Est. 2026 · Price: FreeEditor-at-large: The Hedgehog

Stationery Times

How we test stationery

Our protocol and test log

Most guides here are compiled from maker and public sources, and each one says so. A hands-on test is added only when our editor has the product in hand, and it is always labeled “Our test” with the date, the paper and the instruments. This page is the method and the running log.

See About for how sources are checked and what the price bands mean.

What do we measure?

The same four checks every time

  1. Weight and length

    Weighed and measured with the cap on and off, and with a full refill where one is fitted. Every entry names the instrument and its resolution.

  2. Dry time

    A fixed stroke on a named paper, then a clean fingertip drag at set intervals. We record the first time the ink no longer smears, and say which paper and room we used.

  3. Show-through and bleed

    The same scribble on three papers: a cheap notebook, a mid-weight notebook and a fountain-pen-friendly paper. We note which side shows through, and by how much, in plain words.

  4. Line width

    Measured from a scanned or photographed stroke against a ruler in the same frame, and compared with the width the maker states.

We publish only numbers we measured. If a check was not done, the entry says “not tested” and does not fill the gap with a maker claim.

How do we handle free samples?

Disclosed every time

Makers sometimes send samples. We disclose each one in the log below and on the guide, we never promise coverage in exchange, and we never accept payment for a verdict or for the Brand-confirmed seal. Products we bought ourselves are marked as bought.

Test log

Newest first

Parafernalia Revolution (Titanium) and Woodstock pens (gift from the maker)

Status: Shipped by the maker on October 30, 2026; awaiting arrival and measurements

Disclosure: Parafernalia, the Italian maker covered in our Parafernalia guides, offered and shipped these two pens to our editor free of charge. They did not ask for, see or approve anything we write, and the gift does not change our verdicts. The gift is disclosed here and on any guide that carries a test from it.

No measurements are published for these pens yet. When our editor has weighed, measured and written with the pens, the results will be added here with the date, paper and instruments used. Until then, the Parafernalia guides remain compiled from the maker’s and public sources.

Found a mistake in a test?

We correct and date it

Write to [email protected]. We correct the entry and show the date of the change.