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This is a review of the KOKUYO 100TH RECORD BOOK - CENTURY EDITION This is the 5mm grid variant . (There is a lined variant) This gridded variant comes in black , grey, and orange. The Soft cover comes in a clear plastic book sleeve. very nice , textured cover paper the texture recalls to mind the pattern like on the body of the PILOT JUSTUS fountain pen this sample being reviewed is black The shopkeeper told me that this notebook was made to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of Kokuyo ? A5 size and dimensions specified Here is the loose leaf jacket Back to the spine I think this is the article number The Book Block The book block has this nice herringbone? pattern in black lines. Very nicely done 👍 (This pic is of a orange cover variant) This is the top of the notebook Long side of the notebook Bottom side ... all the same pattern but extremely exacting in position and perfectly printed, ie no faded parts or unprinted patches The Binding The binding seems to be a 'perfect binding' , ie glued. I couldn't find stitches. as you would expect of Japanese workmanship, the binding is really very well done. The book keeps its crisp form and shape, no deformity in any X , Y or Z axis. There's a little of a 'gull wing' effect (not illustrated here) from this kind of glueing but even so, it is very well minimized because of the care and precision in binding. I cannibalized the notebook to craft an A6 journal. (Sorry , I couldn't resist putting good paper into a nicer book.) Here you see the cover ripped from the bookblock. The Writing Paper There are only 70 sheets in this notebook. So this means 140 writing pages. As specified on the loose jacket, the writing paper is KOKUYO (high grade) CYO-BO paper , 100g , acid free. This gridded version is in 5mm grids. The grids are printed in medium or light grey tone , (not black) which is a good design because it doesn't distract your note taking. Greys or blues are kinder on the eyes. And it doesn't compete with ink colours should you decide to go psychedelic in your ink choices. The grid is very very precisely printed. Very impressive . Look at how the grids end on each edge of the paper.... There is a consistent distance away from each edge of the writing page, including the spine edge !!! This pic below is bottom right corner. Same spacing at top-right corner of page Between two pages Pic of bottom of spine The Ink Test I carried out an ink test of sorts with some of the inks that I had . Also tested with assorted ballpoint inks Very good paper. NO bleedthru NO feathering The paper surface is smooth. It is a real pleasure to write if you prefer smooth paper surfaces. The paper does not have any 'tooth' , however slight, like as in Midori refill booklets. Page 1 of 3 Black paper underlay Backside of Page 1 white copier paper underlay the shadow from the assorted inks are insignificant. 👍 Page 2 Black paper underlay Page 3 which is also the backside of Page 2 whole view of page 3 Very good notebook. Opens flat and stays flat open (almost) I paid SGD$20 for any 2 copies (sale price) apparently the distributor set aside a certain number to be sold at a bargain as part of their anniversary promotion. 😊

Hi all, I am really excited to share pictures of the pilot pen I received in mail this morning! I had reached to multiple vendors across Europe and finally found one piece at Stilograph Corsani. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know your thoughts! Cheers, Sidd

the fountain pen arrived yesterday, prompting this mini-review... to recap, i received the rollerball version of this pen as a gift from a friend maybe three years ago, and had always hankered since for the FP version, attracted by the retro styling (they called this the "historical" as opposed to the starwalker 100 years). i saw one at the auction at the chicago pen show this year and made too feeble a bid on it, and regretted when it went to someone else. then it came up in the FPN classifieds at a good price, and this time i didn't let go. side by side in a case, it's hard to tell the difference between the RB and the FP: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5510/9584982449_7425eea239_z.jpg taken out, the FP (on top) is just a tad longer than the RB (and no, the caps don't switch): http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7329/9587774794_d75d6b11ce_z.jpg and here they are uncapped: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2860/9587776560_6ab4f8fc00_z.jpg the nib comes out and retracts through a push-pull slider on the barrel. (you can't screw on the cap with the nib out.) perplexing for the absolute newbie ("where the heck's the nib?!") and it took me a bit to figure out as i kept trying to turn the butt of the pen as i would with a safety, but pretty easy and simple once you get the hang of it. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5515/9584986293_af4de527a0_z.jpg in the closed position, you can unscrew the rear of the pen to expose a carrier for the cartridge. (yes, it's a bit of a surprise if not a disappointment to realize that such a top-of-the-line pen uses cartridges and nothing but.) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7440/9584987979_5c02103d80_z.jpg i'll post a writing sample soon, but suffice it for now to say that its medium nib writes smoothly; mine was firm with no hint of flex or springiness, which i suppose makes it ideal for notetaking.