Tag: notebooks

Saddleback Pen Case: Leather of the Year

As much as I like a good app for writing, I’ve become even more enamored lately of good paper, pens, and related writing gear.

You don’t know this, because I haven’t finished and posted the review, but I’ve been using some sweet fountain pens from Kaweco in Germany. Where shall I put these newfound friends?

In this lovely case from Saddleback Leather, of course:

 

1_Case with Pencil

 

It’s technically a “Soft Sunglass/Pen Case,” but it’s way too cool for me to not use for holding writing utensils, which I use every day. (I think one of the kids ran off with my last $5 pair of sunglasses.)

I’ve only reviewed a little bit of leather at Words on the Word, but the case is easily the most beautiful piece I’ve seen or held. Here’s what it looks like stocked:

 

2_Case Open

 

It can easily fit three good-sized pens and three pencils, and still close comfortably.

The (removable) tie closure is awesome, too–you can wrap it around and thread it through the hole, or just wrap it around a few times to keep the case closed.

Here’s the view from the back:

 

3_Case Back

 

And a look inside:

 

4_Case Inside

 

The Saddleback logo on the front is subtle and classy, certainly not a kind of branding that will bother the user.

And these folk live and breathe quality craftsmanship. Here’s a close-up of the stitching:

 

5_Case Stitching

 

The case could easily fit in your back pocket, or go into the pouch of a messenger bag. It looks great right next to a notebook or journal, too.

I’ve been accused of smelling books before (but only because I smell every single new book I get). But this case I smell and softly press against my cheek to keep me warm and happy. It might be my favorite single piece of gear I’ve reviewed so far.

 

*      *      *      *      *      *

 

Saddleback was also kind to set me up with some cord wraps, an item I honestly thought was cool but superfluous… until I started using them every day to wrap my actually-long-enough iPhone charger cord:

 

Leather Clasp

 

There is a 100-year warrantee on these bad boys. Here’s the image from Saddleback of the three sizes you’d get in a set of three:

Cord Wrap Set

I’m using them for charging cords of three different sizes at the moment.

Saddleback’s site is here, with a ton of products that will make you want to convert to an all-leather lifestyle. You can purchase the above pen/sunglasses case here, and the cord wraps here.

 

 

Many thanks to the wonderful people at Saddleback Leather for the case and cords for review! I’m really grateful they sent them, though that did not influence the objectivity of the review.

Notebook Review: Rustic Ridge Classic Leather Journal

Front View

 

I’m back to writing in a journal again. It’s not that I haven’t been writing or reflecting these past few years–it’s just that I’ve been using other formats. But it’s hard (impossible?) to beat the distraction-free mode of a pen and nice journal.

Rustic Ridge Leather makes a classic leather journal that I’ve been using this fall. It’s made well without an accompanying exorbitant price tag. My Rustic Ridge journal is 5×7, which is probably my ideal size–portable yet big enough to feel like I have a good amount of space on the unlined pages.

You can see in the image above that it’s got a leather wrap tie closure. When I was a frequent journal-writer back in the day, I used to avoid those ties as much as possible. But this one has grown on me. There’s something almost ritualistic now about unwrapping it to start writing and then wrapping it back up again when I’m done.

Here’s what it looks like inside:

 

With Pen

 

The bleed-through is a little noticeable but largely limited, even with a Pilot G2 07 gel pen.

 

Limited BleedThrough

 

And check out the cool-looking binding (which, more important, shows its craftsmanship):

 

Binding View

 

It makes for an aesthetically enjoyable writing experience: before, during, and after.

The leather–as leather–had some imperfections I didn’t love:

 

Inside Flap

 

I’m no tanner, so I don’t know how avoidable something like the above would be, but I do understand that real leather has imperfections, so no worries, really. I learned from Rustic Ridge that my journal is “chrome-tanned” and has a buffed finish, which gives it its soft feel. There is not the oil finish sometimes applied to leather, so this journal didn’t have what I associate with a “leather” smell, but it’s just the applied oil that I’m not smelling. (Whatever treatment was applied did smell sort of chemically.)

Of course the leather journal lays flat right away, a question one might have with a hardcover journal. That’s a plus. And the cream-colored pages (acid-free) match the leather perfectly, so that the coloring is just right.

I am using the 200-page journal (i.e., 100 sheets of paper), but there is also a 400-page version (200 sheets). And, yes, I do hope to fill it up by the end of 2016! No need to look elsewhere for a great journal writing experience–this one has got me covered.

