Boku Books smythe-sewn softcase journal

[Goodwhiskers]

(Edit: My opinion of the price has been raised.)

 

Size: 6 inches by 9 inches (15.24 cm by 22.86 cm).

 

Pages: 80 (76 pages ruled, 1/4-inch or 7-mm space between lines; also available blank).

 

Paper: I call it ecru-colored; 70-pound claimed weight, whatever that means (like nice book paper); 30% kenaf fiber, 70% recycled (tree) fiber. The Boku website says they will switch to 100% kenaf paper eventually.

 

Binding: Smythe-sewn, lay-flat binding.

 

Cover: a dense, thin, cotton ragmat backing board, doubled, with a hinge-scored floating spine; several available colors and patterns, all very attractive.

 

Price: I paid $8 USD plus 8.25% sales tax, $8.66 total, at a college bookstore, for one of these. Boku also makes cheaper "Paperback Journals" and "Wirebound Notebooks" with the same paper and cover materials. The store I was in stocked only this product from the Boku line.

 

Manufacturer of journal: Boku Books, www.bokubooks.com .

Manufacturer of paper: Vision Paper, a division of KP Products, www.visionpaper.com .

 

Comfort and convenience: The lay-flat binding and floating spine make this journal convenient and comfortable.

 

Writing in it: The paper feels nice to write on. The fountain pen inks I have behave better on this paper than reports of FP ink on new-stock Moleskine paper, but not as well as on Crane's airmail-weight cotton paper or "Ampad Evidence, Recycled" brand wood paper. I can post details if asked. This paper is plenty good enough for my Noodler's (non-Swisher) and Sheaffer Skrip inks. I e-mailed Vision Paper to ask if they make denser-fiber papers.

 

As the prices of smythe-sewn, attractivel-bound journals go, the Boku Books Journal is reasonable. Because of their prices, I tend to write only the information I really, really want to keep for a long time in smythe-sewn journals. I'm looking forward to seeing more kenaf paper products for sale in the future.

 

Information about kenaf from Vision Paper, Wikipedia and some state university webpages:

 

Kenaf (Persian name, borrowed into English; also known as Bimli, Ambari Hemp and Deccan Hemp) is an annual, hibiscus-family plant, related to cotton and okra. Kenaf's fibers come from its tall, thick stems.

 

Kenaf's taxonomical name, hibiscus cannabinus, along with its common names including the word "hemp" (I guess the Persian pronunciation of "kenaf" probably came from the same linguistic source as "cannabi-," too) is perhaps politically unfortunate now; kenaf is not related at all to hemp/marijuana. Because kenaf is not hemp, it does not produce the drug THC. The cannab-/hemp references in the names for kenaf are references to its use as a source of coarse fiber, nothing more.

 

Because there are no legal issues with growing it, the kenaf fiber in Boku Books' paper is grown and processed in the USA. Kenaf is much more land-efficient as a source of paper fiber than trees are, producing 3 to 5 times more usable fiber per acre than Southern Pine trees, and producing that much fiber every year rather than every 7 to 40 years! Kenaf needs little to no chemical assistance, it is harvested mechanically in the USA, and it is ready to be harvested for its fiber before it produces seeds, so it doesn't spread like a weed itself.

 

I hope kenaf gets more demand here.

Edited May 2, 2006 by Goodwhiskers

[Melnicki]

This has me very very excited...

 

but so far, a cursory search of enviro-hippy Berkeley's resources have not found anyone selling it, except for Global Exchange. and they are selling just the journals... I'd like to get a ream of it, but I saw Vision only sells cases of 10 reams (did anyone get a price quote on that? way too much for me though...)

 

This website has more info, and they're in SF, so maybe I'll drop by next time I'm around... I'm sure they might know someone that has a ream for sale locally.

 

Happy Earth Day everyone!

[amh210]

Can you give me a source link? If the paper is good and not too much more than regular paper, my office goes through 50 reams a month. Since I get to decide what paper to buy, I'd certainly buy a more ecologically friendly paper if it was suitible for our copier use.

