Tsubame Fools Cream Notebook Review

Yet another interesting paper product from Japan, Tsubame Fools Notebooks are an excellent quality mid-range notebook with a couple of interesting features to set them apart form the pack.

Tsubame has been making paper since 1947, most of it featuring their lattice-style watermark. This is not something seen or felt when writing, but is interesting nonetheless when holding the paper up to a light source. I was concerned it might be obtrusive at first - as a rule I don’t like watermarked paper - but it isn’t noticeable under normal use.

The first pens I tested on the Cream B5 5 mm Graph were fountain pens and I felt that the paper was smooth but didn’t have that glassy quality like Rhodia has. There is no tooth, per se, but there is a different feel to it. With my widest pens there was no feathering or bleed either. Zero. It barely showed through too, so those who write on both sides should have no issue.

All other pens performed well and pencil users may especially want to take note. Super smooth paper isn’t the best for graphite, so leadheads may enjoy these.

Everyone should enjoy the clean, classy design of the Tsubame Fools Cream Notebook. The navy/white combo looks great on the graph paper model, with gold/white and red/white featured on the plain and lined notebooks, respectively. I’m a big fan of the cheesecloth tape exterior binding and the thread stitched interior binding, both combining to allow the notebook to stay flat while retaining its flexibility.

At $6.50 for 32 sheets of B5 paper it’s moderatley priced. There are both less expensive and more expensive imported notebook options, but for one that can handle it all like Tsubame Fools I think the price is right.

Ink Links

-- Budget Review: The Pilot Desk Pen (THE PENVENTORY)

-- Schweizer Handmade Fountain Pen (SBREBrown)

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-- Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue Fountain Pen Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- Maruman Mnemosyne Inspiration Pad review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Pen Review: Franklin-Christoph 02 Intrinsic (The Pen Habit)

-- Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses ink review (Peninkcillin)

-- Lamy Scala (The Pencilcase Blog)

-- Double Ink Review: Sailor Jentle Miruai and Nioi-Sumire (The Gentleman Stationer)

-- Palomino Prospector Review (The Finer Point)

-- Swabbing 10 Year Old Ink (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- Fountain Pen Ink Review: Akkerman #15 Voorhout Violet (Pen Paper Ink Letter)

-- DC Pen Show 2014 (Massive Post!) (Inkdependence!)

-- My Short List Of Favorite Fountain Pens (An Inkophile's Blog)

-- 078 - The Pen is Mightier (Technical Difficulties)

-- TWSBI Diamond 580 Fountain Pen Review (Write to Me Often)

-- Nock Co. x Dudek Modern Goods Idea Dock Review (Modern Stationer)

-- Bulb Fillers (Crónicas Estilográficas)

-- [Guest Post] Pilot Custom 74 Fountain Pen Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Restoring a grenade (Bleistift)

-- Private Reserve Sonic Blue: Ink Review (Ionsomnia)

-- Kaweco Elite – Pen Review (My Pen Needs Ink)

-- Pilot Falcon SF Review (The Passionate Penman)

Tactile Turn Mover and Shaker New Materials

I am a big fan of what Will Hodges did with the original Tactile Turn Mover in aluminum, and now with his latest Kickstarter he upped his materials game by adding brass, copper, and titanium into the mix.

In talking to Will about what changes he made (besides materials) from the previous project one interesting item came up. A new machine is in place to manufacture the brass and copper parts, giving those pen bodies a smooth to the touch finish. I can easily tell the difference between these and my aluminum Movers. It's not something I would have ever known, noticed, or cared about before because the original pens are so nice, but now that I have all these pens side by side I can say how good this change really is.

An ancillary result of the machine upgrade is the seam in the barrel is almost invisible. It already was barely noticeable in the first place but these are really hidden. In the prototypes I got you can see the seam in the titanium model but Will assures me that is not how the final version will appear. The brass and copper look flawless, even in this early stage of manufacturing.

The new materials Kickstarter project has already eclipsed the original aluminum barrel project, and having these pens in hand I can certainly see why. There are five days left to get in on the action - don't miss out!