The Clairefontaine Back To Basics Le Carnet 1951 notebooks are cardstock-covered and a cahier style. The covers are flexible cardstock, perfect for folding open or back as needed. This book is 5.8″ x 8.3″ and contains 48-pages. It’s staple-bound in two places and is filled with 90 gsm paper.

They remind me of composition notebooks. I love this size for office notes especially with its diminutive page count that is perfect for one project. Sometimes, larger notebooks have too many pages and I have to put multiple projects in the same book. Sometimes I just want the old project GONE. So this notebook is a good option.

The only real rub for me is the wide line spacing and the slightly darker-that-I-prefer lines. One or the other issue wouldn’t be so bad but both wide ruled and dark lines make me sigh — I wanted to LOVE this notebook with abandon but now… I just hope the paper quality makes up for it.

The paper inside is smooth, bright white. There was little to no show through on the reverse side of the paper. The Parker 21 with the Noodlers Violet had a tiny bit of bleed through but everything else had no ill effects on the reverse. I could defintiely use both sides of each sheet without issues.

Once I got ink on the page, the lines didn’t bother me quite as much. I did discover that some inks did not dry fast enough on this paper — at least not fast enough for a messy lefty. I think if I stick to some of the inks that pride themselves on quic-drying, this would not be an issue. Pencil handled beautifully on this smooth stock — a Blackwing on this paper is a fabulous combination!

I did a series of drying time tests just to get a better idea if all, or only some, inks took a long time to dry. None of the inks I tested were specifically formulated to be “quick-drying” so I think I shouldn’t have too much trouble once I try a quick-dryer. At this point, the Lamy Blue Black performed best so as long as I’m not too impatient, I should be okay with this notebook.

As I’ve said before, being a lefty can be a pain. Sometimes, I have to decide between really good paper that might not allow for quick ink drying and cheaper, more absorbet paper that might bleed through or spline. This book, since the price point is so reasonable, is a good chance for me to have good paper, even if it might not become my everyday notebook. Is it everyone’s dream to have the perfect all-tool notebook?

A set of two Clairefontaine 1951 notebooks are a mere $8 a set so its totally worth it to try them out.

I’d been hearing a lot of praise about the humble-looking Ohto Graphic Liner 0.3. For the descriptions and the look of the pen, I was expecting something that performed similarly to the Pilot Precise V5. The size, smooth barrel and long flat clip makes it look quite similar to the V5 and all descriptions suggest that there might not be a difference between the two, but there is.

The Ohto Graphic Liner is silkier on the paper than a V5. At first I was worried that I might have trouble with it — me and rollerball pens don’t always see eye to eye (I’m talking to you, Uni-Ball Vision) because of the overwriter position I use to write. After a few minutes of scribbling, the Otho Graphic Liner worked great though — I think it just needed a little priming since it was new and hadn’t been used.

There were no issues with skipping or any other writing faux pas. The thing I like best about the gel/hybrid/rollerball pens is that they are usually waterproof or at least fairly water-resistant. I decided to compare the Ohto Graphic Liner to the Pilot Envelope Pen and the Pilot Precise V5. The Ohto Graphic Liner 0.3 is just a tiny bit broader than a V5 but much finer than a fine Envelope Pen. They were all equally water-resistant with only minimal smearing. I find the Envelope Pen to be almost too slick on paper sometimes — like writing on an oil slick. Alternately, the V5 can feel a little sticky on paper so the Ohto Graphic Liner definitely hits the sweet spot between the two. Its smooth on the paper, water-resistant so it can be used on envelopes or in art journaling or mixed media art-making without issues but its not so slick that the pen gets away from you.

The Ohto Graphic Liner is available in 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0. The finest size is $2.65 and the rest are $2.50.

For comparison, read what Brad at The Pen Addict has to say about the Ohto Graphic Liner.

(writing test done using my trusty A5 Miquelrius grid notebook.)

This process should basically work for any old pen that uses a rubber sac bladder. Just make sure to find the right sized ink sac (there are vendors who sell them on ebay).

Shall we begin?

Step 1: get that pen open and scrape off the old calcified sac. A standard X-acto or other utility knife works great.

Step 2: insert the new ink sac into your pen to determine how long it can be and how much of the excess needs to be trimmed off. Rob is a pro so he just eyeballed it. If you’re doing this for the first time, I recommend using a piece of chalk or white pencil to make a mark on the sac so you don’t misjudge your cut.

Step 3: Rob is aligning the pen body with the nib unit and the sac to help make sure he is trimming the sac low enough to accommodate the extra space needed for the nib unit itself. Can you see the two ridges on the black nib unit? The ridge closest to the top of the photo is where the ink sac is to be placed. The addition ridge area is what is inserted into the body of the pen so Rob is accounting for that additional half an inch or so before trimming the ink sac. (This is the measure twice portion of the lesson.)

Step 4: Using the same X-acto or utility knife,  trim off the excess sac (you are trimming the excess from the open end of the sac… just sayin!)

Step 5: Then using shellac (a small can purchased from the hardware store of Home Depot — a pint can should last you a lifetime) and a toothpick or wood dowel, apply a light coat of shellac around the area on the nib unit that you scraped the old sac from. Keep a towel handy as you don’t want to get any into the pen feed or onto the grip area where it might mar the finish of your pen.

The reason we don’t recommend a q-tip or brush is so that you don’t get any stray fibers into the sac or nib unit.

Step 6: Then, using reverse pliers or a homemade tool, pull open the ink sac so you have room to get the nib unti onto the sac (or vice-versa).

Step 7: Slide the ink sac over the nib unit.

Step 8: Once you remove the pliers, wiggle the sac on the nib unit until its as flush as you can get it and as even as you can make it.

Now comes the hard part. You need to wait to fill your new ink sac until the shellac is completely dry. Be patient, it’s worth it. I let mine sit for a day just because I was busy but Rob suggests waiting at least a couple hours.

Once its dry, reassemble your pen and fill it with ink. Do a little happy dance.

Finally, I wanted to include an image of the homemade reverse pliers that Rob uses. He was given this amazing gift by Calvert Guthrie, lettering artist extraordinaire.

Beautiful things happen when pencil and ink are applied to paper — this is one of them. This is drawing from Luciano Luzano from a trip to Lisbon. Fabulous.

(via Illustrista)

Lamy 2000 with custom 0.2mm nib grind by Mike Masuyama by Brad Dowdy (AKA The Pen Addict)

Pencils:

• Picking the perfect lead hardness (via JetPens Blog)
• Pencils and Camping (and pencil shavings as tinder) (via Pencil Revolution)
• Deli Pencil Sharpener (via Bleistift)

Pens and ink:

• Pen currently in use by DaveyB
• Noodlers Bernake Blue Ink Review (via Pen Addict)
• Platinum Carbon Black vs Sailor Utlra Nano Black (via East, West, Everywhere)

Paper:

• Vintage Leather Writing Case (via Paper Pastries)
• Tomoe River Paper Review (via FPGeeks)

Pelikan M800 and Apica Notebook: Daily Arsenal by Jose Noyola

Remind yourself or someone you love with this darling set of “gentle reminder” pencils. The set of six pencils for $12 from Amanda Catherine Des on Etsy. Check her other sets as well: Favorite Things, She is…, Paris and Art Movements.

This lovely office belongs to Karena Schuessler, former shoe designer. She lives in Berlin and now collects and sells unique design pieces.

(more information can be found at Freunde von Freunden. Link via Decor8)

Let’s just say that I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new Blackwing Pearl from Palomino since I saw the announcement posts over on Timberlines. The Pearl is described as a pencil that is between the “firm and smooth” of the Palomino Blackwing 602 and the “soft and smooth” of the original Palomino Blackwing — “balanced and smooth” is the description to keep with the tradition of not having an actual hardness number associated with the line.

The Pearl is designed to hit a sweet spot between the other two, a softer lead like the original Palomino Blackwing but with the smoothness of the 602.

I confess that I originally fell in love with the idea of the Blackwings, new or vintage, because of the large, flat eraser and its promises of “Half the pressure, twice the speed”. As I learn more about pencil grades, construction and materials, I have come to appreciate the quality and thought that has been put into the Blackwing line. When the rest of the American writing tool market is focused on making tools cheaper and cheaper, the quality of the Blackwings really shines.

The paint and the foil stamping are done very well. It feels like a good quality pencil — good looks, good materials, and good lead.

The looks of the Pearl are different than the other two pencils in the line. The Pearl is an iridescent white pencil with a black rubber eraser on its fancy, oversized wood-clinched cap. It looks like the favorite middle sister between her two brothers.

I also purchased one of the Palomino-branded, KUM long point sharpener. It features two sharpeners in one case. One side sharpens the wood to a long length and the other sharpens the point. Its a great, portable tool for getting a long point, similar to my desk-mounted Apsco crank sharpener (used on the Pearl in the first photo). The sharpener doesn’t hold a lot of shavings so it needs to be emptied almost every time its used but if you need to carry a sharpener, this is a good option for long points.

Here’s what the point looks like with the long point sharpener.

