How to buy fountain pens from Japan without paying hefty reseller markups.

The Zento Signature is the flagship model in Uniball’s new Zento lineup, boasting an all-new ink formulation that has been six years in the making. While other pens in the Zento series are now easy to find, the Signature pen continues to be highly sought after and hard to come by.

Up until a few years ago, you had to not only fly to Japan but also take the shinkansen across the country to purchase Japan’s highly sought-after store-exclusive inks. Fortunately, that’s no longer the case. In this video, I’ll guide you through the process of buying these inks from overseas.

Something’s going on with Tomoe River paper. In this video, I explore the recent quality issues and share my top fountain pen paper alternatives. From Graphilo to Yu-sari, I’m testing them all for color vibrancy and shading.

Fine nibs are practical, but sometimes you crave BOLD strokes! Here are a few extra broad fountain pen nibs, from coarse and music nibs to stacked and fude nibs.

One of the best parts of this hobby is discovering small fountain pen makers who do amazing work. Here are four of my favorites.

And overview of Pilot’s nib sizes, from the humble steel nib on the Kakuno and Prera to the majestic Namiki size 50.

Graphilo and Tomoe River are great, but can be expensive and hard to come by. Here are a few more budget-friendly alternatives, all with high-quality paper.

Hobonichi just sent me a replacement 5-year planner. This one has the new paper with adjusted ink absorbency. I test the new paper and recap the problems with this year’s Hobonichi planners

Ink maker Tono & Lims’s Christmas Party is one of the biggest stationery events in Japan.