Because of the expenses of Christmas, and the big gap between my December and January pay days, January was a little barren in terms of stationery purchases. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it meant I got to spend a lot of time enjoying the things I already had. 

It did mean my wishlist was growing and growing though, so when the floodgates of 2025 pen purchases began in early February, they just kept coming! Hence why February’s Stationery Favourites is heavily made up of new items.

So let’s start with pens and inks:

Fountain Pens and Inks

I ended up buying three new pens in February, which is quite a lot in one month, considering I’m trying not to buy more than 10 in 2025. 

The first pen was a pen I’d had my eye on since its release though, and so I’m so glad to finally own it! It’s the Pilot Kakuno in Ivory, from the Madoromi series. I love Pilot Kakunos – they’re amazing writers for such inexpensive pens – but I particularly like how this one is quite neutral, so will suit any ink. It’s currently inked with a new ink, Sailor Shikiori Kamoshika, which is a lovely deep brown. 

The second pen I bought in February was one I’ve been seeing around a lot online: the Jinhao 10. This is Jinhao’s answer to the Pilot Vanishing Point, and to be honest, I’m blown away by how good this pen is! I’ve previously used Majohn’s Capless dupes – the A1 and A2 – and they were OK. But they were no where near as smooth a writer as the Jinhao 10, which I personally find comparable to my Pilot Decimo. I’ll be reviewing the pen soon, but so far I’m really impressed! It’s currently inked with an ink from Tom’s Studio: Sunny Teal.

And the last fountain pen I bought this month was a bit of an impulse purchase because it was on sale at The Journal Shop. It’s the Kakimori Frost in Violet, and is a pretty sleek, lightweight pen. 

I really like it, although I did think the one I got was defective at first, because despite filling it through the converter so the nib would be primed, it just didn’t write at all for a while. In the end I got it working, and it’s a nice writer now, but I was worried for a moment there! I’ve never yet bought a pen so defective it just wouldn’t write, and I don’t want to start now! I have it inked currently with Wearingeul Jane Eyre, and will be doing a full review soon.

Notebooks

Despite the fact we’re only a couple of months into 2025, I’m already considering having a switch around in my traveler’s notebooks. I bought a couple of new inserts (not sure if TN inserts count against my notebook buying ban…) and may have a rethink, because I feel like I haven’t been using my TNs as much as I’d like, so I want to make them more functional. 

Other Pens

The main ‘other pens’ I’ve been using this month are ones I actually bought a while ago, but never got around to using: two Sakura Pigma Microns. 

I have the 03 in black, and the 01 in brown, and I’m loving the nice crisp line you get with these pens! The brown is a little more orange in colour than I’d have ideally liked, but I do really like them, and have been using them to practice some sketching.

Accessories

I have a new and completely unnecessary stationery accessory this month: a washi tape cutter. So far I’ve found that it’s actually just easier to use scissors than use this, but it’s so cute! 

So what are your stationery favourites for February? Have you made any new purchases, or rediscovered any old favourites?