Sunday Reading for June 1, 2025 (How Is It June Already?)

1. DWRDNET Stationery Feed with Chad of Eel and Anchor (via dwrdnet). Interested in what goes into designing and pouring blanks for custom pens? Be sure to watch this interview with Chad from Eel and Anchor!

2. Teranishi Traveling Sepia and Antique Black; and a Meditation on Brown (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I’ve never been a huge fan of brown inks either, but off-blacks? All day. The trendiness of brown inks is an interesting phenomenon, as brown has historically been one of the more underutilized ink colors.

3. Pens, Papers, and a Way to Make the Lamy Ballpoints GOOD?! Unboxing from the Gentleman Stationer (via Inkdependence). Ok, a bit of self-promotion, but Mike walked through an unboxing of some of the Notsu stuff as well as the Uni/Lamy collaboration refill. Glad you enjoyed!

4. Kilk Celestial Twofer … and a Giveaway! (via Figboot on Pens). Kilk keeps killing it with their materials. I have a couple of their pens that I need to get back into the review queue.

5. Interview with an …? (via Olive Octopus). Lisa also sat down for an interview with Derek! Be sure to watch as they talk a lot about ink swatching and more.

6. Play It as It Lies (via Line Variation). Do you find how and why you write changes from year-to-year?

7. The Best of Collecting (via Fueled by Clouds and Coffee). This post resonated with me because I’m at a similar stage with pens, having moved into a more carefully considered acquisition phase.

8. Pilot Iroshizuku To-Ro (via Inkredible Colours). To-ro is one of the newer Iroshizuku colors, released late last year. It’s more of a golden orange.

9. What I’m Enjoying Today (via From The Pen Cup). I can’t wait for Lochby to bring the Field Journal Mini back in stock. These things are great.

10. 8 Is Auspicious (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Congrats on an 8-year fountain pen anniversary!

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An undated 2-page weekly spread: my favorite planner layout.

In Case You Missed It….

This week’s content features a new “Ask TGS” post, titled “What’s the Best Paper for Pencils?”. I get a lot of requests for recommendations, both online and in-store, and this one has been appearing more frequently than most. I also discussed Five Reasons I Prefer Undated Calendars and Planners, which I’ve talked about before without ever dedicating an entire post to the subject.

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

For the beginning of June we have loads of new arrivals, including all the new Field Notes special editions, a new line of 6-ring binder inserts, Planner Stickers, and more from Laconic Tokyo, and new multi pens from Pilot! On the ink front, the rest of the new Ichthyoformes Series arrived from Anderillium, including three dark red colors that I’m planning on diving into this week. Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for updates.

This coming week we will be back to regular hours in the shop. Thursday and Friday 1-6pm, and Saturday 10am-6pm. Since I had to take part of yesterday off, we will be having some extra hours this afternoon (Sunday) from 1-5pm.

Laconic

Pilot Multi Pens

Pilot S20 Mechanical Pencils

Anderillium Ink

NEW T.G.S. Patreon Features - We’ve started a discord community!

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Five Reasons I Prefer Undated Planners and Calendars

I’ve tried to love dated planner systems, whether it’s the Hobonichi Techo, the Jibun Techo, or even the dated version of the Traveler’s Company Weekly + Memo, but my specific planning needs change so frequently that I have a hard time sticking to a single system continuously through the year. I much prefer being able to switch between different undated books and inserts. For example, there are times when I need a full day-to-a-page layout, other times when I want a week-on-two-pages layout, and yet others when I don’t need a planner at all and roll with a blank notebook. Here are what I consider the five key benefits of an undated planner system:

1. No “Planner Anxiety”: You Can Skip Days/Weeks/Months Without Wasting Paper. The obvious benefit is that by using an undated planner, you can skip time for things like vacations or less-busy periods without leaving blank pages. As a result, you can use your planner longer (if it’s a bound book) and avoid wasting the unused dated sheets (if you use a 6-ring binder or other loose-sheet system).

2. You Can Choose Your Start Date. Did you start a new job in the middle of the year? Did your scheduling needs change? Do you simply want to try organizing your time a bit differently and experiment with a new method of organization? With undated planners you don’t have to wait until the New Year nor purchase a dated book that’s already half-expired.

3. You Can Use a Blank Week or Month to Help Plan a Standard Routine or Schedule. I personally do this when I’m trying to set a fixed work schedule or workout routine. You can take an undated week and pin it to your wall or pinboard with whatever “repeating” information you need to include and use that as a reference when setting up subsequent weeks.

4. You Can Easily Keep Two Calendars Side-By-Side. This is one of the biggest advantages for my own personal situation. For example, with undated calendar pages, I can take two consecutive “months”, date them both for May, and have two calendars that track different things (i.e., a schedule or appointments calendar, followed by a content calendar for T.G.S.).

