Tom Bihn Sketchbook And Pen Review

There are few companies in the world that I respect more than Tom Bihn. Their designs, quality, aesthetic, and philosophy speak to me on a personal level like no other. They have also been a great supporter of the blog and community for the past several years, and when they told me they were sending me a secret package recently, I had no idea what to expect.

I guessed it might be related to the Field Journal I reviewed last year, and I was happy to be right and wrong at the same time. It was writing related, but wasn’t a bag at all.

The Tom Bihn Sketchbook & Pen was a huge surprise, and had me grinning from ear to ear. And when I read Tom’s story of how it came to be, I was even more excited about it. I can now use the tools of the master!

The sketchbook is simple. The pages are approximately 5” square, allowing it to be used in any orientation, and blank, to keep the slate clean. It is spiral bound to allow you to tear and share your ideas, with strong cardboard covers for stability. The Organizer Pouch design on the front cover is a great added touch.

The included pen is the world-famous Bic 4-Color, but in the more portable mini size. As Tom states, having these four colors available in one pen allows him to “delineate layers, processes, ordinal priority, whatever makes sense at the moment.” I don’t have his skills, but I absolutely use different colors to denote different things when sketching, so this is a great match.

If you expect this paper to be used with pens other than ballpoints or pencils, you will be disappointed. I’m willing to give this a pass because this is Tom’s notebook, designed specifically for him. He had to order them in a large enough quantity to get the price down and couldn’t use them all himself!

If you want a fun product with a specific purpose from a great company, then the Tom Bihn Sketchbook & Pen is a no-brainer, especially for only $10.

My thanks to Tom Bihn for sending me these products at no charge for review.

---

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!

Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book: 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.)

Once upon a time there was the Maruman Mnemosyne Word Book with lovely textured, cream-colored cards that many pen afficionados used for ink sampling. And then, suddenly, they were gone. No longer produced. No longer stocked. And, lo, pen addicts across the world knew not what to do—go back to gasp index cards?

Captured from JetPens.com

No! For along came a fountain pen Queen with pink hair to save the ink-testing world. Ana Reinert of The Well-Appointed Desk kindly created the Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book. And all was well again.

The Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book is a single-ring-bound book of 100 cards made of 100lb/160gsm acid-free white paper. Each book has a thick brown cardboard cover and back.

When you put a Mnemosyne card next to a card from the Col-o-ring notebook, you’ll notice several differences. First, the Col-o-ring cards are slightly smaller (2 inches by 4 inches vs. Mnemosyne’s 2.1 x 4.1). Second, the Col-o-ring paper is white whereas Mnemosyne is a yellowish-cream color. Third, the Col-o-ring cards are smooth whereas the Mnemosyne cards have significant texture.

Col-o-ring on left; Mnemosyne on right

I much prefer the Col-o-ring cards to the Mnemosyne. Although I love Mnemosyne’s texture for swabbing, it isn’t so great for nibs, especially flexible nibs which sometimes catch on textured paper. The Col-o-ring paper won’t catch your nibs. I also prefer Col-o-ring’s white paper to Mnemosyne’s cream. Inks look different on cream paper than true white paper, and when I’m testing ink, I want to see the actual color, not a slightly yellowed version.

I received a new batch of ink samples from Vanness Pens, mostly Kobe and Kyoto inks, so I used my Col-o-ring book to do initial swabs, splats, and swirls. I am so impressed with this paper. It is thick, smooth, and offers plenty of space for ink testing.

I like to do my swabs at the bottom so I can see the colors quickly when I fan out the cards.

The paper takes swabs well, though it does curl up slightly when it dries. Like Tomoe River Paper, it displays sheen beautifully:

Col-o-ring books are a steal at $10.00 a piece. The only problem is getting them! Queen Ana is hurriedly trying to meet demand, so be patient. She has pen shows to attend, pink hair to maintain, and other queenly duties. You can sign up here to be notified when the books are back in stock.

All hail Queen Ana!

(The Well-Appointed Desk provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Word Intergalactic Notebook 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.)

Word makes some of the prettiest pocket notebooks out there. I've found myself accidentally collecting these lovely books, and this new Intergalactic design is one of my favorites yet.

They're a standard-size pocket notebook at 3.5" x 5.5". They have a cardstock cover with rounded front corners and are staple bound with 48 pages of white 89 gsm paper. The pages have 6mm line spacing with a unique bullet-list margin.

There's a key for suggested uses for the list format inside the cover. I've found it to be really handy for list-making, but it's unobtrusive enough that it's easy to ignore the bullet points and use the page as a regular lined notebook page.

All 3 notebooks in the pack have identical covers. So while it lacks the pack variety and design excitement of Field Notes, that makes them (at least for me) easier to dive in and use. I don't have that nagging inner-notebook-collector warning me that if I use it, it'll be gone. There are two more just like it! And by the time I've used two, there's usually a new pack out for me to enjoy.

The paper quality, like many pocket notebooks, isn't wonderful. It does very well with pencil, ballpoint, gel pens, or extra-fine and dry fountain pens. But wet rollerballs and medium or broader fountain pens bleed through quite a bit. That hasn't interfered with my enjoyment of the books. Because I'm using them for quick notes and lists, I'm usually grabbing the nearest writing instrument--which is often my oldest son's school pencil, my youngest son's crayons, or the Fisher Space Pen in my pocket.

I do wish, given the bullet list format, that at least a few pages were perforated. I don't just make lists for myself, so sometimes I need to hand over a page to a partner-in-crime.

If you love pocket notebooks and lists (are there people who don't?), I definitely recommend giving these a try. There are lots of pretty designs to choose from, and I can't wait to see what the next one is. Designs are usually limited editions, so grab the ones you like while you can!

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

---

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!