PAPER REVIEW: AJOTO POCKET PAPER NOTEBOOK

Ajoto - the British design brand known for THE pen - has expanded their product catalog with a selection of premium notebooks. Their new "Pocket Paper" notebooks landed on my doorstep a few weeks ago. With the crowdfunding live on Kickstarter as we speak, it's about time to have a quick look at what you can expect from these new products...

The Pocket Paper collection comprises three different notebook types, or rather paper types, accompanied by a custom leather cover and pen holder. All three notebooks share the same external design: softcover (heavy black cardboard stock) with an exposed bound spine that creates an interesting look, but more importantly, a flexible notebook that opens flat without needing too much convincing.

The notebook's lay-flat properties come from the unique Swiss-style binding, a design I've only ever seen on the rather obscure Fantasticpaper Color notebooks (reviewed HERE). 

The Swiss binding does have one downside: Because the paper is only attached to the right side of the cover, the left sides of the pages are unsupported and hover in the air a bit. So keep in mind that writing on the reverse side of the pages is a bit awkward. That is, at least until you're past halfway through the notebook.

The Pocket Paper project has apparently been in the works for several years, and I think it shows in the attention to detail of the final product. The packaging is minimalistic and clean, and the notebooks itself reflect the same design style. Minimal branding is visible on the front, just the Ajoto hallmarks stamped in the bottom corner of the cover. The first page has embossed lines (not actually printed) to jot down content details or "return-if-found" information. It's all very tastefully done.

Interestingly, Ajoto chose a very non-standard size for their notebooks. At 17.2 cm tall, and 10.5 cm wide, it's distinctly taller than your average notebook. In fact, it's as wide as an A6, while being as tall as the larger B6 format. For comparison, Midori's large travelers notebook measures 12 by 22 cm.

As they found out in their journey of creating 'the perfect notebook', there's no such thing as one perfect notebook! That's why they're offering three different paper types, to cater to different needs:

#1 Notebooks come with 116 pages of a rather thick 120 gsm paper. This notebook is pencil/ballpoint/gel pen-oriented, which is clearly noticeable from the coarser paper texture. It can take some fountain pens with finer nibs, but it's not focused on fountain pen use. It's also not the paper to render inks in a particularly nice way, as they mostly fall flat. 

To me, the #1 notebook compares closest to a Leuchtturm or Baron Fig notebook; fountain pens CAN be used, but it's not their main focus. #1 Makes a lot of sense in Ajoto's product lineup since they're focused on making rollerball pens, which pair well with this paper.

#2 Is a smooth fountain pen-friendly paper. The notebook has 126 pages (slightly more than the #1) of a slightly thinner 100 gsm paper (which is still distinctly heavy for general writing paper). This paper is also noticeably more white than the other two paper stocks (which are a light cream color). #2 can handle a variety of fountain pen nibs and ink swabs like a champ.

Dry times are longer on the #2 paper, but in return you get excellent shading and sheen characteristics!

Inks dry nicely with strong, crisp shading and a good amount of sheen. That does come at the drawback of extended drying times, but that's to be expected. There's some showthrough on the back of the page, but no bleedthrough (except with heavy ink swatches).

Paper #3 is made for sketching and drawing. The notebook contains far fewer pages (only 62) of a much heavier 190g stock. It's quite unconventional paper for a notebook but I can imagine it being a very popular option for (urban) sketching, as it can easily withstand heavy ink and aquarel applications. Fountain pen actually works very well on this paper, too!

Ink swatches look great on it, and there's absolutely no bleedthrough whatsoever. Also, the pages don't warp much when using water because the paper is so thick. If you don't mind the lesser page count and want something to experiment with fountain pen inks (maybe a swatch book?), This one could be a very interesting option!

An overview of the bleedthrough/ghosting you can expect from the different notebooks, from left to right: #1, #2 and #3

All in all, I'm very impressed with the overall quality of Ajoto's first steps into the paper world, and I really like their concept with different paper types for different use cases!

I do have two remarks though: For one, I think the heavy card stock covers aren't quite up to the standards I'd expect from a 23€ notebook (MSRP, the pre-order price on Kickstarter is 18€). Something a bit more durable would be nice, especially since these notebooks are designed for pocket carry. Extra durability can be obtained in the form of Ajoto custom leather covers for the Pocket Paper, though at an MSRP of 95.95€, they add a hefty chunk of change to the overall cost. 

