Notebook Review: Musubi Premium Journals

July 29, 2017

It's hard to believe that Tomoe River paper is seemingly everywhere these days, given how difficult it was to import/locate just a few years ago. If you're unfamiliar with Tomoe River, it's some of the best paper for fountain pen users out there, and certainly the most unique. Despite its light weight and overall thinness, Tomoe River paper will not bleed or feather except in the most extreme circumstances, and Tomoe River notebooks can contain hundreds of sheets of paper while remaining compact.

Seighaia ("Wave") pattern in Enji fabric. This thin journal actually has 200 sheets of paper.

The most recent Tomoe River notebook that I've had the opportunity to review comes via the team at Musubi, located in SIngapore. Musubi sells hand-sewn journals and diaries that contain 200 sheets of unlined Tomoe River Paper and are wrapped in unique Japanese fabrics. Notably, Musubi employs disabled artisans, and per their website, operates in partnership with an organization dedicated to finding employment opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities.

Each Musubi notebook features a hand-sewn binding.

Musubi was kind enough to send me an A5 clothbound notebook in the Enji ("Autumn Red") color scheme, featuring the Seigaiha ("Wave") pattern. It's a beautiful notebook. The cloth is soft, the binding appears to be high quality, and the notebook lays completely flat, making it easy to use the entire page. The Tomoe River paper, of course, is exceptional, and Musubi has used a heavier ivory laid paper for the endsheets. The soft clothbound cover might not hold up to the rigors of daily carry, but this would be an excellent journal to keep at your desk or bedside.

Tomoe River Paper handles nearly all fountain pen inks very well, even with wet nibs.

Where to Purchase

Musubi A5 journals can be purchased directly from Musubi's online store, and come in a variety of colors in addition to the red featured here, including Midori ("Matcha Green") and Kon ("Navy Blue"). You can also choose from either the Seigaiha ("Wave") pattern, the Tonbo ("Dragonfly") pattern, or a variety of seasonal prints, including rabbits, owls, and sakura ("Cherry Blossoms"). Diaries are handmade to order, and require a lead time of 2-3 weeks. They are also not inexpensive, ranging from $67 US for the basic pattern to $96 for more exotic fabrics, but you're paying a premium for craftsmanship. Many thanks to Musubi for providing me with the opportunity to review this unique item.

Disclaimer: Musubi sent me this journal free of charge for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review.

Two New Notebooks to Watch: Studio Neat Panobook and Baron Fig Raspberry Honey

July 19, 2017

There are so many new notebooks being released right now, that I've had a hard time keeping my head above water! Here are my thoughts on two new offerings that you've probably read a lot about recently: Studio Neat's "panoramic" Panobook, and the latest Baron Fig Confidant, Raspberry Honey.

Studio Neat Panobook

Studio Neat's new "Panobook" is billed as "a new notebook for your desk." Essentially, they've designed a desk pad like the Baron Fig Mastermind in spiral-bound notebook form. The Panobook is designed to sit just above, below, or even to the side of your keyboard, where by using it lengthwise it can serve as an oversized reporter's notebook or miniature legal pad.

Measuring 6.3 inches by 11.34 inches, the Panobook provides ample space for writing, notetaking, brainstorming and sketching out ideas - exactly what most people look for in a large-format desk pad. The dot-grid paper includes subtle "guide markers" to allow you to easily draw rectangles, which may come in handy if you're an app or web designer or someone who uses storyboards. The double-wired spiral binding appears sturdy and tight, and the cover is a soft-touch leatherette material that feels similar to the cover on the Ghost Paper notebook that I reviewed a while back, though the Panobook cover is rigid and not flexible.

The Panobook comes with a slipcover for easy storage after the notebook is finished.

