Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Kunisawa Find Sticky Memo and Block Memo Pad Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

I often see Pen Addicts across the globe in search of sticky notes and memo pads with fountain pen-friendly paper. Well, hey, here's some good news: Kunisawa has recently released these memo pads, and they're the best I've used to date when it comes to liquid inks. They aren't perfect--if you've got a firehose of a broad nib with lubricated ink, you're still going to get feathering and show-through, maybe some pinpoint bleed-through, but for your typical usage, these work great.

Both pads are A7 size, or roughly 3 x 4 inches. Small enough to fit in a pocket, but large enough for a note of substance. The memo pad features 80 pages of perforated 2.5 mm grid paper. It's a lovely cream color with very fine grey printed grid lines that are not too obtrusive but also work well as writing guides.

The sticky notes are plain cream paper, also 80 pages. The adhesive is strong, so your notes will stay put, but it doesn't leave a gluey residue behind. There is some coating present, of course, so that the notes will stick to each other--so when I wrote with fountain pen along the top edge of a note, it beaded a bit, but it still wrote and the ink didn't smear at all. The sticky note pad also has snazzy copper foiled edges, so the world will know that your note is super important.

Both pads have a sturdy grey cardboard cover with the Kunisawa motto, "i do not seek, i find" debossed inside. The front cover has the Kunisawa brand and three-legged crow, "Yatagarasu" the god of guidance, stamped in copper foil. The whole effect is minimal but elegant and perfectly embodies the upscale business accessories vibe that Kunisawa embraces.

Despite that upscale look, the prices are reasonable. The sticky pad costs 900 yen (about $8) and the memo pad is 350 yen (about $3). It's a lot more than a pack of Post-it notes, sure, but the notes are much bigger and the paper is much, much better. They're certainly not priced for student use, or even frequent willy-nilly-notetaker use, but if you've got a snazzy business office in need of snazzy accessories, these should fit the bill. Or if you just really, really need pen-friendly memo notes. And who doesn't, right?

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

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Posted on November 15, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Kunisawa, Notebook Reviews.

Leuchtturm 1917 Softcover Composition Notebook Review

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

Over the past five years or so, I've collected numerous Leuchtturm notebooks of various sizes, colors, and paper types. I'm a big fan of the notebooks and use them as part of my job to take notes and keep on top of projects. Despite owning several and having almost an entire shelf dedicated to full notebooks, I've never tried their Composition notebook.

The Composition notebook is a softcover notebook that's a bit larger than the standard A5 notebooks they offer. Leuchtturm calls it a Slim B5, and that's a perfect description. It's a 10" x 7" notebook with all the niceties you've come to expect from Leuchtturm. As far as I can tell, the only thing missing in these notebooks is the inclusion of a "Date" line at the top of each page. Instead, each page is simply full-bleed dots, lines, or plain paper.

The soft cover is also a really nice touch considering the size of this notebook. I can imagine that a hardcover book might be a bit harder to handle and pack than the malleable softcover on the Composition notebook, and I'm already a big fan of the A5 softcover notebooks.

With 121 sheets, there's plenty of space to write, draw, doodle, and dream for quite a while. The paper is the standard 80 gsm that you'll find in any Leuchtturm notebook, and it handles different ink types fairly well. Fountain pens with larger nibs do tend to show through a bit on the back of the page, but it's not so bad as to prevent me from using the back page for most things. As far as bleeding and feathering, I've never had any issues with that regardless of pen and ink combo.

As you might expect, the Composition book also has a convenient pair of ribbon bookmarks that are color coordinated with the cover, and you also have a matching elastic closure band to keep the notebook closed when not in use.

Leuchtturm also includes a large pocket in the back that contains an assortment of label stickers and some literature about the brand. I normally store this stuff in the back pocket in case I need it, but you could certainly toss them if you don't think they'll be useful for you.

The front of the notebook contains a front page for you to write your personal information, and it also contains a few pages for a table of contents or an index based on the page numbers. And yes, all the pages are numbered in this notebook, making it easy to keep track of where things are.

Another thing I love about this notebook is the number of options you have when purchasing one. You have an assortment of colors to decide on, and you also have your pick of plain, dotted, or ruled paper with each color. The best way to view all the available colors is to check online, but you can usually find Black, Anthracite, Pink, Nordic Blue, Navy, Orange, Army, Azure, Berry, Emerald, Fresh Green, Ice Blue, Red, and Sand. Phew. What a list.

Finally, at just under $24, the Composition notebook is a great value considering the size, paper quality, and page count. These are high-quality notebooks that will suite you well, regardless of what your pen of choice happens to be this month. If you're in the market for a larger notebook, you can't go wrong with the Leuchtturm1917 Softcover Composition notebook.

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

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Posted on November 14, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Leuchtturm, Notebook Reviews.

illo Sketchbook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

I could tell as soon as I opened the packaging that the illo Sketchbook was pretty snazzy. Far too snazzy for my poor art skills. Fortunately, I live with a talented artist who was willing to put this book through thorough tests.

The sketchbook has a hard cover with a faux leather feel and the brand name subtly debossed on it. The color is a charcoal gray, which looks nice with the silky blue bookmark ribbon. There is an elastic band closure and a pocket in the back to hold any loose scraps of paper.

The sketchbook comes in two sizes: 8 x 8 or 10 x 10--both are square, designed to allow easy posting to apps like Instagram without having to crop anything out of the picture.

The binding is sewn and it lies perfectly flat with no training or spine-bending necessary. Even the first few pages lie flat right out of the package. I've seen some very fancy notebooks fail that test, so I was quite impressed with the binding.

There are 112 pages of 122 lb/180 gsm super white paper. The paper is not acid free, so I would hesitate to recommend it for professional artists, but it should be fine for student artists, especially if they'd be practicing with a wide variety of media.

This paper did well with pencil, colored pencil, markers, and one of the heaviest applications of paint I've seen in a while. The thick paper didn't even flinch, even when black paint was spread all across the back page of an illustration with a light blue watercolor wash. From the front, the peaceful island bird has no idea that one page over lies the deep black of space and the burning inferno of our sun.

The paper is coated, so there may be some longer dry time for wet media, and powdery pigments may smear a bit if you're not careful. The product is aimed at students who may need that versatility in function, rather than an artist who specializes in one form of media and needs paper that's engineered to that specific purpose.

And the price is aimed at students, too. The 8 x 8 notebook is only $16.75, and the 10 x 10 is $24.99. There are less expensive sketchbooks, but illo wanted to provide top quality at a reasonable price, and I think they've come pretty close. If the paper was acid-free, I'd be recommending it for everyone--I think that's an oversight on their part. But the build is very good and the versatility is great. I think it will continue to hold up to my resident artist's abuses and it will make a nice keepsake to showcase his fabulous talent.

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

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