(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
I received the Masuya Monokaki Pocket Notebook several months ago from JetPens, but I have so many notebooks, I hadn’t had a chance to use it until now. The pocket notebook is an interesting size (14.0 cm /5.5 inches in length and 8.6 cm /3.4 inches in width), and it has 64 sheets printed on both sides with 0.7mm graph lines.
The notebook has a soft cardboard cover with a cool design on the front, and it is thread and glue bound.
The cream-colored paper is fountain-pen friendly, but it is also very thin, so if you don’t like your writing to show through, you will not like this paper. I tested it with several different nib sizes and inks. There was no feathering or bleed-through. However, as you can see in the second photo below, there’s plenty of show through.
I also tested the paper with various gel pens, rollerballs, and pencils. It works well with all of them, but, once again, show through is obvious.
The Monokaki notebook is the perfect size for purses, satchels, and backpacks. But, the soft cover is easily bent, so you’ll want to put it in a pocket or sleeve to protect it. The notebook does not lay flat when open, which is a weakness. The 7mm graph lines almost seem too large for a notebook this size, and since show through is unavoidable, you probably won’t want to write on both sides of the paper. You will get the best results from fine nibs and/or pencils.
You can purchase the Monokaki Pocket Notebook from JetPens for $7.75.
The Platinum Plaisir fountain pen is an aluminum pen with a stainless steel Preppy nib. It is available in a wide array of colors that have a beautiful iridescent finish.
The pen comes with one black Platinum cartridge (which is proprietary, so you’ll have to buy extras), but you can use a Platinum converter (not included) if you prefer. I wanted to use an orange ink with my Plaisir, so I put in a converter.
The Platinum Plaisir is an inexpensive pen at $14.25. That’s not bad for a metal pen. It’s comfortable to hold, especially since the grip is plastic not metal. It’s a small pen unposted (4.8 inches). Posted it is 5.8 inches, and capped it is 5.6 inches.
The grip is transparent, so you can see the ink filtering down to the nib. Although you can remove the nib to clean the pen, the ink pools in the threads in the grip, and it doesn’t rinse out so easily.
The cap snaps on securely and it is postable. It’s got a basic steel clip and a large steel cap ring with the words “Platinum Plaisir Japan.” The pen is quite beautiful.
The fine nib is smooth but rigid. I tested it with Kyo-iro 04 Higashiyama Moonlight (reviewed here), and that ink was simply too dry for this fine of a nib. Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki flowed much better.
Although the pen is meant to be rugged, I noticed dents in the body and scratches. This pen has not been roughly handled, and I didn’t let it loose in my purse where it could get scratched. I think the dents may have come from posting the cap. Regardless, the pen is definitely not as durable as you might expect.
The Platinum Plaisir comes in a whole rainbow of colors and you can get each color with either a fine or medium nib. You can purchase the Plaisir from JetPens for $14.25.
The Monokaki Pocket Notebook and Platinum Plaisir are a perfect match for one another if you are looking for an everyday carry set.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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