Author: Derek

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A First Look at The Gentleman Stationer First Ever Patron Blind Box

As soon as I saw that Joe from The Gentleman Stationer was going to be releasing a mystery stationery box to Patron members, I immediately ordered one. There were only 10 made for this first release, and I was able to be one of the lucky people to order in time. This is the first time that I have done any sort of blind unboxing in years, and definitely the first one that I did while recording a video.

I did not anticipate the extra challenges added in when doing one of these type of openings on video, as Murphy introduced extra hurdles. I had to re shoot parts of the contents a few times, as I had audio that was not syncing to video, but I was able to get everything edited to cover the topic at hand well enough.

As for the box and its contents, this was a more pencil centric box, and I actually love that fact. Joe has always been a proponent of using a variety of writing tools, and while my main focus has been fountain pens, it was nice to have a change of pace by adding in some pencils, especially some wooden pencils. I said it in the video, and I still think this to be accurate, that I probably hadn’t used a manual pencil sharpener in 15 years. I can now reset that clock, and I look forward to putting those pencils into my writing rotation.

When I first filmed the video, I was looking at the TGS website for what some of these items were, and I couldn’t find the Midori A7 notebook. It turns out that was such a new item at TGS, that it went into the Patron boxes before it was even added to the website, so to me, that reenforces that the box is curated of new items and not things that have been sitting around on the shelves.

Along with the pencils, I also got my first bottle of TWSBI ink, so that is another brand to add to the ever growing ink collection. While I have not put this into a pen yet, the swatch that I did on the video looks to be a very nice green. I am not sure if all 10 boxes had the same color, so I look forward to seeing what others ended up with when talking to some of the other Patrons on the Patron discord that Gentleman Stationer recently launched.

Another item that I am really excited for is the Pentel Kerry mechanical pencil and the Uni smudge resistant lead. Having recently started to do watercolor, I currently had one of my multi pens in with my painting supplies, but I think this is going to be a better fit for that use case. I like that the pencil has a different look, and that it has a pull cap that protects the end of the pencil, which is great to keep it from pushing through the Lochby Tool Roll that carries my watercolor supplies.

To round out the box, aside from some TGS swag of a sticker and some coasters, Joe included one of the low viscosity Anterique Ballpoint pens, and to add to the great pen, he did some mix and match to have it be in the Gentleman Stationer colors of black and red. I already own a couple of these pens that are in places like my Jeep or gym bag, so now I have another one to keep around on my desk.

Overall, this was a fun unboxing experience, and I will definitely do my best to try to get any more of these that are released in the future. It was nice to be truly surprised by what was in the box, and now have some new items to add into my normal stationery use. Be sure to check out Gentleman Stationer on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/gentlemanstationer

Another thing that happened to line up with this video release, is that I am able to announce that the DWRDNET YouTube channel now has a discount code that can be used when shopping at The Gentleman Stationer. Use code DWRDNET at checkout to save 10% on your purchase. Some exclusions apply. I really do appreciate Joe offering this to YouTube viewers. Any chance to save, much less on items that might be more hobby related these days, is a very pleasant surprise.

Be sure to Subscribe to the Youtube channel, as there should be an episode of the DWRDNET Stationery Feed in the near future.

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This Australian Burl Just Had to Follow Me Home

So lately I have run into a trend of if I haven’t purchased an item from someone that I have interviewed, I end up with something shortly thereafter. That is exactly what happened with my first pen that I picked up from Tristar Studio.

Butler Stationery has started a Friday morning pen meetup of sorts, so for the last few weeks, I have been going out there and have been able to meet up with some of the pen people who are local to Columbia, TN. One of these people is Scott Lewis from Tristar, and the day after his interview released on Youtube, he had just done one of his first matte finish pens, and the very first pen that he had burned his logo in on the barrel of the pen with his laser. I don’t think he planned on selling that pen that morning, but when I saw it, I knew that was the pen that needed to come home with me.

Don’t get me wrong, polished pens look great, but there is something about matte finishes that I seem to prefer in many cases. This Australian burl wood is just gorgeous, and the Turnt Pen Company Carson IV section material was a perfect combination with the wood. Scott uses Bock #6 nibs, and thanks to some of his other pens being on sale at Butler Stationery, we were able to do musical nibs to get an EF nib put into this pen. Since then, Scott did give me an EF nib with the Tristar Studio logo engraved on it, which is now what is in this pen.

He brought the pen that morning in a great sleeve made by Rachel of Third Bungalow Crafts, and just adds to the look of this pen. The topographic pattern just has a cool look, and seeing as I have a topographic sticker on my laptop, it was a natural fit.

Be sure to go and take a look at Scott’s website, as he has been posting new pens every few days that are all stunning, and I know that some of them only lasted on the website for a few days, as I had a friend pick one of them up recently as well.

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A Different Kind of HandCrafted Pen

When I was at the Arkansas Pen Show for 2025, I hadn’t ‘t been to a pen show in a few years, so I went in expecting to see some people I knew from the past and while that was great, I didn’t realize that I was in a way short changing myself of the chance to explore and meet new makers and products that I hadn’t ever seen before. One of my local pen club friends who was at the Arkansas show as well had this very unique pen, and it was so different, I had to know more.

I had already purchased more than expected on the first day of the show, but I did make sure to go back and see the D² Arts Table and briefly got to get a card from Darrell Davis and told him that I would love to try to do an interview with him for my soon to launch interview series and he said that would be great and to reach out when I was ready. I was able to do that, and the interview with Darrell went great, and after talking to him, I realized that I need to own one of his pens.

I took at look at his website, and this pen jumped out to me immediately, and I decided that it was the one that I needed to order. The website showed the cool white material with hints of bluish grey in it, and I could see some of the carved marks on the sides, but the photos only showed me half of the story. When the pen arrived, the body was actually squared, and the carving added ridges to take off any sharp corners. Darrell had included a note thanking me for doing the interview and filled in the story on this pen.

The inspiration for this one of a kind creation came after his father had passed away, and he was making a pen to help process that experience. This pen was inspired by his father’s screwdriver handle. As soon as I read that I immediately knew what he was describing. I remember my grandfather had that same exact type of screwdriver. I found an eBay listing with what I am talking about and I will put that photo here.

Darrell also said in his note that this is probably a one of kind creation from him, and he would probably not be making any more in this particular style, so to be, it is an honor to own such a functional piece of art. I put a 14K EF SIG grind on it done by Audrey Matteson of Franklin Cristoph, and I could not be happier with this combination. It is simply a pleasure to write with, and just holding this pen in your hands, you can’t help but fidget with it. Darrell said in the interview that is really what he loves about making pens. He wants the art to be held and experienced, not just looked at.

While I know that this will not be my last pen from Darrell at D² Arts, this one is always going to hold a special place in my pen connection for sure.

If you haven’t seen the interview with Darrell, be sure to watch it. His approach and story of how he got into making pens is a great one.