The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 116 - Scribbled Out

The Pen Addict Podcast is back - now on Relay FM!

As much as I enjoyed my podcasting travels during our brief hiatus it was even better to get back behind the mic with Myke. We cover the network move, cool new products, and dig into the latest on the Kickstarter front, including the infamous Scribble.

Show Notes & Download Links

Myke and I have two big favors to ask with the move. One, if you subscribed to the podcast previously you are going to need to resubscribe in your favorite podcast app. We attempted to keep the feed the same but it didn't work out. Two, since the podcast has essentially been reset from an iTunes perspective, we lost all of our previous ratings and reviews. If you can spare a moment and leave a rating and/or review it would be greatly appreciated!

Starting next Tuesday at 5:30 pm Eastern Myke and I will be back to our normal recording schedule. As a bonus, we will have a live chatroom for this, and all other Relay FM shows! I'm very excited about this so stay tuned to (Twitter on the day we record for any schedule changes.

It was a great launch and I'm jonesing for more. Thank you for all of your support!

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Podcast.

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.