Thursday Drops: Roterfaden Restock and the Return of the TWSBI ECO Fluorite + Bronze!

Many of you have asked when Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters would arrive in sizes other than A5 Slim, and, well, they are here! We have many different cover options in sizes including B6, A5, B5, and A4 (smallest to largest). We’ve also restocked on Roterfaden notebooks. These are all available to ship now. We do plan on having more of the TGS_25 A5 Slim (I know people will ask), but these take time to produce and it will likely not be until later this month or next.

The TWSBI ECO Fluorite Purple + Bronze Fountain Pen is one of the more striking pens that TWSBI has released recently.

At long last, we have also received additional stock of the TWSBI ECO Fluorite Purple + Bronze Fountain Pens. This hugely popular release sold out nearly immediately when it was released, and has been on backorder ever since, so be sure to get yours if you’ve been holding out. We have also stocked up on TWSBI pens in most other models and colors, as available. Be sure to check them out online or in-store in Nashville!

In addition to shopping our online store, you can see these and more in our Nashville shop, which is open from 1-6pm Thursdays and Fridays, and from 10am-5pm on Saturdays.

1. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter Notebook Covers. This month’s restock contains a wide array of sizes and cover material combinations, including leather/suede and leather/felt. We also have several A5 and B6 Taschenbegleiters in the soft leather variants.

2. TWSBI ECO Fluorite Purple + Bronze Fountain Pens. As noted above, we have the ECO Fluorite Purple back in stock! TWSBI stock has been unpredictable lately so if there is one you like and see, don’t sleep on it.

3. TWSBI Diamond 580 Clear Fountain Pens. The classic TWSBI piston filler is back in all nib sizes. This particular pen is beloved by ink connoisseurs since it showcases color well in the barrel.

4. OnionBrand Leather A5 Notebook Covers. We’ve received additional stock of the OnionBrand A5 leather notebook covers in popular Polished Saddle and Olde Walnut finishes. These sold out quickly in and after the D.C. Pen Show so we plan to keep carrying them going forward.

5. Leutchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Edition Notebooks. Planner season is upon us! While dated planners won’t arrive for another month or so (at least the brands we are carrying), we have undated and open-format planners, including this 120g Leuchtturm notebook with a layout specific to bullet journaling.

6. TRAVELER’S Notebook Passport Starter Kits. Yes, we have some TRAVELER’S Notebooks in stock, in the Passport size. Apparently TRAVELER’S expects the global supply shortage to ease in the coming months, and we hope to have additional options then.

7. Lochby Field Binder. Lochby has released a 6-ring binder system in multiple sizes, and we are restocked on the popular A5. While Lochby’s stock refills use excellent 68g Tomoe River Paper, you can combine one of these binders with a quality hole punch and use whatever appropriately sized paper you like.

8. Carl Refill Maker Ring-Binder Hole Punch. Thinking of exploring the world of ring binders but can’t find your paper of choice in a five or six-ring format? Make your own refills using this hole punch!

9. Uni Zento Flow and Zento Standard Gel Pens. We’ve added new colors of the Zento Flow gel pens with the aluminum body, as well as the matte barrel standard gel pens. Be sure to check out the Birch and Anthurium Pink Flow pens, as they are gorgeous with the etched metal barrel that adds texture and grip.

10. Colorverse Colorvent Calendars. We have a handful of Colorverse Colorvent ink Advent calendars remaining! Be sure to get yours before the season starts in a couple months. I know it’s early (I’d also prefer that these start later), but they tend not to restock once they are gone.

If you are looking for an excellent A5 notebook to add to your Roterfaden or OnionBrand cover, we have started carrying a wide array of NOLTY notebooks imported from Japan.

On The Paper Trail Episode 15: The Art of Creation Panel Discussion (Recorded Live at the 2026 San Francisco Pen Show)

Many thanks to everyone who turned out for our live Thursday night event in San Francisco! Episode 15 of On The Paper Trail features "The Art of Creation," a panel discussion at the 2026 San Francisco Pen Show with three independent makers in the stationery industry. We had the opportunity to ask our guests about their creative process, followed by an audience question and answer session. Please note that this was a live panel recording, and the audio may be uneven in parts. We have attempted to optimize it as best we can.

