I typically wouldn't describe myself as a gearhead, but when it comes to stationary i care a lot for some reason. I'll take this post as an opportunity to talk more about stationary.

updated 08-19-24 Paper

• My favorite paper at the moment is Midori MD paper. I have an A6 notebook in this paper that I use as a commonplace book in which I do design drawings, take random notes and occasionally some medium form writing. I just bought a book in A5 size with the grid pattern to trial for school notes, so I'll update eventually with my thoughts on that. When looking at the full notebook, I also love the binding (exposed binding tape with a ribbon glued on the outside). It feels real, like it isn't hiding anything without making a point of it. Also, the random color of ribbon is kinda fun. The ribbons tend to fray quickly, though, so I just tie a knot in the bottom of the ribbon right away.
• I get a lot of joy out of using fountain pens on Tomoe River paper, which I get through a Hobonichi Techo (in A6) which I use as a daily journal. I recently also purchased a Tomoe River paper notebook in A6 (sold by Hobonichi) which I'm also trying for school things. This paper isn't as good for pencil writing because of how smooth it is, it just isn't toothy enough to make a pencil feel like it belongs.

I really like the A6 paper size. It is made unrestrictive by my handwriting being on the small side, it's really easy to carry around, and also the notebooks are a little cheaper :)

Writing tools I've been seeking out fun pens and pencils since as long as I can remember. I'm just going to run through a short list of some of my current writing tools and what I think of them.

• Blackwing pencil - this is my favorite pencil. I like the extra firm lead weight. I have a box of the Jackie Chan colors (black and yellow) that I've been working through and is going to last me a few years. I adore the 2 step sharpener that Blackwing sells as well. I find that it makes a perfect point. I've tried their 1 step sharpener, but it doesn't produce a perfect point. It's slightly rounded over, and I write small enough that I really need the finest point I can get on it.
• Rotring 600 Drafting Pencil - This is a fun pencil that I use by default for note taking and things like that. It feels great in the hand, the knurled brass handle is perfect. Great build quality. Their eraser refils are non- standard, though, but close enough that I usually just can take a pentel eraser refil and shave it slightly down with a utility knife to fit it into the metal bushing type thing of the eraser that came with the Rotring. Mine's starting to show some age with the paint rubbing off, but since it reveals a beautiful brass barrel, I quite like it.
• Fountain pens - I'm going to lump these into one bullet point because I don't have expansive thoughts on each one. I have four pens currently. Firstly, a Pilot Kakuno with the fine nib. This was my first one, and I love it for it's fairly fine line and ease of use. Secondly, I have a TWSBI Eco in a Medium nib. This one is a little tricky to use with my handwriting size, but I love it nonetheless. The visible ink reservoir is cool and it feels great in the hand. Third, I have a Sailor pen (I forget the model, oops) with an extra fine nib, which I find is really nice. On some inks (lighter inks, mosly), not enough ink gets down as I write to fully show the ink's color, so I use darker inks and there's no problem! Finally, I have a Lamy CP-1 pen with the fine nib. It's a thick enough nib to really show off the color of the ink, which I like when using it with inks that are dark enough to make their color a little subtle. It's my most used fountain pen currently.
• Inks - I have three bottled inks I'm cycling between in different pens right now. Firstly, I have a bottle of Scholars' green ink, which is cool with thicker nibs and has a wide range of dried color depending on how thick of a nib is being used (e.g. how much ink is deposited). Then I have two 15ml Iroshizuku inks, in the momji red and tsuki-yo deep blue. I really love the tsuki-yo color. I think it looks really amazing with a slightly thicker nib to show off it's color. I also think the momji looks great with thicker nibs, and I find that when on an extra fine nib like the Sailor it comes out lighter than it did on the CP-1, which still looks good but is a bit more of a pink than a red.