In this 4K video I review Sailor Ink Studio # 123. This is a color changing grayish purple fountain pen ink with teal highlights.
Products used in this video:
Rhodia
Lamy Peridot Fountain Pen Ink Review
In this 4K video I review Lamy Peridot Ink fountain pen ink. This green ink is named after the gemstone Peridot and is part of Lamy’s premium Crystal Ink Line. Lamy Peridot Ink
Products used in this video:
- The Paper Mind Mitsubishi Bank Paper Notebook
- The Paper Mind Cosmo Air Light Hardcover Notebook
- Lamy 1.9mm Calligraphy Nib
- Kakimori Metal Dip Pen Nib Steel
- Kakimori Pen Nib
- Kakimori Aluminum Pen Holder
- Kakimori Sakura Wood Pen Holder
- Ink Miser
- Exacompta Bristol Notecards
- Classiky Whale Tray
Peridot is a medium green ink that leans slightly towards blue. This ink is part of Lamy’s newer premium Crystal T53 ink line. Each ink in this collection is named after a different gemstone.
Available only in 30ml bottles. The Crystal bottles have a more premium appearance with a metal cap and minimal printing on the glass bottle. Each bottle is 30ml and costs $16. This comes out to $0.53/ml, a little more than double Lamy’s standard ink at $0.24/ml.
The first and only Lamy Crystal ink I have owned is Obsidian, a very rich black ink. Like Obsidian, Peridot has a dry flow. This did not cause performance issues in the pens I tested it with, a Lamy Pur with a fine nib and a Lamy Aion with a 1.9mm stub. The benefit of a dry ink should be a quick dry time and indeed Peridot drys quicker than average.
I do not have a way to test the viscosity of ink but compared to Obsidian, Peridot does not seem as thick in consistency and this is why I believe I saw more trouble free performance.
The ink has no real sheen even when you dump ink down on the page. The amount of shading is average and I thought the ink looked best and more alive in the 1.9mm stub nib. The closest ink I have to it is Colorverse Spirit. Peridot does lean a bit more blue.
In the end, I didn’t love Peridot. It could be a good choice for someone that prefers quick drying ink but the color is not a wow and it does carry a premium price.
J. Herbin Shogun Fountain Pen Ink Review
Products used in this video:
- Lamy Scala Fountain Pen
- The Paper Mind Mitsubishi Bank Paper Notebook
- The Paper Mind Cosmo Air Light Hardcover Notebook
- The Paper Mind Mitsubishi Bank Paper Notebook
- Kakimori Metal Dip Pen Nib Steel
- Kakimori Pen Nib
- Kakimori Aluminum Pen Holder
- Kakimori Sakura Wood Pen Holder
- Ink Miser
- Exacompta Bristol Notecards
- Classiky Whale Tray
Rhodia Rhodiarama Soft Cover Notebook Review
In this 4K video I review the Rhodia Rhodiarama Soft Cover Notebook. This notebook features a soft Italian leatherette cover and Clairefontaine 90gsm paper. Rhodiarama – Beige Lined – https://amzn.to/3kL7KpZ Rhodiarama – Beige Dot -https://amzn.to/3HwIo8Y
Rhodia Clic Bloc Mouse Pad / Notepad Review
As I said earlier in my review of the Hermès Ostrich GM Notebook Cover, I love items that bridge my interests, and while the Rhodia Clic Bloc combines my love of pens with my love of technology it hasn’t exactly won me over.
The Clic Bloc is a notepad that doubles as a mouse pad and unfortunately serving double duty makes it both a bad notepad and a bad mouse pad.
The pad measures 7.5″ x 9″, contains 30 sheets and has a nonskid backing. The Clic Bloc looks like a regular Rhodia notepad with an orange flip over cover, only the Clic Bloc does not have a cover, it is merely a color picture of a folded cover that even has a shadow line.
It is nice that they want this product to look like the other notepads in their line but to me it is a waste of space to print a fake folded cover on every page. I also don’t like that “www. bloc-rhodia.com” is printed on the bottom.
The paper is the same 80g paper that Rhodia is famous for and of course it performs superbly with fountain pen ink. No bleeding or feathering.
It should also be noted that the grid is only on one side of the paper, the opposite side is completely blank. The pad is bound with glue on the bottom and left edges and tears off easily. Because its glued on the left it isn’t going to work well for left handed people as the paper is not going to stay put when you brush against the pad.
