Thursday Drops: New Inks from Tono & Lims, TV-Inspired Blackwings, and More Lamy Studios!

After an extended detour courtesy of Fedex, our most recent shipment of Tono & Lims Fountain pen inks has arrived! We’ve added additional inks from the Friendship line, including the entire “Bechorium” series, selections from the Remastered Limited Edition lines, and the new “Deep Field” inks that include some of the craziest multi-shading inks I’ve used. On the ink side, we’ve also restocked on Herbin 1670 Anniversary shimmer inks, the Colorverse Top 3 pen and ink sets, and Anderillium Inks!

The latest shimmer ink from the Tono & Lims Bechorium Series (part of the “Friendship” line).

Since graduation season already has started, we thought it might be helpful to spotlight a couple of gift ideas for graduation presents. The Lamy Studio and Lamy Swift are go-to recommendations, since they feature a modern design and and accessible price point. We recently added rollerball and ballpoint versions of the standard Studio to our lineup.

Come see these and more in person this weekend! We are open standard hours, 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check our posted shop hours for any updates.

1. Tono & Lims “Deep Field” Fountain Pens Inks. Or “Deeep Field”, as they sometimes style it! These two inks, “Laniakea” and “Great Attractor”, might be my favorite from this most recent batch, showing some of the wildest multi-shading out there.

2. Tono & Lims Remastered Limited Edition Fountain Pen Inks. How did they come up with the hundreds of inks in their lines? Many of them are exclusives made for shops and pen shows around the world, but Tono & Lims recently has started to “remaster” and release certain of these show inks for the overseas market. We have eight or so currently in stock, many of which showcase lots of shading.

3. Tono & Lims “Friendship Line” Fountain Pen Inks. Our last batch of inks included “Bechorium Chloride,” a shading green with shimmer, and we’ve added three other inks from the Bechorium series that complement this one. You can see these (along with their swatches) in-store.

4. MD Product Cotton A5 Notebooks. We use MD Cotton paper to swatch all of our inks, as I love how this paper reproduces color. It’s also an excellent workhorse ink for everyday writing, as it’s more absorbent while remaining fountain pen friendly. Cotton paper has better dry times than coated papers like Tomoe River or Clairefontaine. Also available in writing pad format.

5. Colorverse Colorvent “Top 3” Pen & Ink Sets. Each year following the release of the annual “Colorvent” Calendar, Colorverse has released a selection of the Top 3 inks from that year’s calendar in larger bottles and an exclusive set. This year’s set finally arrived, and features three bottles of ink plus a fountain pen!

6. Blackwing Volume 343 (The TV Pencil). Anyone of a certain age (including my own) will recognize this color pattern! The latest Blackwing pencil release features extra-firm graphite in addition to the classic TV test pattern.

7. Herbin 1670 Anniversary Inks. This line of shimmer inks includes some classics like Emerald of Chivor and the more recently released Opale Nocturne. We now offer smaller 15ml bottles in addition to the larger 50ml.

8. Lamy Studio Pens. It’s graduation season, and we’ve restocked on one of the best all-around “gifting pens” out there - the Lamy Studio. Available not just in a fountain pen format but in an excellent rollerball and ballpoint, the Studio makes a reasonably priced, modern gift for graduates at any level. Special edition colors are also available.

9. Lamy Swift Capless Rollerball. Those looking for a capless pen should consider the Lamy Swift. An excellent workhorse, it likewise makes a great gift or just an everyday driver for yourself. Read more about why we like this pen here.

10. Nicolau Washi Tape. Our friend Nick Dominguez (who also designed our exclusive Rickshaw design) has released his first round of washi tapes! These look amazing, so be sure to pick one up while this first batch is still available.

Weekly Drops: Tono & Lims Inks, Kakimori Restock, and More!

We’re happy to announce that we’ve received three new lines of ink from Tono & Lims, which is now available for purchase both in shop and online! Those familiar with Tono & Lims know that the brand is the result of a Japanese-South Korean collaboration between Japanese fountain pen enthusiasts and the South Korean ink producer Lim’s Lab. Tono & Lims loves to experiment with color, sheen, shimmer, and inside jokes, so the inks end up being a lot of fun (especially the names). We’ve swatched these inks on multiple papers to showcase how they can look different depending on which specific paper you use!

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My personal favorite. A shimmer red with black sheen and a great name.

As noted in Tuesday’s post, we have also restocked products from Kakimori and Object Index, including the Kakimori dip nibs and a new line of miniature nib holders that are slightly smaller than the traditional calligraphy nib holder.

Our Nashville shop will be open from 1-6pm on Friday January 2, and from 10-6pm on Saturday January 3 (normal hours). We’re looking forward to getting back into the swing of things after a busy holiday season!

1. Tono & Lims Standard Line Inks. The standard line of Tono & Lims inks, with the numbered colors. To start I’ve picked a handful and we will be bringing in more as we get a sense of what people like.

2. Tono & Lims “Friendship” Line Inks. Ok, so I added some shimmer inks to the T.G.S. curation! This particular ink series is inspired by friends of the Tono & Lims brand, whether that’s collaborators or partner shops or others. There are some particularly interesting color combinations, and shimmer and other special properties are not overwhelming.

