According to the random number generator, the winner of the Gutenberg notebook from Daycraft is:
Louie, Who won his choice of the Gutenberg notebook.
And drum roll for winner number 2:
Dana, from Save Snail Mail, won the Cookie Bookie!
Congrats to you both. Emails were sent to the addresses used in the comments. Thanks to everyone who entered!
When I saw the Fabriano Eco Qua dot grid notebook at our local Utrecht, I couldn’t pass up that lime green cover. I purchased the A5 (5.8″x8.25″) size with a light grey dot. Its 85gsm paper in a soft white. I wouldn’t call it ivory but its not a bright blue-white either. A pleasing-to-the-eye white. The grey dots are fairly unobtrusive and pretty close together so its good for anyone with small handwriting or if you want to use two rows of dots for larger writing.
The cover is not sealed to the perfect bound (or more specifically glue padded) sheets so it can be folded back out of your way while writing. Because the sheets are only glue bound into the book, I wouldn’t recommend this for long term archival uses as the glue will grow brittle over time and the pages will fall out. But for work notes, letters or situations where you would want to be able to perf out pages quickly and easily, this is a very good pad for that.
I had so little issue with bleed through, or even show through, that I totally forgot to take a picture of the reverse of the sheet. The only line that even showed through on the back was the Lamy Studio 1.1 with dark brown ink.
I’ve written several letters on this paper as its a good-quality inexpensive pad to carry around with me. $4.99 available with eight different colored covers. Other sizes and configurations are available.
East… West… Everywhere also reviewed the Eco Qua and does fantastic calligraphy with it!
Everyone who has a penchant for paper goods has probably already heard of Field Notes. I know the Red-Blooded edition got lots of great press in February for my pal Bryan’s love letter video to his darling wife. But have you given a good look to the hearty Crop Edition? Its a set of six notebooks inspired by the crops of the US and come packed in a box with a patch and a map.
I love the Field Notes notebooks for their adherence to the classic good looks and functionality of the vintage notebooks while bringing a lovely designer-ly touch to each quarterly special edition.
Available from Field Notes and they even have a special deal for Father’s Day. Spend $20 or more this week and then type “YAYDAD” into the coupon code blank and get a free mixed set (blank, lined and grid) of Kraft notebooks.
Tuesday while I was walking to my car, precariously balancing a travel mug, my bag and trying to read Twitter all at the same time, my hand slipped and my precious communication device ended up flat on its back on the concrete parking lot floor. As it hit, I heard a distinctly crunchy sound. When I leaned to pick it up, I felt the results. Shattered. Crap.
So, I got in my car and drove directly to the Apple store. I did not pass go. I did not collect $200. When I got there, I was informed it would be a 30 minute wait before a “genius” could see me.
I looked at the bright-eyed young clerk and said, “Can you just give it to me straight? Can this be fixed and will it cost me $600?” She said, “Oh, yeah. it can be fixed while you wait and if everything is still working properly, replacing the back costs about $30.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll wait.”
About 15 minutes later, a young genius came over and asked me what I needed. I flipped my phone over. He said, “Okay. No problem.” He noodled with a couple settings and then disappered with my phone for 10 minutes. When he returned, I had a shiny new back and he even wiped all the dirt of the edge of my bumper. $28 plus tax and all was well in the world.
I was informed that, had I broken the front of the phone, the price would have been $150 to repair as all the delicate electronics are soldered to the touchscreen and the fonr glass. So, once again, dear readers, learn from my mistakes. If you don’t have a cover or some sort of protection on your phone, get some. Handle it gently or make sure you applied for the insurance policy. I managed to escape with the equivalent of the cost of dinner. I’d hate for you to suffer the same fate.
The Pilot Prera is a bit of a budget fountain pen celebrity and I finally broke down and bought one. Its a Japanese steel nib pen with a cartridge filling system though there’s a cartridge converter available for it as well. Don’t tease, I had to have the lime green one.
The Japanese nib sizes are finer than the American and European sizing so I got a F, not the EF. I wanted a pen that would be finer than the other fountain pens I have but not a needle.
Straight out of the box, I found the Prera very smooth on the papers I tried. It’s a very fine writer but still smooth and easy to use. It seems a little dry right now but I’m not sure if its because its so fine or if its the ink cartridge that shipped with the pen. It makes it a good pen for lightweight papers like Moleskines and your average office copy paper.
I thought it might help to compare it to other pens that might be more familiar like a Uni Jetstream, a Kaweco Classic EF, the Pilot 78g and a Lamy Al-Star (same nibs as a Safari or Studio).
Compared to a Jetstream, the Prera is a bit thicker line and it is a bit “stickier” on paper. The Prera is definitely pricier but I thought it would help to compare the fountain pen to a common disposable pen.