On The Paper Trail: Where You Can Download the Podcast

Get caught up on previous episodes, and find more information about our first On The Paper Trail Live Event, which will be held in Nashville from October 16-18, 2026! Tickets are now on sale! ⁠⁠Check out the main podcast informational page for additional details. ⁠

Featured Guests

Ian Schon of Schon DSGN, a manufacturing company based in Philadelphia making fountain and ballpoint pens. Schon DSGN pens each have a unique look and feel, some pens being heavier made out of brass or copper and others from super lightweight Engineered Plastics or Anodized Aluminum.

Iris Au of Glassophy, which aims to express its ideas through the art of glass lampworking. Glass lampworking is a technique that uses heat exceeding 1000 degrees Celsius to soften glass into suitable shapes, allowing for various shaping techniques such as dotting and scribing, combined with other precious materials like gold, Silver, and artificial opal.

Daryl Lim, Founder of Atelier Musubi, Singapore-based maker of small goods and specialty notebooks.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. You can also come visit us at our physical stationery store in Nashville, Tennessee.

New Arrivals: New Uni Zento Flow Anthurium Pink, a Zento Restock, and Carl Refill Maker 6-Ring Hole Punches

For me, the Uni Zento Flow is the gem of the Zento lineup. While the capped Zento Signature receives most of the attention, I personally prefer the click-pen format, and the Flow’s metal barrel gives this pen nearly perfect balance, in my opinion. In addition to the four colors of anodized aluminum, Uni has added two textured metal barrel options named “Birch” and “Anthurium Pink,” both of which we have added to the shop. These pens are not only slightly heavier than the standard Zento Flow, but grippier due to the texture on the barrel. We also have a fresh restock of the standard Zento in many different colors, if you prefer the matte barrel.

Finally, We have restocked on the Carl “Refill Maker” hole punch, for those of you looking to customize your own ring binder refills. If you’ve attended one of my recent classes on notebook systems at the DC and San Francisco Pen Shows (or read up on my notebook systems resources here on the main site), you know that I appreciate the versatility of a ring binder system mainly because it allows you to customize your notebooks with your choice of paper, and this specialized hole punch will work with the popular 5 and 6-ring sizes, including A5, Bible, Mini, and Mini-5.

The Nashville Shop is back to normal operations this week, open Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and Saturday from 10am-5pm. Most of all, many thanks for your support for everyone who shopped with us while we were away in San Francisco this past weekend!

Sunday Reading for August 30, 2026

1. The Best Thing About Pen Shows (and My DC Haul!) (via Inky.Rocks). Totally agree that interacting with the community is the best part of attending the pen shows!

2. Analog Defaults 2026 Updates (via Pen Addict). Do you have “default” analog products that you reset to? An interesting concept that I think we all consider, consciously or subconsciously.

3. $.25 to $100!? Mechanical Pencil Roundup (via Inkdependence). You can have a lot of fun with the mechanical pencil stationery segment, across a wide range of price points.

4. How to Create a Handwriting Style That’s Actually Yours (via Doodlebud). Do you have your own unique handwriting style? I bet you do - even if you start with a traditional script, it will eventually be yours.

5. Summer Reading (via Philofaxy). Do you track your summer reading in analog or digital format? This post contains links to more printable.

6. Update: On Falling Sick, a Holiday and the Tools I Brought With Me (via Incredible Colours). Sometimes plans have to change, and you adapt your travel kit to your circumstances.

7. Mark’s Edit: My Big Book of Lists (via Well-Appointed Desk). Does anyone else take notes in list format? This is one of my own core note taking techniques.

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In Case You Missed It….

We’re attending the San Francisco Pen Show this weekend! I will be teaching my notebook systems class for one more day on Sunday, and helping out at the Vanness Pens table. Be sure to check out this quick post on flying with fountain pens, which is a topic that I update every year when I hit the pen show busy season.

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

Things have not let up despite extensive travel, with new papers from NOLTY, new Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencils, Colorverse Colorvent Calendars, and more all pouring into the shop while we are away. We’ve also added Pilot ILMILY Nuance Black Series gel pens, most Uni Zento Standard pens, and Uni Zento Flow pens. These are all being added and updated as we go. Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for a full list of new arrivals and restocks.

The Nashville Shop will be open normal hours this coming week. Note that online orders placed Wednesday through Friday of last week have a 3-5 business day fulfillment time as opposed to our typical 2-3 business days due to pen show travel. As always, orders placed while we are away get a little something “extra” in them. Many thanks for your support!

NOLTY

TRAVELER'S Company

OnionBrand

Pilot

How YOu Can Support us further: Visit Us on Patreon

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. In addition to exclusive content, Discord access, and online meetups, Patreon supporters have access to one or more initial “practice” episodes of “On the Paper Trail” which have not been publicly released.

Do I Fly With Fountain Pens? Yes, I Do! (2026 San Francisco Pen Show Edition)

I’m on my way to the San Francisco Pen Show, where I’ll be co-hosting a maker’s panel tomorrow night, helping out at the Vanness Pens table through the weekend, and teaching two workshops on notebook systems: one on Saturday and one on Sunday! If you’re attending and want to sign up (space permitting), check out the events page on the show website. There is no charge to attend any of the events I’m associated with, but due to space constraints sign-up is required.

Flying with Fountain Pens: Do’s and Don’ts

Given that I have a four-plus hour flight ahead of me, I thought it made sense to discuss another topic of discussion that comes up weekly, both online and in the shop: Do I fly with fountain pens? The answer is absolutely, yes. I’ve successfully flown with fountain pens for years, mainly as a result of two pieces of advice I received early on.

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Tip One: Fly with the Fountain Pen Full or Half Empty

Most “inkcidents” on airplanes occur as the result of air in the ink reservoir expanding due to pressure changes, which pushes ink into the cap and causes a mess when you uncap the pen to write on the plane or after you land. The solution is to (1) fill the pen completely before departure or (2) empty the pen and take ink with you to fill upon arrival. Personally, I follow the first approach, but I also take a secondary precaution by limiting the types of pens that I fly with.

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Opus 88 is the most accessible maker of Japanese-style eyedropper fountain pens, featuring JoWo nibs and, of course, the stopper shown here.

Tip Two: Consider Flying with Vacuum-Fillers or Japanese-Style Eyedroppers

These days, if I’m flying with fountain pens, it typically will be a Japanese-style eyedropper (like an Opus 88) or a vacuum-filler (like the Pilot Custom 823 or the TWSBI Vac700R). In the past, I’ve had plenty of success flying with standard piston fillers and cartridge/converter pens using the “full or empty” trick discussed above, but both the Japanese eyedropper and vacuum-filler pens feature a valve system that allows you to seal the ink reservoir and prevent the bulk of the ink from leaking into the cap. (Occasionally you will still get a few drops from whatever ink is left in the feed or section.) Not only does this minimize the mess factor, but these pens also hold a ton of ink so you almost certainly won’t have to refill on the road.

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If you want to write for a more extended session, and allow the ink to flow freely, simply loosen the blind copy to open the valve. You can still write with the pen with the valve shut - the section and feed usually will hold enough ink for a page or two, depending on nib size.

Bonus Tip: Keep It Simple

Don’t overdo it and pack a dozen inked fountain pens for a plane trip. The more pens you take with you, the greater the chance one leaks. I’m road testing several new eyedroppers from Opus this weekend, but I could easily see myself packing just one or two of these pens for more extended travel in the future. Stay tuned!

While we are away, the Nashville Shop will remain open Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and Saturday from 10am-4pm (Slightly reduced hours). Online orders will continue to be processed but shipping time for orders placed after Wednesday at noon will have a 3-5 business day fulfillment time as opposed to our typical 2-3 business days. As always, orders placed while we are away get a little something “extra” in them. Many thanks for your support!