Sunday Reading for September 7, 2025

1. Pen Shows Are About Friends (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana highlights some features of the SF Pen Show, including the Thursday classes/hangout day, which if you arrived a day early gave you a great low-key decompression day prior to the craziness that followed.

2. 2025 San Francisco Pen Show Rating (via Rachel’s Reflections). Rachel’s recap did a great job of highlighting issues show promoters are starting to face with hotel space limitations as some of the larger shows outgrow their location. The pictures of the crowds are some of the best I’ve seen.

3. Hobonichi 2026 - A Read Change (via Inky.Rocks). After last year’s paper issues, will Hobonichi bounce back? They also have new covers.

4. 2800 Inks (via Mountain of Ink). Congratulations to Kelli on hitting another milestone! This site is a valuable community resource that anyone interested in ink should be aware of.

5. My First Fully Custom Maker Fountain Pen (via dwrdnet). I remember the feeling when I unboxed the first pen I had commissioned, built to my preferences. I saw this one yesterday and it was awesome. 12 facets that all line up?

6. 2025 Miami Pen Show (via Feed Your Creativity). The Miami Pen Show has a new location from the last time I considered this event. It’s a great location for a show so I hope it expands!

7. In Sight, In Mind (via From the Pen Cup). I love that when you organize or attempt to prune your collections, you always end up discovering those out-of-sight-out-of-mind items you forgot you had.

8. De Minimis Suspended: Why Imported Fountain Pens Just Got a Lot More Expensive (via Pelikan’s Perch). A thoroughly researched article on the challenges that we (consumers, retailers, distributors) are all facing in the current chaotic environment.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I recapped the San Francisco Pen Show! I published both a general recap of the show and a more in-depth piece on the seminars I attended in San Francisco. I will have more recap content this week, probably in the form of a YouTube haul video.

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

Laconic Tokyo 6-Ring binders and refills are back in stock! People have been messaging me about these for a while now and the shipment arrived yesterday. I have plenty of the undated planner refills for those who prefer more flexibility, as well as all the fun productivity and life-logging refills.

We also have two new fountain pen arrivals: the long-awaited green Diplomat Viper, as well as the TWSBI Diamond 580 AL in Affogato + Onyx. Finally, we’ve added a selection of new notebook colors from Shorthand, and are in the process of adding new items to our “written correspondence” section of the store. Stay tuned! Be sure and check each week’s “Weekly Drops” e-mail for updates on new arrivals and more.

We will be open normal hours this week in our physical shop. Come see us from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, as well as 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to keep an eye on this page here for any shop updates.

Laconic Tokyo

Lamy

Roterfaden

TWSBI

Consider Further Supporting T.G.S.!

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. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive shop releases (including the Taschenstift “Violet Tendencies” and the Roterfaden TGS_25), the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. As noted above, we’ve recently started a Discord community for all paid Patreon supporters.

2025 San Francisco Pen Show Recap, Part II: Panel Takeaways

In Wednesday’s general recap of the 2025 San Francisco Pen Show, I discussed how one of my favorite aspects of the San Francisco Pen Show is the content. The show offers a wide range of classes, workshops, and discussion panels on topics ranging from nib tuning to calligraphy to zentangling, and of course fountain pens, inks, and paper! Today I’ll discuss my observations and takeaways from the two I attended last weekend.

Thursday Evening Panel Discussion: Exhibitors from Singapore and Japan Discuss Their Preferred Inks, Pens, and Paper

For me, the show kicked off on Thursday night with a panel discussion moderated by Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. The panel featured four guests: Naoyuki Takeuchi, the head of Ink Planning and Development at Nagasawa Stationery in Kobe Japan; Daryl Lim of Atelier Musubi; Satoru of seY Pen; and renowned nib artisan Yukio Nagahara, who attended the show with his company The Nib Shaper. (I was lucky enough to snag a front row seat since I agreed to act as “Timer” and did my best to keep everyone on schedule.)

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Takeuchi-san discusses his favorite fountain pen while his translator Anastasia looks on. Photo credit to Matthew Chen / Vanness Pens.

The discussion (and the follow-on Q&A) continued for well over an hour, so a complete recap of all the topics that were discussed is impossible. That said, here are my top three takeaways that I found the most interesting/insightful:

1. How does Nagasawa come up with ideas for hundreds of inks? More on this below, but Takeuchi-san provided some insight into how he comes up with ideas for the nearly 200 inks in the “Kobe Inks” collection. Interestingly enough, he described being able to “see things in color,” meaning that when he sees a landscape or building or natural wonder, he sees the color, as opposed to the shape. All of the Kobe Inks are inspired by landmarks and scenery around Kobe Japan, and the colors they evoke.

