Plotter Bible Size: Embracing the Single-Use Notebook

I’ve cycled through a few Plotter binders, looking for my ideal size. For everyday work, I’ve settled on A5 as the best combination of portability and practicality. My Plotter Mini 5 serves as my wallet, which has a “security blanket” notebook incorporated into it for capturing those stray thoughts which in years past probably would have gone into a Field Notes or other pocket notebook. The sizes I’ve struggled the most with, however, are the Narrow and Bible. I ended up selling my Narrow Plotter binder, simply because it was too “in-between”: too tall for the kind of portability I expected, and not quite wide enough to do the same kind of writing I can do in a Traveler’s Notebook. Now, what about the “Bible Size”?

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The Plotter Mini 5 (which started it’s life as Grey Pueblo leather) atop my olive green Bible Plotter. For those who will ask, the pencil in the notebook is a Pilot Birdie mini-pencil (and there’s also a pen/pencil combo version).

The “Bible Size” Plotter binder measures approximately 4.5” x 7”, with the refill pages measuring roughly 3.5” x 6.75”. So it’s roughly the same height as the Plotter Narrow but offers a few more inches of width to allow for more flexibility with writing. When I picked up this olive leather limited edition last year, I really wanted to make this my primary Plotter, but it’s just too small for day job and research notes, plus I love being able to easily hole-punch A5 paper and use it in the larger Plotter.

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The Bible-Size Plotter does, however, work great as a shop notebook that houses my ink swatch catalog and restock lists. Whenever new inks arrive, I immediately swatch one bottle and add it to this “master catalog” at the same time I swatch the inks onto Col-o-ring Cards. One of the best decisions I’ve made so far as a (fledgling) shop owner has been this master ink book that I control: the swatch book that sits out on the shelf tends to be easily damaged, with cards torn, smudged, or stolen - yes, people do take the swatch cards both in-store and at shows - and there’s nothing worse than having someone ask to see a swatch of a specific color only to discover it’s gone. If that happens, I have my backup, which also comes in handy for personal color comparisons and reviews.

I’ve also discovered that it’s essential to maintain a central a location for a “running list” of items that need to be restocked on subsequent orders. Some would say that this list should be kept electronically, but I rarely have my computer near me in the shop, and I hate having to constantly pull out my phone. While most of this particular Plotter binder is used for ink, there’s also a dedicated section in the back for reorder notes.

Those of you who have been following our Diamine Inkvent and Colorverse Colorvent reveal on Instagram may have noticed this paper, which is Midori MD Cotton with letterpress lines, sized for Plotter. I’m not seeing these currently on the Plotter USA website, so they may be pen-show exclusives. MD Cotton Paper is one of my favorite paper for swatching inks since it shows off color quite well.

While it might seem like a step back from my overarching goal of limiting the number of notebooks I’m using at any given time, sometimes the most efficient solution is to add a separate stand-alone notebook to handle a specific task. I’ve been using my “shop notebook” for a couple of months now and I think it’s going to stick. I’m continuing to work through my planner/journal setup for 2025, experimenting with test runs and sample layouts in December. I’ll plan to do a full “Notebook System” layout around the new year, which will feature my condensed 2025 notebook lineup centered around moveable pages (i.e. disc and ring-based systems). For a discussion of how I fared with my 2024 lineup and what I’m looking to change, check out this recent post here.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you’re interested in talking inks and seeing our swatches and growing selection, come see us in-person! We’re open this week Thursday-Sunday, and otherwise by appointment.

My 2025 Techo Kaigi: A Mostly Fond Farewell to Hobonichi

As is natural in October, when planners go on sale for the coming year, I've been reviewing my current notebook setup and thinking about what I liked, what I disliked, and most importantly, how I can adjust my setup to better meet my needs in 2025. "Techo Kaigi" is a Japanese expression that refers to the figurative meeting you hold with yourself to address these issues. So, you can say I’ve been in back-to-back meetings with myself since October 1 trying to figure these things out!

