Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Lamy Softcover A5 Notebook Review

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

You'd have to look carefully to notice what brand notebook I'm using in this review. The medium gray cover is almost completely devoid of any branding. But if you turned the notebook over, you'd find a classy Lamy logo debossed into the lower portion of the back cover. The Lamy Softcover A5 Booklets are very familiar while also sporting an unassuming style.

You might pass over this notebook thinking it's just another paperback A5 notebook, but you'd be wrong. The Lamy Softcover notebooks feature their own "Lamy ruling," which is a combination of lines and grids. This isn't the first time we've seen a paper line format like this (Doane Paper comes to mind first), but it's definitely nice to see some variety in the different line formats available in affordable notebooks. The lined ruling lines are a little darker than the dotted grid lines, and I wish all the lines were a little lighter. It's a busy pattern, and it's a little difficult to ignore if you want to do something more free-form. Still, it's a good pattern and provides a lot of structure if need it.

Aside from the unique ruling, the paper in these notebooks is really nice. It's 90g/m², which I think is a great trade-off between light weight and great performance. In my tests, only the thickest, wettest nibs are able to cause ink to show through on the back of the page. I haven't noticed any bleeding or feathering with the variety of inks and pens I've used so far, and I really couldn't be happier with the performance of this paper. It's smooth, but also has a slight tooth that provides a satisfying amount of feedback when writing.

These notebooks are exceptionally plain. There is zero branding and fluff inside the covers. Both inside covers are blank, and the first page of the notebook is exactly that — a ruled page. There's no subject boxes, contact info blocks, or witty, interesting facts printed anywhere. There also aren't any page numbers. This really is a utilitarian notebook.

Even though the covers are a soft paper material, they're coated with some extra protection to stand up to normal use. The exterior of the cover also has a nice tweed tactile feeling like they used actual fibers in the cover material. Not sure if it's real or synthetic, but it feels great in the hand.

The 64 pages of each notebook are held in place with pale yellow stitching. The binding is tight and feels like it will stand up to a lot of use. Even though the stitches are tight, the notebook still easily lays flat when writing, but also has no trouble staying closed when not in use.

The set comes with three identical notebooks and will set you back $15 from Goldspot. Considering the size and the quality of the paper in these notebooks, this is a great deal. Assuming you're interested in the paper ruling, you really can't go wrong with these notebooks.

Pick up a set along with your next order!

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

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Posted on February 26, 2020 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Lamy, Notebook Reviews.

William Hannah A5 Pen Band: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I’ve written a couple of reviews about William Hannah notebooks (see here and here), and it’s clear that I absolutely love them. But, one feature many William Hannah fans have been asking for is some kind of notebook closure. If you keep your notebook in a bag or backpack, the lack of closure means that the pages can get crumpled or snagged.

The solution David Round (the genius behind William Hannah) came up with is elegant and simple: a pen band. The pen band comes in all the regular color combinations of WH notebooks. You can even order a bespoke pen band, if you like. Mine is Agave and Petrol to match my A5 notebook.

The pen case portion of the band is made from the same luxurious leather as the notebooks. It is thick and the suede portion is soft. The stitching is beautiful and strong.

The band portion is made from thick matching elastic. This is not a wimpy band. It fits perfectly around the notebook--it’s not so tight that it mars the top or bottom edges, but it is snug enough that it doesn’t move around and it won’t accidentally fall off.

The pen case accommodates a good variety of pens, as long as you’re willing to let it stretch out a bit for larger pens. My band is still pretty stiff, so I had to work to fit my larger pens in it. The pens that fit well were all medium-sized pens: a Lamy 2000, a Platinum Century 3776, and a Leonardo Furore.

My Montegrappa Mia was a bit of a tight fit, but if I really wanted it to be the “chosen one” for my William Hannah, I could stretch the leather out.

The only pen that didn’t fit well was my Kanilea. I could get the pen in the case, but it stuck out quite a bit at the top.

And that brings me to what I don’t like about the pen band. Regardless of what pen you choose, some or all of the cap is exposed. If the point of the pen band is to keep the notebook closed when you toss it into a larger bag, you are taking chances that the top of your pen will get scratched. I wouldn’t put a delicate pen in the pen band for this reason.

Although I like the Pen Band, it’s not my favorite sort of closure. It requires removing the entire band to use the notebook, and I can see myself accidentally leaving it behind somewhere. Plus, I don’t typically use just one fountain pen, and I already carry a pen case that offers better protection for my pens.

