Category Archives: Paper

Field Notes Workshop Companion–End of Book Review

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I just finished a notebook that was both friendly and unfriendly to fountain pens. I like it a lot, but it also kind of annoys me.

The Field Notes Workshop Companion Book 01 “Wood Working” is one of six notebooks in a boxed set sent as part of the Summer 2015 Field Notes Colors edition.

On paper, so to speak, it seems great. It has French Kraft-Tone 70#T “Standard White Craft” paper with a light brown dot grid pattern. 70#T paper is thick enough to handle most fountain pens and inks.

The notebook also looks great. Each book in the boxed set has a different color cover and a different “workshop” theme: wood working, automotive, gardening, painting, plumbing and electrical. Each book includes information and tips about its theme. The back of the Wood Working includes information on nail varieties, wood working jargon and the always wise “A table saw can be either your best friend or your worst enemy…”

The Workshop Companion on the right next to a used America the Beautiful edition.

The Workshop Companion (right) next to a used America the Beautiful edition.

The cover is 100#C card stock that features some excellent design work.

My back page tests showed that the paper could handle every fountain pen and ink I threw at it. Even the heartbreaker, Noodler’s Apache Sunset put down with a steel flex nib, didn’t bleed through or feather.

The pen tests. I push fairly had to leave as much ink as I can.

The pen tests. I try to lay down as much ink as I can. That’s Apache Sunset at the top and second from right at the bottom. The 1.1 stub looks great here (on the right above the red lines). 

The back side of the same page.

The back side of the same page. Even Apache Sunset with a flex nib couldn’t break it.

At this point I started to encounter my first “Hmmm” moment. My favorite Field Notes notebook, of the few I’ve used, is the America The Beautiful edition. It has Finch Paper Fine 70#T “Soft White” paper that was smooth and terrific to write on. Because both editions are 70#T, I was expecting a similar experience with the Workshop Companion.

However, the paper in the Workshop Companion notebook felt much rougher and stiffer than the paper in the America The Beautiful. As a result it was much more unforgiving with some of my pens. My Edison Glenmont’s 1.1 mm stub nib, for example, didn’t do well on the paper at all. Instead of a thick line, it tended to leave a thin line with little shading. Other pens did better, but I found the writing experience to be inconsistent and, depending on the nib, scratchy.

Also, although the middle page didn’t start falling out as in my Two Rivers edition, I could see that the staples were starting to give way even though the notebook had been carried in a cover rather than unprotected in my pocket.

The weak staple. You can also see how badly the stub nib does at the top of the picture.

The weak staple. You can also see how inconsistently the stub nib performs on the paper at the top of the picture.

I like the Workshop Companion a lot and it draws double takes from almost everyone who sees it. If the it had smoother paper and better staples it would be perfect. Instead, as is, it’s just very good. I’ll look forward to using the rest of the books, but I won’t rush to get more.

 

 

 

 

 

MUJI Passport Memo Notepads–End of Books Review

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One of the dangers of living in Japan, at least if you love pens and stationery, is that everywhere you go, there’s a shop full of stuff you didn’t know you needed, but suddenly can’t live with out. Because that is how I felt about She Who Must Be Obeyed, I feel that buying things from these shops expresses my love for her.

Something like that.

One of the more dangerous stores is MUJI (which is the no-brand “brand” in the same way Naomi Klein is the no-logo “brand”) which is an eclectic shop that features a mix of electronics, fashion, furniture, food, and stationery. Its stationery section is usually small, but they like to sell odd things you can’t find other places.

One time I stopped by “simply out of curiosity” I found three small notebooks for about a dollar each that I couldn’t resist. They were the Passport Memo (ﾊﾟｽﾎﾟｰﾄﾒﾓ) Notepads.

The three Passport Notepad colors.

The three Passport Notepad colors. Blue is dot grid; green is graph; red is blank.

They are the same size as US passports and come in three colors with off-white paper in three different patterns. Blue has a dot grid; green has graph paper; and red has blank pages. They easily fit in a Midori Traveler’s Passport sized notebook cover. The cover says they have 24 pages, but if you count front and back, they have 48 pages.

The three different paper styles.

The three different paper styles.

The covers are reasonably sturdy card stock and have a thin plastic coating that holds up well to being carried in pockets.

The paper (which is described as “recycled paper more than 10%”) is good but not particularly fountain pen friendly. It reminded me a lot of Moleskine paper but for a much smaller price. It had a lot of ghosting and wetter nibs had a lot of bleed through and spotting. I also found that, although there wasn’t much feathering, everything I wrote looked a bit rough around the edges, especially with wet nibs. That said, I didn’t mind using them and managed to use every page front and back with little trouble.