I had chosen 2024 for an experiment of sorts: I would purchase three different styles of the popular Hobonichi planners: the Hobonichi Cousin A5 (Day-to-a-Page); Hobonichi Weeks Mega ("tall skinny" format week-to-a-page with room for notes); and a standard Hobonichi A6 (Day-to-a-page, to be used as a journal). While I didn't expect to reliably write in each of these on a daily basis, with the possible exception of the Cousin, I did manage to use each planner consistently for stretches of time, giving me a sense of what format and layout I liked best. After a full year with Hobonichi, I don’t think I’ll be making any permanent additions or substitutions to my usual carry. Here’s why:

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My 2024 carry: Hobonichi A5 Cousin in my Roterfaden A5; Hobonichi Weeks in an aftermarket leather wallet/case; and a Hobonichi A6, which served as my journal and eventually went into it’s own leather cover.

What Can I Rule Out Immediately? The Classic A6 Hobonichi Techo

This decision isn't so much a reflection on the Hobonichi itself, but rather a realization that the A6 size doesn't work for me as either a planner or journal. A6 is a "between" size for me, meaning that it doesn't offer me enough space to fully flesh out my thoughts on a day, yet at the same time leaves too much white space if I simply want to micro-journal, jot a few thoughts down and/or habit track. I enjoy having a longer-form journal, but I have a lifetime supply of very nice standard A5 notebooks and composition books (including some gorgeous examples I've collected from Choosing Keeping and other shops) that I look forward to using.

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Two Choosing Keeping Notebooks Purchased in London.

Daily Work Planner/notebook: I need more flexibility Than the HobonicHi Cousin Offers

Of the three planners I purchased for 2024, I used the Hobonichi Cousin A5 the most - everyday in fact. I loved having the full day on one page, with the time stamped left-hand column used for time-blocking alongside plenty of space to take notes. The downside? This thing is BIG. Even if I had opted for the Hobonichi Cousin Avec (which is the A5 Cousin broken into two 6 month segments), I still would find myself carrying around a hefty notebook filled with used pages that can't be disposed of or reorganized easily.

For 2025 I plan to return to a ring or disc-based system using either my William Hannah A5 or Plotter A5 binders. If I can find a compatible refill that features a day-to-a-page layout, I will go with Plotter, since I love the minimalist aesthetic and don't plan to carry more than a week or two of pages at a time. The benefit to me of both the Plotter and William Hannah systems is the ability to easily discard or archive pages that I don't need anymore, while also being able to insert blank pages if I need more space or want to keep additional papers and notes organized chronologically by day. If you have a recommendation for a day-to-a-page Plotter-compatible refill, please let me know! I’m looking.

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That said, if you don't need this sort of page-level or daily flexibility, and don't mind carrying around a larger book, the Hobonichi Cousin is an incredibly versatile planner with at least three different calendar layouts (monthly, weekly, day-to-a-page) that offer planning, journaling, and habit-tracking functionality. The Cousin can definitely be your one-stop-shop, especially if you're comfortable keeping your work and personal life in a single book. I 100% recommend it as an excellent product, but it sadly doesn’t meet my exact needs.

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The Standard Size Traveler’s Notebook is just a bit taller and wider than the weeks, while not sacrificing the tall/skinny format I love so much.

I'm Really Torn on the Hobonichi Weeks, But I'm Moving Back to a Traveler's Notebook

I loved the Hobonichi Weeks, but I'm probably still moving on. Why? I've been using this smaller notebook to track certain things such as exercise, reading, household tasks, and other random notes and observations that I want to keep organized in a "dated" format but separate from my work life. While I love the week-on-two pages layout, which is similar to the Traveler's Company "Weekly + Memo" format, I need just a touch more space as I found myself coming up short at times in the Hobonichi Weeks. As a result, I'll probably be returning to a Standard-size Traveler's Notebook, especially since that will give me the ability to add on additional notebooks and accessories (like pouches) to streamline my carry. I've already set aside a 2025 Weekly+Memo refill set for myself. You can read more on my previous Traveler’s Notebook setups here, and I’ve missed them badly during the past year.

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The Weekly+Memo Format works extremely well for me as a personal planner/logbook. I’ve never used a dated Traveler’s refill before - this year will be the first.

Summary: How Do I Envision My 2025 Daily Carry?

I have multiple occupations and many different personal interests, so my exact "daily carry" changes, depending on what I'm doing. On a typical day, however, my briefcase or backpack will likely hold three main items: the work planner/notebook (whatever it ends up being), a personal Traveler's Notebook, and a Roterfaden binder containing individual notebooks that house anything from my personal journal to scratch notebooks to project-specific refills. If you've been following this site over the years, you've probably noticed that the overall nature of my setup hasn't changed much: I usually go with three modular notebooks or binders, though I have played around with different formats and brands. For 2024, I hadn't used Hobonichi in a few years, and wanted to revisit the brand on a broader level to see if I should incorporate one of the many formats into my hybrid system. Overall, even though I don't plan on making any long-term changes, I did enjoy the experiment!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you enjoy our pen and stationery-related content, please consider supporting us by shopping directly or pledging. Many thanks for reading!