Secondly, all three paper types are currently only offered in an unruled blank version. Ruled/grid/dot paper options for #1 and #2 will only be made available if certain stretch goals are met during the Kickstarter - I wish they just made those options available straight away. While blank paper absolutely makes sense for the creative-focused #3 paper, #1 and #2 could definitely use a subtle ruling to help structure your writing. 

Note: This product was provided by Ajoto, free of charge, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review. The opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.

PAPER REVIEW: GALEN LEATHER TOMOE RIVER NOTEBOOK

Tomoe River notebooks are omnipresent these days, offered by various brands in many different styles. With good reason of course, as everyone wants a piece of the Japanese wonder paper to get the absolute best out of their fountain pens! Turkish stationery and leather goods company, Galen Leather, jumped on the Tomoe River wagon quite a while ago with their collection of 'Everyday Books': a selection of thin softcover notebooks and notepads in various sizes. But also these stunning, leather-bound, full-sized journals...

The Galen Leather "Leather" notebook is possibly one of the most luxurious, best-looking Tomoe River notebook I've seen to this day (and I have my fair share of them!). Whereas most brands go for a more utilitarian approach with thin, textured plastic softcover designs, Galen plays their strength with a cover made from their signature 'Crazy Horse' leather! The leather ages gracefully and noticeably with use: bending the covers creates creases and scratches which highlight the color of the leather, adding a lot of character to your carry. 

While Japanese brands certainly know how to create a tight and clean binding, I think Galen does it just that little bit better (at least, going off of the two samples I was sent!). The binding with 25 small 'signatures' (8 pages bound together at a time) is almost identical to that of Japanese brands. It's very precisely stitched, yet feels a bit less tight perhaps. 

The notebook as a whole is very flexible...

...and lays flat perfectly!

The slightly more loose binding creates a spine that is more flexible and makes the notebook as a whole easier to lay flat or even fold over. I'm really impressed with the build quality of these notebooks. The corners are nicely rounded, the leather is trimmed cleanly,...

On the inside, you'll find 400 white pages of Tomoe River paper. That page count is slightly lower than with other brands (making for a notebook that's still considerably slim despite the leather cover), though arguably 400 pages is still an awful lot. Galen's notebooks are only available in blank, so there's no printing at all on the pages. Numbered pages would've been a nice-to-have perhaps, but it's a feature that's missing on most TR journals I've come across. 

The blank pages could be a dealbreaker for some, but Galen thought of that and made sure that you can still use their notebooks in a structured manner: buying a leather notebook gets you a rather complete package that includes two paper guide sheets with gridded and lined layouts. 

Also included: a leather blotter sheet and two guide sheets with grids and lines.

Especially with TR paper, guide sheets are easy enough to use, as the thin paper makes the grids easy to see. A leather blotter sheet is also included, which could be useful if you'd buy these notebooks for heavy EDC use, where you need to be able to close the book instantly - because of course, fast dry times are NOT the forte of Tomoe River paper!

What IS the forte of Tomoe River is of course its impeccable reception of fountain pen inks. At the tradeoff of dry times, TR renders colors vividly, with tons of shading, crisp outlines, and strong sheen. 

There has been quite some recent debate about whether or not Tomoe River paper can still live up to its name after they changed production. Personally, I find the new paper stock behaves extremely close to the original (even side by side), so I don't think there's reason to panic. Though it did still prompt Galen to specifically verify that they are still using the 'old' paper stock for their notebooks (at least for now!) - so if you are panicking and looking to get your fix of the original stuff, here's your chance! 

With the Leather notebooks, Galen Leather manages to offer a slightly out-of-the-ordinary Tomoe River notebook, ideal for those that don't want to add a separate (and often bulky) leather cover to their EDC to make it look great. As always, Galen presents their excellent eye for detail with a  neatly crafted notebook that also comes with useful extras like the blotter and guide sheets. Compared to their own non-leather covered Tomoe River journals (21€/25$ for A5), these do demand a fairly considerable premium: 30€/36$ (A5), 24€/29$ (B6), 20€/26$ (A6). Though I think that's still a pretty reasonable price considering the great-looking product you get in return!

These products were sent to me by Galen Leather, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.

PAPER REVIEW: PONT NEUF NOTEBOOKS

I was really happy to see Japanese stationery brand Kunisawa recently re-introducing themselves with a completely revised product lineup (read the re-review HERE!). Their confidence in the updated paper quality turned out to be absolutely justified, finally combining the stunning business-chic notebook designs with fantastic - consistent - quality Japanese paper on the inside. 