In writing tests, the Pearl wrote silky smooth. The graphite left a dark line. It was a little smudgy but that can be good for sketching. The eraser is adequate but the pencil marks erased completely with the white Staedtler mars plastic eraser (the gold standard for erasers).

Of course, I couldn’t resist swapping the erasers out on the Blackwings. I like the Pearl with the green eraser and the 602 with the classic pink. Neither works as well as my Staedtler plastic erasers but I like the looks and carry the Staedtler for real eraser emergencies.

If you’re looking for a softer pencil, good for writing or sketching interchangeably, the Pearl is a good option. I love the color of the paint on the Pearls and it does write super smoothly but I think I prefer the slightly harder 602s. I can go a bit longer between sharpenings with the 602s.

Check out Pencil Revolution’s thorough review of the Blackwing Pearl too.

(Blackwing Pearls are available for $19.95 per dozen, replacement erasers are $2.95 for a pack of 10)

Yesterday, on The Pen Addict podcast, we talked a bit about notebooks for fountain pens and I wanted to follow-up and include a few other books that didn’t get mentioned.

This is what I’ve currently been using, from the bottom to the top (as they appear in the photo. I’m not ranking them):

• Miquelrius Grid notebook: I’ve been using this for ink samples, product reviews and pen tests. Its an enormous book and a good value. The paper shows a little show through with dark colors or particularly wide nibs but its a good middle-of-the-road paper at a good price.
• Paperblanks Weekly Planner: I liked the layout of the week on the left side and an area for notes on the right. I have reviewed this product in the past and will probably do a follow-up towards the end of the year about how well its held up to being toted back and forth to work. Its a warm ivory colored paper and works great with just about every pen I’ve thrown at it, fountain or otherwise. Paperblanks also sells journals and notebooks using the same paper if you’re not in the market for a paper planner.
• Quo Vadis Habana: This is a slightly-larger-than-A5 notebook with narrow-spaced lines on a creamy paper. Like all of the quality products from Exaclair, this is top of the line. The cover is semi-flexible leatherette and less puffy than the Rhodia webnotebook. Its available in several sizes and cover colors. I purchased mine from Goulet Pens. (Full review)
• Rhodia Webnotebook: I prefer blank notebooks to lined or grid so I was very excited that the infamous Webbie was available in a blank edition. The paper is excellent. It is available in lined, dot grid or blank and in several sizes in black or classic Rhodia orange. Rhodia recently introduced a 3.5×5.5″ sized Webbie in lots of different cover colors called Rhodiarama. (Full review)
• Piccadilly Essential Notebook: This is the budget-priced notebook with slightly better paper than the Moleskine that I have come to love. For the price, I don’t feel so bad if some inks show through to the reverse of the page because the cost-per-page is so much lower than most books. I was only able to find lined and grid versions of the Piccadilly when I came across this book. I’ve heard that the binding an spine do not hold up as well as the Moleskine, Rhodia and other brands but overall, for the price, its a good option. See my full review for more information.
• Clairefontaine 1951: I’ll have a full review posted by the end of the week but I wanted to include it here as well since it is something I’m currently using. It reminds me of an upscale composition notebook in size and format. I find the lines inside a little darker than I like and a little wider spaced than I prefer but its a good size, with top quality paper at a reasonable price.
• (Not pictured) Luechtturm 1917 pocket notebook: This book lives in my purse or backpack for capturing lists, numbers and ideas on the go. (full review)

I find, like I’m sure you do too, that I like different notebooks for different tasks or projects. I no more want one notebook to rule them all than I would want one pen to rule them all. I need a Sharpie marker as much as I need a fine fountain pen. The same goes for notebooks.

For office meeting notes, I don’t want to commit those to a $20+ leather-bound notebook. The 1951 will be perfect for those tasks as it is good paper at a reasonable price. For saving quotes and recommendations from letters, I use the Quo Vadis. The Piccadilly Essential Notebook is my daily jotter for lists, things I hear on podcasts and other bits of information. Because its an inexpensive book, the Piccadilly is not precious to me. I can write, tape, cut and throw it around without feeling like it was meant for someone or something better.

How many notebooks do you have going right now? Which one is your favorite?

This week I had the honor of being a guest on the premier pen-and-paper geek podcast, The Pen Addict, hosted by Brad Dowdy and Myke Hurley. They were super nice to let me come on the show and talk about all kinds of geeky pen stuff.

If you haven’t heard the show before, you can subscribe here. For the show notes, visit 70decibels. I’ll have a follow-up tomorrow of a few things I forgot to mention.

PS: The title is a joke about my email address, chair (@) wellappointeddesk.com.