On The Paper Trail Episode 8: 2026 Planners and Notebooks Quarterly Review

This week we check in with our 2026 planners and notebooks to see whether they're still working for us now that we're 1/4 of the way through the year. (Wait, how did that happen?) We talk about what's working with our current planners and notebook systems, what may not be working, and what, if anything, we need to change about our current stationery setup. We also discuss upcoming stationery-themed travel, and we might have more details on our On The Paper Trail: Live in Nashville Event that will take place in Nashville October 16-18!

On The Paper Trail: Where You Can Download the Podcast

As noted above, if you want to follow along and watch the video, On The Paper Trail has its own YouTube Channel. We have also uploaded the podcast to most popular podcast networks and apps, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Overcast.

Show Notes and Links

1. Mark's Inc. "Days" Ballpoint (via Vanness Pens).

2. Diamine Spring Green (via Vanness Pens).

3. Pilot Grancé (via Vanness Pens).

4. Pilot Custom 912 with PO Nib (via TGS Curated Shop).

5. Pilot Prera (via TGS Curated Shop).

6. Bungubox Dandyism Ink (via Vanness Pens).

7. On The Paper Trail Episode 1.

8. Wonderland222 Back to Tomoe River Announcement.

9. Ask TGS: Flying with Fountain Pens.

10. Lisa's Shipping Update Video.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. You can also come visit us at our physical stationery store in Nashville, Tennessee.

New Arrivals: TWSBI ECO Rootbeer + Bronze Pre-orders, Plus a Craft Design Technology Restock!

The latest TWSBI ECO has landed: “Rootbeer” pairs transparent brown acrylic with TWSBI’s popular bronze trim. After a run of solid colors, it’s nice to see a transparent release, as the bronze-trim versions have been among the most popular of the ECO fountain pens. These pens are available for pre-order starting today (4/28), and the pens will begin shipping Thursday, April 30.

Craft Design Technology Products Have Been Restocked, Plus New Arrivals!

Tokyo-based design house Craft Design Technology specializes in re-envisioning classic stationery products with their own aesthetic, including pens like the Zebra Sharbo-X multi pen, the Pentel Sharp Kerry, Pentel Sign Pen, and the Pilot Frixion 3 Multi Pen. In addition to these excellent writing instruments, CDT has become known for their mint green notepads, memo rolls, and other unique paper products. Most recently, CDT announced a series of Pilot Frixion Highlighters, sold individually or in sets of three, along with a special NJK long-point pencil sharpener featuring their own design scheme!

We will be open normal hours this week in our Nashville shop, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm Saturday. Stop by to see these and more in-person!

Sunday Reading for April 26, 2026

1. Letter Writing Essentials: What’s In My Complete Setup (via dwrdnet). Derek shows off his letter writing kit, including typewriters.

2. Sunken Treasure? The Eagle Pen Co. Shipwreck (via Figboot on Pens). That’s some crazy patina on those pens, and a great example of some of the unusual stuff you can find at pen shows.

3. Fabriano Ecoqua Original Notebook Review (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). It’s been some time since I’ve used Fabriano paper but this seems quite serviceable for everyday writing.

4. Filofax Stores (via Philofaxy). A bit nostalgic because I definitely remember all of those Filofax displays.

5. Bloggiversary IX (via Weirdoforest Pens). Congratulations on the bloggiversary! It doesn’t matter how frequently you post as long as blogs are still there. (Plus I love the Lavender Fog shoutout to the Soft FM Nib.)

6. Ink Review #2905: Colorverse Rainy Day (via Mountain of Ink). I’ve enjoyed exploring the Joy in the Ordinary inks from Colorverse, which branch outside their usual “Space” theme.

7. Rickshaw Leigh Reyes Limited Edition Sinclair R (via Pen Addict - Sarah). I’ve had one of these Sinclair cases for years and absolutely love the artwork. One of my favorite limited Rickshaw collaborations.

8. Kaweco DIY Glow-in-the-Dark (via Well-Appointed Desk). Kaweco is doing a “glow model” sport for this year’s DIY events. As an FYI, we’ll be hosting the Kaweco DIY machine in October, both in shop and at our On The Paper Trail Event in Nashville October 16-18.

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In Case You Missed It… It’s the T.G.S. 12th Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe The Gentleman Stationer has been around for 12 Years! This week I updated the Best Pens recommendations page for 2026 - an annual event that occurs around our “bloggiversary”. I also published a piece on Wednesday with my thoughts on 5 pens that I think all fountain pen enthusiasts - and especially those looking to get into pens - should experience at some point.

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

We’ve been busy unpacking our latest shipments from Japan, including new inks from Taccia and Teranishi, “Juice” series gel pens from Pilot featuring the new “Synergy Tip,” and as of yesterday, a restock of products from Craft Design Technology, including pens, paper, and accessories such as the CDT Pentel Tradio, their signature green memo pads, and more memo roll sticky notes! Be sure and check out each week’s “Drops” post for the latest news on arrivals, restocks, and more.

