Nu: World Tradies Stone Paper Notebook

[dcwaites]

I found this notebook in Officeworks at Campbelltown the other day, and thought I would do a handwritten review.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first two pages were written in an A4 Tradies notebook, and the second two in an A5 one.

 

These books are currently extremely cheap, and excellent value, so long as you use a suitable ink, ballpoint or pencil.

Edited April 7, 2013 by dcwaites

[cedargirl]

Very interesting. Thanks for your efforts. I'll try to get some myself.

 

Your concerns about the abrasive nature of the paper make me wonder whether the calcium carbonate particles are small enough and embedded in the polyethylene enough to make it not an issue.

 

I'm interested in what others have to say on this. Particularly someone who understands the manufacturing process and the potential for unwanted wear on nibs.

[inkypete]

I bought one from Officeworks quite a few months ago and must say it was terrible for FP use so be careful if you intend buying.

[dcwaites]

I bought one from Officeworks quite a few months ago and must say it was terrible for FP use so be careful if you intend buying.

 

It does appear to depend on the ink. The better quality inks (except Visconti Blue and Parker Penman Sapphire) do badly, spreading sideways (see the Midway Blue for the worst example).

I suspect that the quality inks have some component (perhaps a surfactant) that spreads the ink through the chalk powder.

 

However, if you stick to inexpensive inks (or Visconti Blue) it is ideal with dip pens.

 

Strangely, some inks, like Waterman Florida Blue, fade dramatically overnight.

 

The best inks I have tried so far with this product are Visconti Blue, Sailor Jentle Blue, Diamine ASA Blue, Diamine WES Kensington Blue and Queen Blue Food Dye.

 

I think I will mainly be using mine with dip pens and cheap inks.

[cedargirl]

I bought one from Officeworks quite a few months ago and must say it was terrible for FP use so be careful if you intend buying.

 

It does appear to depend on the ink. The better quality inks (except Visconti Blue and Parker Penman Sapphire) do badly, spreading sideways (see the Midway Blue for the worst example).

I suspect that the quality inks have some component (perhaps a surfactant) that spreads the ink through the chalk powder.

 

However, if you stick to inexpensive inks (or Visconti Blue) it is ideal with dip pens.

 

Strangely, some inks, like Waterman Florida Blue, fade dramatically overnight.

 

The best inks I have tried so far with this product are Visconti Blue, Sailor Jentle Blue, Diamine ASA Blue, Diamine WES Kensington Blue and Queen Blue Food Dye.

 

I think I will mainly be using mine with dip pens and cheap inks.

 

I love that you are using food dyes. I've tested several on standard printer paper with broad nibs/dip pen holders and was impressed with the results. Interesting that they work on this paper.

 

Some inks have components that actually bind to the cellulose fibres, so I imagine these wouldn't dry quickly on the poly/chalk papers.

[dcwaites]

These are the original images at the beginning of the post.

I needed the space so I deleted the old ones and re-uploaded them.

 

 

 

 

[graystranger]

Calcium carbonate minerals have a very low hardness, 3 on the Mohs scale. That is very soft and should be non-abrasive. However, natural sources of calcium carbonate minerals can have other minerals in trace amounts that are harder. Metamorphic carbonates like marble often have crystalline minerals like actinolite-tremolite which has a hardness of 5-6 and would worry me. A knife blade is usually 5.5 on the Mohs scale. Similarly sedimentary calcite (limestone, Mexican onyx, etc.) could contain all kinds of minerals during its sedimentation process. Some very hard.

 

If the manufacturer of this paper used calcite precipitated from a solution during a beneficiation process, it would be free of other minerals and should be very soft. Without knowing, I would not use fountain pens of high value until these papers have been used long enough to determine if there is wear on the tips of pens.

 

Note many papers contain micro-abrasive materials which will wear the tips of nibs over a long period of time. I've seen a vintage Sheaffer pen that was used over some 50+ years result in a flat wear pattern on the tip that fit the user's angle of writing perfectly but was scratchy for my method of holding the pen. However a lot of the tipping material was still left on the pen and it could obviously go another 50 or more years of use.

 

If anyone has ever used a very sharp knife to slit open envelopes, they will know that paper can quickly dull the edge of a knife. I'm talking good knives here, like vintage Case knives honed to a very sharp edge.

Edited December 30, 2015 by graystranger