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

[Melnicki]

at the bottom of the link i put up in my previous post, there is a list of a few people that sell it. You have to call to get prices for ordering the Vision paper. If that goes well, let me know!!!

[drifting]

I received both a pocket sized and 6x9 Boku book from Global Exchange in February, about the same time I got a small lot of Moleskines off eBay (even with international shipping, WAAAY cheaper than buying Moleskines locally - as for the Boku books, can't get them locally & the shipping was pretty steep, but I wanted to try the kenaf paper).

 

I've been swamped with work and have been writing my way through a pile of Clairefontaine clothbound and Miquelrius wirebound notebooks, so I haven't really had a chance to get to either the Bokus or the Moleskines. This review has popped the Boku up to the top of the pile in terms of which notebook gets used next, though. Thanks!

 

I did do a quick pen and ink test page with about 10 combos when they first arrived. The paper is toothier than the Moleskine Cahiers I've used in the past (haven't got to the Moleskines proper yet), and of course, nothing like Clairefontaine or Miquelrius. Because of the antique ecru colour and tooth, it reminds me more of the G. Lalo journal I got from Pendemonium, though the G. Lalo has a laid finish and even more tooth. Anyway.

 

Steve mentioned the 70lb weight - that's 'text', as opposed to 'bond'. 70lb text paper is 104 gsm, so it's pretty close to a 28lb bond (105.4 gsm). The Boku book concept grew out of recycling trimmings from their publishing/printing business, so this paper isn't technically designed for pen and ink, but it does better with FP ink than a lot of other cheaper notebooks I've used. I did notice that the really wet lines that might dry to show some variation on other papers dried to an even shade with some feathering on this paper. It just sucked up all that ink. I, too, will be interested in Vision's response to your query, Steve.

 

I don't mind paying a little more to support businesses like these, but I must admit, I found shopping online for Boku books more than a little frustrating. No one retailer carries the whole line described on their website, and many of the e-tailers wouldn't ship internationally, which I found odd in this day and age.

 

Thanks again for the review, Steve!

 

Ryan.

 

edit from 6x8 - slip o the finger

Edited May 2, 2006 by drifting

[Johnny Appleseed]

70-pound claimed weight, whatever that means (like nice book paper)

 

Ah, the age old paper weight question. . .

 

The weight of paper in the English/American system is base on the actual weight of 1000 sheets of the parent sheet of the paper. The parent sheet is a large size sheet that is used by printers. However, rather than being a nice, simple, standardized system, there are multiple sizes of parent sheets

 

Bond, Writing, Script, ledger, manifold, onionskin, Safety and wedding papers use a 17 x 22" parent sheet (which devides or folds into four 8.5x11 sheets). This is the familier 20#, 24#, 28# etc.

 

Text, Book, Offset, Bible, and most coated papers use a 25" x 38" parent sheet which results in the common weights of 60#, 70# etc. Note that 60# text is approximately the same as 24#Bond, 70# text is approx 28# bond, etc.

 

Bristol uses a 22.5" x 28.5" parent sheet.

Cover uses a 20" x 26" parent sheet.

Index uses a 25.5" x 30.5" Parent sheet.

Tag and Newsprint use a 24" x 36" parent sheet.

 

The rest of the world uses grammage - grams / square meter. Typical metric logical consistancy - no alchemy, no reference library needed to figure out. What fun is that!

 

For a comparison of all the different sizes:

Basis Weight and Grammage

 

John

Edited April 24, 2006 by Johnny Appleseed

[GrantC]

Wow! Thanks for that information - I've always wondered about those inconsistencies!

 

And in that spirit, I give you the speed of light: 1.8026175 × 10E12 furlongs per fortnight!

[Johnny Appleseed]

I should add that certain bristol-boards and other heavy stock are sometimes measured in caliper - ie. you take a caliper and measure how thick it is (usually in inches).

 

John

[Goodwhiskers]

Thanks, John, for explaining the weight of paper.

 

After several digs through Crane's website I finally found the "Continuum" other-fiber paper information.

 

In the Continuum line, Crane's is now making and selling 50/50 cotton/kenaf paper and 50/50 cotton/hemp paper (the cotton from both being recycled from discarded clothing), sold in bulk directly and in smaller lots through only a handful of retailers. It's still in test phase.

