New Arrivals: More Viarco Pencils and Accessories (Including Violet Pencils and Pencil Caps!)

Viarco pencils have returned, and it appears as though this brand will be regularly carried by a U.S. distributor, which of course makes me very happy! Viarco pencils represent an excellent combination of quality and value, and are made in one of the last operating European pencil factories. The graphite sharpens very well and holds an excellent point for writing.

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These spring-style pencil protectors are inexpensive and sold in packs of 8.

We currently have all of the various vintage-style pencils in stock, as well as the popular pencil caps and pencil gift sets, which contain a dozen of each vintage style for a half-gross in total. All of these pencils are HB-grade graphite, with the exception of the surprisingly popular vintage violet copying pencils.

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

Chasing the Perfect Point: Considerations in Choosing a Desktop Pencil Sharpener

Though fountain pens have received the most attention in the "analog revolution" that's taken place during the past decade, the humble woodcase pencil has also seen a resurgence in popularity. Wooden pencils require their own set of "gear", ranging from pencil cases that can accommodate longer pencils like Blackwings, to portable handheld sharpeners, to what I plan to talk about today: the desktop pencil sharpener.

In addition to the satisfying, tactile sensation of writing with a freshly sharpened pencil, many people love the inherent customizability. Depending on whether you are writing, drawing, or even highlighting, you can change the point on your pencil to suit your purpose and/or preference, and a versatile desktop pencil sharpener can make this process a lot easier. That said, there's a wide range of excellent desktop sharpeners available on the market, priced from as little as $20 all the way up to $500+ for a handmade El Casco sharpener from Spain. Here are a few things to consider when looking at desktop sharpeners.

Note: I’m only considering manual sharpeners in this review. Electric sharpeners, in my experience, do not last as long, and I’ve not found one that I’m happy with.

My El Casco sharpener has four different pre-set point style options. I generally leave it set to “as long as possible.”

How do you use your pencils?

Specifically, do you want a longer point for writing, or do you need some versatility for softer graphite or colored pencils used for art or highlighting? Some sharpeners are primarily intended for basic school or office use, and therefore offer just a single point style (typically a long, sharp point). Others have more options, such as shorter blunt tips that many artists prefer for sketching and coloring.

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Even within the “long point” style, there’s a lot of variation. Here, you can see four long-points, from left: El Casco, Caran d’Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine (Mini), Caran d’Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine (Standard), and Uni Mitsubish KH-20. The long El Casco tip allows you to write for a very long time, and the point is very durable, but at the same time it’s blunt and won’t give you an ultra fine line unless you file the point down further. (El Casco incorporates a file into the shavings drawer.)

Do you like curved or needle tips, and do you care whether the sharpener leaves marks on your pencil?

Even if you know that a single-length, long-point sharpener works for you, there's a lot of variation within that category. Certain sharpeners, such as the Caran d'Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine (mini version) and the El Casco, create a curved, almost concave point similar to handheld sharpeners like the M+R Pollux and Blackwing One-Step. Others will sharpen to an equally long "straight" point that ends in a needle tip. Personal preference determines what works best for you, and factors such as handwriting size and style, writing pressure, and aesthetic preferences all come in to play. For example, many people feel that a slightly curved point is stronger, and therefore reduces breakage for those who write with a heavy hand.

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Baring their teeth and waiting to chew up your pencils.

And, yes, certain desktop sharpeners leave "teeth marks". While the Carl Angel 5/Classroom friendly sharpener is the most notorious in this regard, the Caran d'Ache sharpeners will also mark the barrel of your pencils. This isn't something I really care about - pencils are a consumable product and the marks will get sharpened away eventually with the rest of the pencil - but it really bothers some people. Sharpeners like the Carl CC-2000, the Uni-Mitsubishi KH-20, and, yes, the El Casco all feature a "toothless" chuck with a rubber grip instead.

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The standard Caran d’Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine makes what I would consider a “classic” conical long point.

How much desk space do you have? Are you looking for a design piece or heirloom that you can pass along to your children?

