Ogami Professional Stone Paper Notebook Review

I have yet to find the perfect paper. There are sacrifices to be made, even with brands and styles many consider to be the best on the market. It all comes down to what sacrifices you are willing to make when choosing paper. Ogami Stone Paper is asking me to make too many.

Stone paper has become all the rage across the blogosphere, even spawning a Kickstarter project. It's a great idea in principle: A paper made from a natural byproduct of water and limestone that is tear-resistant, waterproof, and fully recyclable. It is the ultimate paper, right?

Wrong.

To have any stone paper product become a regular part or your writing arsenal you will need to limit the types of writing instruments you use. Ballpoints work well, and pencils are fine. Anything else is going to take some thought and consideration. Plastic and fiber tip pens are ok, but something like the Montblanc Fineliner is terrible. Gel ink pens are passable, but any fine tip that breaks the top layer of the page will bleed, and the paper is so pliable that your letter shapes are transferred to the page behind the one you are writing on. It's like the spy letter game you played as a kid. Run the pencil lead over the blank page lightly and you will see every letter you wrote on the previous page.

Fountain pens are a non-starter. The ink bleeds profusely and takes a long time to dry. I could barely finish my sample sentences in some cases. And the feel of the paper is just weird. It's marketed as "rich, creamy, and luxurious" but read further: "super fine nibs / points may "grab" the paper a little." It's more like writing on a cushion, which is not as neat as it sounds.

Another devil in the details is a big issue in my mind. Stone paper is far from archival. In fact, "Repap is photo-biodegradable. It will break down after 14-18 months exposure to UV light." I don't store my paper directly in sunlight or necessarily concern myself with archival paper qualities, but some people do. Keep these things in mind where considering stone paper.

The Ogami brand makes some of the best looking notebooks on the market, stone paper or not. The covers are beautiful, the size and layout are nice, and the attention to detail is top notch. The usability is not there for me though, and that's what it is all about. There are too many sacrifices I need to make to use stone paper on a regular basis.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Leuchtturm 1917 Soft Cover Notebook Review

This week, I'm really pleased to talk about one of my favorite notebooks: the Leuchtturm 1917 Soft Cover Large Notebook. I've had this particular book for about two years now, and it's always a joy to use. When this one is full, I'll buy a replacement or two (or twelve).

Look and feel

There's something about a simple black notebook that catches my eye. It's not trying to be fancy or flamboyant. I'm neither of these things either, so maybe that's why I like it so much – we're two peas in a pod.

The synthetic cover is soft and pliable in the hand. In my years of using it, the cover hasn't discolored or worn at all. It sill looks new. Of course, there's an elastic closure and a black ribbon marker to hold your place. The sides of the notebook are completely square, and by that I mean that there aren't groups of pages that are misaligned due to hasty cutting at the shop. From the outside of this book, you can tell that quality was one of the top three requirements.

One thing I don't completely understand is the length of the page marker ribbon. It extends about 4 inches below the book and tends to get in the way when open or closed. My guess is that this can serve as a dual page marker, meaning you can tuck the end into a different place in the book. This is a small quibble, but worth mentioning.

On the inside, the Leuchtturm has a page dedicated to your name and address, a blank page, and then another page that has a pre-printed table of contents. This is really useful, and I know that several people have mentioned that this is really handy when using the Bullet Journal method. The back cover has a sturdy pocket for holding loose pages, which I've never used. Pages 107-121 are perforated.

One of my favorite features is the page numbering. Yes, the Leuchtturm notebooks have the page numbers printed in the bottom corner of each page in a light gray ink. I number all my notebooks, and this is a huge convenience for me.

The book also came with a sheet of stickers that you can place on the front or spine to label the notebook. I haven't used them yet, but plan to once it's full and I store it away for reference. Another cool thing that is included is a ruled card that can be placed behind the blank page so that you can have a rule to follow on the page. I haven't used it, but it's a nice thing to include. I have a plan paper version, and I'm not sure if they include this card with the other types.

Like I said, my notebook has plain paper, but this seems to be slightly difficult to find sometimes. Goulet Pens has a softcover book, but only with lined paper. Amazon has the Large Squared Soft Cover, which I'm sure Brad is all over.

Now, on to the paper.

Writing performance

In my testing, this paper has worked splendidly with every pen and ink I've tried with it. It's an 80g ivory paper, so it's a tad bit thin and allows heavier inks or pens to show through, but I haven't seen any bleed-through. I also haven't seen any feathering or bleeding on the paper.

