Thursday Drops: A Whole Lot of Roterfaden, Plus a TWSBI Pre-Order Update

January 25, 2024

We’ve spent the last few days unpacking a massive shipment of new Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in all three sizes, including a major shipment of the larger A4 covers in some unique color combinations, and we even have one four-clip version for those who want the ability to carry four, as opposed to three, notebook refills. We’ve also restocked on Roterfaden-branded notebooks, and in today’s post I’ll also highlight some of my favorite Roterfaden-compatible inserts.

I’ve heard that people are still looking for Traveler’s Notebook 2024 Calendar Refills - we still have a limited number in stock, and they are on sale! Once they’re gone, they’re gone so if you’ve been looking to build out your Traveler’s Notebook as a planner get these before the last of them sell out.

Finally, a note for all who have pre-ordered the TWSBI Black Diamond 580 Pens: They have arrived! Pre-orders are shipping out today, January 5, and the pens are now available for immediate shipment, along with a full restock of most TWSBI models.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized reseller of all brands sold.

Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter. This German clip-based cover system has long been a favorite of mine. Since they come in A4, A5, and A6 sizes, you have the choice of using standard notebooks or Roterfaden’s own proprietary refills.
Midori MD Light Notebooks. While I tend to carry thicker notebooks in my personal Roterfaden covers,
Midori MD Light 70th Anniversary Notebook Set. We still have limited stock of these seven-notebook sets, each with a different color grid ruling and thread binding.
Lochby A5 Tomoe River Notebooks. Featuring 68gsm Tomoe River Paper and four different ruling formats, these A5 notebooks from Lochby are excellent options for Lochby’s own Field Journal or any option including Roterfaden.
Laconic Tokyo A5 Notebook Refills. These slim A5 notebooks feature a wide range of different layouts, from daily, monthly, weekly, and 100-day diary/planner to the (much) less common Gantt Chart and Spreadsheet.
Traveler’s Company 2024 Diary Refills. We’re down to our last stock of the Traveler’s Company Planner refills for 2024. It’s not too late to get started, and if you’re looking to build out the system we have all of the Starter Kits and accessories.
Life Noble Note. Another quality Japanese Paper Brand, Life notebooks even make a version that comes with the super-small Kleid grid!
Anterique Brass Ballpoints. Looking for a planner pen to fit your Roterfaden (or other) pen loop? These slim click ballpoints feature an excellent refill
Pilot Vanishing Point. Retractable Fountain Pens are an essential for some of us who work on the go, and the Vanishing Point is both the original and best (in my opinion) iteration of this design. Nib units are also interchangeable, so you can switch from an EF to a Stub depending on the type of writing you want to do.
Pilot Explorer. As a less expensive, slimmer fountain pen, the Pilot Explorer has become a newfound favorite. This pen features Pilot’s reliable stainless steel nib and ships with both a cartridge and a converter.

Roterfaden Interior Layout Blue Felt — I went for some wild colors this time around!

Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter SO_20 Covers with Elastic — The A5 SO_20 soft leather covers now include a slim elastic on certain models, like the olive and grey versions pictured here.

New Arrivals: Lots of New Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters Now Available!

January 23, 2024

After a week or so of delays due to the weather here in Tennessee, we’ve finally received our latest shipment of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter organizers in A4, A5, and A6 sizes, along with a full restock of Roterfaden-brand refills! This shipment has a few notable additions, including more of the A4 portfolios which have proven so popular, as well as two new versions of the A5 SO_20 soft cover. One version now features an elastic band, but my personal favorite is a limited edition in white/light cream leather with dark suede interior. You all know how much I love using light leather covers and letting them patina and age!

Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter White SO_20 — Yes. I went with white leather. No, I don’t care that it will collect stains/patina/etc. It’s a feature, not a bug!

You can check out the full range of Roterfaden products in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. Please note that the rubber “Print Blanket” covers are now available with different interior felt options. All pre-orders have now shipped - if you haven’t received UPS tracking information, please let me know!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of Roterfaden products.

Taschenbegleiter SO_20 A5 with Hobonichi Cousin — The SO_20 Soft-Cover A5 Taschenbegleiter is slightly oversized. Here is a white one shown with a Hobonichi Cousin AND a Midori MD Light A5 notebook.

Clairefontaine Looseleaf Sheets A4 and A5 Packs

New Arrivals: Clairefontaine Looseleaf Sheets Are Back, in both Individual Sheets and Booklets

January 16, 2024

Two years ago we brought in an old favorite: Clairefontaine French-ruled paper in looseleaf individual sheets and booklets. This particular product holds a special place in my heart - especially the double booklets - because it was the first fountain pen-friendly stationery product from my time abroad that I “smuggled” back into the country and hoarded because you could rarely find it in the U.S. These days, “Seyes” paper is somewhat more widely available but still unusual, so I’ve tried to keep it in stock when I can. We recently procured another large supply in both A4 and A5 formats, with A4 available in both formats and A5 (17 x 22cm) available in the single sheets.

