July 20, 2026
New here? The Stationery Pulse is a short weekly letter for people who still think on paper. Every Monday I round up what's worth reading in the analog world: pens, notebooks, planners, and the folks using them well, then close with whatever's new from Planning Engineered. One letter, once a week. That's it.
Traveler's Company just kicked off its CARAVAN world tour celebrating the TRAVELER'S notebook's 20th anniversary, and three separate corners of the stationery world covered it this week, which tells you how much that little brand still matters to people who carry a passport notebook everywhere. On the pen side, a steel nib priced well under the usual flex-nib tax is apparently doing the job, and someone finally explains how they've kept 75 pocket notebooks organized without losing the plot. Here's what's worth your time this week, plus what shipped on the channel and the site.
What's new in analog
A Wonderful Steel Flex Nib? Magna Carta 250 Review: This video reviews a steel flex nib pitched as the Magna Carta 250 and links out to a Pilot Custom Heritage 912 along with discount codes for Endless Pens. If you're curious about flex writing without committing to a gold nib, this gives you a real comparison point and a way to try it cheaper.
Sunday Reading for July 19, 2026 (Gentleman Stationer): Gentleman Stationer's Sunday roundup points to "Ten Pens, but Make it Seven," a post about narrowing a collection down to its core. It's a useful prompt if your own pen case has grown past what you actually reach for and you want help deciding what stays.
I Filled 75+ Pocket Notebooks, here's how! (Gare the Bear): Gare the Bear hit 75+ filled pocket notebooks and made a video marking the milestone, with a link to buy GTB pocket notebooks. Watching someone actually finish that many notebooks is a good gut check if you tend to start notebooks and never close them out.
Weekly Plan With Me: Cutesy Football ⚽ Hobonichi Cousin (The Coffee Monsterzco): The Coffee Monsterzco shares a weekly plan-with-me in a Hobonichi Cousin done up in a football theme, with a shop link and coupon. It's a simple spread to borrow ideas from if you're looking to refresh your own weekly layout. Shop (affiliate): Hobonichi Techo, Hobonichi Cousin.
plan with me (this finally works!) (Tori on Paper): Tori on Paper introduces a new weekly, sometimes biweekly, planner spread she's been using for both work and personal scheduling. Worth a look if you're after a layout that can flex between two different kinds of demands on your time.
A Public Service Announcement: Pen Disassembly and The Importance of Carefully Vetting Online Information (Gentleman Stationer): Gentleman Stationer flags two pens that should never be disassembled at home and should go back to Pilot for service, tying it to a warning about vetting repair advice found online. It's a direct reminder that not every DIY pen fix you find on the internet is safe for the pen or your warranty.
Wisterlight ✨ from @ferriswheelpress3796 (Mark Your Pages): Mark Your Pages highlights Ferris Wheel Press's "Wisterlight," an indigo-based ink with green-pink duochrome shimmer. If you're building out a shimmer ink collection, this is one more data point on a color combination worth seeing in person.
Journaling Using Cross Writing | #crosswriting #journal #handwriting #journaling #shorts (Lilla Björn Stationery): Lilla Björn Stationery demonstrates cross writing, an 18th- and 19th-century technique for fitting more text on a page when postage was priced by the sheet. It's a fun bit of history to borrow for a journal even though it wasn't originally meant for that use.
TRC CARAVAN 20th Anniversary Limited Items (Traveler's Company): Traveler's Company posted the list of limited items for the TRC CARAVAN 20th Anniversary. If you collect Traveler's Notebook releases, this is the rundown to check before anything sells out.
TRAVELER’S COMPANY CARAVAN 20th Anniversary in Chicago and New York (Traveler's Company): Traveler's Company announced CARAVAN 20th Anniversary stops in Chicago and New York. If you're near either city, it's a chance to see the anniversary lineup in person before deciding what to buy online.
MD PRODUCT: A Comprehensive Guide (JetPens): JetPens put together a full guide to the MD PRODUCT line, the minimalist notebook series recently renamed from MD to MD PRODUCT. It's a solid reference if you want to understand the differences across the lineup before picking one up.
TRAVELER’S COMPANY CARAVAN 20th Anniversary - NYC (Yoseka Stationery): Yoseka Stationery is hosting the TRAVELER'S COMPANY CARAVAN 20th Anniversary in New York, the brand's first NY visit since 2017, with 20th anniversary limited items on hand to browse. If you're local, it's worth planning around since events like this don't come back often.
Links marked (affiliate) support Planning Engineered at no extra cost to you.
From the channel
New on the blog: - The Best Paper for Fountain Pens, Tested - My Everyday Carry Setup: Aer Day Sling Max Review - The 10 Pens I Actually Reach for Every Day (Ranked by Use)
That's it for this week. See you back here next Monday.
Looking for more? Every tool and template I use and recommend lives on the Planning Engineered resources page.
Luis
Every field note starts with a good cup.
Colombian coffee from my family's farms in Caldas, roasted fresh and shipped within a week.
