New Arrivals: More Fun from Uni Mitsubishi!

We had two giant boxes arrive here at T.G.S. HQ yesterday, and they included some fun products that I’ve been looking forward to arriving for months now! First up is the Uni Jetstream x Karimoku special edition 4+1 Multi Pen, which is a collaboration between Japanese furniture maker Karimoku and Uni Mitsubishi. These multi pens incorporate orange or blue matte finishes with walnut and oak wooden grips made from furniture scraps. As with the standard 4+1 Jetstream Multi Pen, these pens all feature .5mm Jetstream refills in blue, black, red, and green, as well as a .5mm mechanical pencil option. We also received a restock of the Uni Jetstream Prime Ballpoint pens in the Matte Olive and Matte Black, two colors that sold out nearly immediately and ended up as the subject of multiple restock requests. We have the other colors as well.

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The case conveniently slides open with one hand to allow you easy access to the leads. No more dumping them out into your hand to refill your pencil!

But perhaps the thing I’m most excited about is the arrival of these Uni Metal Mechanical Pencil Lead cases, which ship with 40 smudge-proof HB leads in either .5mm or .3mm. (You can substitute your preferred grade of hardness, of course, since they’re standard length.) I had previously shown these off in a limited blue finish (now unavailable, unfortunately) upon my return from New York City earlier in the Spring. We of course have several models of the Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencils and other options to complement your new case. Enjoy!

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The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We greatly appreciate your continued support!

New Arrivals: Caran d'Ache + Nespresso 6th Edition, Plus a Pencil Restock

New arrivals in the shop this week include the latest collaboration between Caran d’Ache and Nespresso: the 6th Edition 849 Ballpoint featuring recycled aluminum derived from the midnight blue Kazaar capsule. The Caran d’Ache + Nespresso collaborations were one of the very first special edition lines we chose to stock in the shop, so they have a special place in my rotation and I always look forward to these annual releases! This pen features a matte midnight blue barrel with matching monochromoatic knock and clip, and ships with a medium black “Goliath” refill.

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We generally carry all of the Caran d’Ache special releases and most of the standard line products, including the 4th Edition Nespresso Swiss Wood Pencils, the gradient-inspired “Blue Lagoon” 849 ballpoint and mechanical pencil set, a couple remaining Keith Haring 849s, and the Rylsee Special Edition Fixpencil Lettering Sets. This latest shipment also included a full restock on Caran d’Ache pencils, including the Swiss Wood series, eraser-tipped office pencils, and the red, blue or green Fixpencil 884!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of Caran d’Ache Products.

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The Swiss Wood pencil will always be an iconic favorite!

Thursday Drops: More Midori MD Cotton Notebooks, New Marks'tyle Colors, and More!

Midori MD Cotton Paper is one of my favorite fountain pen friendly papers on the market, and has recently been released in two new formats: A standard A5 notebook as well as a new “A5 Square” format as announced Tuesday. The standard A5 notebook will of course fit the entire line of Midori MD covers, as well as any A5 notebook system such as Lochby and Roterfaden.

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After being out of stock, we once again have most of the Mark’style Needle-tip ballpoints and refills, the Mark’style Anterique designs, and all colors of the Mark’style “Days” Gel Pens back in the shop. These pens from Mark’s Tokyo have been extremely popular over the past couple of years and feature a calendar motif as well as excellent Anterique and Ohto refills that dry quickly and write a clean, fine line. UPDATE: As of yesterday we also received an unexpectedly quick Caran d’Ache/M+R restock, including the new Nespresso 849 ballpoints!

Finally, I’ve added a handful of gently used products and “second” products that can’t be sold as new due to minor flaws to the T.G.S. Gently Used page. Patreon members already have had first pass at these, and I’ll be rotating through some additional items in the near future as I clear out space to make room for yet more review and testing item. All Gently Used items can be combined with purchases from the standard shop to reach the free shipping threshold, though they are sold “as is” and not subject to any manufacturer warranty or guarantee since they are used and heavily discounted.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold in the main T.G.S. Curated Shop.

1. Midori MD Cotton A5 Notebooks. Midori used to have an entire line of A5 notebooks in their MD Cotton paper, and this notebook marks a welcome return to the standard line. One of these went immediately into my Roterfaden as my “working” notebook.

2. Midori MD Cotton A5 Square Notebooks. Square shaped notebooks are extremely popular in Japan, and it’s fun to see that these are now being released in the states. This particular notebook has partial A5 dimensions, measuring 5.75” x 5.75”.

3. Midori MD Leather Covers. These undyed leather covers for Midori MD System notebooks develop a patina and age beautifully as you use them. We currently have a couple different sizes in stock, including the A5 Square.