5. The Flexibility to Explore Different Formats and Layouts. Over the years I’ve found that companies tend to be a bit more creative with their undated planner layouts. If the company doesn’t have to worry about the dated planner “expiring,” they can experiment with different formats, and you can even use them all and jump back and forth between them as your needs change, as noted above. Case in point is the Laconic Tokyo series, which we’ve carried for a while and features all sorts of unusual refills and inserts that include “Gantt Chart,” “Spreadsheet”, “Think”, “Life” and more. They’ve recently released these in a 6-ring A5 binder format, in addition to the softcover A5 notebooks that fit notebook systems like Lochby and Roterfaden.

For as many people out there who love choosing and buying their annual dated planner, in the years I’ve spent running this site, I’ve also found that just as many - if not more - prefer the undated variety. Though we still carry some dated planner refills (such as the annual Traveler’s Company releases) in our own shop, undated planners outsell the dated versions by a fairly wide margin. If you value flexibility above all else, and therefore consider yourself “not a planner person” since dated planners sometimes seem rigid and inflexible, you may want to consider the more notebook-like undated experience.

I’m actively looking at consolidating and building out this product segment - not only do I value it and use it extensively in my own personal life, but I think it’s underutilized and receives far less publicity and attention than the trendier dated planners that seem to take over social media each year. There’s much less FOMO around the undated planner systems, allowing you to spend time experimenting and choosing the system that works best for you without the pressure to buy into a system before they sell out for the year.

Laconic also makes their own binder, at a fairly low price point, which offers a way to test out the six-ring system to see if it works for you. For those who want to use fountain pens, I would say that Laconic paper works fairly well with nibs fine-medium (maybe slightly better than Kokuyo Jibun Techo paper), bur you may see show-through with broader nibs and wetter inks. I personally use multi-pens in my planners.

Thursday Drops: Even More Multi Pen Madness, Plus Pilot S20s, Sarasas and Jetstreams

I guess we’re the multi pen people now, huh? This week we received a large shipment of unique multi pens direct from Japan, including the Pilot Legno 2+1 in five woodgrain finishes, Pilot 4+1 multi pens featuring ultra smooth Acro-Ink, and while not a multi pen, additional stock of the excellent Pilot S20 Ballpoints and matching mechanical pencils.

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TWSBI has also released its latest ECO color: Matcha Green, which fills a gap in the current color lineup. After some prodding, we also put in a test order for the TWSBI Diamond 50ml ink bottles, which allow you to fill your TWSBI 580s without dipping the nib. Finally, we’ve reupped on all the Jetstream refills, in both the Uni proprietary formats and the universal styles.

We have slightly revised in-store hours this week: We will be open from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, per the usual, and then from 8-10am on Saturday morning and 1-5pm on Sunday, due to some scheduling conflicts. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

1. Pilot Legno 2+1 Multi Pens. These gorgeous woodgrain multi pens match the color scheme of the S20 Ballpoint, plus add three new options (Black, Natural Wood, and Mahogany). Each pen ships with two D1 refills (black and red) plus a .5mm mechanical pencil. Because the pen uses the universal D1 size, you can customize with whatever ink/refill system you like.

2. Pilot 4+1 Multi Pens. The Japanese counterpart to the classic “Dr. Grip” 4+1 multi pen that you can find here in the states, this version features .5mm Acro-ink refills in four colors, plus a .5mm mechanical pencil. This series pairs four muted colors with an unvarnished wood grip that shows off the grain.

3. TWSBI ECO Matcha Green Fountain Pen. Looking for something a little lighter to complement darker “Breakfast Collection”? TWSBI’s latest ECO release is a light tea green (as you would expect) and available in all nib sizes.

4. Pilot S20 Ballpoint Pens and Mechanical Pencils. Wishing we offered a set of the Pilot S20 pens and pencils? Now you can build one! The Pilot S20 .5mm mechanical pencil feels just as nice in the hand as the S20 ballpoint.

5. TWSBI Diamond 50ml Ink Bottles. Enough people asked about these that we decided to do a test order! The TWSBI ink bottle allows you to fill your TWSBI Diamond 580 (or similar earlier TWSBI piston-filler model) without dipping the nib in the ink, and allows you to fill other pens using a reservoir system. If there’s an ink brand that you love that otherwise has impractical ink bottles, consider a third-party solution!

6. Pilot Decimo Capless Fountain Pens. All colors are now available, as we just added the burgundy and white models to our selection. Many people prefer the slimmer Decimo to the larger Vanishing Point, and if you’ve found that the Vanishing Point clip interferes with your grip, moving to the Decimo sometimes improves things.

7. Zebra Sarasa Grand Vintage Gel Pens. These high-end Sarasa pens actually match the refill to the anodization, which is somewhat rare. (Usually the “higher end” gel pen bodies ship with a standard blue or black refill.) .5mm and .3mm options are available, as well as additional refills in the muted “Vintage” series of colors.

8. Uni Jetstream Prime Lite Touch 3 Multi Pen. The Jetstream Lite Touch refill has, deservedly, received a lot of attention as an incremental improvement to the already excellent Uni Jetstream low-viscosity ballpoint. This 3 slot multi pen is a very nice higher-end professional option that comes in three unique matte finishes. You can read our full review of this multi pen here.