An El Casco or a larger Caran d'Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine is intended to serve as a design centerpiece for your desk as much as a sharpener. These things are very large, heavy, and plainly intended to serve as an office focal point. (Trust me, a bright yellow El Casco is a conversation starter.) On the other hand, the "mini" version of the Caran d'Ache sharpener is lightweight, portable, and can easily be tucked into a desk drawer. The Carl Angel 5 and Uni-Mitsubish UH-20 sit somewhere in between.

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From left, the El Casco, the Uni Mitsubishi KH-20, the Classroom Friendly/Angel-5, and the Caran d’Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine (Mini).

The more expensive desktop sharpeners are handcrafted and built to last for many years. The primary example here is the El Casco sharpener, which is handmade in Spain and can command prices of up to $600. As I noted above, they're incredibly versatile, capable of the longest concave points possible, but not everyone needs this level of customization or quality. That said, if you're a pencil enthusiast or a serious artist who wants to invest in a quality tool that your kids can use, you may view it as a worthy investment. Another sharpener reminiscent of the El Casco but at a lower price point is the metal version of the Caran d'Ache pencil sharpening machine. You get a similarly substantial metal construction at a lower price point, but you don't get the point variation options of the El Casco.

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No, I’m not selling my yellow El Casco.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a consistently good experience with a desktop sharpener. It all depends on what you need the sharpener to do functionality-wise, and whether you want to pay extra for things like history, handcrafted construction, and iconic design. On the lower end of the price spectrum, I've had excellent experiences with the Carl Angel 5 / Classroom Friendly Sharpener, as well as the Uni Mitsubishi KH-20. These sharpeners fall in the $20-30 range (with some more expensive specialty colors), and are extremely serviceable. The Uni sharpener even offers a basic point adjustment function. Slightly more expensive ($50) is the mini Caran d'Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine. Finally, as noted above, you have the top end of the pricing scale, with the Caran d'Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine at $150-200 and the El Casco as high as $600.

There are many different manual desktop sharpeners available on the market, and I can only write about the 4-5 I have in my possession. (I can't really justify buying more as they take up a fair bit of space.) Once we take possession of our new brick-and-mortar space later this month, I hope to be able to make more sharpeners available for in person testing and purchase!

UPDATE: For those of you who can’t visit in person, check out this demonstration video I did for YouTube, featuring the sharpeners discussed here.

Don’t miss our current 4th of July Weekend Sale, which can net you an extra 10% off pencils and a sharpener of your choice (some exclusions apply) with the coupon code FIREWORKS at checkout. See the full details here.

Adventures in Weird Stationery, Part II: Uni Metal Mechanical Pencil Lead Case

One of my goals this year has been to rediscover my fascination with the somewhat whimsical, offbeat stationery that originally got me interested in this hobby. So when I was traveling to NYC back in March and saw these metal mechanical pencil lead cases featured with prime retail floor space in Kinokuniya, my first reaction was "Yes, THAT!" It’s exactly the kind of thing that would have caught my attention as a kid, and still grabs me as an adult.

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My two pencil lead cases, with a Uni Kuru-Toga Alpha Gel Switch for scale.

I’ve not written as much about this aspect of my stationery use over the years, but I have always enjoyed a quality mechanical pencil. (I even recently updated the “Best Pens” list to include a “Mechanical Pencil” category.) I now have a couple of these pencil lead cases: One in a limited edition midnight blue finish (which unfortunately I've been unable to source and which are now commanding silly prices on the secondary market) and one in the standard aluminum. Designed to hold 40+ standard-sized mechanical pencil leads, you'll probably never find yourself without spare graphite.

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Place your thumb on the circle and slide the front of the case down to open.

So how does it work? There's a circular indentation on the front of the case where you place your thumb to slide the front of the case down, which in turn flips the top of the case open and exposes the leads as shown above. I much prefer this design to the slip-cap version, where you pop the cap off a pack of leads and either (1) have to risk misplacing or dropping the loose cap, or (2) have to dump the leads out into your hands to get them out of the container. To some it may seem like an overengineered solution to a highly specific problem, but if you're a heavy mechanical pencil user like me it's super convenient and cuts the time needed to refill your pencil by allowing you to grab individual leads directly. Note: Uni's standard plastic mechanical pencil lead packaging also uses a version of this "sliding" design, but the metal version slides better and feels much more durable. I don't know if it will "last a lifetime" as I've seen it described in some marketing, but you shouldn’t be replacing this thing anytime soon.

