. Joy because I appreciate that this excellent everyday writer continues to be accessible to the North American market, even if it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Regret because I didn’t snap up all three colors (orange, blue, and smoke) when they were still available many years ago. And, of course, extra regret that I sold off my transparent orange version with the fine-medium nib. Regardless, nib choices aside, earlier this year I picked up a Custom Heritage 92 demonstrator with a medium nib and realized it was long past time that this pen went into the “Workhorse Pens” review bucket.

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Pilot doesn’t have many piston fillers in its lineup. In fact, the Custom Heritage 92 may be it. Mine is shown here freshly filled with dark green ink.

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A simple cap band, with barely visible branding.

This particular Custom Heritage 92 went with me to Japan and back, so I had a lot of uninterrupted writing time with the pen. One benefit of a longer trip where you only take a few pens with you is that you get to spend more dedicated time with each one, and you quickly figure out your likes and dislikes. For the Custom Heritage 92, it’s pretty much all positives:

• Size and Balance. I find the Custom Heritage 92 similar to the Pilot Custom 74 and Lamy 2000 in terms of weight and balance - all three pens align perfectly with my own personal preferences. While the Custom Heritage 92 can be used posted or unposted, to me the pen feels best posted, and for a “Workhorse Pen” I consider posting important because I don’t want to have to keep track of the cap when I’m focused on writing or running between meetings.

• Nib. The Custom Heritage 92 features the same 14k Pilot No. 5 nib as the Custom 74 - one of my favorite nibs of all time. Pilot medium nibs in general operate as my personal default, so whenever the fine-medium (FM) or soft fine-medium (SFM) is unavailable, I’ll opt for this one. I consider this nib to be a moderately wet writer, which allows for a smooth writing experience (and the ability to showcase ink) while still performing well on decent paper.

• Filling Mechanism. It’s a shame Pilot doesn’t make more piston fillers, because this piston is exceptional. It’s not only super smooth, which makes filling and cleaning the pen pleasant and easy, but it’s also lightweight, allowing you to post the cap without making the pen back-heavy. While the ink capacity isn’t huge, it’s adequate for a pen of this size.

• Aesthetics. Pilot makes some of my favorite clear demonstrators. The Custom Heritage 92 is perfectly polished, and I struggled to find any flaw in the finish. While I tend to lean towards darker inks, and therefore don’t take as much advantage of the clarity as I should, those heavily into brightly colored or shimmer inks will love how this pen looks when it’s inked. (Yes, I’ve used shimmer inks in my Pilot pens and have found that the nibs and feed handle these inks just fine. Just be sure and clean your pens thoroughly when changing colors!)

The Pilot Custom Heritage 92 (left) compared to the Pilot Custom 74 (center) and the Pilot Custom 823 (right).

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The design of the Custom Heritage 92 does differ from the Custom 74 and other pens in the Custom series (like the Custom 823) in some ways. For example, it features a sword-style clip instead of the rounded ball-style found on the 74 and 823, plus it has flat ends.

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The Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Fountain Pen, to me, feels best in-hand when posted.

You can read further on our “Workhorse Pens” series, and the various fountain pens I have reviewed which fall into this category, but as a TLDR version I would re-emphasize that the Custom Heritage 92, the Custom 74, and the Lamy 2000 sit at the top of my own personal arsenal. All three are reliable, comfortable, and portable, with aesthetics that are interesting yet still subtle enough so that they’re inconspicuous in a work meeting. Their classic designs have remained essentially unchanged since their introduction, and while some might consider that fact boring, I prefer to put it as “getting it right the first time.”

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Three of my favorite everyday workhorses: In addition to the Custom Heritage, the Custom 74 and Lamy 2000 are fountain pens with a similar feel and balance. All three post exceptionally well.

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Takeaways and Where to Buy

Whether you’re looking for a crystal clear demonstrator to showcase your ink collection, a reliable workhorse for everyday writing, or both, you can’t go wrong with Pilot’s Custom Heritage 92. Personally, I wish that Pilot would do more with this model, and last year’s release of the Custom 74 as the most recent North American exclusive gives me some hope that this model will appear on the special/limited release schedule at some point. At $264 (current price as of the time of publication), it’s also currently one of the few remaining sub-$300 gold-nib fountain pens that still punches well above its price point, and I never hesitate to recommend Pilot pens to anyone looking for good value. I’ve recently written an overview of the entire Pilot “Custom” series, which walks through the sizing, nibs, and filling systems of the various models.

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You can’t have it all: I probably prefer the vintage-style Pilot clip on the Custom 74 and Custom 823.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of Pilot fountain pens, including the Custom Heritage 92. We currently have this pen stocked in all nib sizes, and I usually have my personal pen inked up if you would like to try it in person or compare it to the rest of the Pilot lineup, should you come visit us in store or at a pen show.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by online purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.