2. Do different regions/countries have different paper preferences? Apparently, the answer is yes, and I found this part of the discussion fascinating. According to Daryl Lim of Atelier Musubi, the North American fountain pen market strongly prefers ultra smooth, coated papers such as Tomoe River and Cosmo Air Light, whereas the Asian and European markets prefer more absorbent/textured paper such as Midori MD Cotton and similar European products with higher cotton content. My personal observation is that the North American market (and particularly the U.S. market), is heavily influenced by the belief that unless paper has absolutely zero bleedthrough/showthrough/feathering, it cannot be considered “fountain pen friendly” and should not be used or sold as suitable for fountain pens. Other markets are apparently much more tolerant of different ink behaviors on different paper, and will even accept slight feathering on certain paper in exchange for the shorter dry times and more cushiony writing feel.

3. How was the Naginata/Kodachi nib developed? Another of my favorite answers, in which Yukio Nagahara was asked about the story behind the development of his father’s “Naginata” nib that was created for Sailor and now has taken on a life of its own, with Nagahara-san having named his particular version of the nib the “Kodachi”, and also having taught other nib workers such as Matthew Chen the grind so that they can add to the wealth of nib options out there. The metaphor he used was “water falling on a stone,” as the nib grinds evolve over time as each maker perfects their technique.

Saturday Ink Seminar with Nagasawa Bungu Center

On Saturday, Nagasawa representatives held their own seminar in which Takeuchi-san and his translator Anastasia discussed the history behind the Sailor Kobe inks and explained in-depth how the inks were created in the years following the Great Hanshin Earthquake that occurred in 1995 to raise the community’s morale by celebrating the city following the devastation that occurred. The inks are numbered in the order they were created, and according to Nagasawa, the first three remain among the most popular: No. 1 (Rokko Green), No. 2 (Hatoba Blue), and No. 3 (Old City Sepia). Seminar attendees were given an ink sample card with the opportunity to test dozens of different Kobe inks that Nagasawa had loaded into tester pens and passed around the tables.

The Nagasawa Team presenting on Saturday.

The seminar concluded with a Q&A session. While there were some insightful questions posed, and the Nagasawa team did a great job attempting to respond thoroughly to everybody, this session reinforced a personal frustration I have with the degree to which some fountain pen users get very wrapped up in the technical details of what is a strongly analog, inexact, and artistic product. The focus of the Nagasawa Seminar was the history behind the Kobe Ink Series, its strong ties to Kobe, Japan, and the artistry and creativity necessary to create 150 different inks inspired by specific places around a single city. Yet I was a little dismayed at the extent to which the initial questions focused on things like ink formulation, “ink safety,” color variation in bottles purchased years apart, etc. Even though the questions themselves were genuine and honest, they felt misplaced. The story being told focused on the history of a classic product that’s sincerely rooted in its community with a strong sense of place - something rare in today’s market and certainly a story you wouldn’t hear in another venue. It’s not how I personally would have chosen to pick the brain of the creator of one of the most famous ink lines in the world. Again, I was extremely impressed with how the Nagasawa representatives quite graciously answered all the questions posed, speaking through a translator and in light of the fact that the inks themselves are manufactured by Sailor, who handles things like ink formulation.

Takeaways from One of the Best Pen Shows I Have Attended in Years

The San Francisco Pen Show remains one of the best shows on the circuit in terms of content and variety of exhibitors. If you appreciate Japanese stationery, there is no better show in the United States. I’m not going to do a full discussion of show logistics, crowds, etc., as you can find that elsewhere. There certainly were issues with crowds, navigation, and the fact that the show has likely outgrown its current venue, but I still wouldn’t miss this one for the world. See you all next year!

Many thanks to everyone who made this trip to the San Francisco Pen Show possible, especially Vanness Pens for hosting us at their table! I definitely plan to return next year.

Thursday Drops: Green Diplomat Vipers, Big Notsu Cards, and More Fountain Pen Restocks

I returned from the San Francisco Pen show to a box of the newly released Green Guilloche Diplomat Viper, which we have in both fountain pen and rollerball formats! For those unfamiliar with this pen, the Diplomat Viper is a hooded-nib fountain pen that features a single nib width (fine/medium) which is perfect for my own everyday writing. While I chose the Blue fountain pen, all of these colors are great.

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We have additional stock of the TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Affogato + Onyx, as well as newly arrived restocks of the Lamy 2000 in fountain pen, rollerball, ballpoint, and even mechanical pencil formats. Finally, Notsu is back with large-format index cards (per Tuesday’s post), and all of the Roterfadens we brought home San Francisco are back in inventory if you didn’t get to visit us at the pen show. Happy Shopping!

We are open this week from 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. Come see us in person at our Nashville location, and keep track of updated hours on this page here.

