From the Curated Shop: Favorite Pens for Reading

Whenever I go on vacation in the summer, or even when I’m just lounging around here at home, I like to read outside (weather permitting). If I’m reading nonfiction, I tend to be a relatively “active” reader, meaning that I enjoy highlighting/underlining passages, entering marginalia and jotting down notecards that I sometimes store in a library pocket before I transcribe them to a commonplace book. I generally have a specific set of pens that I use as “reading companions,” mainly lightweight ballpoints and/or pencils that I can clip to the cover or tuck between the pages unobtrusively. It’s a major category that I’ve elected to stock in the shop, and since I know so many of you are avid readers, I thought I’d share my favorites here. If there are any “bookmark-style” or other annotation-appropriate pens that you enjoy and think that we should consider stocking, please drop us a line or leave a comment below!

[UPDATE: I’ve been reviewing my stock and it’s time to do a summer clearance! Take 10% off almost everything in the store using the coupon code SUMMER - automatically applied at checkout - and some items have been placed on deep discount already. Excludes TWSBI and Lochby! Sale Ends at 11:59pm on July 5.]

The Gentleman Stationer Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands shown here.

1. Traveler’s Company Brass Ballpoint Pen. My favorite pen for reading and annotation went with me to the beach this month and added to it’s patina. Lightweight and featuring a needle-tip hybrid ballpoint/gel refill, I consider this the perfect pen for marginalia and annotation. (We also sell the refills.)

2. Pokka Pens. While the tip isn’t as small as the needle-point on the Traveler’s Company Brass Ballpoint Pen, the Pokka Pen is extraordinarily light, and when paired with the optional clip, makes for an awesome pen to clip to the cover.

3. CW&T Pen-Type C. Fans of the Hi-Tec-C gel pen will want to consider this flat titanium “bookmark pen,” which gives you the CW&T writing experience at the $50 price point. Personally, I clip the pen to the front cover as opposed to using it as a true bookmark. (It’s also a useful pen to slip into the PVC pouch on a Traveler’s Notebook.)

4. Caran d’Ache Bicolor Annotation Pencils. The perfect companion for those of us who like to highlight or annotate in colored pencil. The standard graphite is relatively firm, so you don’t need to sharpen often, and it’s still dark enough to remain legible.

5. Mazzuoli Nobile ITALIA. A unique writing instrument that I haven’t written about in a whlle, this ergonomic ballpoint from Mazzuoli ships with three different ballpoint refills and a .7mm mechanical pencil insert. I have the “Aviation Blue” version with the mechanical pencil, and it makes for a great portable writing companion.

Pen Review: Kakimori Brass Dip Nib

Kakimori’s round metal dip nibs have been among the more difficult-to-obtain stationery items this past year. Following the hype that was the Drillog Kickstarter, interest in dip nibs that could be used to easily sample inks and do calligraphy exploded, and Kakimori has come up with one of the best everyday options, at least in my opinion. (It’s also a LOT less expensive than the Drillog.)

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Just use the side of the brass nib to lay out a thick line (or fill in your Inkyconverters ink stamps)!

So what makes this dip nib so good? For starters, it’s versatile. By varying the angle of the dip pen, you can also vary the line thickness - something that’s difficult to do with your average inexpensive dip nib or cheap glass pen. For example, writing with the broad side of the Kakimori nib offers you the ability to easily swab ink samples into your notebook and add a line of handwriting, using the same pen. And if you want to swatch multiple inks quickly, all you’ll need to do is rinse the pen with water and wipe the nib off.

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You can actually get a pretty fine line with the tip of the Kakimori.

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You should note that this dip nib does not fit into every holder. I’m not sure what “size” it is, but none of the holders I had at my house worked, so I ordered this Sakura wood holder from Kakimori. It’s quite nice looking, and I look forward to getting some ink stains on the natural wood handle!

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I’m close to declaring the Kakimori Brass Dip Nib to be the perfect ink sampling tool!

Takeaways and Where to Buy

If you’re looking for a dip nib for ink swatching, lettering, art, or just for general writing purposes, then you should definitely consider picking up the Kakimori Brass Nib. As of 2024, we carry the Kakimori metal nibs (in both brass and stainless steel) in our own shop. At $55, these nibs are not inexpensive, but they should last a long time.

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

Thursday Drops: Fountain Pen Friendly Paper and Landscape-Style Notebooks

One of my favorite developments in the pen community over the past several years has been the proliferation of the “landscape-style” notebook and notepads, particularly since this design allows you to work with a notebook below your keyboard. We carry fountain pen friendly, landscape-style notebooks in a variety of formats, including lined, grid, blank, and even a weekly undated planner. I’m currently using a combination of the WMS & Co. Planner Desk Pads and Midori MD Writing Pads for most of my own everyday writing!

For more on fountain pen friendly paper brands, and suggestions on high-quality paper in general, be sure to check out this page, which is periodically updated. The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. Write Notepads Landscape Notebook. The original landscape-style spiral notebook that we first started carrying three years ago. Available in a lined format, with six different color options. (Pro Tip: If you prefer a dot grid ruling, the standard Write Notepads Spiral Notebook can simply be turned sideways and used in landscape format.)

