Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Elemental Paper "Oxygen" Notebook Review

*Full-sized image* *here. The page on the left is the back of the page written in green above.*

This is a bit of a throwback review. When I first started the blog, the handwritten portion of the review was key. I wanted to be sure to show the ink and paper in action. For my Elemental Paper review, I wanted to direct my focus on ink and paper because there have been issues with some of the notebooks.

I had no issues using my wettest fountain pens on the page. No bleed, feathering, or ghosting to speak of. Kelli had the exact opposite experience. I can only review the product I have in hand, and mine is great. If I had Kelli's, it would be terrible - at least for fountain pens.

I linked to the original full-sized images above so you can get an up close look if you are interested. Pictures are worth 1000 words in this case.

(Disclosure: This notebook was my backer reward from the Kickstarter project, which I paid full price for.)

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Elemental Paper, Notebook Reviews.

The William Hannah Pocket Notebook: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Long ago I reviewed my first William Hannah notebook--an A5 notebook in Agave and Petrol. I still adore that notebook, and I’ll be posting an article in November describing how I’m using it with the new Daily Intentions filler pages.

Because I love my A5, I decided to purchase a William Hannah pocket notebook in Whiskey and Kingfisher.

It only took about one week for my new pocket notebook to arrive from England. One thing I absolutely love about William Hannah products is the exquisite packaging. My pocket notebook arrived in a sturdy cardboard box with a hinge opening.

Inside, my pocket notebook was wrapped in William Hannah tissue paper.

The three pocket notebooks that come with the order were also neatly packaged in textured card stock.

I realize it’s just packaging, but there’s something special about the care with which each William Hannah product is presented. You can tell that someone (namely David Round, the owner) lovingly hand wrapped each piece.

The pocket notebook, like all other WH notebooks, is beautifully designed. The leather on the outer cover is smooth and gorgeous. The stainless steel WH button adds a touch of flair to the cover, and the stitching is immaculate. The William Hannah England imprint is subtle and tasteful.

The leather is luxuriously thick and soft to the touch. Not only is there an outer and inner leather cover, there’s also a suede lining.

For a pocket notebook, the William Hannah is pretty large, measuring 150mm (H) x 105mm (W) x 29mm (D). So, while it might fit in large pockets, it probably won’t fit in most shirt or pants pockets. I carry it in my backpack.

Inside, you’ll find two slots for cards (credit or otherwise). In addition, there’s an elastic pen holder which is removable, though I don’t know what you might put in its place.

Along with the notebook, you choose three pocket notebooks measuring 90mm x 140mm (3½ inches × 5½ inches). Each one has a textured card stock cover in a variety of color choices. In addition, you can choose from plain, lined, grid, and dot grid paper. I chose a lined notebook in Tabriz; a grid notebook in Cobalt; and a dot grid notebook in Mandarin.

William Hannah paper is amazing. It is a beautiful, pure white paper, and it is thick (100 gsm). Although I love Tomoe River paper, there’s something to be said for good, thick, white paper if you don’t want any show through.

I tested my notebook with fountain pens, and the paper held up beautifully. I encountered no bleeding or snagging, and the tiny bit of show through was too minimal to photograph.

I also did swabs. Once again, the paper performed perfectly. Even with thick swabs of ink, there wasn’t enough show through to photograph.

I practiced some calligraphy with Sumi ink, and the paper handled that easily.

Finally, I tried various writing instruments from rollerballs and ballpoints to highlighters and a Sharpie. Only the Sharpie exhibited show through, but that’s to be expected. And, honestly, I was surprised how little of the Sharpie ink /bled/ through the paper.

William Hannah notebooks are extraordinary. Nevertheless, there are a couple of weaknesses.

First, William Hannah notebooks do not have a closure system. This is not a deal-breaker for me, as I mainly use my A5 at home and keep my pocket notebook in my school backpack. However, this is, perhaps, /the/ main (if only) complaint people have about the WH notebooks. I tried using an extra elastic from one of my Travelers Notebooks as a closure. It’s a potential solution, but I think it mars the beautiful simplicity of the notebook.

Second, the pen loop is fairly small. Even though it’s elastic and will stretch to accommodate thick pens, you have to keep in mind the limitations of the notebook’s size. Thick pens make it more difficult to keep the notebook closed, and long pens can extend beyond the notebook’s borders. I decided to keep my Caran d’Ache Nespresso Ballpoint Pen in my WH Pocket Notebook. It’s the perfect size and length.

I’ve not found any notebook that comes close to the quality of William Hannah’s products. Of course, you do pay a premium for these notebooks. My pocket notebook was 79 pounds (approximately $102 plus shipping from England). I think it’s totally worth the price, considering the quality of the leather, the craftsmanship, the many color choices (both for the outer cover and inner suede lining), and the excellent paper in the pocket notebooks.

(I purchased the William Hannah Pocket Notebook with my own funds.)

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Posted on October 5, 2018 by Susan Pigott and filed under William Hannah, Notebook Reviews.

Mark's HiBi Weekly Notebook Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Mark's HiBi Weekly notebook is a small spiral notebook that spreads your entire week on a single page, making it easy to plan events and tasks for each day. Unlike a lot of weekly or daily planners, this one features a wide landscape orientation, and also sports a back cover that allows the notebook to stand up on its own so you can easily reference the planner on your desk.

At 8.3 x 4.6 inches, it's a familiar size. It's a bit smaller than an A5 notebook, which makes it easy to store and transport, but also allowing enough room on the page for an entire week. While it's great that the full week is available on every page, that's where this notebook causes me trouble. Due to the small size, I've had trouble using the notebook since I don't normally write super small. Even if I do write incredibly small, there still isn't much room for me to add meetings, appointments, and tasks for each day without everything feeling incredibly cramped. At first glance, it looked like a great format. After using it for a week, I was a bit disappointed.

For me, the functionality was a flop, but what about the build quality? The notebook features a top-bound twin spiral ring that seems rugged, but can be difficult to turn pages without getting stuck. The chipboard that makes up the front and back covers are incredibly strong, and I have no doubt they'll stand up to a great deal of abuse. The kickstand on the back cover is a novel idea, but it does add bulk to the notebook when it's closed and laying flat. If you're using it to stand up the notebook, it works great.

Once you get to the paper, the build quality starts to decline. The paper has a smooth feel that's pleasant to write on, and it's thin without feeling fragile. I also haven't seen any feathering when using different pens on this paper, which is a good sign. However, the show-through on the opposite page is significant. Even with a micro-tip gel pen, there's almost too much show-through to use the back page. And since every page has a front and a back, that poses a significant problem. The Schmidt P8126 and fountain pen inks caused the most show-through, but the only option that hasn't caused some sort of show-through is pencil. I was disappointed by this attribute of the paper, because it's pleasant to use if you discount the show-through property.

Unfortunately, this notebook didn't mesh with my daily routine or writing style. It could potentially be fixed by removing a lot of the lines that create the feeling of cramped writing space, but fitting seven days of information on a single sheet is always a tall order. This might work great for some people with specific use cases, but it just didn't hold up for me. That, together with the paper quality and problematic spiral binding, ultimately makes this notebook difficult to recommend unless you can think of specific uses that will suite your needs.

The model used in this review is orange, but that color isn't currently available on JetPens. Today, they offer blue, pink, and yellow, and each notebook is just under $10.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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