Notebook Review: Daycraft's Juicy Notebook

The rainy season has definitely started here in the Philippines, but I'm stuck in summer's ambrosial delights - fruits! At home, we still get to enjoy these colorful, sweet, and juicy summer pleasures: plenty of bananas, cantaloupes, green and yellow mangoes, pineapples, and watermelons. Soon, most of these fruits will be gone from the stalls and we will all wait till next summer to enjoy them again.

Luckily for me, one watermelon has remained to keep me company until the next summer. It's Daycraft's Juicy Watermelon notebook that Foreal Lee, Retail and Marketing Manager of Hong Kong's Tai Shing Diary Ltd. sent to me a few months back. With a very apt tagline of 'Pick A Fresh One', Daycraft's Juicy notebook line comes only in A6 size, but has five 'delicious fruit flavors' to choose from: orange, watermelon, strawberry, pineapple, and honeydew melon.

The Juicy Watermelon notebook's cover is soft, fine Italian polyurethane (PU), designed to resemble the rind of a watermelon.

This notebook opens to a wedge of watermelon. You'd want to grab a juicy, wet bite when you see the front and back inside covers are watermelon red with watermelon seeds.

The Watermelon notebook, like the rest of those in Daycraft's Juicy line, have 128 pages of 6.5mm lined cream-colored paper with distinctive 'fruit' designs. The 'fruity' spread below has apples on the lower left of the page and watermelons on the upper right of the page. The 6.5mm spacing is just right for my handwriting.

Here's the watermelon design up close. I think the fruit designs are cute. And because they're printed lightly, I can write over them and still read the text I've written. 

The notebook's back cover has the same watermelon rind design as its front cover, but bears the clearly pressed Daycraft logo centered at the bottom.

Like most of Daycraft notebooks, the Juicy line is case bound, so the pages are threaded and glued together to make it durable.

The pages have round corners which I like very much. Pointed/Squared corners are more likely to snag my arm while writing, so the rounded corners are safer and better.

And now the best part of the review is here: pen and ink tests! I always do a number of tests when I have a new notebook. These tests help me choose the best pen and ink combination for any particular notebook. I grouped the tests according to the ink brand this time.

The first page has the ink tests for J. Herbin, Diamine, and Caran d'Ache. There was no feathering on the page and all the inks dried fast. Most of my pens have medium nibs and put large amounts of ink on paper, which is why I am concerned about the inks' drying time. Surpisingly, they all dried fast, including the saturated J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary ink. I'm loving this Juicy Watermelon notebook's paper already. The Herbin inks looked bright and happy, but Diabolo Menthe is the runaway winner here. It looked so beautiful and yet so cool. Diamine Royal Blue appeared so bright that I instantly filled two more pens after seeing it again. And then there's Caran d'Ache Saffron which will always be the perfect orange ink for me.

I tried Private Reserve, Waterman, Pelikan, Noodler's, and Mont Blanc inks on the other page. This time, I saw some feathering in Private Reserve and Noodler's inks, but that's okay as I already expected that. PR Black Magic Blue is a gift from fellow fountain pen collector Karlo Tatad and it surprised me because of its close resemblance to one of my favorite blue inks, Diamine Majestic Blue. Pelikan Blue-Black is another surprise for me because I did not see any feathering even though it's on a BB nib. I also tried two of my Zebra Sarasas here and they looked good on this cream-colored paper.

Below is the back of the first page with ink tests. Note that there is only minimal bleed which is seen only as tiny blue dots. Again, that's okay. This is still way, way better than the first Daycraft notebook I reviewed last year.

The second page revealed more bleed. Private Reserve Avacado on my no-name Maki-e pen is the one bleeding here (on top), as is Noodler's Midnight Blue (lower part of the page).

Here are some macro shots of the inks on the Juicy notebook paper. I was surprised to see under a 10x loupe that the 1670 ink feathered. But Vert Pré did not, and even showed some shading. 

I love the shading that Saffron produced, as well the Blue Sky; and both CdA inks behaved properly: no feathering, no bleed!

After all is said about this excellent little notebook from Daycraft, I realized I forgot to mention that this Watermelon notebook comes with a felt bookmark instead of the usual ribbon pagemarker - cool! It is shaped as a curled stem of the watermelon fruit. Other notebooks in the Daycraft Juicy line have their own respective bookmarks according to their fruit designs.

And what else is good about this notebook? It is sold here in the Philippines at Scribe Writing Essentials! Daycraft notebooks have been available at Scribe's flagship store in Eastwood Mall since last year, and in several PowerBooks outlets this year.