It's a thin, bright paper that is enjoyable to write on. The paper tends to have a small amount of tooth with some pens, but it's nothing that bothers me. It gives a sense of feedback, which is usually helpful. Any pens that caught a bit more tooth were somewhat scratchy on other papers anyway. Overall, it's an excellent paper.

Being thinner than other papers like Clairefontaine, the dry time is slightly faster. The color and properties of the paper also show what I think of as the "true" color of the inks being used. Some papers make inks appear more or less saturated, which can be annoying.

Overall, this is a fantastic paper. I don't have any complaints.

Wrap up

Leuchtturm 1917 look like Moleskines on the outside, but they're so much better in quality and writing experience that it's not even funny. What is funny, however, is that the Leuchtturm notebooks usually cost a couple of dollars less than Moleskine. Now, if only Leuchtturm were in every major book seller in the states...

If you haven't tried a Leuchtturm book, it's a worthy risk to take. They have larger and smaller sizes, soft and hard covers, as well as different colors.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)

Kokuyo Campus High Grade Notebooks (CYO-BO and MIO) Review

I bought a Kokuyo Campus notebook with CYO-BO paper over a year ago with intentions of reviewing it, but Kokuyo had another plan. I'm not sure when it happened, but they stopped selling the high grade notebooks with the CYO-BO paper. This is a shame, but it looks like they're replaced it with another notebook. The Kokuyo Campus high grade with MIO paper. So, which one is better, and is the MIO worth buying now?

The Similarities

The notebooks both share quite a few similarities. From what I can tell, the only differences are the number of pages in the notebook and what kind of paper they use.

Both notebooks are semi-B5 (9.9x7") and have 7mm ruling with subtle blue-gray lines. There's an area at the top of each page for a title or subject, a number, and the date. Each notebook has 30 lines per page.

A complaint of mine for both notebooks is the binding. It's some sort of glue binding, and it makes it difficult for some of the pages to lay flat, causing some wrinkling in the page that you're trying to write on. This wasn't a huge deal since I could bend and abuse the notebook into submission, but it was an annoyance.

Both papers are archive-safe and acid-free. The MIO notebook has a page at the beginning for your name, subject, etc, while the CYO-BO does not.

I mentioned I didn't like the glue binding, but I am a fan of the shiny silver tape that they use to cover the binding on the outside. Both notebooks have covers that are made of slightly light-weight cardstock. They won't hold up well in a back-pack.

The Differences

The only difference in these notebooks is the paper. In a sentence, the CYO-BO paper is thick and velvety, and the MIO is thin and light. They're both smooth and handle inks extremely well – I haven't noticed any feathering – but the paper weight is a major difference.

The CYO-BO notebook is about twice the thickness as the MIO notebook, even though there's only a 20 sheet difference.

CYO-BO Performance

I'll keep this brief since it's no longer for sale. This is a spectacular paper that handled all of my pens and inks with great ease. No feathering, hardly any show-through, and not much feedback. Great paper. I'll be disappointed when I finish this notebook.

CYO-BO Front

CYO-BO Back

MIO Performance

This is a lovely paper. First touch makes you think of the Tomoe River paper. It's thin, light, and smooth. It's not Tomoe River paper, though. Despite being thin paper, there's no feathering at all. There's a good amount of show-through, but that's to be expected for thin paper. Keep in mind, I'm talking about show-through, not bleed-through. I haven't seen any bleed-through.

The paper feels almost slippery with certain pens. Particularly gel pens – they wanted to slide off the page. I like this effect, but it could take some adjustment. Fountain pens felt great and there is just enough tooth to maintain excellent control of the nib.

Kokuyo explains that the MIO paper stands for "Mobile Ideal Original" paper. I'm not sure what that means, but I can vouch for the quality of the paper.

MIO Front

MIO Back

Conclusion

The Kokuyo Campus high grade MIO notebook is an excellent writing tool. It's extremely thin and handles pens and inks with ease. I love the size of semi-B5, but they also sell A5 for this notebook.

The major cause of hesitancy for me is the paper thickness. Being so thin, there's a good amount of show-through on the back sides of the paper. For me, this means I can't use both sides of the sheet. Effectively, this is a 30-page notebook for me, unless I use gel pens that are less than 0.5mm or pencils. Given the price, I don't think this is a good value. Still, it's fun to try and experience the silky smooth paper. Hopefully, Kokuyo will keep this notebook around for a while longer.

JetPens offers the MIO notebooks with blue and red accents in B5 or A5, and as bundles.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)