The 78g is very comparable to the Prera and considerably its much cheaper. If you can find a 78g, its a good alternative as it seems to be a very similar nib. However, the 78g has a squeeze filler only while the Prera has a cartridge option or cartridge converter (this might not be entirely accurate, I’ve been researching the 78g but I’ve found conflicting information as to whether the squeeze-filler can be replaced with a cartridge or standard converter. Does anyone have experience switching out the 78g filler?). In the past I’ve had a little bit of an issue with the 78g leaking a bit so I’m hoping that the Prera is less prone to the mess.
Against the Kaweco, its a tie in terms of line quality though the Prera is a bit heavier and larger. I know that the added weight and length would be a plus for some people. I think the Kawecos are perfect pocket/EDC pens and the Prera is just slightly bigger.
Against the Lamy, its no contest. I find the Lamy scratchy and dry even after several years of use. For a left-handed overwriter, the Lamy prescribed grip is awkward and uncomfortable. Even with its wider nib, the Lamy is not as nice a writer as the Prera with only a couple days use.
Here are pens for size comparison: Kaweco Classic (Guilloch 1930 version), Pilot Prera, Pilot 78g, Lamy Studio, Lamy Al-Star, Sailor Candy.
When actually put on the scale, the Pilot Prera is just three grams heavier than the 78g, Kaweco Sport Classic and the Sailor Candy but its considerably lighter than the Lamys. (All pens were weighed with cartridge/ink filled and included.)
After several days of use, I am liking the Prera’s snap cap for easy-on, easy-off capping in meetings and throughout my average workday. The Prera does not seem to suffer from dry-starts during the day the way my Kawecos sometimes do. And overall, the larger body and silver details make this look like a nice fountain pen. While I love the stealthy fountain pen look of the Kaweco, the Prera looks and feels more like a traditional fountain pen.
I’ll follow-up this review in a couple weeks with more details after I’ve put a few more miles and a couple of different inks through the Prera.
Did I forget to mention anything?
Pilot Prera is available through JetPens for $49.50.
(This pen was tested on the Miquelrius medium flexible 300 grid paper book purchased from B+N.)
Pencils:
Pens:
Misc:
Daycraft is a Hong Kong based stationery producer that offers a range of notebooks, diaries and accessory. One of the most notable things is the array of products with contrasting edging.
This is the Animaland Elephant Diary, a small diary for 2012 that measures 4.25″x6″. It starts in September 2011 and goes through the end of December 2012. The cover is stiff paper wrapped board with a light iridescent sheen. It is filled with colorful artwork, a satin bookmark ribbon (end has been sealed so it won’t fray) and features a week-at-a-glance.
In the front of the book is a listing of international holidays, year overview calendars for the current year, previous year and next year, nutrition and health info and a place for a birthday or gift list. The diary also came with a sheet of coordinating stickers to embellish your entries.
At the beginning of each month is a full color illustration and space for writing. They have crammed 18-months into a book that’s less than 0.5″ thick so the pages were bound to be thin. But the paper is a warm ivory and the lines are gray and dotted so they are no too obtrusive.
I tested a Uni Jetstream 0.5 (in red and black), my Kaweco Sport with F nib and de Atramentis Pigeon Blue ink, pencil, my new Pilot Prera with F nib and black ink.
On the reverse side, I tried a Coleto Hi-Tec-C in purple and red. You’ll notice a bit of show-through from the Kaweco and even the Prera but the gel ink Hi-Tec-C and Jetstream are not so noticeable.
In the back are some pages for logging expenses, four pages for contacts, some pages for notes and a page for personal info. The last eight pages are perforated into thirds and embellished with small illustrations for notes and what not.
Overall, the diary is a nice little book. I do wish the paper was a little bit thicker to accommodate a wider range of writing tools but it is so small and compact that I find it very useable.
Expect a new version of this notebook to be available soon for 2012-2013. $119HK (approx $15.50US)
I received a couple other items from Daycraft as well. First up is the Cookie Bookie. It is designed to look like cheese and crackers and amuses me to no end.
It measures just under 5″ square and features 144 pages of orange lined paper. The covers are puffy leather-like stiff board with orange embroidery floss to simulate cracker tufts.
The paper is lined with 6.5mm fine black lines and a heavier paper stock than the diary. According to the Daycraft catalog it is 90gsm. I love this notebook! $129HK (about $16.75 US or on sale through the MOMA store for $8.95)
The last book I received was this white embossed “Gutenberg Notebook“. It measures about 4″x6” (A6) with pliable leather-like cover with uppercase letters embossed on the front and lowercase letters embossed on the back. The interior pages have 6.5mm fine black lines and a much heavier stock than the diary. The catalog lists the paper as 100gsm and describes it as white though I think its more of a soft white. $129HK (about $16.75 US)
All the Daycraft products can be purchased on through their web site and they offer FREE worldwide shipping.
So, if you’ve stuck with me to the end of the post, I have a deal for you. I am going to give away both the Cookie Bookie and the Gutenberg notebook. So, leave a comment below and tell me which notebook you want and why.
FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by midnight CST on Friday, June 8, 2012. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winners will be announced on Saturday. Winner will be select by random number generator. Please include your email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money.