Daycraft products are also widely available now. Aside from Daycraft's distributors, their products can also be bought in stores from these countries: (click on country name to see retail stores) Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Macau, Poland, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.

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J. Herbin, Lamy, and Starbucks Go to CamSur and Caramoan

Last year, my Rhodia pad and Thein the Sheaffer franky went with us to Puerto Galera. This year, I brought along my Starbucks planner and white Lamy Safari loaded with J. Herbin Diabolo Menthe to CamSur Watersports Complex and the beaches of Caramoan for some 'fun in the sun'.

Here they are next to a wakeboard in the deck.

And here's the set again on the beach in Matukad Island, Caramoan.

Throughout our three-day stay in Camarines Sur, the pen and notebook took plane rides, a couple of boat rides, and a looooot of land transfers. But we had fun! Pen and notebook were kept dry in layers of zip-lock plastic bags while I enjoyed the water, the sun, and the sand.

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Ink Review: J. Herbin Diabolo Menthe

In my part of the globe, summer is nearing its end as rains begin to pelt us from tropical storm Bebeng (Aere) and typhoon Chedeng (Songda). But before summer finally bids us farewell and this post becomes a weather alert, let me write my long-postponed review of the one ink that truly reminds me of summer, J. Herbin Diabolo Menthe.

I received this bottle from Marian Ong of Scribe Writing Essentials some time ago and though it wasn't love at first write, I developed a need for it. When I'd write headings and subheadings in my notes, I'd use Diabolo Menthe or Orange Indien. If I need to highlight or underscore my lessons and handouts, I'd use Diabolo Menthe. When I want to impress my nieces with calligraphy, I use Diabolo Menthe.

I understand that not much has been written about this ink, probably because not many fountain pen users find light ink colors suitable for daily, regular writing. Despite this, I find Diabolo Menthe a cool ink color from J. Herbin. It has excellent flow and visible shading especially when used with a wider nib. And though Diabolo Menthe is very light while still wet, it dries a beautiful cyan with highly visible green tones. Diabolo Menthe's tint belongs to the goup of cyan colors including aquamarine, teal, turquoise, and verdigris.

This ink color reminds me of the color the summer seas in Boracay, Anilao, and Puerto Galera.

Here is a macro shot of my poorly drawn Diabolo Menthe icon. I drew the outline with a Platinum brush pen and applied the ink used a q-tip.

The photo below shows excellent shading, which only enhances Diabolo Menthe's tint.

Because of its light color, Diabolo Menthe is perfect for highlighting. I filled my Rotring Artpen with a 2.3 italic nib with it and use it as one of my highlighters. On my white Lamy Safari with a regular medium nib, it's super perfect for underscoring.

Diabolo Menthe is simply incomparable to other turquoise (or light blue) ink colors. The photo below shows that it's not like J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche, Diamine Turquoise, and definitely not like an old favorite, Waterman South Sea Blue. I will not pick a favorite because I love them all, and definitely because Diabolo Menthe is so far away from the rest of the cyan colors.

Lastly, the drying time of Diabolo Menthe is amazing! It dries quickly and nicely. It took less than 15 seconds to dry which works very well when I use it for highlighting.

J. Herbin named Diabolo Menthe after the popular French drink of the same name, which is "simply mint syrup and white lemonade mixed with ice cubes."

(Diabolo Menthe/Green Mint Syrup in Lemonade.

Image from http://mog.com/Anna/blog/163548)

J. Herbin inks are available in 30 beautiful colors. These water-based inks are non-toxic, have neutral pH and manufactured using natural dyes. Download a printable PDF of the J. Herbin fountain pen ink swatches here.

A 30ml bottle of J. Herbin ink sells for P475 at Scribe Writing Essentials, and US$9.50 at The Goulet Pen Company. (I have no affiliation with both companies, though.)

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Review: Quiver Pen Holder

When I saw this newly-released pen holder late last year, I was both curious and excited because of its name. Most people know I named my blog after the centaur with a bow and arrow that is my sign, but only a few knows that I am a former archer. Which is why the pen holder held my attention the moment I saw it. It brought back happy archery memories way, way back. When I was an archer, a leather hip quiver held my arrows, and now that I am a pen collector, a unique pen holder holds two of my favorite pens to a favorite notebook, and it is called the Quiver.