Stop by our Nashville Shop and see these and more this week, in addition to shopping online. We are open from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday.

Teranishi Ink

Craft Design Technology

Pentel

Pilot Pens

How YOu Can Support us further: AND SAVE THE DATE FOR OCTOBER 16-18, 2026 for On The paper Trail Live in Nashville!

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. Also, as we noted in yesterday’s post, we are planning an On The Paper Trail Weekend Event in Nashville the weekend of October 16-18, 2026! Stay tuned as we plan to release additional details in the coming weeks.

TGS 12th Anniversary: Updated 2026 "Best Pens" Page

Longtime T.G.S. readers know that I update the “Best Pens” list annually, typically around the T.G.S. Anniversary in mid-April. Once again, this year was more of a maintenance update because as the list matures, there’s simply not as much movement between the categories. Most of this year’s adjustments account for pens moving between the different price points and certain models/brands going away, but I always enjoy this exercise.

As with previous updates, the last 10 or so lists remain live so that you can see how my opinions and tastes have changed over time. View the 2025 Best Pens List and prior lists here, and if you see something you like, please consider supporting us by shopping our store* or pledging via Patreon.

*The “Best Pens” list goes back to at least 2017, and predates our shop by several years. You’ll see that these lists have informed how we built out our own retail operation, as I knew when I opened my own shop that I would only want to sell stuff that I could readily recommend to other people.

Weekly Drops: New Teranishi Inks, More Taccia, and the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 in All Nib Sizes

This week’s theme is ink, as we have plenty of new arrivals from Teranishi and Taccia! We’ve also introduced a wide array of new gel pens in vibrant colors from Pilot’s Juice Up and Juice Plus lines, and we’ve also restocked all of our Uni Zentos and Zebra Sarasa Vintage. On the pen side, we recently received restocks from TWSBI, Pilot, and Lamy, with many long-time TGS “Workhorse” favorites now back in stock for graduation season.

Note: Our allocation of the TRAVELER’S 20th Anniversary Card-Size Notebook sold out in under an hour online. We have a couple left that we have set aside for in-store customers, so if you’re early today you might get lucky. Unfortunately, we do not have any insight into when we might receive an additional shipment.

See these and more in-person! Come visit us in our Nashville store this weekend from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday.

1. Teranishi Fujiyama Irodori Inks. This line of inks from Teranishi features six colors inspired by Mt. Fuji, and we now have five of them. Teranishi inks are free-flowing and vibrant, and some of our favorites.

2. Teranishi Guitar Inks (Standard Line). The standard Teranishi Guitar line features many unique colors, especially in the green range. Lady Emerald, Brilliant Mint, and Gentle Green are perennial favorites.

3. Taccia Ukiyo-e Kuniyoshi and Hokusai Inks (New Releases). Taccia has released 16 new inks of the past few months, and they’ve all finally arrived. This round features darker, more subtle colors than previous releases, especially the Kuniyoshi inks.

4. Taccia Roughna “Sketch” Ink. An underrated release of four colors that flew under the radar, especially Earth Green and Earth Blue which are both excellent shades that absolutely invoke their namesake.

5. Pilot Juice Up and Juice Plus Gel Pens. We’ve added all the colors of Pilot’s “Synergy Tip” gel pens, the Juice Up and Juice Plus, to our shop. The Synergy Tip technology combines the precision of the Hi-Tec-C with the reliability of a traditional conical tip gel pen. I reviewed both of these gel pens last week.

6. Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Fountain Pens. I wish Pilot would do more with their piston filler, because the mechanism is one of the smoothest I’ve used and the clear acrylic is perfectly polished. Now available in nib sizes fine through broad. Are you confused about Pilot’s “Custom” series and the different models? We wrote up a quick overview a few weeks ago.

7. TWSBI ECO Black Marble & Bronze Fountain Pens. The popular Black Marble & Bronze is restocked. This one features a swirled black and white acrylic with TWSBI’s bronze-plated trim.

8. TWSBI Vac700R in Iris and Kyanite Blue Finishes. Based on availability we are seeking, the Kyanite Vac700R is either going away in the near future or is in short supply. We recently received pens in both the Kyanite and Iris as part of a recent restock.

9. Lamy Studio Fountain Pens, Rollerballs, and Ballpoints. We’ve expanded our range of Lamy Studios on offer to include the standard color rollerballs and ballpoints, listed alongside the fountain pens to make it easy to create a set. With graduation season approaching, we’ve restocked on pens like the Lamy Studio and the Lamy Swift, both understated workhorses that are well-priced.

10. Belle & Union Stationery Themed Stickers. In addition to their excellent correspondence sets, we’ve restocked on all of the Belle & Union stationery-themed vinyl stickers to adorn your water bottle, laptop, or wherever else you want to show your love for stationery!

We’ve been adding additional Belle & Union folded notecards and other correspondence stationery to our specialized letter-writing section of the shop.