Tuesday Toolset, Desk Pad Edition

I have my own desk space in the house, but it isn’t - and never has been - a great workspace. I’ve been working on it over the past month to be more useful, starting by adding a monitor, mouse, and mousepad to use with my laptop. The additional screen real estate is exactly what I was looking for, and is allowing me to use my desk for actual work, not just storage of things.

Since this tiny transition took place, my desk has been my work home, as opposed to the couch or a chair, and therefore, I’ve been putting a few desk notepads to use. Here are my favorites:

— Nock Co. DotDash Spiral Pad: BIAS ALERT! Yes, this is a product I helped design for a company I am part owner of, so it should be exactly what I want in a notepad. It is, and is a favorite of many others as well. Graph is my favorite page layout, and the top-bound spiral perforated page handles all pens and inks well.

— Rhodia DotPad Notepad No. 16 A5: A5 is the best desk notebook size, and top-bound is the best binding. Rhodia makes some of the best fountain pen paper, so if that is your primary pen use, then this pad should be on your radar. I’ve burned through several of the DotPad version, although I’m currently using the Ice Pad. This is one case I prefer dot over grid, and will be moving back to the DotPad once done.

— Studio Neat Pano Book: Need a wrist rest for your keyboard? Need more vertical space to take notes or sketch? The Panobook is your favorite A5 pad, turned up to 11. The form and feel of this notebook is unique, and one of my favorites. I tend to use it in portrait mode for drawing, and landscape mode for reviews.

— Life Writing Bank Paper A5 Pad: I’m not always a fancy man, but when I’m feeling it, I reach for Life Bank Paper. It’s not cheap, and not everyone’s favorite, but it has a certain air about it that I appreciate.

I’m living that top-bound life for my desk notebooks, although I could be talked into a few side-bound spiral notebooks where I can fold the cover all the way around the back easily. Hard cover notebooks need not apply.

Sailor Manyo Yamabuki Fountain Pen Ink Giveaway

The new Sailor Manyo fountain pen inks were on my radar at the Philadelphia Pen Show, and I was able to pick some up (Disclosure: at a discount) from Dromgoole’s. Yamabuki was at the top of the list, with its interesting yellow/orange color. I have one bottle to give away to readers, so read the rules below and enter away.

Sailor Manyo Yamabuki Fountain Pen Ink Giveaway

Rotring 800 Lead Holder Review

(This is a guest post by Nick Folz. You can find more of Nick and his work on his blog, Smallberry Drive, Twitter, and Instagram.)

The Rotring 800 2mm Lead Holder is a master class in minimalism. It’s a knock advance instead of a clutch/drop system, it has no built in sharpener, there is no grade indicator. A case could easily be made against it, especially when grading on specs alone. Comparing this model against a Rotring Rapid Pro 2mm, or a Staedtler 925-35 would be a difficult sell. Both of those models are cheaper and are very fine lead holders, and on paper it is easy to write off the 800 as an expensive oddity. But line them up on a desk and I will pick up the 800 every time. Finesse, build quality, and design are one hell of a factor in person.

The 800 series has had a bit of a troubled past for Rotring, the early versions of the mechanical pencil entries (.5mm and .7mm) have a retractable lead sleeve. Lots of reviewers complained about this mechanism breaking lead internally, making the cleaning of it (which was never fun or easy) a near routine.

The 2mm model has no such sleeve, thank goodness. One of my favorite things about lead holders is their innate pocket friendly nature, which also cuts down on “whiz-bang” gimmicks like sliding sleeves and moving parts. I’m not bad mouthing features like those, I have a Rapid Pro .7mm that I LOVE because of it (Some of my best friends have sliding sleeves), but I also like the utilitarian nature of a stripped down tool.

That predisposition might explain a lot about why I love this pencil. It is everything it needs to be and nothing it’s not. No grade indicator, no tiny sharpener, the fanciest thing this pencil has is a clip, but that clip is substantial. Every part of this little machine is substantial. It is made entirely of metal and the parts do not shake or jiggle. It is machined perfection. Taking the 800 apart is not unlike a ritual, placing the finely designed parts and arranging them is a thing of beauty. Do all the parts need to be metal? No. Does it make a difference that they are? Yes.

The weight is nice, it has a heft to it that helps when writing or drawing for extended periods. If you like a lighter pencil then I would recommend the above mentioned Staedtler, which is aluminum. The brass construction of the 800 gives it that extra weight that I prefer in a drawing utensil. If someone asks to borrow a writing utensil it is an instant conversation piece. One co-worker has bought one for herself and others as gifts for friends and family.

The shape of the outer body is my favorite thing about this pencil. The hexagon body with circular knurled grip sections mix form and design in a symphony of utilitarian style. Rotring’s own Rapid Pro has a similar design but the hex shape isn’t as pronounced and the edges don’t extend past the circumference of the grip sections, so they don’t have the same effect, in aesthetics or function, as the 800. The hard edged middle hex section recalls the history of wood case pencils in a nice visual tribute, but the design also achieves that which was the point of the original design: it keeps the pencil from rolling around. I’m speaking plenty of sugar here, but when something about a design looks cool and adds to the function of the item, I swoon a bit.

Writing and drawing with the 800 is a pleasure. I use a softer lead, 2B, and the added weight of the pencil makes it very comfortable and the lead just glides across the page with little effort. My drawing style usually hides my love of lead: I pencil first, then lightly erase, ink, then erase again to hide all of the sloppy planning lines. I’ve tried to break myself of this and leave the planning pencil marks in on a few pieces. I like the overall look, but I mainly enjoy leaving the part the pencil played in the final product.

If you aren’t sure about lead holders and want to try one out, don’t let this one be your first choice.

If you have one lead holder that floats around your pen case, surfacing every now and again and you think “Oh yea, I should use that more,” only to grab a wood case pencil or a .5mm mechanical pencil instead, don’t buy another one.

If you have a few lead holders, have several packs of 2mm lead in various grades cluttering up your desk, have a lead smudged writing hand, and are looking for one lead holder to rule them all? DING DING DING DING. You found it.

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

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