But alongside the updated Kunisawa products, they also sent a few other products that certainly didn't fit in. That's because, as I mentioned earlier, mother company Kawachiya Print also houses a second stationery brand: Pont Neuf!  

The contrast between Kunisawa and Pont Neuf doesn't need an explanation...

Pont Neuf is best described as the absolute polar opposite of Kunisawa's functional, subtle, business-appropriate designs. Instead, they go for bright, colorful, playful products. The most eye-catching being a selection of wild, fluffy, fabric-covered notebooks - extravagant (and quite high-end)! But also the notebooks I'll be showing today, which are a collaboration with Tokyo-based art Gallery Brain Trust, for a collection with William Morris design notebook covers.

William Morris was a renowned 19th-century artist and craftsman and is perhaps best known for his hugely popular - to this day - botanical patterns. His designs were originally created for wallpaper decoration, but I think it works equally well on these notebooks, and it fits right in with the style Pont Neuf tries to convey. 

Both the A5-sized slim staple-bound softcovers (64 pages) and thicker A5 hardcover notebooks (192 pages) in the William Morris collection each come with unique cover prints, four in total. The printing is high quality and detailed, and the colors - while certainly vibrant - aren't overdone. One minor detail: I say A5, but both notebooks are actually 195 x 138 mm, which is ever-so-slightly smaller than the traditional A5 size!

While the softcovers come with simple, uncoated paper stock for the cover (which has a nice subtle debossed texture from the printing!), the hardcover notebooks are distinctly more upscale. The cover is made of textured, heavily coated (plastic?) paper with gold foil debossed details, gilded edges, and rounded corners. One downside about the stiff, plastic-like material used on the hardcover is that it cracks and frays a bit around the edges of the notebook, which deters from the otherwise pristine cover design, and gives the edges a slightly rough feel.

Both notebook types are able to lay open quite flat

Inside, the Pont Neuf notebooks do match the minimalist approach of Kunisawa with un-numbered, dot-grid pages and pretty much nothing else. The hardcover does have one practical element that the thin softcover booklets don't have: a thin bookmark ribbon.

The paper inside the Pont Neuf notebooks seems to be identical to the excellent paper we've already seen in the updated Kunisawa Find stationery, which is of course a good thing. 

For those of you that didn't read my previous review, here's a short rundown of my findings on this new paper: it's a very smooth stock, more or less the same thickness as Rhodia (so around 80-85 gsm), and with a distinct yellowy-ivory tint to it. The paper shows excellent shading and sheen and doesn't budge to wet nibs or even ink swabs, with no bleedthrough and minimal showthrough (or ghosting) to speak of.

"Create your own style" an appropriate catchphrase for the eccentric Pont Neuf brand!

While I personally lean towards the minimal and clean aesthetics of the Kunisawa products, there is certainly something to be said for the more extravagant side of Pont Neuf's colorful collection of notebooks. The two brands work nicely side-by-side, offering unique products on two very distinct ends of the scale. Pricing is also comparable between the two brands, and - while certainly on the more premium side - is quite fair given the excellent paper quality and great design. The softcover notebooks retail for 5€/ 6$, and 25€/ 30$ for the hardcover.

Note: The products shown here were provided by Kunisawa, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.

RE-REVIEW: KUNISAWA FIND NOTEBOOKS

As a reviewer, I wholeheartedly believe in second chances. I may or may not have already talked about this in the past, but I really appreciate when brands put in the effort to improve their product. Frankly, I may even find it more promising and reassuring than having a brand create an inoffensive - though middle-of-the-road - product, and then calling it a day. If you fail once, but stand back up and show dedication to improving - that's a win in my book! 

And that's exactly how we end up at Kunisawa today. If you remember my first encounter (review HERE) with this young Japanese stationery brand, their immaculate, business-chic design language created very high expectations... only to ultimately be let down by the terribly inconsistent paper quality. So sad.

BUT! Kunisawa took the communities' criticism by heart and promised something better! A few months later, the first indication of their 'something better' arrived on my doorstep, in the form of a new paper prototype: a simple, thin 'cahier'-style notebook with a design that had nothing to do with the Kunisawa products I tested earlier, but the most important part was, of course, the new paper inside. I tested the prototype (didn't review it, as it was not a product intended for retail), and relayed my findings back to Kunisawa. 

Onto present day, and I'm looking at a stack of the updated 'Find' notebooks Kunisawa recently sent me. 'Find', of course being the unifying Moniker of every product sold under the Kunisawa brand. How I understand it, Kunisawa is part of a larger company Kawachiya Printing & Stationery, and represents the more business-styled side of the product catalog.

