Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Inky Fingers Currently Inked Notebook: 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.)

I am notoriously bad at keeping track of what pens I have inked and what inks are in those pens. For example, I inked my TWSBI mini AL blue with a simply wonderful blue ink, and now I’m not sure what it is. I think it’s Bookbinders Blue Racer Snake Ink, but it could be one of many other samples I’ve tried out in the past month. Ugh. So frustrating.

Many people keep their “Currently Inked List” in one of their regular notebooks or journals. I know one super-organized man on Twitter who actually created a database that automatically tells him when it’s time to ink up a particular pen and then it chooses a random ink from his collection. This forces him to try each pen with a different ink. That’s genius, but I don’t know how to build such a database, and I’m ridiculously obsessive about inks matching the pen color, so I probably would not use a random ink generator. Still, very cool.

The Pen Habit offers a nice analog solution for keeping track of your inked pens. It’s called the Inky Fingers Currently Inked Notebook.

Currently Inked notebooks come in both pocket and Travelers Notebook sizes. I chose the Travelers Notebook size so that I can use one of my many TN covers to carry the notebooks.

The paper in these notebooks is 80 gsm wheat straw paper. It is fountain pen friendly and environmentally sustainable. It’s pure white, so it won’t throw off the color of your inks.

For each entry, there’s space to list the pen, nib, ink color, date inked, date cleaned, and room for a small swab. There’s also a little triangle to the right of the pen field that you can use to hashtag reinkings of the same pen and ink or for any other purpose you can think of.

The paper is high quality. There’s a bit of show through with the swabs but no bleed through.

Each notebook has 44 pages with enough room for 176 entries. You can purchase these notebooks from The Pen Habit website for $6.00 a piece.

(I purchased my Currently Inked notebooks with my own funds.)

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Posted on June 9, 2017 by Susan Pigott and filed under Inky Fingers, Notebook Reviews.

Story Supply Co. Pocket Staple Notebook Edition 407 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.)

I'm late, and not even fashionably so, to the Story Supply Co. party. They launched right when I hit pocket-notebook-overwhelm in my own stash, and I was on a self-imposed moratorium. And even though I loved their name (I love stories more than I love pens--shh, don't tell), and I love their awesome mission to bring writing and creative expression to underserved communities--I still was not allowed to buy any more pocket notebooks.

I'm really sorry I waited. These notebooks are delightful. I can already hear my stash growing again.

This 407 edition was named to honor the 407 Kickstarter backers who helped launch the brand. I would also like to thank those folks--you've done the world a great service. This special edition has a wine-colored 100 lb cardstock cover, embossed with the logo. The cover has a gorgeous linen-finish texture to it. It feels fantastic, and it's both rugged and elegant. It's bound with copper staples and the standard 48-pages, here in 70 lb dot grid.

Every writing tool I tried loved this paper. It was a bit smooth for a soft pencil, but I had no trouble even with my broad, wet fountain pen nibs. To really put it to the test, I dragged one around with me on a four-day writer's conference, using it to take notes on panels, write down people's contact info or book titles, and as a general daily journal. I was deliberately hard on it. And if you look closely at the notebook that's outside of the label in the picture--the one that's face-down--you can kind of see fingerprints on it. As in...it still looks new. I was almost disappointed in its durability because I wanted it to look as loved as it is. But you're just going to have to take my word for it--or, better yet, try them out for yourself.

For every pack you buy, a Story Supply kit will be sent to a kid in need--and those voices, those stories really need to get on paper. So load up! Forget whatever silly rules you have about pocket notebook quantity limits. You'll get some great notebooks, and so will the next generation of storytellers.

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

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Posted on June 8, 2017 by Sarah Read and filed under Story Supply Co., Notebook Reviews.

Lucrin A5 Leather Notebook Review

Lucrin first came on my radar last year when they sent me several leather pen accessories to review. They were well designed and well made, and I have the three pen tray in use on my desk to this day.

The A5 Leather Notebook is the latest Lucrin product to hit my desk, and my feelings are much more mixed on this one. There is no doubt it is beautiful, but the performance is lacking. At over $150 as configured I expect more. Like it should clean my pens and re-ink them when I’m done writing more.

This notebook sits solidly in the gift category at this price point, so is it fair for me to review it from a daily stationery users perspective? Absolutely. Why buy, or gift, a product if you don’t expect it to be used?

The exterior of the Lucrin A5 Notebook is the standout feature. The pebbled Sky Blue leather looks amazing, and the stitching and construction are top-notch. It is a pleasure to look at and carry. My name embossing is sharp, although I’d prefer a choice of fonts, and you can select the stitching color as well.

If everything on the outside is a 10 out of 10, the insides are along the lines of 6 out of 10. Good, but not great. A tick above average. For the price, I expect excellence.

Let’s start with the line rulings: They are too dark and too narrow. I was immediately taken aback by their darkness against the ivory page when I opened the book. They actually look better with words between the lines, but still, appearances mean a lot, and they are too strong. With only 5 mm between them, they are too narrow as well. I write small enough to make it work, but for general use, lined paper needs to have 6 mm to 7 mm spacing. The spacing also makes the line darkness look darker.

The paper quality is average at best. If this were a blind test I would say this paper stock is equivalent to what Moleskine uses. That makes it fine for some pens - like gel and ballpoint - but hit or miss with liquid inks like rollerball and fountain pens. You have to keep your writing pace up when using wider, wetter pens or risk them bleeding or feathering. And even if they don’t, the ghosting level is high if you are planning on using both sides of the page.

You could argue the acceptability of some of these flaws if the price point of the notebook weren’t $150. But when we as users have options for nearly perfect paper in the $20 price range, the issues become glaring.

I don’t see how I could recommend this notebook to anyone who cares about the writing experience. Lucrin is a leather company first and foremost, and that shows in this product.

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

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