The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 372 - We Used To Budget

Remember that time I used to have a budget for pen shows? Good times. Do as I say, not as I do, kids! Myke and I try to instill our special brand of wisdom on a first-time pen show-goer this week, and first-time guest on the podcast. You will definitely want to check this one out!

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

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Posted on August 15, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Podcast.

Kaweco Frosted Sport Mechanical Pencil 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. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

Kaweco has a gift for simplicity and the simple Frosted Sport Mechanical Pencil is the perfect illustration of that. There's nothing fancy or complicated about it. You remove the end cap to insert a piece of lead or two, pop the cap back on, click it, and write. There aren't any extra moving parts or gadgets--all it does is pencil, and it does it well.

It lacks an eraser, but I prefer to use a separate eraser, rather than have a proprietary refill that I have to stockpile. Still, that could be a deal-breaker for some.

The pencil is the same size and plastic material as the Kaweco Sport fountain pen, and this one matches my lovely frosted lime pen. It's chunky, but lightweight, and very comfortable to hold and write with. It has a steel tip cone and logo on the end cap, and the Kaweco brand engraved in silver paint on the body. The nose cone does not retract at all, but it's not as delicate or stabby as the narrow lead tubes on other pencils. It's more like the tip of a rollerball pen. The lead can be retracted by holding the button down and pushing the lead in.

Inside the pencil, there's a narrow tube to hold the lead refill. It's only wide enough for a piece or maybe two, so keep extras nearby if you go through lead quickly. The lead that it comes with is very nice to use. It's smooth and soft, but doesn't break easily. It can be dark with pressure, but shades well. the regular writing line is a bit pale, toward the middle of its greyscale. You can refill it with any .7mm lead you prefer, though, and JetPens has a handful to choose from.

The pencil does not come with a clip, but Kaweco sells separate clips that slide onto their pens and pencils. These work fairly well, but can come loose or scratch the plastic. I do worry about the durability of the plastic, but I have other Kaweco Sports that have been heartily knocked around with no consequence.

Overall, I've really enjoyed using this pencil. My only real complaint? It doesn't fit behind my ear! I need some sort of Kaweco headband to strap pens and pencils to for the days I have no pockets.

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

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Posted on August 15, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Kaweco, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Maruman Mnemosyne A4 Project Notepad Review

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

In my mind, the Maruman Mnemosyne products are the epitome of high-quality stationery in the office, but you don't need a fancy office job to benefit from the great features of this notepad. Look at all the space you have to work on the page with this Mnemosyne N187A Project notepad! With exceptional paper quality, equally exceptional build quality, and an accessible price, this large pad is an exceptional value.

Let's start with the specifications. This notepad is an A4-sized (12.4 x 8.3 inches) top-bound book with 70 pages of smooth 80gsm paper. The specific variant I'm using is the 5mm graph paper with a section at the top for the date and some notes on the subject or title. The front of each page is filled with the light-gray graph lines, but the back of each page is blank, allowing you some additional options if you need to write on the back or plan out some larger diagrams without the graph lines getting in the way. The top is bound with staples and glue, and each page is perforated along the top for a perfect tear-out each time. The front and back of the notebook is covered with a lightweight cardstock, and the front cover has some pre-made folds to make folding the front back an easy task.

When first using the notebook, the first page is a single yellow piece of paper that contains some Mnemosyne branding. After tearing this sheet out, there's a small, thin line of yellow above the perforation line. This line adds a really nice pop of color at the top of the page for the rest of the notebook's life, and I really appreciate Mnemosyne's attention to detail and decision to make this first page a pleasant yellow color. It really goes nicely with all the white and black that this notepad exudes.

Writing in this notepad is exactly like writing in any other Mnemosyne notebook — the paper is the exact same, and that's an excellent compliment. The paper is smooth with very slight feedback, and it takes fountain pen inks perfectly. I've never had any issues with feathering or bleeding, though the 80gsm paper does show through more than I'd like. It's not quite as nice as Rhodia or Clairefontaine paper in this respect — much closer to the normal Leuchtturm paper — but it's still an excellent paper. Just note that if you tend to use the back pages of notepad paper, you should stick with smaller nibs and drier inks with this paper. But, if you just want to use the front sides of the pages, you can use any ink and pen combination you like with no fear of anything bleeding onto the next page.

The large size of this A4 pad also provides plenty of space for writing, sketching, brainstorming, mind-mapping, and anything else that lends itself well to large area thinking. I've really enjoyed using this pad to take notes and think out ideas. The top-bound legal pad design also fills a certain niche as well, since most legal pads are pretty bad when it comes to playing nicely with fountain pen inks.

Overall, the Maruman Mnemosyne N187A project notepad is a fantastic notepad that features smooth and resilient paper, a strong binding with perfect perforations, and a classy and strong cover that keeps a low profile. This notepad fits in well across the board, no matter your use. At around $17, it's still a pretty good value considering the level of quality and number of sheets. As long as you like graph paper, this will suite you well. If you want something other than graph paper, you'll have to look elsewhere, unfortunately. There are also several other size and format options in the same line, so be sure to check those out if this A4 notepad isn't quite your bag.

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

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