Paper Review: Midori MD Fountain Pen Friendly Sticky Notes and Notepads

I went shopping in my own store yesterday - I know, typically a bad business decision - but since I’ve moved TGS out of my home office to its own commercial space I’ve had to rebuild my home office a bit to make it more suitable for it’s original purpose: reading, home-based projects, and personal writing. Yesterday morning I sat down to plan out my personal finances and errands for the week and realized that I didn’t have any decent sticky notes or even a tear-off notepad at my desk. This presented the perfect opportunity to test out two very popular items from our shop: the Midori MD Memo Block Notepad and the MD A7 Sticky Notepad, which I’d not used extensively myself.

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The 500-sheet block notepad contains excellent paper. The thick 4"x4" pad is large enough to rest your hand on while writing on the top half of the sticky note, but most people will likely tear off the sheet to comfortably use the entire page.

Of these two products, the MD Memo Block Notepad is my favorite. I enjoy having a ready supply of tear-off paper that’s not too expensive, and I basically use these as scratch sheets. This large notepad contains 500 sheets of Midori MD Paper (the same as in the standard MD Notebooks), which measure 4” x 4” square and handle fountain pen ink extremely well. I’ve noticed no difference in performance between this notepad and any standard Midori MD paper product. The pad itself is glue-bound along the top edge and does not feature any “sticky” backing on the sheets themselves - these aren’t sticky notes, and if you want to attach the notes to anything, you’ll have to use glue, tape, staples, or a clip. You can also do as I sometimes do, and punch three holes in smaller sheets of paper and stick them in an A5 or Bible-sized Plotter.

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One ink (TGS x Hinze Summer Sangria) feathered a little on the sticky note but not on the memo pad. It was worse at the top of the sticky note (where the adhesive likely mixed with the paper).

The Midori MD A7 Sticky Notepad is also a good product, especially when you consider that fountain pen friendly sticky notes are extremely difficult to find. While these are labeled “MD Paper”, this particular product feels slightly different than the Midori MD pads and notebooks. The paper is thinner, and doesn’t handle ink quite as well as the Memo Block, though it still performs nicely for a sticky note. Sticky notes are difficult to use with fountain pens for a couple of reasons. First of all, the paper can’t be too heavy, or else the adhesive won’t be able to support the weight of the note. Second, sticky note adhesive has a tendency to affect how ink behaves on the paper. If you’ve ever written on the top part of a sticky note and had it feather like crazy, only to have the bottom half behave differently, you know exactly what I’m talking about. While I’ve experienced a bit of feathering on these sticky notes with certain inks, they’re generally quite good (certainly better than other alternatives I’ve tried) and on par with the apparently discontinued Traveler’s Company sticky notes.

The adhesive on these notes performs well. I had no trouble sticking it to a whiteboard, and these adhere just fine to notebooks and other sheets of paper - which is how I generally use stickies.

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The Midori MD Sticky Notes (left) and MD Memo Block Paper. The sticky notes had a touch of pinpoint bleedthrough, but then again, who writes on the back of a sticky note?

Takeaways and Where to Buy

As always, Midori comes through with a high quality and generally fountain pen friendly product. While the paper in the MD Memo Block notepad performed better than the paper in the sticky notes, I suspect that’s due mostly to the adhesive on the back of the sticky note paper reacting to a very wet fountain pen ink. In any event, I don’t really demand top-notch performance from sticky notes, and these certainly fall into the “good enough and better than nearly everything else I’ve tried” category. The sticky notes will go into one of my Sinclair pen cases so that I have them available wherever I happen to be working, and the MD Memo Block will stay on my desk at home.