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These cases are pretty compact - around the size of a USB thumbdrive. I’ve carried them both in the leads/eraser slot inside the cover of the Patalino Pen Cases, and you can also stick them into any zippered pouch or compartment like on the Lochby Tool Roll shown here.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Look, I acknowledge that I have weird taste in stationery, but there was absolutely zero chance of me walking out of Kinokuniya without buying one of these. (Even if I had to pay a hefty markup for the limited edition blue version - I'm still kinda embarrassed and won't tell you how much it cost, but at least it wasn't anywhere close to the $225 someone is currently trying to get on eBay. Yes, seriously.). I also knew immediately that this was a product I wanted to stock in my own shop if I could get it at a somewhat reasonable value. Not necessarily because I thought it would appeal to everyone, but rather because it's the sort of offbeat - yet useful - product that other stores wouldn't carry.

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Honestly, you could probably get way more than 40 leads in this thing, if you churn through enough graphite.

If this is something that interests you, we currently stock the silver version, priced at $18.50 for the metal case with 40 HB leads in either .5mm or .3mm. Uni makes excellent mechanical pencil graphite, by the way, and the case ships with 40 leads in the "smudge-proof" formulation that lives up to the name even in softer hardnesses such as 2B. And, yes, I will be writing about my experiences using a .3mm mechanical pencil at some point in the future. I never thought that fine of a point would interest me, but you know what….

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

Five Fun Discoveries from the First Months of 2024!

I’ve been traveling fairly regularly throughout the past three months, and have picked up a bunch of stuff (and rediscovered others) without enough time to do in-depth reviews, though those may come in the future! I thought it might be fun to briefly talk about five items I’ve been using a lot recently. You may see some of them in the shop in the future, or they might just remain fun stuff in my personal collection if the appeal isn’t as widespread, but if you see something you think is cool that I don’t personally carry, let me know!

1. Jetstream 4+1 Multipen, Karimoku and Bamboo Editions. You already know how much I love the Uniball Jetstream, but lately I’ve really been diving heavily back into the world of multi pens. The Jetstream 4+1 (meaning that it has four slots for pens and one for a mechanical pencil) is chunkier than many other options, but I still find it comfortable. The two shown here were picked up at Kinokuniya in NYC last week, and are Japan-exclusive special releases. Unfortunately I don’t see the Karimoku version listed online in many places, so I suppose it’s an exclusive that retailers are only allowed to sell in brick-and-mortar locations though you may be able to find it on eBay, etc.

2. Uni Kuru-Toga .3mm Mechanical Pencil. While I don’t think the .3mm lead width is going to replace my go-to .5mm at any point in the near future, this .3mm in a muted moss green was another Kinokuniya pickup. I’m quite surprised at how well a .3mm mechanical pencil resists lead breakage, though you do have to pay some attention to writing pressure and paper texture. This pencil is currently loaded with HB-grade lead, and I wonder how much softer (B, 2B) you could actually go before breakage becomes an issue.

3. Lamy Safari Ballpoint Pens. And also the Noto, and the econ, etc. In my opinion, the Lamy M16 ballpoint refill is an excellent standard ballpoint option that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. I’ve rediscovered these as great “shipping pens,” since they’re easy to deploy one-handed when working in the warehouse and writing notes to go with orders. I will add that the current “Pink Cliff” and “Violet Blackberry” ballpoints look really good, even if there has been some criticism for the ballpoint not incorporating the flash of pink and light purple. Personally I prefer the blacked-out, more muted look.

4. Penco Prime Timber 2.0 Lead Holder. I’ve always used leadholders and clutch pencils, but the process of extending the lead can be a bit perilous, since most leadholders have a gravity-driven “drop” system where the lead just slides out, as opposed to a “click-to-extend” mechanical-pencil-style mechanism. Enter the Penco “Prime Timber”, which is not only a touch longer and has a traditional pencil-like feel, but allows you to click to extend the 2.0mm core. If you’re looking for a leadholder to write with, consider this one. The pencil ships with a decent sharpener, or you can opt for the brass M+R lead pointer, which gets a VERY sharp point.

