Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Yamamoto Ro-Biki Notebook Cover Review

Yamamoto Paper has been a fun entrant into the stationery world over the past few years. CEO Taizo Yamamoto has transformed what was once a traditional, family-owned, paper wholesaler in Osaka, Japan, into a fun and functional stationery manufacturer with a wide range of retail products available.

I first met Taizo when he brought his Paper Tasting sampler to the San Francisco Pen Show in 2017. Listening to him talk about how important finding the right paper for every user is was eye opening, but not quite as eye opening as all of the paper he brought that I had never seen, much less experienced, before.

Shortly after my introduction to the loose sheet wonder that Paper Tasting is, Yamamoto Paper launched a bound notebook called the Ro-Biki Notebook. Two things set this notebook apart: The wax coated paper cover, and the dimensions.

We have reviewed the Ro-Biki notebook before (twice, in fact) and they have proven to surprise and delight even the biggest skeptics of the format. It is a tall, skinny notebook that makes you wonder “What am I going to do with this thing?” right up until the point you get it in your hands, feel the cover and watch it wear, and handle every pen, pencil, and ink you throw at it with ease. They are truly excellent notebooks.

Needless to say, I am a fan of the company and the product. And, when I first saw pictures of their new Ro-Biki Notebook Covers I knew I had to get it.

Seeing it in pictures I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it has a lot going on in what seems like a simple cover. First off, it folds open in the middle, allowing you to slide the notebook cover into a side pocket, book cover style. You can fit multiple A5 slim notebooks into the middle section (including Traveler’s Notebooks.)

The front cover doubles as a zip pouch, allowing you to stash pens, pencils, and accessories along with you. It can hold quite a lot, but I wouldn’t overstuff it you write on the back side of the notebook pages, as those will lay on top of the uneven surface of the pouch when writing.

The exterior cover is what I haven’t quite figured out yet. The back of the cover has a built-in full-width pocket than runs approximately 2/3 of the depth of the case. The front features the same, but it is split vertically in a 1/4, 3/4 fashion. The 1/4 side it a perfect pen pocket, but there is already a pen pouch included. And I’m not sure what accessories, notebooks, or loose sheets I would trust to the wider openings on the front and back.

There is an elastic book band that helps keep it all in check, but I’m not sure how useful it is. It does look great, making it more form over function for me. And I’m not sure why this color is called Gray - it’s definitely more of a Khaki to me.

This is a highly specific cover for a highly specific notebook, both of which I can get behind. If you are a fan of the brand, like I am, then you will enjoy the full Ro-Biki Note setup that this product offers.

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

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Posted on December 23, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Yamamoto, Ro-Biki, Notebook Reviews.

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.)

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Posted on December 16, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Lamy, Notebook Reviews.

Life Bank Paper Review

What is bank paper? According to Merriam-Webster:

“a thin strong paper similar to but lighter than bond paper and commonly used for business letterheads”

Bank paper products, such as this A5 Life Writing Paper, have begun to appear more frequently in our world, mainly because it lives up to the definition above. The paper is thin, durable, and can handle almost any ink or graphite well.

This Life Bank Paper pad has been recommended to me many times, and I took way too long to acquire it. It is downright excellent. It features a light ivory color page with the slightest bit of texture and feedback. The 100 pages are glue bound in an A5 size, which make it perfect for letter writing. This is a pad that will be empty when you are done with it, not kept like a spiral bound pad.

I mostly wanted to test fountain pen inks on it, and I’m happy to say they work well. There is no feathering or bleed to speak of, even when I laid down heavy swabs of ink on the page. All nibs feel smooth on it, even though you can feel the texture of the paper. It’s a very light texture, and I didn’t feel it was detrimental, even when using my finest nibs.

The dry time was also decent. This isn’t a glossy page like Rhodia, so I expected it to be quick, and it is. The only ink that took some time to dry was with the Montegrappa Miya Flex nib, due to the fact it was putting more ink down on the page. Even so, dry time was fine, and a pink blotting sheet is included if you so desire.

There is some ghosting, as you can tell by my picture of the pages when still attached to the pad. I personally wouldn’t use the back of the sheet to write a letter on, but it is workable.

All of my non-fountain pens performed well on this bank paper, with the lone exception being plastic tip drawing pens. The texture causes problems with this type of pen, leaving white space in the line, or sometimes skipping. It is at least usable, which is more than I can say for other textured papers and plastic tips.

All ballpoint, gel, and rollerball pens worked well - even my micro gel ink pens. Brush pens performed better than expected, and pencil graphite was an absolute standout. The texture allows the graphite a darkness and depth that smooth papers do not.

Being a bank paper, you might think there would be a watermark in the page, and you would be correct. It’s not that noticeable when writing in the pad, but it is more noticeable once you remove the page and more light surrounds it. It’s by no means a deal-breaker, or even a minor annoyance, but I thought I would point it out in case someone really dislikes watermarks.

So, how will I be using this pad? You are going to make me write letters, aren’t you? I think that’s what this pad is tailor made for. The glue binding comes off so cleanly you would think these were loose sheets. I’ve even punched them for my William Hannah notebook.

At $20 for 100 pages it isn’t cheap by any stretch, but the A5 Life Writing Paper Pad is purpose built, meaning you should have a purpose in mind when buying and using it. It’s not a desk pad, work pad, or a scratch pad. It’s more than that, and should be used as such.

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

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