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We’ve carried these in the shop for a long time - I’ve just never gotten around to using them seriously until this week. The MD Memo Block comes in three formats (grid, blank, and lined) and is priced at $12 for a 500-sheet pad. The A7 Sticky Note Memo pads run $11.50 each and come in five different formats (lined, blank, grid, dot, and framed). You can check out these and other Midori products by visiting the paper section of our store. Also, if you’re aware of any other fountain pen friendly sticky notes out there, let me know as this is a product category I’m interested in!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Notebook Review: ProFolio Oasis Notebook

ProFolio Oasis notebooks landed on my radar at the first San Francisco Pen Show that I attended, where I had a chance to browse the Sailor/Itoya table. As a huge fan of multi-lined rulings such as Clairefontaine French/Seyes ruling and the Nakabayashi “Logical” lined rulings, I immediately jumped at the ProFolio layout, which distributor/manufacturer Itoya describes as a combination of “dots, graph, and lines.”

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The ProFolio Oasis multi-lined layout.

Itoya highlights versatility as the main selling point of this notebook:

“The Profolio Oasis Notebook was designed to make the hard choice of “which journal” much easier. While many people have a hard time choosing between dot grid, graph, or lined, the Oasis Journal combines the best of all three with its new proprietary paper pattern. The combination of dots, grids, and lines as well as their light application makes this notebook ideal for handwriting, bullet journaling, and even drawing straight lines without the necessity of a ruler.”

— Itoya Marketing Copy

I promise current and former co-workers who may be reading this that the meeting reflected in these notes is entirely fictional.

Personally, I use rulings such as this one to alternate the size of my script, which allows me to take different types of notes and make annotations all over the page. If I need to emphasize a certain note, I’ll use larger letters, and if I want to add annotations I’ll not only write smaller but will use the interior dotted lines instead of the wider, bold ruling. Each page of the notebook features a header section, so that you can date and label as necessary. Some of you may find the header section useful for summarizing meetings or key takeaways from a page of notes.

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The paper is excellent. The current version of the ProFolio notebook features lightweight 75gsm Japanese paper that handles fountain pen ink quite well. If you enjoy the look of Clairefontaine French-ruled paper, yet find Clairefontaine too slick, the ProFolio paper has a softer texture more akin to Nakabayashi. (It might even be the same paper used in the Logical line, though that is pure speculation and there are slight differences in layout, particularly the header.) I picked an A5 version in “Brick Red” to test, and so far this paper has performed quite well with every fountain pen ink I’ve tried. Other available sizes include A6 and B5.

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Takeaways and Where to Buy

The Itoya ProFolio Oasis series gets the T.G.S. stamp of approval. In addition to featuring quality paper with a versatile ruling/layout, ProFolio earns bonus points for multiple convenient sizes and a lie-flat binding. These Oasis notebooks are now available in our own shop and priced from $9.99 to $15.99, depending on size. As noted above, these come in A6, A5, and the coveted B5, which sits between A5 and A4. There are also five different colors. I didn’t realize the extent to which people appreciated this B5 size until I started carrying Nakabayashi and ProFolio, and I’ll try to find more in the future.

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In recent years there has been a proliferation of notebooks marketed as “fountain pen friendly”, and not all of them live up to their billing. Given the current demand for good paper, I make it a point to test as many notebooks as I can because I know that eventually I’ll get questions on brands that are receiving a lot of attention on social media. If you’d like to read more on what I consider to be fountain pen friendly paper and specific brands you might want to try, I recently updated the “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper” site resource.

This post does not contain third-party advertising or affiliate links. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Back to Hobonichi: My Daily Journaling Setup for 2024

I spent a lot of time over the past four months thinking about how I wanted to approach journaling in 2024. Over the past year, I definitely became more consistent in terms of how often I sit down to write (always by hand, never on the computer), but until my work sabbatical in October didn’t spend much time thinking through a coherent journaling strategy and how I wanted to use journaling to support my personal and professional goals. After some experimentation, I decided to divide my journaling between three different books: (1) a professional “journal” that I use to track how I spent my time each day, mainly on work and more structured personal projects; (2) a “observations” journal that’s in a smaller format I can carry with me; and (3) a more traditional “reflections” journal that I write in each morning.

*Note: I don’t use a traditional paper “planner” (i.e., a calendar to track dates and appointments) for professional reasons. My schedule is too complex and deadline-dependent to rely on manual updates and edits, especially since due dates and meetings constantly change (often without my knowledge). I mention this up front because I know that I’m going to get the question: why does someone need three planners? The answer is that even though the Hobonichi Techo - and other similar “planners” such as those from Stalogy and the Midori Codex - are marketed as traditional calendar/diaries, the layouts are extremely flexible and can easily be used as journals or dated notebooks, which is how I’ve always viewed them.