9. Uni Jetstream Lite Touch 4+1 Multi Pen. The standard Jetstream 4+1 Multi Pen is also available with the updated Lite Touch refills. (You can still buy both the original Jetstream and Lite Touch Jetstream multi pen refills, depending on your preference.)

10. Notsu Index Card Systems and Refills. We are fully restocked on all of the Notsu card sets, replacement cards, and other accessories. These are some of the best fountain pen friendly index cards out there, and are available in a wide variety of different formats.

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Check out the woodgrain on that multi pen grip!

Ask TGS: What's The Best Paper for Pencils?

The question above is one that I get regularly. Just as fountain pen enthusiasts are extraordinarily particular about paper, pencil enthusiasts also have their preferences, and people regularly approach me for “pencil paper” recommendations. What’s interesting is that fountain pen and pencil preferences can be diametrically opposed: certain smooth, coated papers that work well with fountain pens can feel too glassy and smeary with graphite; whereas more textured, tactile papers that appeal to pencil enthusiasts might catch on a pen nib and/or be too absorbent for water-based inks.

What Are My personal Pencil Preferences?

This is an “Ask TGS” post, so it goes without saying that my answer here is colored by my own personal preferences, which favor a more tactile writing experience when using pencils. I tend to like pencils with graphite on the scratchier side, and seek out paper with texture somewhat akin to a sketchbook. That’s what I think of as “pencil paper”. Yes, there are people who prefer smoother paper with pencils, in part because it won’t wear the point down as quickly and won’t require sharpening the pencil as frequently. If you value point retention, definitely take this into account. Personally, I enjoy pausing periodically to sharpen the pencil, as it forces me to slow down and periodically reflect. YMMV.

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Appointed’s heavy-duty spiral “The Notebook” has become a pencil favorite.

Papers That I Love with Pencil, In No particular order

1. Blackwing Paper. Predictably, Blackwing Paper was designed with pencils in mind, and I’ve always found that the Slate notebooks and “Illegal Pads” strike a good balance between texture and functionality. They’re textured enough to feel satisfying with pencil, yet not too rough to use with pens. I’ve had very good luck using Blackwing paper with most fountain pens.

2. Baron Fig Paper. I have a large stock of Baron Fig “Mastermind” Desk Pads that I purchased years ago, so it’s possible the paper has changed as Baron Fig has reconfigured a lot of their product line, but as originally reviewed the Mastermind paper was excellent paper for pencils. Fountain pens can be hit or miss, though I always find the paper adequate for most everyday tasks where I’m using one of these tear-off desk pads. Notsu’s Writing Pads are similar.

3. Appointed Paper. I discovered Appointed last year when I was shopping in New York City and picked up one of their top-bound spiral to-do pads. I fell in love with this paper for pencil, even if it’s too absorbent to use with fountain pens broader than a fine. Appointed Paper has what I’d consider to be a near-perfect texture for pencils and might be my new standard for graphite.

4. Midori MD Cotton. One of my favorite “middle ground” workhorse papers for when I want to use fountain pens, pencils, and other inks interchangeably, Midori MD Cotton has subtle texture and exceptional ink-friendliness for a more absorbent cotton paper. If Midori offered this paper with rulings (like they used to), it would easily be my primary writing paper.

5. Any Sort of Laid or Textured Paper (G. Lalo, Original Crown Mill, Bindewerk). There’s definitely a balance, because overly textured paper can cause lead breakage with longer points and mechanical pencils, but traditional laid or linen-textured paper can be fun to use with pencils. Most of these papers also handle ink well, though some users dislike heavier texture with a fountain pen nib or pen tip, especially finer points or sharper shapes like stubs and architects that can get caught in the ridges.

While I hope you find this helpful, there’s no substitute for your own experimentation. This can be hard to explain to in-store customers or pen show attendees: some people want there to be an undisputed “best paper,” but the most I can offer is starting point. Enjoy the exploration, as that can be the best part of the hobby. The great thing about paper is that it’s expendable. If you keep writing, you’ll eventually use it up and you can try something different!

Come see us in-store this week and try some of this for yourself! We are open from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and with reduced hours from 9-11am this Saturday (I have a family event to attend.) I will likely have some make-up hours Sunday afternoon.

New Arrivals: Pilot S20 Ballpoints AND Mechanical Pencils!

The Pilot S20 Ballpoint Pen is one of my favorite new discoveries, and we are now happy to offer the matching mechanical pencil as well so that you can make a matching set. Featuring Pilot’s deep red and deep brown wood finishes, these are not only attractive writing instruments but highly functional as well, with a slim silhouette that fits comfortably in the hand and will also travel well in a notebook pen holder or planner loop.

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The Pilot S20 Ballpoint Pen takes the Dr. Grip-style “Cocoon” refill, and the mechanical pencil takes standard .5mm mechanical pencil lead. In addition to restocking on the Pilot S20s, we have additional stock of the Uni Jetstream SXR-600 Parker-style ballpoint refills, as well as the SXR-200 Universal D1 refills for your D1 multi pen of choice.

Our brick and mortar will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 8am-11am on Saturday. (Reduced hours due to a personal conflict.) We will likely have some additional hours Sunday afternoon which I will post later this week.