I wouldn’t mind picking up some more, and would recommend them to people looking for a useful, small notebook. Unfortunately I have several other notebooks to try.

 

Journals Among the Piles of Confusion

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Yesterday, December 9th, was decreed by writer Patrick Rhone, to forever be known as Journal Day. It’s a day for people who keep journals to reflect on the past and for them to try to spread the infection, er, encourage those who don’t keep journals to start keeping them.

One of his suggestions is that people look back through their journals and wheeze, gasp, feel sick and get depressed (aka “reflect on the past as recorded in the journal”).

I dug through the piles of stuff in the variety room and decided to revisit my confusion journal. This is not always a good idea as it’s a bit like taking off the bandage and snipping out the sutures to see inside the wound “just because”. However, this year I didn’t have my normal (more or less) depressed October and I decided to go back and review what past entries have been about. Except for October, I don’t see any patterns, but this recent October was warmer and less rainy than usual so maybe it’s a weather related issue.

Now that it’s getting colder and darker I’ll probably find out.

Another part of Journal Day is for journal writers to encourage the people who don’t keep journals to keep them. In the past, as part of Christmas, I’ve given our girls blank books. and required that they do some sort of daily entry (which, until this blog became a daily event, was totally a case of “do what I say and shut up”–see this link again.)

This went well for about a year and a half until I felt they’d developed the habit. I haven’t checked in a while, though, so I’m not sure if they’ve been keeping up on their journals this year (I’m 90% certain our oldest has not, unless Twitter counts as a journal). This coming Christmas I think I’m going to encourage a different kind of journal idea–one more project based–but as the only parent interested in such things I’ll have to do all the follow up myself.

Whatever happens, it’s a chance for me to visit various stationers and see what the latest products are. That’s the other fun part of Journal Day.

 

Field Notes Two Rivers Edition–End of Book Review

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I was probably spoiled long before I started using the Field Notes Two Rivers edition. This is because the second edition I used extensively was the America the Beautiful edition, which used Finch “Soft White” paper that held up to fountain pens well.

I got a subscription to Field Notes colors editions mostly based on the looks of the Two Rivers edition. They are wood block printed by the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Wisconsin. They come in four color stocks with nearly unlimited cover designs. I even bought a couple extra packs because for each sale a donation was made to support the museum.

When I came to finally use the Two Rivers edition, though, my reaction to the paper was “well, yeah, okay, hmmm”. First, compared to the AtB edition, the Two Rivers notebook is thinner, even though both have the same number of pages. The advantage of that is that it fits better in both covers and pockets. It also means the paper (Finch Opaque Smooth 50#T) is going to bleed.

I used my Two Rivers notebook as my most recent food journal which let me test several different pens on it. They all had a funny look to the lines and some odd bleed through. For the most part bleed through doesn’t bother me, but this paper seemed rough and the things I wrote seemed fuzzy and, in places, blotchy, but that might be an optical illusion from the grid lines on the pages. I don’t remember that happening in the Red Blooded edition I used.

The other issue I noticed was that the center pages started to come loose from the staples. This is something that didn’t happen with the Red Blooded or the AtB editions, even though the latter had thicker paper.

The paper coming off the staples.

The paper coming off the staples. You can also see the blotchy way the ink bleeds through on the top right. 

Keep in mind, I used this notebook in a cover so there wasn’t any extra stress on the notebook that it might get in my back pocket, but the pages still started falling out.

Granted, you don’t use a Field Notes notebook for fancy things. They are brainstorming books and places for random notes. In the case of the Two Rivers edition, I am judging them by their covers and  will end up using them all. I also may end up passing them out as “gateway drugs” for people interested in notebooks.

Or I will hoard them. I haven’t actually decided yet.

Out with the old: The Workshop Companion edition (right) has now replaced the Two Rivers edition.

Out with the old: The Workshop Companion edition (right) has now replaced the Two Rivers edition.

MUJI Blank Tankoubon Notebook–Long Term Review

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One of the effects of acquiring easy to acquire things like notebooks and cheap pens is that you often don’t remember where you got them, when you got them, or what you intended to use them for when you got them. In my case, I suspect that the allure of smooth paper tricks my brain into imagining uses for the notebook. That, at least, is my explanation for how I acquired the MUJI Blank Tankoubon Notebook. (Note: “tankoubon” means that it’s a standalone book and not part of a series: more on that later.)