Now, a note on the paper, which is where I ran into, well, not difficulties, but some hiccups that led me to conclude that I probably couldn't use this notebook on a daily basis. The Panobook features Finch Soft White Ultra Smooth 70 lb. text paper, which Studio Neat describes as "super high quality, and perform[ing] well with a variety of writing instruments without smudging and bleeding." This is indeed very nice paper, and I enjoyed the dot grid layout, but I found that the paper was not quite versatile enough to meet my needs. I experienced a fair bit of feathering and pinpoint bleeding with even fine and medium fountain pens. Certain drier inks performed ok (i.e., with minimal bleed) but when it comes to the paper that I use for most of my daily planning and brainstorming - which is what this notebook would be perfect for - I'd prefer to be able to just use my fountain pens and not have to think about how the pen I'm using at the moment is going to perform in the notebook. At this price point, I also want to be able to use both sides of the page.

Overall, the Panobook is a great concept and a well-designed notebook, and with slightly heavier paper might be something that makes its way into my daily arsenal. As the product currently stands, however, there are other desk pads out there that meet my specific - and, admittedly, very exacting - requirements. If you're a fan of gel pens, ballpoints, pencil, or even rollerballs like the Uniball Vision Elite, you'll be fine. Otherwise, I'd back for a single notebook to test out before I stocked up. (The folks at Studio Neat are experienced Kickstarter creators, and their products are typically available on their website fairly soon after the Kickstarter project closes.)

Baron Fig Raspberry Honey

"Raspberry Honey" is the latest in the line of limited edition Confidant notebooks from Baron Fig, which in my opinion, just keep getting better. A collaboration with California-based artist Geoff Gouveia, Raspberry Honey is "one part short story, one part notebook," and each box includes a copy of a short story written and illustrated by Gouveia.

The red with debossed bees might make this my all-time favorite Baron Fig Confidant cover.

The notebook itself features a bright "raspberry" red cover with debossed bees, a pink ribbon, and Baron Fig's excellent dot grid paper. I've reviewed several Baron Fig notebooks in the past, so I won't go into extensive detail on construction, paper quality, etc., but I will say that in the past year or so Baron Fig has improved the paper used in their notebooks. While it may not be the best for especially wet stubs or triple-broad nibs, it's excellent with the medium and fine fountain pens that I use as my daily writers and handles everything I'll throw at it fairly well.

Where You Can Buy These Notebooks

The Studio Neat Panobook is available on Kickstarter, and will close in 9 days. Based on the funding level so far (well over $100,000 pledged on a $20,000 goal), the Panobook will almost certainly fund. If you think this is a product you would use, the best deal is the three-pack for $55, which brings the cost to roughly $18 apiece, in-line with other high-quality bound notebooks. Single books are $20.

The Baron Fig Raspberry Honey is available directly from Baron Fig, priced at $20 with discounts for purchasing more than one. Baron Fig has ended their limited edition subscription program, so you will have to purchase these a la carte.

Disclaimer: I was sent both of these products at no charge for purposes of this review. Thank you to both Studio Neat and Baron Fig for sending these over. This post contains affiliate links.

Notebook Review: The Blackwing Clutch, Slate, and Summit

June 21, 2017

Pretty much everyone - stationery nut or not - is aware of the reissued Blackwing pencils sold by Palomino, which seems to be in the process of rebranding itself as "Blackwing" for most of its newer products. The company has expanded outside of its standard line of pencils, introducing the "Blackwing Volumes" subscription service and a new line of notebooks. I've used Palomino/Blackwing pencils for a long time, but Alex at Blackwing was kind enough to send me over some samples of the notebooks for review.

First Impressions

These are nice-looking black notebooks, which appear high-end and not at all like just another Moleskine clone. The clean, minimal packaging doesn't detract from the notebooks themselves.

To give you an idea of the size differential between the three different models.

Blackwing sells their notebooks in three sizes. The smallest is the Blackwing Clutch, which is a 5.5" x 3.5" (the same size as a Field Notes notebook). Next is the Blackwing Slate, a 5" x 8.25" hardbound A5-ish notebook that was actually the first notebook Blackwing released around two years ago, and unique because it features an elastic spine with an elastic "holster" to hold a pencil (one Blackwing 602 is included). Finally, Blackwing recently release the Blackwing Summit, a 7.5" x 10" large format softcover notebook. The Clutch is your standard 48-page notebook, and the Slate and Summit both contain 160 pages.