2. Write Notepads Weekly Planner. Track or plan out your week on two pages, with no dates so that you can use the “calendar” as often or as infrequently as you need. Featuring the same excellent fountain pen friendly paper as all Write Notepads products!

3. Maruman Mnemosyne Notebooks. We recently brought in more of Maruman’s excellent Mnemosyne line, and not only is the paper exceptionally fountain pen friendly, but the grid-ruled notebooks come in landscape format.

4. Midori MD Paper Pads. Both the A4 and A5 Midori MD writing pads can be used in landscape mode, and the pads even come bound on two sides for maximum durability.

5. Traveler’s Company Spiral Ring Notebooks. The B6 version of this notebook contains 100 sheets/200 pages of blank Midori MD paper in landscape format.

6. WMS & Co. Planner Desk Pads. Another exceptionally handy option for those of us who enjoy an undated planner or a scratch pad that’s organized in a weekly layout. The paper is quite good, and these desk pads come in both full-size and a slimmer format specifically intended for under-keyboard use.

7. WMS & Co. Standard Desk Pads. These larger blank desk pads and notepads contain up to 285 pages of thick writing paper, perfect for jotting notes or brainstorming. (Note that the colored paper is more appropriate for pencils and non-fountain pens, as it’s coated.)

8. Life “Noble Note” Writing Pads. While not a landscape-style writing pad, we don’t do enough to promote this excellent brand of Japanese paper, which comes in thick 100-page writing pads in three different rulings/formats.

9. Clairefontaine French-Ruled Looseleaf Sheets. We still have limited stock of French-ruled paper in these looseleaf booklets, which I find incredibly versatile for notetaking, drafting, and even letter-writing.

10. Soumkine “Oh My 307” Universal Planners. We still have stock of the Soumkine Hardcover Planners, which look like they may be discontinued (at least for now) as part of the brand’s redesign. If you’re a fan of long, skinny format planners or journals, give this one a try.

Ink Review: Anderillium Michigan Avenue (2022 Chicago Pen Show Limited Edition)

So I’ve now picked up a total of three inks from Anderillium: Cuttlefish Brown from their “Celphalopod Series,” Shoebill Stork Grey from their “Avian Series,” and now the special “Michigan Avenue” ink that I picked up this past May at the 2022 Chicago Pen Show. All three inks are excellent. While Anderillium may have had some reported issues with the initial formulation of their inks when the company first launched, those are years in the past and I can vouch that every ink I have tried so far behaves quite well.

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The Michigan Avenue ink is a dark teal, formulated to reproduce the oxidized bronze color of the lions standing guard over the Art Institute of Chicago. I love this color - it’s dark enough to ensure legibility for everyday office work, while at the same time showing enough depth to remain interesting. While it might be a touch dark to qualify as a true reproduction of oxidized bronze - I’d compare the color more to Sailor Miruai - Michigan Avenue is an extraordinarily well-behaved ink that dries nearly instantaneously and doesn’t feather or bleed. I’ve run through two fills already!

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Following up on yesterday’s post, I did today’s writing sample on Maruman Mnemosyne paper, to give you all an idea of how this paper handles ink, and how the Anderillium ink behaves.

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Zero bleed with this paper/ink combination, even with a very wet ink swatch.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Thus far, my experience with Anderillium Inks has been consistently good. While this ink was a pen show exclusive, and technically could only be purchased at the Chicago Pen Show, Chicago-based Atlas Stationers appears to still have some in stock. You can purchase other Anderillium inks directly from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, quite reasonably priced at $14.50 for a 1.5oz (approximately 45ml) bottle of ink. The Anderillium Ink bottles resemble jelly jars (in fact, they might be jelly jars), which means that for at least the first half of the bottle, you can easily refill larger-diameter pens with big nibs.

Anderillium mentions on their website that all of their inks are made in-house by their own resident chemist, without using animal products and with an eye to sustainability and environmental preservation. You can read more about the company, its practices, and even the artwork on the website and ink bottles here.

Just Landed: Maruman Mnemosyne Notepads, Notepad Covers, Label Stickers & More!

One of the more undersung fountain pen friendly paper lines, Maruman’s Mnemosyne notebooks and notepads are among the most versatile, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve expanded our selection of Mnemosyne products to include additional paper sizes and formats, as well as the Mnemosyne label stickers to help you further customize your notes! As of this morning, you can purchase the Mnemosyne spiral notebooks in sizes ranging from A4 to A6 to B5, and we have also added A5 Notepads, a handy A5 Notepad Cover that includes not just a classic padfolio but five pockets for organizing, and two different top-bound steno pads. Label stickers are available in “Tab,” “Task,” and “Flow” formats.

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You can view additional Mnemosyne photos and writing samples in the shop listings, or by visiting this past post. As I mentioned above, Maruman Mnemosyne paper unfortunately doesn’t get mentioned as often as brands such as Rhodia or Clairefontaine, though I find it handles fountain pen ink just as well. The perforated pages, durable covers, and attractive price point make this a paper worthy of your consideration.

If you’re interested in reading further on fountain pen friendly paper recommendations, we maintain a running list of fountain pen friendly brands, which also has an active comment section because we can’t test them all!