 

Crane's is advocating both kenaf production and :blink: :blink: the return of industrial hemp production in the USA. I doubt the latter will happen during my statistically expected lifetime.

 

Therefore, I'm promoting kenaf production in the USA. Kenaf is a winner of a crop: productive in poor soils, few or no ag-chemicals needed, lots of profitable uses right now and no, repeat no, political baggage.

Edited April 26, 2006 by Goodwhiskers

[Johnny Appleseed]

Thanks for the review of these, BTW. I have a Boku book journal in my pile of journals to use - it may end up on the top of the stack when I finish the one I am working on.

 

Personally I think the Kenaf/recycled mix they use is the way to go. I am not crazy about the idea of 100% Kenaf paper. While the Kenaf crop is much, much better than virgin wood pulp, it still results in mono-crop, industrialized farming. We really need to be using a lot more recycled paper - I would think we should be able to run a society on at least a 50% recycled fiber

 

The beauty of Kenaf, and hemp for that matter, is that it can be mixed with post-consumer recycled fiber to make a significantly higher grade of paper than post-consumer waste alone.

 

Crane's cotton paper has always been a good environmental choice, as it is 100% recycled cotton (waste trimmings from local manufacture, extremely clean effluents, use of wast pulp for fuel or fertalizer, etc).

 

John

 

PS. I should be posting a review of another ecologically sound paper journal soon.

[Goodwhiskers]

The first version of the head posting for this topic thread was uncomplimentary about the price, but after seeing the prices of many other smythe-sewn journals in several stores I must revise my opinion .

 

If you want a smythe-sewn journal, a Boku Books Journal is very reasonably priced and is a very solid value.

Edited May 2, 2006 by Goodwhiskers

[R.ticle One]

I just wanted to say that these journals sound very interesting. And that I think the governmental attitude towards commercial hemp production within the country is absolutely ludicrous. Hemp is possible to grow with little to no THC - if it is present, it is in quantities so low that nobody could possibly do anything with it even if they wanted to. It is a viable, renewable, environmentally friendly, strong, versatile plant and fiber, and the greed of the governing bodies combined with their outdated fear (though truthfully I think it's more greed than anything) of using any product that resembles cannabis, even one which has completely different uses than being a plant source of a psychoactive chemical, is pathetic.

 

I am a Canadian, eater of hemp seeds and owner of an organically grown hemp fiber backpack.

 

I apologize for the rant. The journals really do sound great, I was just reminded of the U.S. Gov.'s attitude toward the non-drug plant. No offence intended to anyone if you may disagree.

 

R.ticle One

[Goodwhiskers]

R.ticle One: No offense taken .

 

Hemp is a great source of fiber and specialty vegetable oil, and it's unfortunate that we in the USA have been missing out on the benefits of producing our own hemp fiber, but the risks of producing hemp in our political and cultural environment still far outweigh the benefits. Hemp for fiber and oil looks just like hemp for drug use, and any system to enforce the difference here would be costly in human lives and money to run and far from 100% effective. I'm not wishing for the legalization of industrial hemp here as long as our culture remains as it is. I'm all for producing hemp in places where the difference can be enforced at less cost.

 

Therefore, I see kenaf as the better choice for displacing wood fiber in the USA.

Edited May 16, 2006 by Goodwhiskers

[Dudley]

Sorry Goodwhiskers and R.ticle One, but just an insight on how things are done in America. Production of hemp would be regulated as much as poppy seeds on your morning bagel. For people that dont realize it, poppy seed are actually seeds of Opium, unpurified stuff that makes heroine.

 

R.ticle One's is partially right about America's "ban on hemp" new rules are incomplete and didnt really state what it means to be free of THCs in product. And then there are hemp products in the US, i see them all the time.

 

Goodwhisker's assumptions about hemp products isn't quite what it is, because unlike the hemp papers of the past where you can actually smoke to get high, the modern processed stuff dont lift you up when you're feeling down.