A shot of the "pencil holster" on the Slate, minus one sharpened (and used up) Blackwing 602.

These notebooks feel sturdy, and I suspect they will hold up to everyday use quite well, though I've not had the opportunity to really break 'em in and beat them up. Blackwing describes these covers as "wear-resistant polymer," which I suspect is another way of describing vinyl (what the texture reminds me of). The binding is sewn-bound, not glued, so it should hold together long enough for you to finish the notebook (unless you're harder on these things than I am.) All three are made in Turkey, and contain the same 100gsm paper which comes in dot grid, blank, or ruled format. Alex sent me dot grid notebooks, which I've enjoyed. Some people have complained that the "dots" are too dark, but this isn't necessarily something that bothers me, especially in notebooks like these which I primarily use for scratch work, tracking ideas for posts, and drafting various writing projects I'm working on. I also have a tendency to write very small, so I'm not necessarily "overlapping" the ruling on any paper I use.

Paper Performance

An interesting aspect of the Clutch is that Blackwing recommends you write with the notebooks longways (i.e., as reflected in the writing sample on the left).

The paper performed well - definitely better than the Ghost Paper notebook that I reviewed last week - and I'd probably say that the paper in these Blackwing notebooks is comparable in terms of performance to either Write Notepads or early Baron Fig paper. It handles fountain pen ink and other liquid inks moderately well. You may still experience some "pinpoint" bleedthrough or show through on the reverse of a page if you use an especially wet nib or ink, but I would have no problem adding these notebooks to my daily rotation.

As you might expect, the paper is outstanding with pencils. It's ever-so-slightly toothy, and the low degree of smearing or "ghosting" suprised me. (For those of you unfamiliar with pencil terminology, "ghosting" refers to graphite transfer from one page to another in a notebook, especially when you write on both sides of a page. With a cheap pencil or super-smooth paper, it can make your notebook look like a mess by the time you get to the end.)

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I've been meaning to try the Blackwing Notebooks for a while, and many thanks to Alex and the team at Blackwing for sending these over. Honestly, before seeing these in person I had expected just another rebranded Moleskine imitation, which Blackwing probably could have pulled off, given that Moleskine notebooks work perfectly fine with pencils. That's not the case, however, and the team at Blackwing has put together a quality notebook that deserves your consideration, whether you're a pen or pencil user.

You can purchase these notebooks directly from Blackwing via their online store. One thing I do have to mention, however, is the pricing on these notebooks, which for certain models is higher than their direct competitors. The Blackwing Clutch costs $14.95 for a three-pack; the Slate comes in at $22.95 (which does include a Blackwing 602 pencil); and the larger Summit is priced at $21.95. While the MSRP on the Slate is around the same as the Rhodia webnotebook or the Leuchtturm 1917, you can often find these two notebooks for $3-4 cheaper, and the Baron Fig Confidant costs $18 at full price. The pricing on the Clutch three-pack is also $2-5 higher than Field Notes and about $5 higher than Write Notepads. If you're a fan of Blackwing, or you otherwise like the aesthetic of these notebooks, spending a few dollars more may not bother you, but if you're someone who regularly churns through a lot of notebooks, there are more cost-effective alternatives to consider without sacrificing quality. That said, The big Summit notebook appears to be a bargain, especially if you were considering the slightly larger, and much more expensive, Leuchtturm A4 Master.

Overall, I love what Blackwing is doing and the effort they have put into building their brand. They make quality products which offer an enjoyable user experience. While you're checking out the notebooks, you may also want to consider Blackwing's newest limited-edition Blackwing Volumes pencil, the Blackwing 73, which is Lake Tahoe-themed.

Disclaimer: Blackwing sent me the products featured in this review at no charge, for review purposes. This post contains affiliate links.