1. Diplomat Viper Fountain Pens and Rollerballs in Green. The latest Diplomat Viper release is here, in a much-anticipated green color. We also have a full restock of the other three colors.

2. TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Affogato + Onyx Fountain Pen. A sleeper hit at this year’s San Francisco Pen Show, many people came by the tables just to see TWSBI’s latest. The Onyx Trim really sets off the dark brown anodization on this 580 ALR. The Caribbean Blue + Onyx is also stunning, and it’s also been a sleeper favorite.

3. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in A5 and B6. All of the Taschenbegleiters that we took to San Francisco and did not sell (as well as those that didn’t make the trip) are now back into inventory as of this morning.

4. Sunderland Machine Works MK1 Machined Rollerball. One of my favorite non-fountain pens, these machined rollerballs take a range of gel refills (G2, Energel, Sarasa) with minimal hacking, and will also accept the threaded Montblanc-style rollerball and fineliner refills. While our store custom edition is currently on hiatus, we carry the range of standard Sunderland finishes.

5. Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pens. We’ve restocked on the Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pen in Amber, Smoke, and Clear, and between the three finishes I believe we have most nib sizes available. The Custom 823 has long been one of our “workhorse” fountain pens for everyday writing, mainly because the vacuum-filling system uses a valve shut-off feature to allow you to travel without fear of leaks.

6. Lamy 2000 Ballpoints. The ballpoint version of Lamy’s flagship fountain pen is not only reasonably priced, but comfortable for longer writing sessions and now compatible with the M17 Jetstream refill, which we offer in either .5mm or .7mm tip sizes.

7. Lamy 2000 Blackwood and Taxus Ballpoints. Did you know that the Lamy 2000 comes in two polished wood finishes as well? These take the same range of refills as the standard pen, and have slightly more heft than the Makrolon.

8. Oversized Notsu Notecards. Notsu’s excellent ink-friendly notecards are now available in a larger 5x7 format, and we have also restocked on most other sizes and layouts.

9. Colorverse “Top 3” Fountain Pen Inks. Colorverse released the top 3 inks from last year’s Colorvent Advent Calendar, and we are now happy to offer them in 50ml bottles. The three colors that won the vote were Christmas Star (Glistening/Shimmer), Pulsar Pulse (Sheening), and Milky Way (Glistening/Shimmer).

10. Taccia Tsuchi Returns! Years ago, I had tried Taccia “Tsuchi”, a darker golden brown based on the color of wheat. Despite thinking this one had been discontinued, I found it and have added a few bottles.

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Both Onyx-trim TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR fountain pens in Affogato (top) and Caribbean Blue (bottom).

2025 San Francisco Pen Show Recap: Still The Best "Big" Show!

We returned this week from the 2025 San Francisco Pen Show, and what an awesome weekend! After having to cancel at the last minute last year due to a family emergency, it was great to be back and to have the opportunity to visit with so many of our readers and customers. Due to the number of international vendors who attend the show, San Francisco is truly an “international” pen show with both vendors and attendees from Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Turkey, and more.

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I snuck in to get a shot of the ballroom as it was being set up on Wednesday night.

While the show is smaller than D.C. in terms of both physical footprint and number of vendors, there are things at this show that you simply won’t find anywhere else. This year’s international attendees included Nagasawa Stationery, Toyooka Craft, Drillog, Atelier Musubi, Stylo Art Karuizawa, Kyuseido, and seY pens, as well as a number of glass pen makers that included Glassophy, Hanabi Glass Studio, Glass Studio Aun, Glass Studio TooS, and more. It’s impossible for me to list and link to everyone here, as there are simply too many, but you can view the entire exhibitor list on the SF Pen Show website.

Representatives from Nagasawa Stationery (Nagasawa Bungu Center) presented at the San Francisco Pen Show on the history of their Kobe Inks.

What Makes the San Francisco Pen Show Great: People and Content

Ever since attending my first San Francisco Pen Show in 2021, I’ve enjoyed returning for two things: the people and the content (mainly classes and seminars). This year’s show continued the trend, with excellent workshops and classes of which I attended two. The first was a Thursday night panel that included Naoyuki Takeuchi, the head of Ink Planning and Development at Nagasawa Stationery in Kobe Japan; Daryl Lim of Atelier Musubi; Satoru of seY Pen; and renowned nib artisan Yukio Nagahara, who attended the show with his company The Nib Shaper. The wide-ranging discussion (moderated by my friend Lisa Vanness) included some generalized background about all the different companies represented, but also spanned topics as diverse as the role of stationery in different countries, paper preferences across regions, and personal pen, paper, and ink preferences.

The second seminar was held on Saturday afternoon, and was hosted by Takeuchi-san of Nagasawa and his excellent translator Anastasia, who walked through the history of Nagasawa’s Kobe Ink series and provided in-depth background regarding the development process and stories behind certain colors. I plan to do a separate recap discussing some of the topics from this and other seminars in the coming days, so stay tuned.

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Everyone who’s visited T.G.S. at the larger pen shows know that we’re somewhat selective in what we bring to shows, given the already diverse selection available across more than a hundred tables. As with the D.C. Pen Show, this year we only brought Roterfaden, the German clip-based binder system, and as you can see, we went from 16 to 4 Taschenbegleiters by midday Saturday!

Business Recap: So Long to All Those Roterfadens!

Everyone always asks me “how was your show?”, so let me say this: it was fabulous. Not only did we do well business-wise (taking some of the stress out of an otherwise expensive trip) but I love meeting readers and customers in person and hearing about how much they’re enjoying their stationery, especially when they stop by to tell me how they’re actually using it out there in the real world. While I only had five TGS_25 Roterfadens available at the show, at least twice that number of people came by to tell me how much they were enjoying theirs that they had bought online. (Some even wanted pictures, which was a new experience for me, as all my friends know I’m camera-shy :).)

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The Galen Leather “Dentist” Nib, which is a fine architect that’s super-smooth.

We had teamed up with Vanness Pens at their table in the Oak Room (at the back of the entrance hallway), and were joined by Ana Reinert of the Well-Appointed Desk and Galen Leather, who brought not just their latest “Havana Brown” release, but also their exclusive fountain pens and custom nibs ground by Meltem (“Amphorastale” on Instagram). I had a few minutes on Saturday - or maybe it was Sunday, it’s all a blur - to test out their custom nib grinds and found them excellent. The next time you order one of the Galen Leonardos or another JoWo-compatible pen, consider adding a specialty nib. My favorite was the fine italic.

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My San Francisco Pen Show Haul, Plus things I did not buy because infinite money is not really a thing

As I mentioned above, those looking for high-end glass and dip pens did not come away from San Francisco disappointed. Unless you waited too long, that is. The San Francisco Pen Show is notorious for product selling out on Friday morning, since weekend pass-holders queue-up early to get access to the most in-demand products. This time around it was mainly glass pens, and I heard that people arrived at 5 a.m. to get in line. Despite not being able to be part of the initial rush since I was behind the table, I still managed to pick up a couple of fun pieces on Saturday: a glass pen from Glass Studio Aun with a broad nib, and a Drillog 2.0 with a .5mm tip size. You can read my original (somewhat critical) review of the Kickstarter Drillog here, but I have to say that this new version delivers on the original vision and more. It’s super smooth, and since there are additional channels cut into the nib, it delivers sustained ink flow. Drillog also switched to titanium, which has improved performance. I plan to post a full follow-up on this one.

My glass pen from Studio Aun (left) alongside my Drillog. I chose the short nib.

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Schon DSGN has released a new pen: the Monoc EVO, which is a piston-filler fountain pen with an integrated nib.

This year’s special release from Pilot will arrive in October. This Custom 74 will be available in four special nib sizes, including Soft Fine, Soft Fine-Medium, Soft Medium, and Double Broad.

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The Drillog setup at the San Francisco Pen Show. Customize to your heart’s content.

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Marty brought all the Retro 51s!

A tiny Pelikan fountain pen (M300?) alongside a Kaweco Liliput Kolibri.

That’s a Wrap for 2025 Pen Shows: On to Pelikan Hub, Fountain Pen Day, and In-Store Events!

My goal was to bring T.G.S. to three or four pen shows in 2025, and I did four, so check that annual performance goal off the list! In addition to San Francisco and D.C., we attended Arkansas and Atlanta back in the Spring, and already are planning adventures for 2026 and beyond. We’re now entering the fall season, which will include the annual Pelikan Hub, Fountain Pen Day, and even a few special events we are planning to host in our own space. Stay tuned and I hope to see you soon in Nashville!

We are back to a normal in-store schedule, so come see us from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and 10am-6pm on Saturdays. Please check this page here for information on our store location and up-to-date information on hours, etc.

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They may be sold out by the time you read this, but as of publication we still have a couple remaining TGS_25 Roterfadens!

New Arrivals: More Index Card Formats from Notsu!

We have more Notsu! One of our favorite discoveries of 2025 has been the Notsu Index Card system, which features a series of desktop notecard sets that include the “Centre Rise” and “To Do” organizers. The rounded dot grid version of these ink-friendly index cards is now available in a larger 5x7 format, and the cards are creased to fold to a more portable 3.5x5 inch size. We have also added the 3x5 grid/graph index cards. Be sure to check out all of our Notsu offerings, including not just the cases but accessories like vegan leather card holders, as well as Notsu’s line of notebooks and writing pads. Notsu cards are incredibly ink friendly, and one of the best options for index cards that handle fountain pens well.

Come see these and more in person as we are open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday!

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