The contrast between Kunisawa and Pont Neuf couldn't possibly be any bigger!

I fell in love with Kunisawa's distinct, clean and sober styling back in early 2019, and I'm glad it hasn't changed yet. You'll still find an overall quite muted and darker color palette among the offerings, with tasteful copper accents. In a way that only Japanese stationery can pull off, Kunisawa products are very simple in design and functionality, yet they always exude pure quality. In contrast to the Kunisawa products, the Kawachiya brand also houses a second brand: Pont Neuf. And if I say contrast, these two brands literally couldn't be any further apart. I'll be discussing Pont Neuf separately in a future post, as the products definitely cater to an entirely different audience, to say the very least!

All-black everything

Back to the Kunisawa products at hand. As I said, design changes on the outside are very subtle, but there are a few small details here and there: There's now an all-black colorway with black gilded edges and accents - very cool and extra sleek! A larger, ring-bound 'Find Executive' notebook (more or less B5-sized, 80 sheets) was added to the lineup, the sticky notes (also 80 sheets) are now square-shaped and feature a very interesting recycled paper (more on that later). Oh, and the A5 Find 'Hard' note (a traditional A5 with a semi-hard cover, 96 sheets) now comes packaged in a box for some odd reason.

But enough about the outside, because I was of course dying to find out if they managed to change the inside of their notebooks: the paper! I conducted some randomized tests throughout the different notebooks, and these are my findings...

The paper is exceptionally smooth. It's MUCH smoother than the old watermarked 'Foolscap' paper, much smoother than Rhodia's vellum stock, much smoother than even most Life paper, yet the latter certainly comes closest. The smoothness makes it feels like a strongly coated paper, yet for some strange reason, it doesn't feel too coated or slick when you write on it, retaining just the right amount of texture - it's very strange and difficult to explain. In any case, I like writing on it, and it doesn't even seem to be too bothered by oils from your hand (Even though that's something smoother paper types often struggle with!).

Shading and sheen are strong, even when compared to the reigning champion, Tomoe River. It's very difficult to get the paper to show any bleedthrough, despite throwing ink swatches and very wet and wide nibs at it. Even show through (or ghosting) is very well-contained.

Yes, that's perfect sheen and shading, on a sticky note!

So, what about those sticky notes then? I obviously went 'oh no!' when I saw the recycled paper inside. However, to my biggest surprise, even this paper performed excellently in my writing test! No bleedthrough, no feathering, even the shading, and sheen can perfectly live up to the performance of the rest of the Kunisawa lineup! I don't know what sorcery they used for this, but clearly, it works very well!

The paper is downright excellent, and most of all, it's excellent all across the board. Every product, from the new Executive ring notebook, down to even the recycled paper sticky notes, showcased excellent paper, the kind of paper I'd expect when I crack open a notebook from Japanese manufacture.

I'm very happy to see Kunisawa make a strong return. I was already hooked on their design style, and the paper quality on the inside can now match the luxurious looks on the outside! Whereas the mixed results with the old paper made it hard to draw a general conclusion last time, it's now much easier to come up with a bottom line: these notebooks are very, very good. 

Considering the more 'premium' style of the Kunisiwa brand, I'd say their pricing isn't that excessive (the Find sticky memo, Find Executive Ring note, and Find Note Hard notebook are priced at 6€/ 7$, 12€/ 14.5$, and 24€/ 29$, respectively), though they certainly land on the pricier side once you account for the costs of importing from Japan. With the quality I'm seeing today, that easily earns Kunisawa a recommendation from my end!

Note: The products shown here were provided by Kunisawa, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.

REVIEW: PEBBLE STATIONERY TRAVELER'S UNDATED PLANNER

Getting close to the end of 2020, many of us are probably looking into a new planner to start off 2021 organized (or at least try to be organized, in my case!). While there are certainly high-quality planner options available, many mainstream brands leave a lot to be desired from the paper quality for fountain pen use. That's why Pebble Stationery, an Australian brand I encountered last year with their fantastic Pocket Tomoe River notebooks (reviewed HERE), created this: the Pebble Stationery Traveler's undated planner - of course filled with Tomoe River paper... but do you need that in a planner?

At least for now, Pebble launched their undated planners in a single size, made to fit Traveler's notebook covers. Therefore, it follows the sort of narrow-and-tall form factor that's unique to the regular Traveler's company leather notebook cover. It's exactly as tall as a standard  A5 notebook, but about 4 cm narrower (11 cm by 21 cm / 4.33" by 8.26"). Because of the 52 gsm Tomoe River paper, the 140-page (70 sheets) planner remains extremely thin.