It’s a thick notebook with 184 pages of smooth, creamy paper perfect bound between thin, waxy paper covers. It’s designed to be dragged around and filled with sketches and notes and random bits of wisdom. it has a build in ribbon marker and, I suspect, the covers might take stickers and other random sticky things well, although mine only ended up stained with specks of Noodler’s Midway Blue ink. (Long story not worth going into.)

The MUJI Tankoubon. You can see the Midway Blue specks in the distance.

The MUJI Tankoubon. You can see the Midway Blue specks in the distance.

As I’ve mentioned before, I decided to start using it as a daily log/diary, mostly as an excuse to use different pens and inks.

The paper feels terrific, and for the most part is. It is not, however, fountain pen friendly at all. Even find nibs bleed through and I found I had to back each page with a piece of Rhodia notebook paper to keep from staining other pages. The bleed through never stopped me from using each page, but I can see how it would annoy others.

That's a lot of bleed through. It won't stop me from using the page, but it might stop others.

That’s a lot of bleed through. It won’t stop me from using the page, but it might stop others.

The main hassle with it, as with all thick notebooks that don’t lay flat properly, is except for the middle of the book, you always have a large flap of pages trying to crash onto your hand as you write. This gets annoying rather quickly.

After almost a year, the notebook has begun to show its age, and it suffers from my attempts to make it lay flat. The spine has cracked in two places and pages are starting to fall out near the break.

The cracked spine. I'm pretty sure this isn't my fault.

The cracked spine. I’m pretty sure this isn’t my fault.

The pages beginning to fall out.

The pages beginning to fall out as the notebook break in pieces.

Also, the back dozen or so pages are beginning to fall out. I’ll eventually just tear them out and use them as a thinner notebook for testing pens.

The pages will soon become a small testing notebook.

The pages will soon become a small testing notebook.

I like the notebook, and if I stuck with pencils and ballpoint pens it would be perfect, especially if I hurried through it.   However, it’s not the style of notebook I prefer these days. There are smaller versions of these–which is odd since it’s supposed to be a “standalone” notebook–with similar covers, paper and place markers that I’ve used and like better. I’ll buy those again, but I won’t get this style again.

The MUJI Blank Tankoubon Notebook is coming to the end of its days. It’s replacement has already been chosen. (Also, next year its replacement’s pages may get scanned and stored in something like Evernote.)

Itoya Pocket Briefcase–Long Term Review

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Several years ago, during one of my periodic fits of organizing, I was walking through the old, creepy Itoya and stumbled across a pocket briefcase I quickly decided I could use for notes. Since then I’ve abandoned and started reusing it many times.

The pocket briefcase holds small sheets of paper and has a built in slot for business cards, used notes and receipts. The front flaps hold several pieces of paper and since I’ve had the briefcase, I’ve found that the backing paper and cards from small packs of tissue also fit the slots. It is about 11.7 centimeters  (4.6 inches) tall by 8.5 centimeters (3.35 inches) wide. It is made of some sort of faux leather, although the slots that hold the paper are made of actual, albeit cheap, leather of the sort used to make Bible covers.

The pocket briefcase fits my hand well.

The pocket briefcase fits my hand well.

The pocket briefcase with the insides exposed and a KarasPenCo Retrakt for size comparison.

The pocket briefcase with the insides exposed and a Karas Pen Co Retrakt for size comparison.

After I first got it I used it for writing notes and shopping lists and random notes and random ideas. It was convenient to use and I liked having the pocket for but I quickly found myself overwhelmed with the random scraps of paper, including the ones I stored in the pocket. itoya used to sell a pack of paper to fit it, but I that would be sitting at home when I needed paper so I ended up using other kinds of paper which led to messes and small piles at home. Also, the paper is not fountain pen friendly.

For those reasons, I stopped using it and started using other notebooks. However, because I have a tendency to try to get my money’s worth (with a vengeance) out of stuff I buy, I started using the pocket briefcase again. Then I stopped. Then I started again.

Lately I use the pocket briefcase mostly for shopping lists and, on occasion, class notes when I come up with ideas for changing the lesson plans I’m using. Despite the fake leather, the briefcase has held up well. I’ve had it for several years and only recently has it begun to show its age.

I’ve not seen any suitable replacements for it at Itoya and it’s no longer the kind of thing I use that much. I’ll use it until dies and then throw it away.

Midori Traveler’s Notebook Journal Passport Size–Long Term Review

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I am now torn between being cool and not being cool or doing surgery to be cool.

Several months ago I finally broke down and bought a Midori Traveler’s Notebook Journal which all the really cool kids have. However, me being me, I bought the more pocketable Passport Size as the large size takes only one kind of notebook and requires a bag if you want to carry it around.

