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inlovewithjournals

~ musings on the hand-written life

inlovewithjournals

Tag Archives: sharpie

Franklin-Christoph Notebook

11 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by inlovewithjournals in my journal collection

≈ 25 Comments

Tags

a5, firma-flex journal notebook, franklin christoph, grail notebook, jinhao 159, pilot varsity, saddleboot notebook cover, seven seas writer, sharpie

People talk about “grail” pens, meaning those pens you long for and cannot afford, or perhaps are very rare and difficult to find. But the idea can apply to anything really, and today I am excited to share one of my “grail” notebooks, the Franklin-Christoph Firma-Flex Journal Notebook in a Saddleboot Leather Notebook Cover in A5 brown.

I have been excited about Franklin-Christoph for a couple of years now. I’ve heard good things about their pens and inks, and I am in love with their Penvelopes. I’ve watched YouTube videos about their notebooks and read reviews of their notebook covers. I think the best thing about Franklin-Christoph is international customers can enjoy free shipping just as their domestic customers do, although at a higher price point. For US destinations free shipping kicks in at $50. For international, shipping is free at $75. The Saddleboot Notebook Covers in A5 are $69.50 US and do not come with a notebook. The Firma-Flex Journal Notebooks in A5 are $14.50 US. So that put me in the free shipping zone! With some of my latest World Mail Panel Survey money to spend I finally felt the time was right to pull the trigger on this expensive notebook and cover. It was thrilling to click the Calculate Shipping button on the site and see it read $0.00!

The package arrived a couple of weeks ago. No invoice in the box, no note from the company. Very different from the service experience with Goulet Pens or WonderPens. But super fast shipping and excellent packaging.

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The notebook arrived in its own suede bag. Fancy!

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And here it is. The Franklin-Christoph Celtic logo is embossed on the front. The leather smells really good and feels butter soft. The workmanship is superb.

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Franklin-Christoph’s Saddleboot Leather is vegetable tanned and comes in maroon, black and brown. I chose the brown and it has a cream contrasting stitching.

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A second Franklin-Christoph logo on the back.

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There is a pocket on the back as well.

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Here is the inside of the notebook and the cover. I apologize for the blurry picture; I didn’t notice until after editing.

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The notebooks themselves are a work of art. Each type of notebook is indicated by the colour of stitching: ruled is maroon, graph is olive green, dots is purple, and blank is grey. I wanted ruled so the stitching is maroon. The Celtic logo is on the front and that circular indentation on the right of the logo is the metal closure button on the cover. And as expected the notebook fits perfectly into the cover.

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Each notebook has 192 pages. The ruled lines are 7mm apart on the A4 and A5, and 5mm apart on the A6. Ruled, graph and dots are 30% black (light grey) with top and bottom margin lines in maroon. Above you can see the ruling and the black nylon page marker.

The paper is 90gsm and made from sugar cane extract. It is pH neutral and acid free. In certain lights the paper seems to have a purple glow. I can see it but I don’t think it’s coming through in the photos.

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I did a quick pen test on the back page of the notebook. The paper took fountain pen ink beautifully, as well as gel ink, with the exception of the Pilot Varsity, which showed some feathering.

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Here’s a closeup and you can see the feathering for the Pilot Varsity.

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As for show through, only the Pilot Varsity and of course the Sharpie marker were visible on the underside of the paper. The paper was very absorbent and smooth. I really enjoyed using the fountain pens on it.

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I was curious to see if the Seven Seas Writer notebook would fit, and it did! Not as perfectly as the Franklin-Christoph Firma-Flex but pretty close. Not that I don’t love the brown vinyl notebook cover that I purchased for the Seven Seas Writer, but there is really no comparison with this beautiful leather cover. Franklin-Christoph notebooks are certainly more consistently available than the Seven Seas Writer.

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And last but not least we come to the pen loop. It is leather but has an elastic piece on the left which allows for different pen sizes. My Jinhao 159 is the widest pen I own and it fit very nicely.

The attention to detail for this cover and notebook is impressive. I can wholeheartedly recommend Franklin-Christoph and this notebook/cover combination. I think their shipping rates are great and the quality of their products is well worth the price. I can only imagine how delightful their pens, inks and other leather accessories would be. I don’t know when this notebook will go into the rotation as I don’t want to write in it (besides the pen test). But it will probably be next in line because I find myself taking it out of its suede bag and just looking at it.

It’s just that beautiful.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 65 pages (!)

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by inlovewithjournals in journal writing wednesday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

calgary public library, franklin christoph, sharpie, wonder pens, world mail panel

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Executive Journal, the Believe In Yourself journal and the Seven Seas Writer. And for this week most of the pages were written in my Prayer Journal, the Paperblanks Ventaglio Rosso Midi.

