Black n' Red Notebook Review

The Black n’ Red notebook line from Hamelin, which is a part of Oxford, is a simple, no-frills book that delivers decent quality at an outstanding price.

I’ve had a Black n’ Red notebook in my possession since 2009. I think I bought the first one at Target. This was a time before I was a Registered Pen Addict (RPA) and didn’t know or care about paper quality. I thought it looked unique, so I bought it. I still think the notebook look unique, and I’m attracted to the simple black and red design. It’s the composition notebook of the Moleskine class, if you will.

Specs

The Black n’ Red notebook I have is pretty average. It’s an A5 sized notebook with 96 pages (192 sheets) of white, lined paper. The lines are gray, which is awesome, and they’re about 7.5mm apart. This is perfect for my handwriting, which is on the medium to large side. In American terms, this spacing size is very similar to college ruled paper.

A nice feature of the paper is the 24 lb weight, which contributes to the nice feel and accommodating behavior toward all sorts of pen inks.

The front cover contains a calendar and dates table, and a table of contents on the first page. The back cover has a US map and a few of the more popular public transit maps. I’ll be honest, I’ve never referred to the maps, but they’re interesting to look at.

According to the Black n’ Red site, the notebook is “casebound.” This is my first time to stumble across this term, and I wasn’t really sure what it meant. A little research led me to this definition: “bound by gluing sewn sheets into a separately made cover.” So, very similar to lots of other hardcover notebooks.

The hard cover is very unique because of the color scheme. The front and back are black with a heavy texture, and the spine is red. There’s also a small red ribbon for holding a place in the notebook, naturally.

Feel and Performance

The paper is smooth and quiet. Every pen I’ve tried with this notebook glides with ease and hardly makes a noise. It took me a while to notice, but some papers are noisier than others. I like the quiet nature of this paper.

Bleeding and show-through are almost non-existent. Of course, the ink will vary. You can see in my samples that the paper does a great job of preserving the lines.

A major downside for this paper is the dry time. Since the paper is thick and not super absorbant, it takes a while to dry. For me, this means I have to wait a few minutes before closing the book if I want to avoid getting ink spots on the opposite page. For left-handed writers, I’m sure this is a much larger issue. I would expect lots of smearing and smudges.

Another general comment I have repeatedly had about this notebook is it is very stubborn about laying flat. It requires a heavy hand to keep the pages down and the notebook flat. It won’t entirely close on itself, but it tries. The good news is that even though I have to apply some “tough love” to the binding, it doesn’t really show any signs of wear. It’s resilient, and that’s great.

Overall, this is a great general notebook. It’s not the best out there, and it can hardly shake a stick at a Rhodia book, but I can also buy 3 of these for the same price. They also offer a larger A4 version as well as spiral bound versions.

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

Ink Links

-- Changes in Hand Writing (East...West...Everywhere)

-- Zait Jerusalem Olive Wood Fountain Pen (No Pen Intended)

-- Word Notebooks Blue Floral Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- Wahl Eversharp Wahlberry Ink Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Pilot Capless - 1963 - C-600MW (Crónicas Estilográficas) - I rarely editorialize my links but Bruno is starting a series to document all of the models in the 50 year history of the Pilot Capless model. The link above is the first in what is going to be an amazing project that will eventually spawn its own website.

-- nu: World – A5 Tradie Wiro Notebook (Informal Scribble)

-- Custom Notebooks Hand Crafted by imakenotebooks.com (OfficeSupplyGeek)

-- Handicraft with Bleistift IV – epic fail (Bleistift)

-- Review: Zebra nuSpiral 0.7mm Ballpoint Pen - Teal (Gourmet Pens)

-- Pilot Matte Black Vanishing Point Review (I Laike Pens)

-- OSD: Tricked-out Notebook update (Playing White Noise)

-- Ink Review: Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün (A Penchant for Paper)

-- Namiki Blue (Inkdependence!)

-- TWSBI Vac 700 Fountain Pen Review (Write to Me Often)

-- Golden Bear #2 HB Pencil by Palomino (The Daily Carry)

-- Blue Monday: A comparison of six excellent blue inks (A fool with a pen)

-- Philadelphia Pen Show (That One Pen)

-- Sitting Pretty: ACME “Eames Chairs” Rollerball (From the Pen Cup)

-- My BIC Collection (My Supply Room)

-- Levenger L-Tech Stealth fountain pen review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Sky High - Sailor Jentle Ink Review (Ink of Me Fondly)

-- Vintage Pen Review: ca. 1929 Parker Lady Duofold “Lucky Curve” (The Pen Habit)

-- rOtring Lava Multipen Review (The Clicky Post)

-- Inktastic: Kaweco carribean Turquoise Ink (The Pencil Case Blog)

-- My Flexible Common-Place Notebook Journaling System (Atramental Otaku)

-- Levenger Sunset Handwritten Review (Inktronics)

-- Stationery Store Series: Boesner of Dusseldorf (Palimpsest)

Yasutomo Y&C Stylist Gel Ink Pen Review

Yasutomo was a brand I was not familiar with until JetPens started stocking a few of their pens last year. They originally started out in the 1950's as an importer/exporter of Japanese and American goods between the two countries and later got in to designing their own products, such as this Y&C Stylist Gel.

While the Violet gel ink color looks nice on the page, there aren't too many other positives to be taken away from this pen. The design leans very much towards the Pentel R.S.V.P. and is right in the same price range. That's not a knock on the Stylist Gel per se, but if you are looking for innovation you are going to have to look elsewhere.

The writing experience is poor as well. The tip is scratchy and there is a persistent clicking sound when writing. There is also a sharp plastic ridge near the grip area of the pen. If you grip too low it will dig into your fingers and become uncomfortable.

You aren't going to go broke trying the Y&C Stylist Gel but I would pass and go for that extra cup of coffee the next time you are out.