Quiver Global's Bob Koch kindly sent me one of their pen holders to review. I received a double/dual pen holder for large notebooks and I used it as soon I took it out of the envelope. It was love at first sight. Who wouldn't fall for these penholders? They are made from genuine soft leather and hand-stitched by Quiver's skilled leather craftsmen. It's perfect for my pens! I got a brown pen holder, but it is also available in black.

The Quiver pen holder is very easy to use because of its simple design. Just slide the pen holder over the notebook's front cover and move it according to the desired position. The photo below shows the wide elastic band that keeps the pen holder secure on the notebook's cover. This elastic band also offers maximum flexibility to the pen holder so it can be used on a number of large notebooks. Quiver's website has a list of Quiver-compatible notebooks.

The double/dual Quiver pen holder comfortably accommodates two pens. Its soft leather can be stretched a bit, so two large pens can fit in. I tested several pen combinations shown in the photos below, and I paired a big-sized pen with a thin one so they will not scratch each other.

On the Webbie: Haolilai and Esterbrook SJ. 

On the Reecovid notebook: Lamy Safari and Sheaffer thin cartridge pen.

On my red Scribe notebook: Waterman Hemisphere and Lamy Safari.

Lastly, two birds on my 2011 Starbucks planner: Pelikan M200 and the yellow M205 demo from the M205 Duo set. Love, love, love this combo!

The pen and notebook combinations are great! I love seeing two of my favorite pens on the cover of my notebooks and it makes writing very easy for me. I don't need to open a long pen wrap to get a pen to write, I just need to get one from my Quiver.

Quiver pen holders are available for online purchase through Quiver Global site. Other Quiver products include:

• single pen Quiver for small notebooks;
• single pen Quiver for large notebooks; and
• double pen Quiver for small notebooks.

Quiver also offers an adapter for use in softcover notebooks. Also available are a number of Combo Sets that include any Quiver pen holder paired with a Moleskine notebook of choice.

The Quiver pen holder used in this review is courtesy of Quiver Global. Webbie is from Exaclair, Reecovid from Reecovid, and Scribe from Scribe. Pens and Starbucks planner belong to my personal collection.

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The April Carnival of Pen, Pencil, and Paper

The April Carnival of Pen, Pencil, and Paper is here! It's a week late and there are only a few entries, but let's enjoy this month's excellent selection.

Pens

Julie (O-kami) presents a great review of the beautiful Caran d'Ache Dunas posted at Whatever.

The Classicist presents a "classic" pen, The Parker 45 straight from Augustana College posted at Penned House.

TonyB of Tiger Pens presents some crazy reviews from Amazon. Here's the 10 Funniest Bic Cristal pen reviews posted at Tiger Pens Blog.

Notebooks

Feeling drained of blogging ideas? travisthetrout presents How to: Organise your Blogging (#1: the Journal) posted at Notes in a Book. Note that this is part of his "Blog Journal Series".

Read about a worldwide journal swap as Cynthia presents A Journey of Journals posted at Journaling Arts.

Vicky Polk presents The History of the Moleskine Notebook and its Role in Literature posted at Online Education Degrees.


That's it! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this month's entries.

Next month's Carnival will be at Economy Pens. Submit entries to the next edition of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found in the blog carnival index page.

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Fountain Pen Review: Lamy Nexx

Here comes a first in the blog: a pink fountain pen!!! Cool, isn't it? But yes, I have a brand new pink Lamy Nexx fountain pen to review, a gift from the Philippines' Times Trading Company and Charlene Ngo. This pink version of the Nexx is among Lamy's new offerings for 2011.

I was very surprised when I a delivery person came to my office and handed me a small package because I was not expecting any. When I saw the Lamy bag, I was ecstatic! Inside are two Lamy boxes, the bigger box contained an unfamiliar looking pen with a metallic barrel and a bright pink plastic cap. The smaller box had a pink Lamy Logo ballpoint pen. Pink pens!!! A few minutes later, Google revealed that the unfamiliar pen is a Lamy Nexx fountain pen.

As an avid collector of Lamy's Safari line of pens, I am happy to receive the Nexx, and write my very first Lamy fountain pen review.

Lamy took extra care in presenting the Nexx in a neat, well-packaged offering. It comes in two boxes: an outer box and an inner box. The outer box, photo below, is made of silver-colored board paper, printed with the Lamy logo on the lower right part. Very simple, very elegant.

The inner box, below, is made of gray plastic that splits open when the two sides are pulled apart, as indicated by the arrows.