Find all Rustic Ridge’s leather journals here. They make other products, too, like photo albums. You can purchase the classic leather journal above using this link.

 

 

Many thanks to the fine folks at Rustic Ridge Leather for the journal for review! Check them out here.

Baron Fig: Put Your Confidant Notebook in Leather

The inside of a Baron Fig Confidant is exactly what I want in a notebook: off-white paper, perfect thickness (no bleed-through with my Pilot G2 07 gel pen), and an option for dot grid paper. It looks like this:

 

Confidant Page Up Close

 

When I reviewed the Confidant notebook, I was generally impressed with it, but not with the aesthetic of the binding:

 

Binding

 

Today, however, Baron Fig announced a leather slip case for the Confidant. It looks awesome:

 

Screengrab from Baron Fig's site
Screengrab from Baron Fig’s site

 

The Guardian notebook cover is here. (And here‘s my original review of the Confidant.)

An Amazing Way to Index Your (Paper) Notebook

Baron Fig Confidant with writing

 

As far as I can tell, there are three ways to organize your catch-all notebook you carry around with you:

  1. Realize that you’re taking notes chronologically anyway, so just flip through by dated entry and hope you find what you are looking for.
  2. Number your pages (or get a notebook with numbered pages) and then keep the first three pages clear for your running Table of Contents.
  3. Use a tagging system, like you would in Evernote.

Yeah, I know. The last one didn’t seem possible to me either. But then I read this. (You’re welcome.)

Baron Fig’s Confidant Notebook, Reviewed

The first thing I noticed about Baron Fig’s Confidant notebook is that the paper is a delicious off-white. The paper’s thickness is perfect: there’s not very much writing bleed-through at all, even when using a Pilot G2 07 gel pen. That’s probably my first desideratum in a notebook, and Baron Fig nails it here.

The Confidant comes with blank paper, ruled paper, or dot grid paper, which is what I reviewed for review. The grey dots are visible and usable as guides for diagramming or sketching or writing… but they’re also subtle enough to stay out of your way. A great balance here.

 

Confidant Page Up Close

 

The Confidant lays flat, just as Baron Fig claims, though sometimes a bit of pushing down on the pages is required for them to stay flat. But this will happen naturally as you’re writing or sketching anyway. The binding itself lays flat as you’d hope. As you can see:

 

Baron Fig Confidant with writing
You guessed it: I started this blog post in my Confidant notebook

 

The acid-free paper means the book is built to last. And the dimensions just feel perfect to me: 5.4 by 7.7 inches. It’s 192 pages, with 12 pages at the back of the journal which are perforated. In other words, it’s enough space to keep you supplied for a while, but not so much that you’ve got a bulky journal to carry around. The portability is right on.

The cloth cover looks and feels good. The binding is sewn (yes!), which is, of course, one reason it lays flat so well.

I was not as impressed with the aesthetic of the binding: I thought it could have used maybe a thicker piece of cloth to cover up the binding construction that is so easily visible? I might just be missing that the look is intentional, but it didn’t appeal to me.

 

Binding

 

But let me step back for a moment. The packaging is top-notch. The notebook comes in its own attractive case, so that it’s gift-ready:

 

Confidant Gift Box

 

And as design goes, these folks are impressive. (See their Website here, for example.) Here’s a little clip from the insert that comes inside the box with the journal:

 

Confidant Design

 

The Confidant notebook comes with a ribbon for marking your place. I greatly appreciated this. It is about twice the thickness of most other ribbon markers, though, so it felt to me like it was out of step with the rest of the notebook. I have gotten used to this over time.

*******

Overall, the critiques above notwithstanding, I’ve had a positive experience using the Confidant, which gives me a notebook I really do want to reach for and write in! It goes with me in my satchel just about everywhere I go now.

You can learn more about the Confidant here and order it here.

Bonus paragraph: Baron Fig also makes the pocket-sized Apprentice notebook, which I think is an A+ in its class. It fits perfectly into even small pockets and isn’t a nuisance there. I’ve been carrying one of those around, too, so I don’t have to whip out a device every time I want to write down an action item I’ve committed to. The 3.5″ by 5″ little guy comes in a three-pack. More info on the Apprentice notebook is here; you can order here.

 

 

Many thanks to the awesome people at Baron Fig for the notebooks for review! Check them out here.