A Clairefontaine Review

Another review is in order this time I'll be reviewing a Clairefontaine product.

I'll start this one off with a general description of the pad. First of all, it is 105 x 148 MM and contains 80 sheets of paper. It does fit into my palm but not comfortably. I don't think its size is conducive to carrying on your person. The pad barely fit into my back pocket and didn't fare well in my other pockets either. Back to the description, it has 3 folds on the cover which allow you to fold the cover over to the back thus, making it usable from the palm of one very large hand.

On to the testing; to get an overview of my testing methods read this post: Rhodia No.12 Bloc Review.

Tests

Feel; Smooth, even for scratchy nibs.

Feathering; None

Bleed-through; No, even less than with Rhodia paper. Only the most sensitive will care about this.

Aesthetics; Functional and the orange is attractive. No real margins to distract me. One transgression, the cover has a logo and so does the rear.

Durability; The pages need to be firmly grasped to tear them out. The back pad is stiff and the entire note pad is sturdy.

Portability: This one will stay on a desk. It is portable just not for me. So, I want to keep it in my laptop bag yet, it will probably stay on a desk somewhere.

Uses: Can be used for business and play. For business I would use it to quickly jot tasks, inventory lists, and maybe to keep messages. This is a note pad I will be using for games like scrabble that require score keeping. I also have quite a bit of fun playing guess the sketch and other drawing games with this pad. I probably wouldn't use it at school; too big for a palm sized pad and too small for a classroom note taking pad.

Hack ability: This is really open to interpretation. Of course, I just don't have any ideas or links for this one.

Overall Thoughts

Clairefontaine paper is much better than Rhodia paper. It is definitely smoother and heavier. That is probably due to Clairefontaine being 90 g/m squared and Rhodia is 80 g/m squared. No real bleed-through and it comes in a gridded paper. This is the ultimate in fountain pen safe stationery! The final verdict to the question of a purchase is no. Why not? I prefer a certain sizing in pads. I like them small enough to fit into my pockets easily or big enough to take pages of lecture notes without turning the page after every pen lift. If this is your preferred size then go for it, you wont be disappointed. Clairefontaine paper is awesome!

Details:

• No comparison paper for the feel test.
• Subjective methods used.
• *This particular note pad was provided by Exaclair.

Rhodia No. 12 Bloc Review

I've been busy lately, not so much that I can't have a little fun. Here is another review.

Before we get started I need to explain my testing methods:

1. *Feel; how the nib feels on the paper?
2. *Feathering; if the ink feathers on the paper?
3. Bleed-through; is the ink visible on the reverse side of the?
4. Aesthetics; overall appearance, cover design and page details?
5. Durability; is it hard to tear out pages, will it be easily destroyed?

There are other means I will use to rank them but they will be personal and may not mean anything to you. There are:

1. Portability: Where am I likely to keep it in my pocket, laptop bag or portfolio?
2. Uses: Which place is it most suited for school, business or play?(no Oxford Coma here)
3. Hack ability: Can I alter it to suit my needs?

Rhodia No. 12 Bloc

Test 1: Smooth. Even the italic Reform 1745 was easy to write with.

Test 2: Feathering was non existent with any of the used combinations of nibs, pens, and inks.

Test 3: Just the Sharpie bled. One can discern that there is writing on the back but it won't bother most people. Only the really, really sensitive will mind.

Test 4: Just 1 transgression, a logo on the front of the pad in bold black lettering. None anywhere else. The gridded paper is straight forward and has no header or footer margins. Also no left or right margins. Overall it is great looking and not heavily branded.

Test 5: Pages need to be deliberately torn and for its purpose it is solidly constructed. Will take abuse from one's palm and from being sat on.

Portability: Very portable. Fits into a variety of things: palms, jeans pockets, breast pockets, shirt pockets, hip pockets, and awesome for hangman with one's nephews.

Uses: No place it isn't useful. I carry it with me everywhere. I have one for work and another for everywhere.

Hack ability: Yes. Here is one. Awesome for GTDers.

Details:

• No comparison paper for the feel test.
• Subjective methods used.
• *This particular note pad was provided by Exaclair but I was already a fan of this product.

Summary:

For GTDers and people that need an all purpose writing pad, this is the note pad for you. Its stand out features are portability and pocket proof construction. Personally I buy them a few at a time to ensure I have them on hand whenever needed. I carry one everywhere I go, never know when they come in handy.

J. Herbin Ink Review

Fountain pens are one of my interests/eccentricities and this post is a dedication to it.

Rhodia staple bound graph pad, Pelikan m250 black and blue new style, Lamy Flame,& a ????? on top of my pen case.

Yes, on the left that is the Rhodia web notebook. Sweet, no.?