3. Tono & Lims “Adult Night” Inks. No, there’s nothing inappropriate going on here. This line of inks - mostly lightly scented - is themed around coffee, tea, and chocolate, with a touch of insomnia thrown in. (And Dynamite?)

4. Kakimori Dip Nibs. We’ve received a restock of the Kakimori conical metal nibs, as well as the standard writing nib which functions much like a fountain pen only there is no feed and is intended more for writing.

5. Kakimori Nib Holders. The standard Kakimori nib holders are available again in the Sakura wood finish. This is the longer nib holder in the classic shape.

6. Kakimori Mini Nib Holders. These “mini” nib holders are slightly smaller and more compact than a traditional nib holder, making it perfect for travel, portability, and those with smaller hands. It’s also a fun range of colors!

7. Object Index Modular Marker. We’ve brought back a selection of Kakimori’s popular “Object Index” line of high-end office supplies, including these “Modular Markers” that allow you to build a set of customizable fineliners and highlighters that stack in a way that lets you easily cycle through different tip sizes.

8. Kakimori Colour Liners Fineliner Markers. Kakimori first popularized fineliners that you can fill with your own inks to create a truly custom set. Several different tip sizes are available, ranging from standard writing points to chisel-tip markers for highlighting or drawing.

9. Pilot Prera Fountain Pens. The popular solid-color Pilot Prera fountain pens are back in stock, including the coveted Honey Yellow in both nib sizes.

10. The Roterfaden Shop at T.G.S. We are restocked on most versions of the Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter, including many different A5 designs and a handful of remaining TGS_25 in Grey. While we want to keep this special release in stock, there is no scheduled restock date at the moment on either the grey or green A5-Slim, and we are unable to take pre-orders or deposits.

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Allex Desk Scissors from Japan are now available in four different formats. Black Fluorine version is restocked, and we also have Jagged Blade (for cutting vinyl, etc.) and Thin Blade (for fine detail work) versions available.

Red Ink Review: Tono & Lims "Superstar T"

I first heard about Tono & Lims inks on the Japan-centric stationery podcast “Tokyo Inklings,” which is an excellent listen for those interested in Japanese stationery, and especially the market for store-exclusive and specialized Japanese releases. Tono & Lims, a newer line of inks that represents a collaboration between a Japanese brand and a South Korean ink producer, is frequently mentioned on the show as the maker of many of the exclusive and limited edition inks for Japanese pen shows and clubs. Over the past year or so Tono & Lims inks have become available in the United States via retailer Shigure Inks, which stocks more than twenty “lines” of Tono & Lims inks for both fountain and dip pens, amounting to over 240 different colors at the time of writing. This might be intimidating to some, and even I had some difficulty navigating the various options. I would have appreciated slightly more guidance on the differences between the various collections and the properties of the inks in each line. That said, let’s dive in.

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Tono & Lims uses a very simple square glass ink bottle, but I absolutely love the artwork on the box.

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So far, I’ve only sampled one color from the expansive Tono & Lims lineup, but I’ve really enjoyed the experience. The color I chose - no surprise here - is “Superstar T” from their limited edition pen show line, described as a “dark maroon” fountain pen ink. The color didn’t turn out exactly as expected. I would definitely describe this ink as more of a rich blood red as opposed to what I consider “maroon,” and the color of the ink I received looks quite different from the swatch online. In any event, Superstar T is still a gorgeous ink which flows well in all the various pens I’ve tested, doesn’t bleed or feather on most papers, and dries relatively quickly. I’d describe the performance as similar to Sailor ink.

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Of course, it wouldn’t be a red/burgundy ink review without a comparison against my favorite red ink of all time, Montblanc’s now-ancient limited edition Alfred Hitchcock. As you can see, the Superstar T is much more of a classic red than the Hitchcock, which has the purple undertones that I associate with maroons/burgundies.

I went ahead and swabbed a couple of other similar inks, including Vanness-Joey Feldman “Good Evening” collaboration ink and my own attempt to replicate MB Hitchcock using Platinum’s Mix-Free Inks. Paper used is the bright-white Write Notepads paper that I carry in the shop, which I absolutely love for showing off reds.

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Superstar T makes a perfect match for my PenBBS “Manjusaka” acrylic 456!

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I fancy myself a red ink connoisseur, and Tono & Lims Superstar T is an exceptional red ink that I can see myself using regularly. I’m definitely looking forward to testing out more of their colors. I purchased the bottle shown here from Shigure Inks, which as I mentioned carries multiple collections of Tono & Lims fountain pen and dip pen inks in addition to other brands of pens and stationery. Tono & Lims inks are relatively pricey, coming in at $22 for a 30ml bottle, but increased “per ml” pricing is probably unavoidable with smaller import brands that maintain such a large number of different colors.

One note on Tono & Lims: Read the descriptions carefully. Certain of their inks are intended only for use with glass dip pens, not fountain pens, probably because the inks have special properties that would cause them to stain, clog, or just not flow well in a fountain pen feed.

Disclaimer: I paid full price for the ink shown here, purchased with my own funds, and have no affiliation with Shigure Inks other than as a customer. This post does not contain affiliate links. Going forward, T.G.S is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!