Review: Leuchtturm1917 Master Slim Notebook @CouronneDuComte @Leuchtturm1917

Thank you to La Couronne du Comte for sending this very cool notebook over for review!

ABOUT

Size: 22.5 x 31.5 cm
Color: Off-White
Ruling: Dotted
Pages: 121
Weight: 100 gm
Price: € 20,50
Where to buy: La Couronne du Comte

 APPEARANCE

The Leuchtturm1917 Master Slim A4+ notebook is huge and beautiful. The covers are hard with slightly rounded corners. It is a solid orange - not fluorescent, but it is unmistakably orange! Inside, there is a long pag emarker and a pocket on the back cover. There is also an orange elastic closure. Lots of orange.

Inside, the notebook starts with a blank name and address page. There are then two pages as a dedicated table of contents. The sheets after that are numbered in the bottom right hand corner, in a small, tasteful type. The dot grid ruling runs end to end. The dots are grey - small, clean, and precise - that is, the dots don't spread. They're really well-printed. The last eight pages are perforated.

I love that there are several colors to choose from, as well as other rulings, should you wish. Moleskine and Leuchtturm1917 look similar, but these are much higher quality in my experience.

The binding of the notebook is clean and tough. Overall, the notebook looks really nice, even after weeks of use. It has held up really well, and still looks almost new.

There was also a sheet of adhesive labels for the front and spine of the notebook. A nice touch, if you want to use them.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

This notebook feels solid in hand. I love it. It is large but not so thick that it feels uncomfortable to use (and carry). The firm cover is a necessity with a notebook this large, otherwise the pages would flop all over the place. As it is, it feels robust and I love it.

The bookmarks looks good and it is convenient, but it is really long. it hangs out pretty far from the bottom of the notebook. The elastic closure is useful - snug when not in use, at the back of the notebook, and even more snug when wrapped around the notebook.

I usually do not use the back pockets inside notebooks, but in this case, I really like it. It's easy to put a full-sized/A4 sheet in the pocket without much hassle. I hate having to dig around in a pocket to extract what i put in. It's easy with this notebook because of the large size.

I love that the notebook opens so easily - no need to break the spine. The notebook lies flat and the pages don't bounce around as you write on them. I love how the notebook is not too thick. This thickness is comfortable to write on. Thick notebooks are tough for me to use comfortably because I always find my hand too high off the desk while writing and falls off the edges, resulting in hideous writing.

On to the paper - it's pretty decent all around. It isn't overly smooth - it feels like it has a touch of tooth to it. As such, pencils were a lot of fun to use on this paper because the tooth felt like it was catching the lead. The lead was then really bold and intense. (This can vary depending on the lead grade you use as well.)

Ballpoints, gel inks, and rollerballs did well on the paper. There was minimal feathering with liquid ink rollerballs, but otherwise, no feathering, low show through, and no bleed through. Only markers resulted in bleed through.

Brush pens were great on this paper were great - the inks were beautiful, shading really well, drying times were fast, and there was no feathering. In saturated spots, there was some bleed through. I loved practicing with brush pens (or just playing around with them) in this notebook. There's a lot of page space, too!

Fountain pens were a mixed bag. Finer, dry nibs did best - no discernible feathering, low show through, and minimal bleed through. Medium to broad nibs were tolerated, but there was some ghosting, show through, and bleed through. Obviously then, BB+ nibs were not all that usable without issue. The paper did allow inks to shade and particles were visible, but sheens were really toned down.

There are a lot of things I love about this notebook, including the paper - even though I am limited to certain nib sizes. The size and feel of the notebook is just so enjoyable.

PROS & CONS  

OVERALL

This is one of my favorite notebooks now.I love how solid and huge it is. The paper is not 100% fountain pen friendly, but it's not like I have a shortage of writing utensils to choose from. I also really love how A4 sheets (and smaller) easily fit into the notebook without damage.

I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. No affiliate links.

Review: J. Herbin Fountain Pen @BureauDirect

ABOUT

Body Material: Plastic
Trim: Metal
Length (capped): 117.5 mm/4.62"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 98.2 mm/3.86''
Length (posted): 139.9 mm/5.50''
Barrel Diameter: 8.2 - 10.2 mm/0.32'' - 0.40''
Section Diameter: 9.8 - 11.8 mm/0.38'' - 0.46''
Nib material: Steel
Weight (all): 12 g
Weight (cap): 12 g
Weight (body): 12 g
Fill type: Cartridge/Converter
Price: £8.95
Where to buy: Bureau Direct

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PACKAGING

No packaging, just the way I like it.

APPEARANCE

This fountain pen is small and cute. It is round and tapers towards the back end, which is rounded off. The finial is a rounded off chrome dome that angles downward towards the clip, just slightly. The clip is plain and unmarked, and it suits the design of the pen. The cap has J. Herbin printed on it in silver type.

The section is relatively thin and tapers towards the nib. There is a ring before the nib as well. The section is pretty plain. There isn't much else to this pen. It's small, simple, and plain, but not necessarily in a bad way.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The steel nib is a standard fine/medium. It has a single slit and a breather hole. It is engraved with Iridium Point Germany and some flourishes.

The nib wrote immediately upon inking. It did not hard start or skip, ink flow was good and consistent - not all that wet, but it kept up. Given the drying times and the width of the lines it put down,I think this could make for a good everyday writer/planner pen. The nib wasn't particularly smooth, but it wasn't scratchy either - just some feedback I didn't mind.

The nib was somewhat springy. With pressure, it actually produced some decent line variation. It did not snap back into place very quickly if too much pressure was applied. The nib was quite soft so I actually found it easy to bend the nib up too fast - easy to fix but just something to be aware of.

Decent nib performance overall. I was pretty happy with it.

IN HAND

This is a pen that is certainly on the smaller side. The metal clip feels pretty sturdy and is quite springy. I like how it feels and how it operated - it doesn't feel cheap and it didn't feel weak.

The section of this pen is thin and quite short. The ridge at the end is a little sharp and because of how short the section is, I found myself gripping it quite tightly to control the pen. For those with large hands, the section might feel uncomfortable.

Unposted, the pen is short and lightweight. The cap did post with a push and twist. Posted, the pen felt more balanced, had a more comfortable length, and a more usable weight.

The holes at the back of the barrel can be plugged (epoxy/glue) and the pen can then be used as an eyedropper, if you wish. Make sure you plug them properly though!

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

This isn't a bad fountain pen at all. I was pretty pleased with its performance. I find it quite small and a little on the expensive side for what it is (small, plastic, cartridge, no supplied converter). However, both pens I tested performed without issue. One of these and some J. Herbin cartridge tins are cute together and are a great gift!

I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. One of these pens will be given away on Serious Nibbage! Hang tight!

Sponsor Discount: La Couronne Du Comte

Lucky readers! La Couronne du Comte has kindly offered a 10% discount to GourmetPens readers using the code GOURMET10 - applicable on everything except Montblanc (as required by Montblanc). 

I like more than I should. But I particularly like these things:

Aurora Mar Adriatico Fountain Pen

Edison Collier - Persimmon Swirl

Faber-Castell E-Motion Wood Fountain Pen

Kaweco Skyline Mint Fountain Pen

Sailor Yama-Dori Ink

Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo Ink

Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki Ink

La Couronne du Comte has a huge selection - have fun!