Notebook Review: Ghost Paper Notebooks

June 14, 2017

New notebook maker Ghost Paper recently launched a unique product: what they refer to as an "embossed paper notebook." Instead of using printed lines, all structure is embossed/debossed, meaning that the lines are slightly raised or indented on the page, depending which side you are writing on. They were kind enough to send me a couple of these books for review. I've not seen anything like this before, and it's certainly an interesting idea.

“Ghost Paper Notebooks combine the freedom of a blank page with the structure of lined pages. The alternating embossed and debossed pages give a faint line that disappears in direct light. The texture is slight enough that it does not interfere with pen marks. ”

— Ghost Paper

I found the embossed logo and branding on the Ghost Paper notebook to be tastefully executed. The extra-long ribbon bookmark was a somewhat odd design choice, however.

The Specs

Other than the paper itself, the Ghost Paper Notebook is your fairly standard 6" by 8", 96-page softcover notebook. After spending some time with it, here's what I enjoyed about the product:

The embossed/debossed rulings. I definitely liked the feel of writing on a blank page, while still being able to keep my handwriting straight. While I typically find the ruling on lined notebooks too wide, and therefore prefer the narrower spacing on graph or dot grid, Ghost Paper nailed it, at least for my personal taste.
Soft, flexible cover in matte gray. I love the texture, which feels great in the hand. The embossed "Ghost Paper" logos and branding in the bottom left-hand corner of the front cover and centered on the back are well-designed and understated. I would say that this notebook definitely fits in with a minimalist aesthetic, if that's your thing.
Pen/pencil loop on the notebook. The loop is elastic, so it will probably hold a fair variety of pencils, gel pens, and some fountain pens (though you probably won't be using the latter in this notebook - see below).
The texture of the paper. This paper has some slight tooth to it, which gave it a pleasant feel to write on, especially with pencils. If I had to compare it, I would say the paper reminds me of early Baron Fig paper, with a Whitelines-esque minimalist aesthetic.

That said, despite the Ghost Paper notebook being a very attractive and well-executed product from a design standpoint, it isn't a notebook that I could personally use on a regular basis, and you can probably guess why. This paper doesn't handle fountain pens or other liquid ink/rollerball pens very well. While feathering isn't too much of an issue, wetter inks bleed and/or show through the page fairly easily. (I even saw a hint of bleedthrough with a Pilot G2, though I'm one of those who writes with a fairly heavy hand.) Of course, some people don't use liquid ink, or simply don't care about bleedthrough. A good rule of thumb here would be whether or not you can use standard Moleskine paper with your writing instrument of choice. If you can, you'll be fine, because the Ghost Paper notebook is definitely a step above Moleskine.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Ghost Paper makes a nice-looking, well-designed notebook, but I did not find it to be very versatile in terms of the types of pens I could use. For this reason, I have to limit my recommendation of this product to those of you who primarily use ballpoint pens or pencils, in which case you should be very happy with the paper.

You can order the Ghost Paper Notebook directly from Ghost Paper. These notebooks are relatively expensive at $25 each, though I'd expect that price to come down some if the brand becomes established and the company can start making larger production runs.

Disclaimer: Ghost Paper provided me with these notebooks at no charge for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review.

Baron Fig Releases the Vanguard "Clear Sky" Edition

June 5, 2017

Baron Fig has released their latest limited edition "Vanguard" soft cover notebook, the "Clear Sky" edition. This quarter's edition once again comes in the "Flagship" size, and features three different covers, each a different color gradient designed to evoke sunrise, midday, and sunset.

The notebook on the far right (sunrise?) looks much more pink in person, whereas it appears almost orange in the pictures on the Baron Fig website.

Clear Sky contains blank paper, which I don't use much. If you're a fan of unlined pages or looking for a soft-cover sketchbook, however, this may be the edition for you. You can purchase directly from Baron Fig, or subscribe so you don't miss any of the special quarterly editions going forward.

Disclaimer: Baron Fig provided me with these notebooks free of charge.