Mrs. Karen Doherty, VP of Marketing at Exaclair, sent me some J. Herbin inks to review. In the package she sent me Orange Indien and Diabolo Menthe, an orange and a green ink. Yup, you guessed it, St. Patrick's Day colors. I was supposed to post this on the day of that celebration sadly my camera that can shoot macro was missing. Now that I've found it, let us get down to business. Oh! She also sent me a Rhodia graph pad to do the review with.

2 boxes of Orange Indien untouched. Okay 1 was opened.

First Thoughts: Let's us begin, initially my thoughts are that the colors are fun inks. Allow me to clarify, there are some inks that are dark enough for business use, conservative enough for formal correspondence, and then there are the fun inks for personal and creative use. Diabolo Menthe and Orange Indien are in the last camp. Orange Indien is a bright orange color that shades marvelously. I like it so much I have 2 bottles of my own, 1 was provided for this review for a total of 3 bottles. I make sure I keep this color stocked up. Diabolo Menthe is a very light, pastel, aqua green color. At first it is extremely pale, then it dries a little darker. I found this color to be very feminine and Spring like, the season not the device.

Testing: In order to get a decent idea of the ink we must test it so, the tests I performed were 4 fold:

1. Dry Time
2. Swab test with a q-tip (cotton swab)
3. Writing Sample: it gives a visual of the ink. I used a different pen with a different nib width to give some comparison
4. Bleed Through: flip the page and see if the the ink bleeds through or visible in the back.

1 Dry Time Test:

1. Diabolo Menthe = Under 25 seconds
2. Orange Indien = 35 seconds
3. Control (Noodler's Red-Black) = 35 seconds

The verdict is use blotting paper if your a lefty or in a rush. Otherwise take your time most wont smear much past 15 seconds.

2 Swab Test: (see photos above)

1. Diabolo Menthe = Dramatic color variation as more swipes occur and the shading intensifies.
2. Orange Indien = Dramatic Color variation as more swipes occur and the brilliance of the orange intensifies. Shading is more pronounce but occurs less.
3. Control (Noodler's Red-Black) = Darkens with more swipes. Shading decreases because the black over powers the red.

The verdict if you love using these colors prepare for more variation. This suggests that wetter and broader nibs should produce more color variation and shading if you like that sort of thing. The real world test of this occurs when I do the writing sample test so, stay tuned and keep reading.

3 Writing Sample Test: performed with my Pelikan m250 with a BB nib. Warning; this test is really subjective

1. Diabolo Menthe: is a very thin ink which surprisingly, for the short time it was in my pen as I was writing with it, had very little nib creep. It wrote wetter than most inks in my Pelikan and flowed easily. It is a little darker when writing than with the medium nibbed Lamy Safari. As suggested by the swab test, Diabolo Menthe varied more and had excellent shading due the wide nib. Overall it looked brilliant.
2. Orange Indien: is a mildly thin ink and has nib creep, both nibs, the Lamy Safari M and the Pelikan m250 BB, displayed this. You are going to want to be careful with this ink. Orange Indien performed well just like predicted and it shaded dramatically. The color while darker is more brilliant with a double broad nib in the Pelikan m250.
3. Control: Sorry I didn't do it. Although, it does hold true to the swab test results like the other inks.

The verdict, not compatible with this test.

4 Bleed Through Test: done with a Rhodia stapled, small, grid pad

1. Diabolo Menthe: Barely visible but present
2. Orange Indien: Visible but very lightly
3. Control (Noodler's Red-Black): More visible than the Orange Indien because of its darker pigment but not by very much.

The verdict is very little bleed through even in the Pelikan m250 BB pen. The amount that did bleed through is negligible. Only the most sensitive persons would have a hard time writing on both sides of the paper.

Summary of Analysis

• Dry Time = 25secs. for Diabolo & 35 secs. for the Orange.
• Swab Test = Dynamic Variation & Increased Shading for both
• Writing Sample = Diabolo Menthe is thin and has some nib creep. Orange Indien is moderately thin and has no nib creep. They both do not smell bad.
• Bleed Through = both are negligible in both a double broad and thin nib.

Limitations of my Analysis

• Not an exhaustive testing method
• No real control
• No experiment ran
• Some use of subjective tests
• Review materials were provide by the producer of the reviewed goods
• Only 2 pens were used to test the inks

Last Thoughts: I would purchase both inks again. As mentioned before, Orange Indien is my current favorite & I am constantly taking notes and writing in my journal with it. Diabolo Menthe would be an ink I never would think to buy; but if given would fall in love with. The color is very pale when written with thin nibs so, I will use the ink with broad nibs, stubs, italics, and flex nibs.

Wow!!! How fun was that! It could only be more fun if I added some graphs or charts. Well, there is always next time. Good night well, morning because it is passed midnight.

*Disclosure: I was provided the materials to test using my own pens.