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Journal No. 1: Hobonichi Cousin A5

My primary everyday professional notebook/journal is going to be the Hobonichi Cousin A5. For the last quarter of 2023, I experimented with “time blocking” as part of an effort to improve my concentration and focus, which is a time-management technique that can be helpful for those of us who work more than one job and/or whose profession involves managing multiple complex projects. A full discussion of this technique (and how I’ve adapted it to my needs) is beyond the scope of this simple blog post, but the general idea is that you sit down each morning for 15-20 minutes and plan out your day in blocks of time dedicated to a specific task or project, to the exclusion of anything else that may distract you. You intersperse your day with “admin” blocks to keep up with more routine things such as e-mail, phone calls, paying bills, etc. It might seem rigid at first, but two things happen: (1) the “a time and place for everything” philosophy underlying the structure creates space for better concentration, and eventually you’re more easily able to resist things such as checking e-mail that pull you out of the work your doing because you know you’ve set aside time for them later; and (2) you’re able to finish tasks quicker because you’re giving yourself the space to concentrate on a single thing rather than multi-tasking.

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Yes, the Cousin fits in the Roterfaden, but you will need to embrace the “one notebook” Roterfaden strategy (unless you go with the Cousin Avec).

For those interested in learning more, I’d recommend picking up a copy of the “Time Block Planner” (the most recent version of which contains decent paper). I found that the layout didn’t work perfectly for me - I think it’s actually intended more as a “workbook” to help you learn the technique for the first time - but the experience of working through the planner for eight weeks or so was invaluable.

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A sample time block plan. Obviously I had to redact details.

I draw my time blocks on the left-hand side of the Hobonichi Techo, and use the remainder of the daily page for my “catch-all” notes and administrative task lists. If you’re in the middle of a time block and an unrelated thought/task/observation pops into your head, you jot it down in the free space on your planner or notebook. In addition to being useful for organizing my work and thoughts, I enjoy having a fairly detailed record of exactly how I spend my time. The page layout of the Hobonichi Cousin A5 is well-suited to how I time-block.

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I use the monthly calendar as a way to experiment with content plans. (Most of this is a draft which then gets imported into my computer as I decide what I’m going to publish/write about.)

I currently have the Hobonichi Cousin in my A5 Roterfaden binder. Because the Cousin is a thick notebook, I attached it to the Roterfaden using the center clip, use the front clip as a bookmark for the “weekly” view, and plan to use the third clip to hold loose papers, etc. (For those who are interested, we currently have A6 Roterfadens in stock with another shipment of A4 and A5 binders on the way from Germany as we speak.)

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On Sunday afternoon I try to sketch out a “weekly time block plan” which is intended to be rough. I then flesh it out either in the morning before the workday starts or the night before.

Journal No. 2: Hobonichi Weeks Mega

Less a journal and more of an “observations” notebook without any strict format requirements. This year I’m making a conscious effort to be more present, to read more, and generally to engage in activities that necessarily require a longer attention span, such as tackling more difficult books and watching longer films. I constantly collect book and movie recommendations, and always maintain a running annual list of books read/movies watched for the year, which is probably how I will use the blank pages at the back of the Weeks. I also enjoy having a “week on a page” layout, which I’ve used so far to jot down just one or two memorable things I did/observed on each day. My Hobonichi Weeks had a start date of November 27, 2023, so I already have about six weeks under my belt.

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Journal No. 3: Hobonichi A6

Finally, my third journal is my reflections journal. I’ve managed to keep up my morning journaling routine to the point where I reliably write most mornings, reflecting on the prior day. For this journal I chose the standard Hobonichi A6, which contains just enough space to allow me to write a meaningful entry in 30 minutes or less.

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I don’t have a cover for this third journal yet. As discussed below, I’m waiting for a new shipment of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter covers, so I may choose an A6 size for this one, but since this journal typically stays on my desk at home the best choice might be a slimmer Gfeller undyed leather cover or one of the Galen Leather “Crazy Horse” varieties.

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Stay tuned, because throughout the year, I plan to share more about both journaling strategies and my likes/dislikes of the various Hobonichi editions. Currently, they’re all pretty much exactly what I was suspecting, with no surprises other than how effortless it’s been to enjoy them. Happy New Year, everyone!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. You can read more about T.G.S. Patreon in yesterday’s post.