A Shot In The Dark - "life" Noble Note Ruled Notebooks,b5 Size (N38)

[jimg]

I went back to Japan a while back and bought a couple of these notebooks at a stationery store in Ginza to write a short story. Stupid me, I only bought two and have become a bit infatuated with them. Perfect size, medium heavy FP friendly ivory paper with not too heavy and not too light lines.

 

I have had a look at the US vendors mentioned in the "sticky" above but drew a blank.

 

Last week I bought a few more from a Rakuten store but the shipping was fairly outrageous. When I say "outrageous" , remember that I have had to pay for shipping on pens and paper from the US to Australia for most of my adult life, and have never felt the need to describe USPS rates as "outrageous"

 

So , anyone have a lead? If you think you are onto something I would be happy to post a photo of a cover for confirmation.

 

Anyone?

Edited February 8, 2011 by jimg

[blaisep]

I went back to Japan a while back and bought a couple of these notebooks at a stationery store in Ginza to write a short story. Stupid me, I only bought two and have become a bit infatuated with them. Perfect size, medium heavy FP friendly ivory paper with not too heavy and not too light lines.

 

I have had a look at the US vendors mentioned in the "sticky" above but drew a blank.

 

Last week I bought a few more from a Rakuten store but the shipping was fairly outrageous. When I say "outrageous" , remember that I have had to pay for shipping on pens and paper from the US to Australia for most of my adult life, and have never felt the need to describe USPS rates as "outrageous"

 

So , anyone have a lead? If you think you are onto something I would be happy to post a photo of a cover for confirmation.

 

Anyone?

 

 

You must be referring to the clothbound journals with the striped pattern on the cover. I got hooked on them in 1986 and

I never pass up an opportunity to pick them up at KyuKyoDo (Ginza and Shibya branches both carry them).

I have never seen them outside of Japan and in fact friends who have tried to get them at other stores in Japan have not been able to.

Good luck on your quest. I don´t know if Life makes them anymore since it has been at least 10 yrs since my last visit.

[bitterwonder]

I bought a notebook of smooth blank laid paper at the Kinokuniya bookstore in New York City this month. They had three or four sizes and had lined versions as well but I did not look at those.

Works well with fountain pen and also ok for wash drawings.

[145lewis]

Wouldn't you know it, I ran of space this weekend while I was visiting NYC. I wasn't looking for any specific brand, just a new notebook. There were a bunch of different options but something about the Life's Noble Note Section drew me in. I certainly liked it enough to google. The product description was very well written. Then your thread popped up. http://mcnallyjackson.com/ Here's what you should do. Call them up, tell them you'd like to order a signed copy of Kate Milford's The Broken Lands. Then, you tell them you heard they sold the notebook and wonder if they'd ship a few to you. Next you read Kate's book because it's awesome.

 

Now here's where it gets a little tricky. You use one of the notebooks to write a story you wished existed when you were ten years old.

 

Or, you could buy them here. https://omoionline.com/shop/life-b6-noble-notebooks/

 

I'd go with McNally Jackson though, they are pretty awesome.

 

I went back to Japan a while back and bought a couple of these notebooks at a stationery store in Ginza to write a short story. Stupid me, I only bought two and have become a bit infatuated with them. Perfect size, medium heavy FP friendly ivory paper with not too heavy and not too light lines.

 

I have had a look at the US vendors mentioned in the "sticky" above but drew a blank.

 

Last week I bought a few more from a Rakuten store but the shipping was fairly outrageous. When I say "outrageous" , remember that I have had to pay for shipping on pens and paper from the US to Australia for most of my adult life, and have never felt the need to describe USPS rates as "outrageous"

 

So , anyone have a lead? If you think you are onto something I would be happy to post a photo of a cover for confirmation.

 

Anyone?

[inkypete]

Notemaker now carry some of the Life range - not sure if one of the range is your notebook.

 

http://notemaker.com.au/collections/life-japanese-paper-notebooks

[Courfid]

Check out bundokis sister website, geared towards international customers: Pencils,jp

[Florenze]

Yes, there's a source: it is Nanami Paper (dot com). Online store.

 

Located in Irvine, California. Great selection of papers, notebooks, stationery. I've been using my Life paper all week, I really like it.

 

Dave is a very nice fellow, excellent communication and service. (no affil. /happy customer)

 

 

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I went back to Japan a while back and bought a couple of these notebooks at a stationery store in Ginza to write a short story. Stupid me, I only bought two and have become a bit infatuated with them. Perfect size, medium heavy FP friendly ivory paper with not too heavy and not too light lines.

 

I have had a look at the US vendors mentioned in the "sticky" above but drew a blank.

 

Last week I bought a few more from a Rakuten store but the shipping was fairly outrageous. When I say "outrageous" , remember that I have had to pay for shipping on pens and paper from the US to Australia for most of my adult life, and have never felt the need to describe USPS rates as "outrageous"

 

So , anyone have a lead? If you think you are onto something I would be happy to post a photo of a cover for confirmation.

 

Anyone?

Edited April 9, 2013 by Florenze

[SuzieSueSue]

I'm loving the notebooks - does anyone know who the US Supplier/Distributor is of the Life Products? If I get this, I *may* be able to convince the local store to carry. TYIA!

[Bookman]

I wouldn't presume to talk a devoted fan out of buying a Life Noble notebook, as I haven't tried one. Indeed, I might try one. But for the sake of convenience, not to say price, might I suggest a possible alternative?

 

I'm a huge fan of the Apica Premium CD notebook (no affiliation). It even bears a resemblance to the Life Noble that I saw at Notemaker. The B5 Apica Premium CD notebook has 96 sheets, compared to the Life Noble's 100. (Goulet Pens [likewise, no affiliation] sells it for $21.60USD plus shipping. Here's the link: http://www.gouletpens.com/Apica_Premium_CD_B5_Blue_Lined_Notebook_p/ap-cds120y.htm.)

 

The paper is the best I've ever written on—loose-leaf, wirebound notebook, hardcover journal, whatever format. It is super-smooth without causing the kind of nib-drag I sometimes get when writing on Clairefontaine. My nibs always glide across Apica Premium CD paper. In that respect it reminds me of the Rhodia Webbie. But unlike the Rhodia Webbie, the Apica Premium CD paper is not absorbent, which allows one to get a true line from a given nib. And even though I avoid white paper whenever possible, and even though the color of the Apica Premium CD paper is nominally white, it can't actually be white, because if it were, my eyeballs would smart when I wrote on it. It is an off-white which tends ever so slightly in the direction of cream.

 

By the way, the sewn binding is quite resistent to torture. When I write on either side I always fold the other around behind it, just as I do when using a wirebound notebook. After 3 months of daily use, no signs of wear except a very slight bend in the front along the binding tape.

[Sebastien]

In Toronto (Canada) WonderPens sells Life's note books online :

 

www.wonderpens.ca

 

Just got mine this morning with a Kaweco Sport ! :-)

I got the B6 N30.

 

I absolutely love that paper, excellent for fountain pen, and has mentioned above, the lines are just bold and heavy enough, not too dark, paper has a nice Ivory color and the whole format is great. A great value for the price.

Edited January 17, 2014 by Sebastien

[Newjelan]

I buy the B5 Life Noble Note Ruled notebooks from notemaker.com.au Their service is excellent and they ship worldwide.

[SuperUltra]

I recently found this site which carries Life notebooks: http://notebook-maniac.com/collections/life-notebook

 

Free shipping on orders over $40 which is nice too.