5. “Metacil” Infinity Pencil. These “infinity pencils” with a metal tip made from aluminum alloy have been around for several years, but I’ve never tried one and my prior attempts have been somewhat unsatisfying. On a whim, I picked up a couple of these at Kinokuniya, and apparently they’ve improved the quality to a point where the line is about as legible as a 2H pencil - still very hard and somewhat light, but usable on the right kind of paper. I’ve been keeping one of these in random places where I sometimes need a pencil to mark things up quickly, such as the chair where I do some of my reading and computer work. During my trade show adventures I even saw a version where companies have worked darker graphite into the metal tip, resulting in a pencil tip that may not last forever but still doesn’t require sharpening. I plan to further explore this product category!

A writing sample of both the Penco Prime Timber as well as the Metacil, which is surprisingly legible. I have found that it works best on smoother paper. This is the Blackwing paper in the “Illegal Pads”.

Did you enjoy this post? 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: New Lamy Safaris + Matching Inks, Pencil Shop Launch, and More!

Yesterday’s post took a look at the 2024 Lamy Safari Special Edition fountain pens and bottled inks, which this year includes some wild color combinations dubbed “Pink Cliff” and “Violet Blackberry”. As of this morning, rollerball versions of the Safari pens are also available for purchase!

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These Japanese “handwriting” pencils have been favorites over the years: I use them for anything from notetaking to scoring music.

Last week we also unveiled our expanded pencil section of the shop, which allows us to offer a better curated selection of wood and mechanical pencils, as well as pencil accessories such as sharpeners and erasers. We have more of the Caran d’Ache Fixpencil “Creative Nomad” sets, new mechanical pencils from Uni and Tombow, and dark handwriting pencils from Kitaboshi and Uni in 4B, 6B, and 10B hardnesses. We’re looking to bring even more pencil stuff into the shop in the weeks and months to come, so stay tuned!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the TGS Curated Shopa the TGS Patreon Program. Many thanks for all your support!

1. Lamy Safari 2024 Special Edition Fountain Pens. This year’s special edition Lamy Safari fountain pens feature two different colorways: Pink Cliff and Violet Blackberry, with matte and glossy textures, respectively.

2. Lamy Safari 2024 Special Edition Rollerballs. As of this morning, we have the rollerball versions of both Pink Cliff and Violet Blackberry listed for sale as well! Enjoy!

3. Special Edition Lamy Bottled Ink. We have a couple of bottles remaining from this initial shipment. “Cliff” is a rich navy blue, while “Blackberry Violet” is a super-sheening purple.

4. Lamy Studio “Glacier” Fountain Pens and Rollerballs. We managed to snag some of the Lamy Studio fountain pens and rollerballs in the ice blue “Glacier” finish, which is a personal favorite.

5. Pilot Explorer Fountain Pens. We received a shipment of Pilot Explorer fountain pens, including the popular matte black pens in both fine and medium nib sizes. The Explorer is an excellent pen at a competitive price point.

6. Uni Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch Mechanical Pencil. The Uni Kuru Toga is one of my favorite mechanical pencils, with its automatic lead-rotation that helps maintain a fresh point on the graphite. The “Switch” lets you turn off the rotating mechanism, which some believe offers greater stability. And the gel grip is insanely comfortable.

7. Caran d’Ache x Rylsee “Creative Nomad” Limited Edition Fixpencil Set. We have additional stock of the current limited edition Fixpencil Set, which includes a special pencil and select lettering pens in a set assembled by Swiss lettering artist Rylsee.

8. Kitaboshi 10B Pencils. Yes, you read that correctly. If 10B is a bit much for you, we also have 4B and 6B “Penmanship” or “Handwriting” pencils from Uni. I love all of them, especially for marking stuff up and doodling.

9. Tombow Mono Graph Mechanical Pencils and Mono Graph Pastels. I only recently discovered Tombow mechanical pencils and their “shaker” mechanism, which allows you to advance the lead by shaking the barrel of the pencil.

10. Uni Smudge-Proof and Hi-Uni Mechanical Pencil Leads. Uni makes some of the best mechanical pencil lead available. We have both Uni’s standard “smudge-proof” graphite (self-explanatory), as well as the Hi-Uni, which uses graphite similar to the excellent Hi-Uni woodcase pencils.