As a mousepad, the nonskid backing is not as secure as a regular mousepad but it works well enough.
I found no tracking issues using the pad but I found the edges of the pad to be uncomfortable to brush up against while moving the mouse around and this is ultimately what caused me to stop using it. It’s just not comfortable.
Rhodia DotPad Number 38 Review
Rhodia (and Clairefontaine) products have been a staple at my desk since middle school and there are not many formats I haven’t tried but the Rhodia DotPad # 38 and the Rhodia Clic Bloc mouse pad (review to come) fit the “new-to-me” criterion.
The #38 DotPad is the largest format top staple bound pad that Rhodia offers. It measures 16 ½” x 12 ½ “ and contains 80 sheets of Rhodia’s classic 80 g paper.
I purchased the #38 because I am currently using the end of my dining room table as a makeshift desk while I am in the process of remodeling and I was getting tired of juggling my Rhodia Reverse pad with my keyboard. Now I just sit the keyboard right on the #38 so that I don’t have to move my keyboard when I want to write a quick note.
The dot grid is the standard 5mm interval and Rhodia calls the dots “pale violet” in color but on the Black version that I have they look grey to me and are clearly different than the light purple color I see on my orange cover Reverse pads. The paper is micro perforated so it is very easy to tear out a page.
Using Rhodia’s standard 80 g weight paper, this pad does very well with fountain pen ink. Dry times are slower but tolerable and I use both sides of the paper without problem. I have been using the pad for a while now and I really like it. With a retail price of $16 and a street price closer to $13 it’s an affordable notepad that I plan to make a staple in my new office.
LIFE Noble Memo Pad and Cover B7 Review
In recent years LIFE has become one of the most coveted brands of Japanese paper. It is generally more difficult to track down than my favorites Midori and Maruman. The prices of LIFE products in the US seem to be uncontrolled as they vary quite a bit and tend to be overpriced.
The product I will be reviewing is the B7 size LIFE Noble Memo Section pad and leatherette cover that I picked up on my recent trip to Japan.
The Memo pad features 100 cream colored sheets with a faint 5mm graph. The graph is printed on one side only; the back of the page is blank. The orange cover has a great vintage look to it with the black scrollwork boarder and raised gold and black “LIFE” letters.
This memo pad oozes quality. Everything on it is tight and the taped binding is one of the best I have seen. You can open up to the middle of the book and it will lay flat and then you can close it and you would have no idea that this book as ever been open.
The cream colored pages are very high quality. If you look at the blank side of the paper you will see that is ribbed. I tested the paper against Rhodia’s 80 GSM paper and found the dry time to be about equal. The LIFE paper is a bit thicker and is more resistant to bleeding. It took multiple strokes with my fat music nib to see any bleed. The grid lines seem to resist ink and while that doesn’t bother me it may bother some.
The cover is a brown leatherette that looks sorta like leather but definitely doesn’t feel like leather, that is to say anyone who touches it wont likely be fooled.
Pressed into the leatherette is “LIFE” and the same scroll work we saw on the paper cover. The fit and finish like the notepad is immaculate with beautifully aligned stitching. I have found that in addition to protecting the notepad the cover also helps keep the pad open when you are at the beginning of the pad. I really wish they did this thing in leather.
So what about the price? The notepad with notebook cover retails for 1,000 YEN which is just under $10 USD. In the US, unfortunately, the prices are considerably higher. I found the cover (no pad included) for $20 and I found the pad for $8. To me even with the unusual high quality, $28 is too much money for a little notepad with a leatherette cover. At $10 it’s still expensive but much easier to justify.
The best prices I have seen for LIFE products in the US are at:
I have no affiliation and no purchase experience with this store but their prices seem to be more in line with Japanese retail.
Noodler’s Qin Shi Huang Ink Review
Noodler’s Qin Shi Huang is rich red with a bit of a pink hue. The flow is average but this ink seems to feather quite a lot on the Maruman Smooth to Write paper I used for the written review. I tried this ink on a Rhodia No.18 pad and my Exacompta FAF pad and there was less but still noticeable feathering. I have heard of feathering issues even with extra fine nibs which is too bad because this ink is beautiful. There is some shading and the ink is fluorescent. Qin Shi Huang is not waterproof and has an average dry time. I really love the color of this ink but the feathering even on high quality paper is a turn off.