Clairefontaine Seyes Ruled Booklet Open on Desk

You can read more on why I love this particular ruling here, but needless to say I rotate it through most of my notebooks and use it for a variety of notetaking, drafting, and letter-writing projects. I’ve tried to curate the shop in a way that we can offer French-ruled paper in all available formats. A few notes on the individual sheets:

A4 paper comes in packs of 50, 100, and 200-count sheets. Individual sheets are hole-punched for various three-ring binder layouts. The double-sheet booklets are not pre-punched.
A5 paper comes in packs of 50 and 100 sheets. As those familiar with Clairefontaine French-ruled notebooks know, the “Seyes” ruling is slightly larger than traditional A5, at 17 x 22cm. That said, it’s fairly easy to trim to fit A5 binders from Plotter, William Hannah, Levenger Circa, Staples Arc, etc., if that’s what you’re looking for.

Clairefontaine A5 Size Difference — Clairefontaine “A5” has odd dimensions. You can find double-punched notebooks that fit the paper as-is, if that’s your thing, but they are uncommon in the U.S. Most people I know use the A5 paper for letter-writing or notetaking, or they trim down the margins, which is easy to do. (See below.)

Clairefontaine French-Ruled Paper Hole-Punched for Plotter — I used the Plotter blue sheet as a guide and trimmed these by hand with scissors because I’m snowed in and don’t have access to my office paper cutter. Trimming the top and left margins leaves a perfectly proportionate A5-sized Plotter refill!

Clairefontaine looseleaf paper is priced anywhere from $6.50 to $21.50 per pack, depending on size and quantity. The T.G.S. Curated Shop has additional formats available, including spiral, staple, and clothbound notebooks. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized reseller of Clairefontaine products.

Pilot Vanishing Point Matte Black Lineup

New Arrivals: Workhorse Pens from Pilot! Vanishing Points and Explorers are Here!

January 9, 2024

The idea of a “workhorse pen” - a reliable, often unassuming daily driver that can offer years of reliable service - is one of the key ideas around which I’ve built both the site and our Curated Shop. As we’ve expanded our retail selection over the years, we continue to introduce new pens from brands both new and established that fall into this category, including a growing number of pens from Japanese company Pilot. Last week we received our initial shipment of select models of the Pilot Vanishing Point (Pilot’s classic retractable capless fountain pen), as well as the lower-priced ($25) Pilot Explorer fountain pen. We also stock additional Vanishing Point nib units, which are easily interchangeable.

Pilot Explorer Matte Black Fountain Pen — As someone who was initially skeptical of the Explorer when it was first announced, I’ve come to love this lightweight, well-balanced fountain pen that also fits fairly well into planner and notebook loops, making it a good “planner pen”.

Pilot fountain pens feature some of the best-writing nibs out there, and while Pilot refuses to play the special and limited edition release game to the same extent as some other companies, what they do put out is highly reliable. I’m headed into a heavy month of two-job work that includes a lot of travel, and my personal carry for the new year includes not just a Vanishing Point and Explorer but also a Custom 74 and Custom 823.

Pilot Custom 74 in Blue Stone — Don’t sleep on the Custom 74 - it’s one of my favorite nibs.

In addition to our lineup of Pilot Pens, be sure to check out our selection of Pilot ink, including a refreshed Iroshizuku lineup. Many thanks for your support, and if you’re going to be attending the Philadelphia Pen Show this weekend, I’ll be visiting as well so look for me with our friends at Hinze Pens!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

TWSBI Top Five Releases for 2023 Top View of Caps

Recapping a Great Year: Five (or Maybe Six?) Favorite TWSBI Releases

January 4, 2024

We have many more new items on their way to the T.G.S. Curated Shop this year, including new exclusive product collaborations that are in the works and new lines currently on their way to us. Before the New Year’s lull ends next week, however, and we dive into all that is new and exciting, I did want to give props to TWSBI for what I considered to be a fabulous string of releases in 2023. While I’ve long been a fan of TWSBI’s standard lineup, their periodic special editions draw the most attention, and this year was spectacular with more than usual. Here are five favorites, in no particular order.

TWSBI Diamond Mini AL Grape Fountain Pen. It’s about time the Diamond Mini received as much attention as its larger Diamond 580 counterpart. This particular format is a personal favorite because (1) it’s pocketable; yet (2) posts into a full-sized writing instrument via a threaded end cap.
TWSBI Diamond Mini White and Rose Gold Fountain Pen. Again with the TWSBI Diamond Mini! For rose gold plated trim at the sub-$100 price point, it’s hard to do better than TWSBI. White and rose gold makes a stunning combo.
TWSBI Kai “Limited Edition” Model Fountain Pen. TWSBI released the third version of their otherwise unnamed “limited edition” style fountain pen, which they dubbed the “Kai”. It’s a gorgeous deep blue acrylic paired with rose gold trim. Because I had yet to use one of these fountain pens for any length of time, and prior experience had been limited to seeing (and envying) one of the TWSBI “Draco” versions at a pen show, I went ahead and did a full review. If you don’t want to shell out for the higher-priced Kai, consider the Indigo + Bronze Trim ECO which has a similar aesthetic.
Tie: TWSBI ECO-T Saffron and TWSBI ECO Creme and Rose Gold Fountain Pens. This was an incredibly difficult pick to make, but Saffron won out (yellow pens are a favorite) followed by the December “Creme” release, both of which pair very well with dark red inks.
TWSBI Diamond ALR Sunset Yellow Fountain Pen. Of all the Diamond 580 special releases from the past several years, this might be my favorite (with the possible exception of the Diamond 580 Iris that I hope is here to stay). The “Sunset Yellow” is a beautiful yellow-orange-gold color that’s distinct from the “Mandarin Orange” tone so common in the pen world.