JetPens Kanso Noto Notebook A5 Dot Grid: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The JetPens exclusive Kanso Noto Notebook comes in four colors: black, dark green, navy blue, and deep purple. It's an A5-size notebook with 52gsm Tomoe River Paper in a dot grid format.

The notebook is simple with cardstock covers, a sewn binding, and a taped spine. There are no extras, such as page numbers, an index, or ribbon bookmarks.

It has 320 pages (front and back) of dot grid paper. The dots are a light grey color--so light they are a little difficult to see except in bright light.

The cardstock covers are easily bent. In fact, my notebook already had creases when I opened it. If you don't want this notebook to get beat up in your book bag, you might want to put it in an A5 cover.

Tomoe River Paper is best known for being smooth, thin, and fountain-pen friendly. Inks are displayed at their very best on this paper, which brings out shading and sheening properties.

I tested ten fountain pens in this notebook. As expected, all the inks worked well with the paper. There was no bleeding and no bleed through; however, because of the thinness of the paper, show through is quite visible.

I used Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo in my Nakaya with a medium flex stub nib to write out a longer passage. You can see good shading properties in the writing sample. Again, show through is obvious, so you may not want to write on both sides of the paper.

I love doing ink swatches on Tomoe River Paper. There's just nothing quite like it to bring out the qualities in various inks. I tested ten inks from different manufacturers in the notebook. All the swatches are vivid (though the cream color of the paper may mute them slightly), and pooling, sheen, and shading are dramatic. I did my swatches with a paintbrush, so they were quite wet and some did bleed through to the other side.

Tomoe River Paper is now ubiquitous, being used in notebooks from many manufacturers. It's good to have options. If you want a simple notebook at a decent price ($19.00) the Kanso Noto is a good choice. Although JetPens is currently out of stock, you can sign up to be emailed when the notebook is back in stock.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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JetPens Tomoe River Kanso Sasshi Booklet Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

Sometimes my favorite pocket notebooks don't play nice with fountain pens, and sometimes they don't have enough pages for my project, and sometimes JetPens comes to the rescue and puts 48 sheets (96 pages) of 52 gsm Tomoe River paper into a beautiful pocket-sized notebook.

The Kanso Sasshi boolklets are minimalistic with just enough branding that I don't end up writing in it upside down or backwards. The name Kanso Sasshi translates into "simplicity booklet" and that is indeed what you get--a pack of two simple notebooks. The covers are embossed in silver with the branding on the front and at the bottom of the back. They are staple-bound with a soft cardstock cover. The pages are blank, but each book comes with its own line guide that can be placed behind the page.

The paper, naturally, is a dream to write on. It works well with any writing instrument with no bleeding or feathering. There is substantial show-through with darker inks, but not enough to deter me from using both sides of the page. It would be trickier, though, to see the line guide through the back side of a page that had a lot of dark ink on it. The well-coated paper has a long dry time for liquid inks and some inks may smear on its smooth surface. If you're using your booklet for quick notes, you may want to have a square of blotting paper handy.

This wee book ticks a lot of my wishlist boxes in a pocket notebook. It makes a perfect travel journal for when you want to pack light, or a planning book for a longer project, or notes for a conference. It can be used as a sketchbook or journal. It's packed with practicality. My only concern is that it might not be as durable as some pocket notebooks. As wonderful as Tomoe River paper is, it's not terribly hardy when it comes to the rough-and-tumble life of a pocket notebook. My notebooks tend to look like they've seen a war by the time I'm done with them, and this book may be too delicate to live in my pocket. As an insert in a traveler-style cover, though, it would be protected and fabulous. So maybe I just need (another) one of those. And then a bunch more of these.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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JetPens Mini Aluminum Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The mini fountain pen market is full of interesting, delightful pens that can easily fit in a pants pocket, wallet, and an endless amount of other tight spaces. From my experience, the main issue that mini fountain pens (or mini pens in general) face is usability. Sure, it's a small pen, but is it enjoyable to use or simply something to use in a pinch?

When I first picked up the JetPens Mini Aluminum fountain pen, I was charmed by how much it reminded me of a miniature Pilot Metropolitan. I'm a sucker for miniature versions of just about everything, so this immediately delighted me. The second thing that struck me about this pen was how solid it felt in the hand. For being so small, it has a perfect weight. The body is made of a laquered aluminum, which makes it heavier than plastic, but lighter than brass.

The model I have is black, but you can also get these little pens in white or gold. Regardless of the body color, the grip section is always black.

JetPens worked with Regal to produce these pens, and it looks like that partnership worked out great. I have another Regal fountain pen, and I was impressed by how well it performed for the price. Keeping this pen under $15 makes it very attractive to buyers who are new to fountain pens, but it also makes it attractive to anyone looking for an inexpensive pocket pen.

The cap of the pen is secured using a snap mechanism, and it has been solid in my use. Unfortunately, posted the cap isn't as secure as I'd like it to be. Several times while writing, the cap fell off and bounced across the table or onto the floor. I really wish the cap was secure when posted, but this just isn't the case. In most cases, I don't post my pens, but I normally always post when using a mini pen. With the JetPens Mini, the body by itself is too short for me to use comfortably for more than jotting down a quick note.

Being a mini pen, a strong clip is essential. Luckily, the Mini fountain pen has a great clip that keeps it secured to whatever you clip it to.

The grip section is plastic, and it feels comfortable to my hand. The grip on this pen is small, but that's to be expected. It feels like writing with a Kaweco Liliput to me. This isn't the ideal pen for writing a novel, but it works great if you're writing something between a short note to a page or two of notes. The key with any small pen is to remember to loosen your grip and not strain your fingers. Difficult advice for me to follow sometimes!

The JetPens Mini accepts international short cartridges, and it also accepts mini converters. On the JetPens site, they recommend a Monteverde Mini converter. I've never used this converter, but it has good reviews. I'll probably shell out the three dollars in my next order so I can have some more ink freedom with this fun little pen.

The Mini is only available with an EF nib, and I've been extremely happy with mine. The ink flows well, the nib feels smooth, and the lines are crisp. It's everything I expect from a steel EF nib. There's very little decoration on the nib apart from the Regal imprint and the nib size information.

At $12.50, this pen is an excellent deal. It's small, it writes well, and it feels great in the hand. In the mini fountain pen world, it's one of my favorites. It doesn't edge out the Kaweco Liliput or Sport, but it packs a solid punch. Throw one of these in your cart next time you place a JetPens order. It's a delightful pen!

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, which I am very grateful for.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!