I liked it and liked that it took passport sized notebooks from Muji. It would also fit, just barely, an Eighty Pages notebook.  I started using it to carry my three basic notebooks (food journal; life and work notes; writing notes).

I like that it has thin but tough leather and I don’t mind the small bookmark, mostly because it can be cut off with no problem. With a little effort and a couple rubber bands it could be stuffed with extra notebooks.

The passport sized Traveler's cover from the top with the Eighty Pages Volume three.

The passport sized Traveler’s cover from the top with the Eighty Pages Volume three.

I wish that it was a little larger and could hold Field Notes sized notebooks–they can be forced in, but they stick out the ends–but I could forgive it because, unlike the larger version, it doesn’t require you use proprietary notebooks (or perform surgery on a notebook; more on that in a future post).

The leather ages well and gets softer without getting floppy. With one exception, the elastic bands held up well. The only strap I had to tighten was the strap that holds the cover closed. It’s attached at the back and was used enough that it started to get lose.

What I didn’t like almost as soon as I got it was the metal bit at the back used to bind the elastic cord and the book mark. What I didn’t realize was how annoying it would become.

First, it doesn’t even lay flat against the spine. It sticks out and is large enough to cover a mechanical pencil. It’s large enough it could be used as a weight for a fishing line. I can’t figure out who at the manufacturer thought this was a good idea. It taps when you set it on a desk. It scratches the desk. It prevents the notebooks from sitting flat. I tried moving it inside the spine, but it crushes the ends of the notebooks and works its way back outside. It’s such a bad idea only people in love with the idea of the notebook cover itself can possibly forgive its existence.

Cult Member: Dude, you’re too attached to material things. By scratching your desk you make it yours.
Me: Piss off and stop scratching the desk.
Cult Member: It’s a feature not a bug, Dude.

Why does this fishing weight metal bit exist?

The metal bit in its natural position next to a Kurutoga mechanical pencil. Why does this fishing weight metal bit exist?

Something like that.

I’ve heard that, over time, the elastic bands loosen and the only way to tighten them is to remove the fishing weight, do some pulling and cutting, and then put a new fishing weight on. (Midori is more than happy to sell you a new one.) At this point I’ve heard that many people opt to knot the elastic bands rather than wrestle with the useless metal bit.

If they ever come out with a version that doesn’t have the metal bit I might reconsider using them. Until then, I have something else to try.

 

 

 

Quad Field Notes Leather Notebook Cover–First Impressions

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As I abandoned large notebooks and planners I found myself running about with various materials: smaller notebooks, bigger notebooks, note cards and random scraps of paper with random notes on both sides.

Along the way I discovered many excellent small notebooks, such as Field Notes notebooks, the passport sized Midori Traveler’s notebooks and other random notebooks. I suddenly found myself using three different notebooks at the same time (food journal; life and work notes; writing notes) and started looking for a cover to carry them all. I looked at the Midori Traveler’s notebook, but it was long and reminded me too much of my old Filofax planner. It also wasn’t pocket friendly.

Instead I started carrying the smaller Midori Traveler’s Passport sized cover with three small notebooks in it. The problem with it is, and I’ll give it a more through review another day, most of the notebooks I like to use are too large for it. At one point I tried a Field Notes Two Rivers and had bits sticking out both ends.

Somehow, and I don’t remember how, I discovered a company in Andover, Kansas named Old Church Works. They produce several pen and notebook related items, including a number of leather covers designed to hold notebooks the same size as Field Notes notebooks. I ordered one and, after a bit of delay, have finally decided to start using it.

The Quad Field Notes Leather Notebook Cover (hereafter referred to as the Quad) is bulkier than the Midori Passport, but that’s most likely because it’s new. Once I’ve had a chance to carry it around, I think it will start to soften and break in. It’s also half and inch longer than the Midori and I’m wondering how it will feel in a back pocket.

The OCW Four next to the Midori Passport sized. Both are holding three notebooks.

The Quad next to the Midori. Both are holding three notebooks. (The extra strap holding the third notebook is top left.)

The Quad is made from 6-7 ounce leather that’s been vegetable tanned and treated with bee’s wax along the edges. To hold the notebooks it has a long elastic cord laced through the leather to form loops. The laces are long enough to form built in bookmarks that end in brass aglets.

The Quad also comes with an extra elastic strap that allows the user to attach one or more extra notebooks.

The strap about ready to hold the Two Rivers (left) and the Story Supply together.

The strap about ready to hold the Two Rivers (left) and the Story Supply together.

This is a nice touch as Midori is more than happy to sell you a glorified rubber band to help keep your extra notebooks together. (Note: a large rubber band also works really well.)