The top sides are pushed under the bottom part of the box, and a clear plastic pen clamp that holds the Lamy Nexx fountain pen in place. Again, cool, isn't it? This packaging is waaaaay better than gray paper boxes that my other Lamy pens came with.

The pink Nexx is the newest and youngest member of its line. It was initially offered in blue, red, and lime. It measures 5.5 inches while capped, and 5 inches uncapped.

Below shows the deconstructed Lamy Nexx. From top to bottom: plastic pink cap, aluminum barrel, Z24 converter, section, feed, and medium polished steel nib. I just love shooting these deconstructed pens.

The cap of Lamy Nexx is made of thick plastic, and this is what gives the pen its happy, youthful look. I want to get one with a red cap next time.

The Lamy logo is neatly etched on the lower part of the pen's clip.

A rounded rectangular hole is on the upper part of the clip. Below that, printed in the traditional Lamy gray is the Nexx logo.

An eye on top of the pen's clip makes it easier to attach the cap to a lanyard.

Many people in the whole fountainpendom compare the Nexx to the Safaris and Al-Stars, but I would like to point out that there are also a number of differences among them, and one is this pen's section grip. The Nexx has a smooth, soft, contoured, non-slip rubber grip on its section, as opposed to the plastic section of other pens.

The Nexx can be inked either with Lamy's T10 cartridges, or through a Z24 converter (see deconstructed pen photo above). The converter has two nipples on either side that fit snugly into the small grooves in the upper part of the section.

This is how the converter fits into the section. It fits perfectly so that the converter, while inserted, will not easily turn or be accidentally pulled out.

This pen uses the same feed as those on other Lamy pens (Safari, Vista, Al-Star, Joy, and maybe the Studio). It can be pulled out of the section using rubber grips and this helps a lot in cleaning out deep-seated ink. Putting it back can be tricky because there are grooves in the feed and inside the section that need to fit.

Here is the medium polished steel nib on my pen. Writes wet and smoothly.

Here's the nib again, on the feed. 

Like the Lamy Al-Star, the Nexx has an aluminum barrel with a unique design. The barrel starts round at the grip, where it meets with the pen's section...

...and gradually tapers off into a triangular shape towards the end. The aluminum barrel is extremely strong, but is surprisingly light in the hand. This ensures comfort even for prolonged periods of writing. My only fear for this pen's aluminum barrel is it vulnerability to scratches. Like many fountain pen owners, I don't like chicken feet scratches on my pens, whether on the barrel, the cap, or anywhere else.

Finally, here is the writing sample of this cool pen. You can click on the photo for a larger image. The first three paragraphs read as:

Here is something new for the year: a pink fountain pen! This is my cool, pink Lamy Nexx fountain pen, and this is my very first Lamy fountain pen review.

The pink Nexx is a cute and cool pen, and though it looked unfamiliar to me straight out of the box, it was love at first sight.

Similar to its cousins, the Safaris and Al-Stars, the Nexx has received a mixed set of comments. Some frown at it for its school pen/kiddie pen look, some find it a poor design mix of the Safari (plastic) and Al-Star (aluminum), others just think it is downright ugly.

The pink Lamy Nexx next to a large Quo Vadis Habana journal. The ink I used is J. Herbin Rouille d'Ancré. The 1.9 mm italic nib is from my Lamy Joy set.

The last paragraph reads as:

My pink Nexx is the newest and youngest member of its line of fountain pens from Lamy. It is available in four other cap colors and has a polished steel nib. It has a plastic cap, an aluminum barrel, and a soft rubber grip on its section. It can be inked through cartridges or a cnverter. But what I like the most about this pen is its nib. Because it shares the same nib with many other Lamy pens, I can easily change its medium nib with, say, a fine or a 1.9 mm italic nib. What is that called? Ugly? No. It's called versatility.

I wrote the word 'versatility' using a 1.5 mm italic nib from my Lamy Joy set because I wanted to show this pen's, well, versatility. It is now fitted with a 1.1 mm italic, an all-time favorite nib.

The pink Nexx is a wonderful addition to Lamy's expanding line of fountain pens. The Nexx line has been manufactured to replace the formerly popular Lamy Smile pen, and is intended to be a bridging pen between the ABC, a beginners' favorite, and the more sleek adults' favorite Safari pen. I have more than a dozen Lamy pens in my collection now, mostly Safaris, but would I get another Nexx? You bet, I will! I want one of each in red, blue, and lime!

Lamy Nexx pens are widely available in reputable pen sellers worldwide. For a global search of Lamy sellers worldwide, follow this link. In the Philippines, it will be available in stores around March.

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