Silvine Originals Memo Book

[grainweevil]

Pretty much anyone in the UK over a certain age will have memories of the classic red covered Silvine exercise books, or the ubiquitous memo book. I'm still fond of the latter now for its fountain pen-friendly paper, if not for its rather flimsy cover, so was interested to come across the recent launch of a high quality re-tread of these old favourites.

 

http://www.silvineoriginals.co.uk/

 

Lots of sizzle going on there, but what's the steak like? I emailed them to ask after the FP-friendliness and was assured they were "very happy" with fountain pen ink, so naturally I wanted to try one. And of course it had to be a Memo.

 

 

The Basic @ approximately £0.80 in my local newsagents, comes loose, while the Original @ £4.50 comes shrink-wrapped with a belly band.

 

 

The Original at 52 pages is marginally thinner than the Basic at 72 pages.

 

 

The Original includes a bookmark telling you all the joys of the thing you've already bought, which might arguably be more useful if you could read it before you have to unwrap it. But it's a nice thought.

 

 

A major difference between the two is the binding and cover. The Basic is simply staple bound, and the cover is flimsy in the extreme - I've never had one survive the life of the notebook without help. The Original, on the other hand, has a sturdy textured cover and a sewn binding. A vast improvement, although while the dark blue thread looks good against the red cover, it does look rather ugly when you reach the centre pages inside the notebook. You do have to rather "crack" the cover to get it to lie flat, and once done it's not thus far inclined to want to lie fully closed again.

 

 

Inside the difference between the Basic on the left, and the Original on the right is obvious; the latter is a creamier, brighter paper, with a more pronounced ruling. Every page is also perforated. The fleck on the line in the middle of the Original's paper is within the paper itself; a quick flick through doesn't immediately flag up any other instances. Both have 7mm ruling. Ruled, blank or blank/squared pages are only available in certain notebook sizes, which is a shame.

 

 

But the important bit is, naturally, how it faired with FPs. I used a mixture of inks already in pens, and broke out a dip pen so I could test it with the potentially problem inks of Shigure and Apache Sunset. I see no evidence of feathering, spreading, or skipping. The paper has a slight texture to it which I personally prefer, and possibly as a result does not generate any noticeable sheen. No smearing noticed.

 

 

The reverse of the page shows no signs of bleed through at all, and limited show through. An extremely satisfactory result.

 

 

As I said, every page is perforated although they seem robustly fixed until folded at the perforation line and torn off. The latter being a very clean tear.

 

All in all, for performance, I was very impressed. Truly a pleasant writing experience that really makes the ink pop most satisfactorily. It's nice to see a company aim to make a quality product and not forget about the paper! As a Brit, it's a pleasure to enjoy a British notebook as a change from seeking out alternatives from France and Japan. I also enjoy the "retro" look and the childhood memories it evokes.

 

However, there are cons. The various notebook sizes are all, as far as I can tell, somewhat idiosyncratic. A6, A5, and A4 are all carefully illusive, and even existing oddities like Field Notes size or Traveler's Notebook are ignored. There's also no options in what ruling (or not) you can have in what size notebook. I would have liked to have tried the Pocket size notebooks, but they're blank and I wanted to see what the ruled paper was like. Finally, the price is pretty high if all you want is a notebook, and not the accompany story. Whether it's too high will, of course, depend on the individual.

[migo984]

Thank you for your thorough & timely review. I came across these updated posh versions too, and being a long-time Silvine user, was curious; but I didn't buy one because of the very significant price increase over the ones I use (your 'Basic'), which I pay around £0.65 for at a local shop. I like the more robust cover, perforated pages & option of blank paper in the updated version, but for my purposes (scribbles & jottings) I think I'll stock up on the Basic - while it's still around.

 

Ps I agree about the odd sizes of Silvine. I think it's a hangover from when they moved to metric measurements from old imperial paper sizes, I don't mind though - it's quirky :-)

[grainweevil]

Yes, the price is the real stumbling block. Notebooks designed to be dropped in bags and pockets tend to be disposable, and generally most people are not inclined to want to spend larger sums on something they know they're going to throw away. Now if they were to do hardbacks along the same theme with this paper, that might be a different matter. The classic old marbled hard cover/cloth spine type perhaps? I dunno; I would love the range to succeed because it's a good product and made in this country, but like you, for my purposes the existing version's quality and price are adequate enough.

 

And quirky is exactly the word!

[KKay]

I loved the review. I love sewn binding the best. It does make a difference. The ink colors were so vivid on the paper. Looks like a great notebook. I have no idea about the prices. So I can't comment on that. We don't have these here, at least none that I've seen of course.

[grainweevil]

Thanks KKay.

 

Just a quick update; I happened to have an Ahab fitted with a Zebra G-pen nib inked up and took it to this notebook. This pen essentially leaves rivers of ink on the paper and everything I've tried feathers and bleeds with it apart from Tomoe River. And, it turns out, also Silvine Originals. Very impressive performance.

[KKay]

The price on Amazon was quite steep. I just checked.

[cellmatrix]

thanks for the review. I have not tried the original, but like the basic quite a bit. The paper in the basic is just great and you can buy 6 basic for the price of an original. 80 pence for a good notebook, thats hard to beat!

 

Sure the cover on the basic is sub par, but if you don't keep it in your back pocket and instead keep it in your coat pocket or in your briefcase, it is not so bad.

 

I've gone thru a half dozen basics which I bought last time I was in england. I am going there later this year and will look to pick up some more. The real attraction here is the low cost high quality paper this book has.

 

I wish someone would make a custom cover for it. With a good reusable custom cover, the basic would be awesome.

[cellmatrix]

The price on Amazon was quite steep. I just checked.

 

you have to buy them in england, otherwise they are too expensive

[jimhughes]

Cult Pens just showed them on their site today. 4-5 sizes. Prices weren't so high it stopped me from ordering them from the USA. Cult , Bureau Direct and Journal Shop, my go to places for items not available in USA. All fast service and take Paypal. Simple and a pleasure to work with. Very happy client, no affiliation.

[grainweevil]

Thanks, cellmatrix.

 

I wish someone would make a custom cover for it. With a good reusable custom cover, the basic would be awesome.

 

That's probably the principle problem with the off-beat sizes. Hey ho.

 

Cult Pens just showed them on their site today.

 

They've actually been on the site for several weeks, but while I love Cult Pens madly, their "What's New" page is pretty hopeless.

[Kenlowe]

I had forgotten all about this brand, I think the last time I used them I must have only been eight or nine years old.

 

To bring back a few memories I have ordered three, only £1.46 including postage from Amazon.

 

Thanks for the memory GW

[GeneralSynopsis]

Silvine do exercise books in assorted sizes with lined, black, squared, also with very nice paper.

Edited September 8, 2016 by GeneralSynopsis