The Quad also solves the number one reason I’ve been annoyed with the Midori: the metal bit. Midori fastens the straps and the book mark together with something resembling a fishing weight. It sticks out and has a tendency to tap and scratch tables and desks. (More on that in the future post.) The Quad simply uses lacing and knots to hold the straps together.

The annoying metal bit on the top notebook cover.

The fishing weight on the top notebook cover. You can also see the length differences in the two covers.

Right now, the only early annoyance with the Quad is that the book marks are the ends of the straps meaning there’s no way to get rid of them without performing surgery on the straps. They look good and the brass aglets are nice looking and less tappy and scratchy than the fishing weight on the Midori, but I don’t really need bookmarks and they hang out farther than they need to for pocket carry. I wish they were tied in as a separate piece so that I could remove or add them at my pleasure.

But we’ll see what what I think in six months or so. Until then, check out Old Church Works website . The history of the name is an interesting story.

 

Too Many Good Ideas Make a Bad Routine

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I have too many good ideas vying for time before I go to bad. That’s especially true this month.

My usual after-supper routine involves finishing my daily log and readying the book for the next day; entering my food journal in the forum at Vic Magary’s site; wracking my brain to think of a blog topic; rejecting several topics; choosing a topic; starting to write the topic; rejecting the topic; playing a game to “free up my mind a bit”; deciding on a new blog topic; writing the blog topic.

Depending on the timing of supper and the time it takes me to finish that routine, I will also wash dishes if She Who Must Be Obeyed hasn’t snuck in and done them already.

What complicates this month is my goal to complete 50,000 words of a novel in National Novel Writing Month. I spent a good portion of today catching up, but I also spent part of my after supper routine finishing the last of the quota. That pushes everything else back, including sleep.

Now, I could plan ahead and do the blog post early but, well, yeah. Probably no. I could also write with more focus but, well, yeah, there are games to be played, too. (Oh, and kids to speak to and feed.)

I did manage to finish the first book of my NaNoWriMo novel and move on to the second, which puts me, by my official formula, at 12,025 words in seven days. That seems impressive, but it means I’m actually 925 words (or five handwritten pages) behind my personal quota.

Out with the old, in with the next.

Out with the old, in with the next.

Tomorrow my goal is to catch up to my personal quota by hammering out 15 handwritten pages. If I were smart, I’d keep going since next week will be a busy week at work but, well, yeah.

I am pleased to say that after 12,025 words the book is finally starting to find a plot. I’ll probably abandon it or forget it, but at least I have it for now. Also, as tends to happen with seat-of-the-pants writing, certain characters are starting to take over the book and that generates new ideas.

Eventually I’ll have to decide to follow the characters or kill them off. But first I have a routine to follow, for better and for worse.

 

International Bring the Pain Month: Fountain Pen Version

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Like many things, National Novel Writing Month seems like a good idea when you start. After a week it suddenly doesn’t seem so good. Since I’ve chosen to write by hand, I’m beginning to question my sanity.

For this event I’ve decided to do a few things differently than I’ve done before. 1) I am starting a new work completely from scratch; 2) I am writing by hand using one, well, actually three of my fountain pens; and 3) I’m starting a new evening job.

For the pens, as I’ve mentioned before, I chose my workhorse TWSBI 580 as the main pen. I’m also using my Sunset from Levenger and my Titanium Nexus from Namisu. I chose the latter two because they are inked with Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa and Salix. These are old school iron gall inks that dry quickly and are also waterproof and “I set my arm across it and now look like I have a tattoo” proof. Scabiosa is a purple ink (not a disease) I use to indicate asides and changes to things that have gone before and Salix is a blue ink (and not a sci fi character) that I use for random exposition and deep thoughts, which I am counting in my daily word count.

The three pens on Scabiosa an dSalix samples, which look bad in bad lighting.

The three pens on Scabiosa and Salix samples, which don’t look good in bad lighting.

I also chose those pens because they write well on the DIM (Did it Myself) notepads I’m using mostly to use them up. It’s also interesting because they are three different nib types: steel, gold and titanium. (Note: in the picture the gold nib is rose gold plated steel, the silver nib is rhodium plated gold and gray nib is titanium.)

The main advantage of writing by hand is I can do it anywhere without having to dig things out and I don’t have to worry about batteries, cords or outlets.  My arm may give out eventually, in which case I’ll start typing again. Oh, and I also have to read my own handwriting some day. (Which may be the hardest part of all this.)

On day five I’m at 9,250 words, which is actually slightly ahead of the usual 1,667 words per day. I will continue working during breaks and when my students are writing (hypothetically of course).

Next week, though, is a full week of work and that’s when things usually fall apart.