Total pages written since this post (Sept 2): 65

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 1232

Total pages written in 2015: 392

Yes in the past two weeks I’ve written 65 pages in my journals. Most of those pages (56) were in my Prayer Journal, the only journal I had with me for a two day spiritual retreat. And it was a silent retreat at a monastery so I wrote those 56 pages over two days. Keep in mind the pages are smaller in the Rosso Midi: 7×5. And I covered a big bunch of them with thoughts and observations of a spiritual nature and other natures as well. Super personal so I will not be sharing. I can say it was a magical experience and I encourage all of you to try it if you can. You will be surprised, as I was, at what bubbles up when you have none of the distractions or responsibilities of your regular life. Amazing for journal writers.

I used three fountain pens: the Cadence (my pen for September), the TWSBI Eco and the Parker Urban in Blue. I will choose the October pen on September 30.

Purchases: I received a $100 reward from World Mail Panel Surveys and I have bought myself a couple of things, from Wonder Pens and Franklin-Christoph. Very excited. When they arrive I will share.

Some points covered this week in my journals:

  • My company is still downsizing, so that makes for a sombre workplace. But I think people are better prepared for it now, as opposed to two months ago. And people (including me) have made a plan if the worst case scenario happens. The plan helps to manage the stress somehow.
  • I wrote about my purchases at the Calgary Public Library and the Sharpies I picked up at Staples before writing this post.

Until next post, happy writing!

Stationery from Calgary Public Library, Staples and Dollarama

06 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by inlovewithjournals in stationery, store visits

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

calgary public library, dollarama, highlighter, k and company, markers, page flags, sharpie, smash, staples, zebra

One of our weekly trips is to the library, usually on Saturday. And this week I noticed they had a bunch of merchandise with the Calgary Public Library logo! I picked up a few things. Then we went to Staples and Dollarama, where I picked up some more things.

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I picked up a pack of 11 Sharpie Fine markers at Staples, the highlighters and page flags at Dollarama, and the “thumb thing” and blue pencil case at the Calgary Library.

The Sharpie pack was $10, a back-to-school special at Staples. I thought it was a good price judging by the fact that a pack of 5 Sharpies is $6. And this pack has some nifty colours. I did a writing sample in my journal to show you.

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The Neon colours are fun but hard to see, especially the yellow. The packaging said the Neon colours  become fluorescent under black light. The regular Sharpies are vibrant and clear, just what you would expect. And the silver metallic is a lot of fun. I can see it looking great on black paper, along with the Neon colours.

The highlighters and page flags I picked up at Dollarama. I thought the highlighters were interesting because a) they are made by Zebra, the same folks who made these fountain pens, and b) they are refillable and come with a cartridge refill. How cool is that?? The refills are available on Amazon but they are not cheap. Looks like the refills cost almost 8 times what the highlighter did at Dollarama!

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I tried out the pink one in my journal. There was some smearing on the fountain pen ink (not surprising) but the ballpoint ink held up very well.

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Refillable highlighters are better for the environment. And the pen design is the same as for the fountain pens and I just find it so comfortable. It makes sense to me.

I was surprised to find K & Company Smash items at Dollarama. Usually they are only at Michael’s and a little pricey. This pack of vintage-looking page flags was only $1. I’m always curious about the stickiness of any page flags other than PostIts but I wasn’t disappointed with these. They stuck on very well.

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Sorry for the blurry image; this must have been the 15th image I took! I just couldn’t get the focus right. But in terms of the stickiness they did not immediately curl off the page, which happens a lot, especially when buying flags from a dollar store. These ones seem a little better at sticking.

The “thumb thing” is available at the Calgary Public Library but it does not have the library’s logo on it. It is used to help your hand hold open the pages of a book.

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The back of the packaging says: a thumbring to hold your book open. It’s a neat little gadget that actually works. It was $6.

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Of course I couldn’t resist the Brass Pen with a clip that can be engraved. It is a ballpoint and very solid feeling in the hand. The finish is slightly textured and feels like velvet. Very smooth writer.

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In the picture above the brass pen is resting against the black velvet pouch it comes in. The cost of the pen was $7.50. The pencil case contains 4 items, which are all visible in the photo above: a small ruler, a plastic pen, a pencil, and a pencil sharpener which also has an eraser.

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Neat huh? The cost of the loaded pencil case was $5.

I did a writing sample in my journal, for each of the ballpoints.

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To advance the ink tip the barrel of the Brass pen should be turned in a clockwise motion until the tip appears, and vice versa to retract it. It was a pleasure to use.

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And here is the writing sample for the other ballpoint pen. It is much lighter than the Brass pen, being made of plastic. One click advances the tip, and another click retracts it. Nice colour ink and a very smooth writer.

It was really great to buy stuff from the library. All of the proceeds support the work they do, from programs to services to collections. The librarian who checked my purchases told me there are more items on the website. Love the bookworm earrings! And the journal, of course. She said they awarded one of their volunteers a Calgary Public Library earring and bracelet set. I can see the possibilities for Christmas presents already! 🙂

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