 

The reason why hemp is kind of hazy in the law, is simply because of its notoriety in its raw form. And many Americans are not realist and get over it.

 

My stance on it isn't so much for it or against it, because its not really my problem. Plus this isnt the place to debate it anyways.

 

 

 

 

PS. Do not eat poppy seed bagels before drug test, from real hand experience, it does show up on the results as you being a heroine junkie. Oh yeah sorry for going off topic

Edited May 16, 2006 by Dudley

[Goodwhiskers]

Thanks, Dudley. You're right that debating hemp politics is off topic, and I'm the one who put comments about the USA's present-day hemp politics in the opening message of this topic thread. My point there was that kenaf does not need political rehabilitation and is feasible here right now and worth supporting.

[Johnny Appleseed]

I would also add, that were hemp able to be grown in the US, it would probably be good to have more than one fiber crop in production - so that if a blight or some such were to hit one crop, the other would not be impacted.

 

 

Hemp for fiber and oil looks just like hemp for drug use

 

Goodwhisker's assumptions about hemp products isn't quite what it is, because unlike the hemp papers of the past where you can actually smoke to get high, the modern processed stuff dont lift you up when you're feeling down

 

I think Goodwhiskers point here is not that the hemp products contain THC, but that the plants are identical. It would be difficult to insure that a field of low-THC Cannibis sativa grown for industrial hemp were not peppered with covertly grown high-THC Cannibis sativa.

 

John

[Dudley]

I think another reason we don't see much of these other fibers is cause the "tree-hugger" side of the general public is already satisfied from the fact we got recycled paper. Thus, due to ignorance, this Kenaf just doesn't stand a chance.

 

Infact im not really big on recycling paper anyways, though i do it all the time. Why you ask? Cause the paper isn't made from old growth forests, and heck it's a renewable resource, so why are we so worried about recycling paper?? i mean paper is just cellulose and it's biodegradable. Though slow as it may be, it's already digested enough by chemicals that it degrades much faster than a log.

 

Sorri for the rant, but i always wonder why do we recycle paper, and wonder what must they do to make my paper pristine white again.

 

BTW, i still ritualistically recycle paper. Weird since i have this stance on it, but heck if the governement is paying for it, might as well give them their money's worth.

[R.ticle One]

Sorry Goodwhiskers and R.ticle One, but just an insight on how things are done in America. Production of hemp would be regulated as much as poppy seeds on your morning bagel. For people that dont realize it, poppy seed are actually seeds of Opium, unpurified stuff that makes heroine..............................

 

.............R.ticle One's is partially right about America's "ban on hemp" new rules are incomplete and didnt really state what it means to be free of THCs in product. And then there are hemp products in the US, i see them all the time.

 

 

 

.....................The reason why hemp is kind of hazy in the law, is simply because of its notoriety in its raw form. And many Americans are not realist and get over it.

 

..............Plus this isnt the place to debate it anyways.

Aye, aye. True enough that regulation would be required. Though it would be quite ballsy to grow something as conspicuous as a massive field of what resembles marijuana and have it actually be marijuana, rather than, for all practical purposes, non-psychoactive hemp. I don't eat bagels much, and have long known that those are opium poppy seeds.

 

The Canadian comment, my bad. Didn't mean to make it sound like the States don't have access to hemp products. Shame about the automatic association with the drug producing relative, both have different functions, but I suppose that difficulty among some in gaining a positive attitudinal shift is what you may get after years of it's criminalization.

 

Just been feeling slightly frustrated lately by some people's (not here!) almost immediate unwillingness to consider the value of the environment from a basic, logical viewpoint, as in, we live here, and making/seeking to instill among current governing bodies, beneficial changes, could be good for us all.

 

I do agree this is not the place to debate it, this forum is more for debating, if at all, which papers Noodler's acts like a wet noodle on, and which others it absorbs, like water into flour. ;D

 

My apologies again, and thanks no one for dramatically jumping the gun on my ass.

 

R.ticle One

[R.ticle One]

Edit. Sorry, internet connection went funny, posted twice.

Edited May 17, 2006 by R.ticle One

[Dudley]

But it sure is fun to talk about right? :roflmho: