Guides and Recommendations
Guides
A comprehensive introduction to the Midori Traveler’s Notebook, three parts.
An introduction, by way of a review, to the Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter notebook system, with an update here.
A guide to D1 refills. D1 refills can be used in many multi-pens and are often used in machined pens too.
A guide to pencils for drawing.
A guide to small handheld pencil sharpeners.
Recommendations
Top 5 Fountain Pens at prices you can admit to your significant other, as long as he or she is fairly understanding
Those in bold have sponsored one or more posts.
Top 5 Fountain Pens at prices you should keep quiet about
- Platinum #3776 Sai
- Franklin-Christoph Model 02 Intrinsic
- Pelikan M215
- Tombow Zoom 101
- Faber-Castell Ambition
Top 5 Gel Ink Pens
Top 5 Rollerballs
- OHTO Graphic Liner
- Retro 51 Tornado Rollerball (it really is as good as everyone says it is)
- Stabilo pointVisco Gel Rollerball Pen 41
- Lamy Vista rollerball
- Schneider Xtra Document 0.3
Top 4 Drawing Pens
- Copic Multiliner SP
- Sakura Pigma Micron
- Aristo GeoCollege Pigment Liner
- Staedtler 308 Pigment Liner
Still searching for a pen worthy of making this a top 5…
Top 5 Wooden Pencils
- Tombow Mono 100
- General’s Cedar Pointe
- Mitsu-Bishi Hi-Uni
- Palomino Blackwing (the Blackwing, Blackwing Pearl & Blackwing 602)
- Staedtler Tradition
Top 5 Pencils below 2.0mm
Top 5 Pencils 2.0mm or above
- Staedtler Mars Technico 780C Leadholder
- e+m Workman Long Clutch Pencil
- Kaweco Brass Sketch Up 5.6mm
- Koh-I-Noor Toison-d’Or clutch pencil 2mm 5900
- Kaweco AL Special (also available in smaller than 2mm size but that one isn’t so great)
Top 5 Notebooks/Paper Brands
I’ve done this as a list of brands rather than products. Which specific notebook or paper you want to buy is going to depend entirely on your own particular needs.
- Rhodia (Webnotebook review and notepad review)
- Calepino
- Maruman (Mnemosyne review)
- Nib
- TADA
Also great (but not particularly fountain pen friendly): Field Notes and CIAK.
An honourable mention for my favourite sketchbook, the Pink Pig White Cartridge Sketch Book.
Independent retailers
- Pure Pens
- Cult Pens
- The Journal Shop
- Jet Pens
- The Goulet Pen Company
- The Writing Desk
- The Pen Company
- The Pen Shed
- Karas Kustoms
- Pen Chalet (Use coupon code PENPAPERPENCIL for 10% off)
- Twiss Pens
Those in bold have sponsored one or more posts.
Beautiful handmade accessories
- Davis Leatherworks
- Clicky Post
- One Star Leather
- Nock Co
- Slimnote notebooks
- TADA notebooks
- Nib notebooks
Inks
There are so many beautiful inks!
Top 3 Black or Grey Inks
- Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same (beautiful grey ink)
- Aurora Black (a good dark black ink)
- De Atramentis Archive Ink (a good waterproof ink)
Top 3 Dark Blue Inks
Top 3 Blue Inks
Top 3 Brown Inks
- Diamine Ancient Copper
- Pelikan Brown
- Diamine Oxblood (this could conceivably go in the red section but, to me, it’s more of a brown)
Top 3 Green Inks
- Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku-Rin
- J. Herbin Vert Olive
- Kaweco Palm Green
Honourable mention for the sadly discontinued Sailor Jentle Epinard
Top 3 Red, Pink or Purple Inks
Honourable mention for the sadly discontinued Sailor Jentle Grenade.
Top 5 Yellow or Orange Inks
This is a top 5 because I really do like my oranges and yellows!
- Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-Yake
- Noodler’s Apache Sunset
- Platinum Mix-Free Sunny Yellow
- Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gake
- Rohrer and Klingner Helianthus
Another honourable mention for what is probably my favourite ink ever, Sailor Jentle Apricot.