4. Midori MD Paper Covers. These paper covers from Midori are not really “paper” in the sense you might thing: They’re tear-resistant and designed to last for years and patina and age like leather. Midori recently introduced sturdier versions with hardcover backing inside the A5 size.

5. Mark’style “Days” Mach Ballpoints. The Anterique line of low-viscosity ballpoint pens represent a new riff on a classic design, and Mark’s Tokyo of course has their own version in nearly a dozen different two-toned “Days” edition. These use the same .5mm “Mach Ball” Anterique refill as found in the standard Anterique pens.

6. Mark’style “Days” Needle-Tip Ballpoints. These hexagonal woodcase “Days” needle-tips have become a shop staple, and we’ve restocked on all the favorites along with the Ohto refills.

7. Mark’style “Days” Faceted Metal Gel Pens. These faceted metal gel pens come in a range of primary colors and feature a needle-tip gel refill that writes a .5mm line.

8. Traveler’s Notebook Brass Ballpoint Pens. Traveler’s Brass Ballpoint Pens are now back in stock, along with refills. These mark one of my favorite portable pocket pens for everyday use, especially for reading notes and carrying with a pocket notebook.

9. Stálogy Editors Series Water Resistant Covers. We’re building out our Stálogy system offerings! These heavy-duty, stitched Japanese paper covers are designed to fit the Stálogy 1/2-year and 365-day notebooks, and will hold them open as you work.

10. Stálogy Editors Series Removable Calendar and To-Do Stickers. For those who prefer flexibility in how they work and plan, these stickers allow you to add calendar and to-do list functionality to your notebooks. The stickers are removable and can be moved from page-to-page or even notebook-to-notebook. And of course they work with paper other than Stálogy.

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All Midori MD Notebooks come with stickers and labels for easy indexing and archiving.

New Arrivals: Midori MD Cotton Square A5 Notebooks, New Stálogy System Accessories

This weekend marked the arrival of a new format in the Midori MD Cotton series: the MD Cotton A5 “Square” notebook. Square notebooks are a popular format in Japan, and this notebook measures approximately 5.75” x 5.75” and contains 176 pages of Midori’s excellent, ink-friendly 20% cotton paper. New hardback Japanese paper covers (with more structure than the standard paper) and natural goat leather covers are also available. Check out our full line of Midori MD products here!

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The “Landscape Format” Calendar Sticker. Other calendar formats and a “to do” list is also available. Extra stickers fit neatly inside the new Stálogy covers.

We’ve also received a shipment of newly released accessories for the Stálogy “Editors Series” A5 notebooks, including durable water-resistant covers specially designed for the 365 and half-year A5 notebooks, as well as new removable calendar and “to do” stickers. The latter allow you to easily format your blank notebooks for planning and task management, and move the stickers around to different pages (or even different notebooks) as necessary. You can view our full line of Stálogy Products, including the recently released limited edition 1/2-year notebook, here.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold. We are supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

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These Stalogy covers are understated and will age beautifully. They are stiff enough to allow your 1/2-year notebook to lie flat.

Quick Look: Different Grades of Blackwing Graphite (Plus a Bonus YouTube Video)

Blackwing doesn’t use either of the typical graphite grading scales in their pencils. Instead of numbering them 1-4, or H, F, HB, B, etc., they’ve designated their different graphite formulations as “X-Firm”, “Firm”, “Balanced”, and “Soft”, with each core given its own standard production line pencil and rotated through the limited edition “Volumes” line. Last quarter’s Volumes release (Volume 2) even introduced a new “XX-Firm” formulation that’s the closest Blackwing has ever come to a true HB/No. 2 pencil. To date, it’s only available in this special release pencil.

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The two extremes. “Soft” graphite at top compared against the XXF Graphite in the Volume 2, compared against the Tombow HB.

I love Blackwing pencils because even their “lightest” shade of graphite is relatively dark. As a fan of dark pencils, I regularly use most of the standard Blackwings, as well a full pencil chest of their special editions. Despite the darker core, Blackwings retain their points well - even the soft graphite in my favorite “Blackwing Matte” with low-smear performance. My second favorite would probably be the “X-Firm” Blackwing Natural, but that’s more an aesthetic preference than anything to do with performance!

For a fun bonus, check out our latest YouTube video which dropped today, where I look at the Blackwing Pencil Extender and how it works.

As of last month, the T.G.S. Curated Shop is an official Blackwing retailer! We carry the full range of pencils, accessories, and even paper (the excellent “Illegal Pad”) in our curated stationery shop, which is how the site gets supported.