I'm not necessarily a fan of the brand-specific form-factor, but at least the Traveler's products are so popular that they have become a more-or-less standardized form factor these days. You can find quite a few other brands adopting it and creating products to use within or alongside the Traveler's Company ecosystem. That being said, I don't have a Traveler's notebook cover, so I can't speak for the practicality in combination with the Traveler's system, but luckily Pebble's planner can also perfectly be used as a stand-alone product. 

The leatherette cover is thin and flexible (you can easily fold the cover backward without issue), yet more durable than typical paper stock covers which can crease or tear after longer use. My particular review sample came in a dark navy blue colorway, which is subtle and business-appropriate for sure, there's also a red version available. The cover has a pleasant leather-like texture and doesn't show much wear at all, even after almost two months of daily use.

The undated planner has two narrow ribbon page markers, and the first page has a dedicated space for your name and contact information - in case your planner gets lost. But in terms of physical features, that's about it. There's no back pocket, but more importantly, there's no elastic or other way to keep the planner closed. The leatherette cover is elastic and flexible, so after a few times of opening it, you'll find that the cover doesn't want to stay closed at all. That's a bit annoying, but it wouldn't be an issue when using the planner inside a Traveler's cover, of course.

Now, for the inside of the Pebble undated planner: Across the 140 pages, there are three main sections that make up the general structure of the planner, as well as 6 empty dot grid pages for extra notes. But as the name suggests, nothing is actually dated: days, months, or years aren't set in stone, so you can use the planner how - and when - you like. 

The planner starts with a four-page overview of the year. Granted, there's very little space to write things in the individual boxes, but it could work well as sort of a 'table of contents', to keep track of birthdays, holidays or special events. 

The next 12 double-page spreads are monthly overviews. I actually like these layouts because they do offer a bit more space, yet you can still get a quick glance at the entire month, laid out over two adjacent pages. Each day of the month has its own box, and you get dot grid paper to keep your agenda items neat and organized. 

Then the major bulk of the planner is 52 weekly spreads. On the left side of the two-page spread, you get seven boxes (with dot grid) for each day of the week. Again, you have to fill in the dates yourself, which is useful if you sometimes skip weeks/months (during holidays, for example). The right side is just an empty page of dot grid paper, for notes. The daily structure doesn't have a bullet-point system or anything like that, so you can choose whichever structuring method works best for you.

These small ink smears are scattered all throughout the planner at this point

The main selling point of the Pebble planner is the Tomoe River paper, but it's also my biggest gripe about it. Don't get me wrong, I love TR paper, but there's a time and place for it. And maybe a planner is not that time and place?

I use a planner for work, and at work, I'd say efficiency and functionality beats neat writing and ink shading. For practicality considerations, I don't tend to use fountain pens at work very often. In fact, I write mostly with a gel pen (most often the fantastic Tactile Turn Bolt Action pen!), so the benefit of having fountain-pen friendly TR is already non-existent. But the real issue is the long drying times of TR paper: At the end of the meeting when you quickly add in a new meeting date before leaving the office, and you close the planner a bit too fast... that's an ink smear right there. You have to use it consciously. 

Inherently, due to the extremely thin TR paper, you'll also get quite a bit of ghosting. I typically only use Tomoe River notebooks on a single side of the page (yes I know, wasteful), but the Pebble undated planner utilizes both sides of the page, so you can't really avoid show-through. That being said, the show-through is noticeable, but not to the extent that it makes writing illegible.

The Pebble Stationery Traveler's undated planner is a well-crafted, durable and functionally laid-out planner that I actually enjoy using (that in itself is already quite the compliment!). Being made specifically for the Traveler's notebook ecosystem didn't hold me back from using it as a stand-alone planner, although obviously it'll integrate more seamlessly if you already own and use a Traveler's notebook.

The Tomoe River paper is both a blessing and a curse. If you use your planner in a more aesthetically pleasing and creative way than I do, TR will certainly add character. But from a purely functional, work-related point of view, Pebble's planner doesn't necessarily benefit from the paper choice, maybe it's even a bit unpractical at times - except for the fact that it keeps the planner thin and lightweight.

At 17.99$ (17.95€ at our sponsor La Couronne Du Comte), Pebble's planner comes in reasonably priced compared to traditional offerings from Moleskine, Leuchtturm or Filofax.

NOTE: This product was provided by Pebble Stationery Co., so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.