What if you took the popular Kokuyo Jibun Techo and made it smaller? That’s exactly what the Kokuyo Jibun Techo Lite Diary 2020 is. All the goodness of the A5 Jibun Techo in a B6 format. It’s the pinnacle portable planner! I have one to give away, in the Light Pink color seen above, so read the rules below and enter away!
Diamine Inkvent Calendar Day 16
(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
So . . . I still haven’t sent Christmas cards out to anyone. Partly, I’ve just been too busy with finals and grading. But the main reason I procrastinate on Christmas cards is I feel like I should include a fancy newsletter of all the great things the family has done this year. Then I get intimidated by how much work that will be. By the time I talk myself into just sending cards without a newsletter it’s pretty late in December. . . or it’s January.
Season’s Greetings is today’s ink. This ink is a nice reminder that it’s high time to get those Christmas cards written if you’re going to do them at all. I’m not sure what to think of this color. It looks like a murky purple with greenish edges in my swab on the Col-o-ring card, whereas the writing looks magenta because this ink contains lots of sheen.
The actual ink color comes out on white Rhodia paper: surprise! It’s dark teal! I’m not sure how to explain this other than that the Col-o-ring card seems to absorb more ink than Rhodia paper. This means that the magenta sheen predominates on the more absorbent Col-o-ring card, and the teal ink color predominates on the less absorbent Rhodia paper. Regardless, this ink is quite interesting.
I love sheen inks, and I find this one to be especially pretty. Just be aware that the paper you use will determine whether the teal or the sheeny magenta will be most apparent.
(Cult Pens provided the Diamine Inkvent Calendar to Pen Addict free of charge for review purposes.)
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Lamy A5 Hardbound Notebook Review
It’s pretty good!
I didn’t have high hopes for the new Lamy Notebook when I decided to pick one up during my visit to Dromgoole’s, but I figured why not? At a minimum, it looked great, and I’m sure if nothing else, pencils would work just fine in it. It’s better than that, without question.
In my first round of pen and inks tests, the Lamy Notebook held up admirably. Fountain pen inks in various nib sizes displayed no feathering or bleed, gel and ballpoint pens were easy to use, and even rollerball ink performed well. There is some ghosting, so the backside of the page may be out, but the paper handled everything I threw at it in respectable fashion.
That said, I could see those who enjoy wide, wet nibs having some issues with feathering. This is an uncoated page, similar to Leuchtturm1917. With that comes a faster dry time, but it displays less of the inks characteristics. For maximum shading and sheeting from your inks, you will want to look elsewhere.
For everyday writing? I think the Lamy Notebook is a good choice. Nib to my head, I’d still pick the aforementioned Leuchtturm for my own use, but it’s close.
There is only one ruling option for it at this time, appropriately called “Lamy ruling.” It’s a grid + lines combo, with a 4 mm grid and a line every two blocks, for an 8 mm spacing between lines. 4 mm is fine for my regular writing, but using every 4 mm line is too tight. I’d find 5 mm grid / 10 mm line, or 4 mm / 12 mm a more useful layout for me. As it currently stands, this is basically a lined notebook, albeit a great looking one.
I think there is something here. It is difficult to stand out in the notebook market, and while I personally like the Lamy Notebook, it’s only a middle of the pack option when it comes to A5 hardbound notebooks. It looks like they are putting some effort into it, and hopefully that commitment leads to growth in the product.
One final thought I had about this notebook as it relates to the bigger picture: Why don’t all pen companies have their own flagship notebook? I’m looking at you Japanese big three. Everybody has ink, why not notebooks?
(I purchased this product at a discount from Dromgooles.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