I would much prefer a small leather piece that would attach to the William Hannah button on the front of the notebook.

Unfortunately, this would require a redesign of the entire notebook because the leather piece would need to be sewn into the back cover. The good thing about the pen band is that you don’t have to buy a new notebook in order to use it. Still, I’d prefer the option of a William Hannah notebook with a snap closure or a closure that integrates with the current metal button.

That said, if you haven’t taken a look at William Hannah notebooks, you’re really missing out. They are absolutely exquisite and the paper refill options are so useful (see here for a review of the wonderful Intentions Pages refill). The notebooks come in A5, A6, and pocket size.

You can purchase a pen band for the A5 and A6 notebooks. Both cost £29.00 (about $38 USD).

(I purchased the William Hannah Pen Band with my own funds.)

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Posted on January 17, 2020 by Susan Pigott and filed under William Hannah, Notebook Reviews.

Back Pocket Notebooks Review — The Night Sky

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

I'm always curious to find new pocket notebooks that offer something unique and delightful to the otherwise crowded space. At first glance, you'd be right to assume that Back Pocket notebooks are just another 3.5 x 5.5 pocket notebook. But after trying out the paper inside, you'd be surprised.

Back Pocket offers a nice variety of covers, but the one I'm reviewing today is the lovely "The Night Sky" edition, which features two notebooks. The cover of each notebook is a dark gray with an constellation map of the northern or southern hemisphere. It looks fantastic and they make a great pair. The band that keeps the notebooks together during the retail phase of their journey are minimal, but they provide just the right amount of information about the product inside. According to the band:

36 inner cross grid 120gsm Conqueror High White pages
Accent Antique Magnolia 300gsm cover
140 x 90mm

The size is very familiar, but this paper is something else. I didn't know exactly what to expect out of something so dense, but it's delightfully pleasing to use. The pages are thick and take gobs of ink without any problems. I haven't noticed any bleeding or feathering, and the show-through on the back of the page is also minimal. I tried to get a picture of the faint show-through that I can detect on the other side of the wet 1.5mm Opus 88 nib paired with KWZ Gummiberry, but I couldn't quite tease it out for the camera. Suffice to say, it's also fairly hard to detect by eye.

On top of being luxuriously thick, the paper is also quite smooth, with just a small amount of tooth to provide satisfying feedback while writing. The grid used on the pages is a light gray cross pattern, similar to a reticle grid style but a little smaller.

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed writing on this paper. It really is a treat.

But, there's certainly a flip side to this equation. The thicker pages mean a thicker notebook, right? Well, since Back Pocket chose to decrease the number of pages in the book to 36, the notebook is still the same thickness as other pocket notebooks. The downside here is that the notebook doesn't go quite as far as you might be accustomed. 36 pages is still plenty for me, but the standard 48 is a dozen extra pages. When the pages are this small, that's an awful lot of blank space that's being cut to afford the premium paper.

I don't think this is a bad thing at all — it's just different. If thick, luxurious paper with a lovely cross grid is what you want in a pocket notebook, then this is perfect. If you want more pages, then there are many, many other options out there for you.

The rest of the notebook is also fairly standard. There are two staples that hold the notebook together, and they seem to be well-done. I haven't thrown this book into my back pocket every day for 12 weeks straight, but they feel like they could stand up to the challenge without falling apart. It would be a shame to wear out these covers, though, since they have these great constellation maps on them.

Another minor complaint I have is the choice to leave the outside corners of the books square. I really like my pocket notebooks to have rounded corners so they don't easily catch on other edges, such as your pockets when trying to stuff the notebook back in for storage. This is a design choice, and I respect it. It just annoys me slightly every time the corners catch on something, and I can only assume they'll be quite worn after a couple of weeks.

The Night Sky edition, which includes two notebooks, comes in at £8 (about $10.50 as of the publish date). This is a little pricey considering you get one less notebook compared to other pocket notebook packs, but these notebooks feature an extraordinary cover and some really, really nice paper that can handle almost any kind of pen/ink combo you throw at it. My hunch is that this notebook pack will speak to some people very strongly, while others will appreciate the design but politely pass on by.

As for me? I really enjoy the paper in these notebooks, but I won't be using them as my daily pocket notebooks. The paper seems too luxurious to be used for my chicken-scratch notes that happen when I'm away from my desk. But, these books will certainly be used around the house for certain specific purposes. They feel like a treat to use, so that's how I'll use them!

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

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