Calling all Travelers Notebook users

[Anne-Sophie]

34 minutes ago, Misfit said:

Drats, I missed the delivery of the TN Kyoto. There was a card in the mailbox that indicated it needs a signature. I will go to the Post Office tomorrow to get it. 

 

In some manner, it is lucky that it came today instead of Saturday. This way you can play as early as tomorrow.

 

By the way, thank you so very much for sharing pictures of your fountain pens/ink pairs and notebooks. They shows your creativity and are great inspirations. 

[Misfit]

Nice of you to say @Anne-Sophie You are correct on timing. I was expecting another package, which is evidently arriving tomorrow instead of today. Well, tomorrow will be package day instead of today. 

[Anne-Sophie]

 

Misfit, I have never seen that fountain pen, which kind is it? 

 

 

[Misfit]

Hi @Anne-Sophie the pen is a Retro 51. The color of mine in the photo is Blue Lagoon Ombre. It was a Goldspot exclusive. They are now sold out. Retro 51 has a variety of designs, so if you like the look of the pen, which is metal, keep a lookout for them. Occasionally they make acrylic pens. I got the Silver Lining version, and it is hard to unscrew the section to get to the converter. It’s evidently a problem for that pen, because I read reviews where that was mentioned. 
 

Back to the Blue Lagoon. It was made with a nod to the Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland. 

[Misfit]

Here is my new Travelers Notebook Kyoto. 
 

 

It is blue, and the images are a copper or rose gold color. 
 

I asked @Particular_Song3539 about the images. She told me they are temples, tea ceremony, food, books and torii (gates). I think I can see bamboo and cherry blossom (Sakura) maybe. 

[Particular_Song3539]

@Misfit WOO HOO  it arrived ! yay. Now time to test of the inserts and your set up !

[penwarrior32]

@Misfit

enjoy your TN.

 

Bought mine from Kyoto with the 3 unique inserts. 

FP not included. 

 

 

 

[Misfit]

Very cool to have to have a fellow owner of the Kyoto TN here on FPN. I bought a Levenger True Writer Kyoto because of the TN cover. They match like they were made for each other. The pen is discontinued, and I found it on eBay. The pen has some dark blue and pinkish purple in the tortoise look. Truth be told, I’ve put inserts in it, but not used it yet. It came with one unique insert. @penwarrior32 how do you use yours?
 

[penwarrior32]

@Misfit

Nice matching FP with the TN.

 

Using Kyoto TN purely for japan travel / basic knowledge.

 

Icon insert - everything regarding my trip to Kyoto and basic facts of kyoto 

 

Green tea insert - travel log to japan (tokyo, osaka, kyoto, etc)

 

Housyo style insert - English to Japanese phrases, sketches, etc 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 17 by penwarrior32

[Anne-Sophie]

2 hours ago, Misfit said:

Very cool to have to have a fellow owner of the Kyoto TN here on FPN. I bought a Levenger True Writer Kyoto because of the TN cover. They match like they were made for each other. The pen is discontinued, and I found it on eBay. The pen has some dark blue and pinkish purple in the tortoise look. Truth be told, I’ve put inserts in it, but not used it yet. It came with one unique insert. @penwarrior32 how do you use yours?
 

 

Misfit, what insert did you choose?

 

You could use everything Kyoto to learn Japanese or about Japanese culture and arts.

 

Kyoto has a guild of artisans who made You Tube videos about their arts. Use the You Tube search: Kyoto artisans.

 

Their videos are really calming and good to fight insomnia.

 

[Anne-Sophie]

On 2/1/2024 at 6:01 PM, Misfit said:

Hi @Anne-Sophie the pen is a Retro 51. The color of mine in the photo is Blue Lagoon Ombre. It was a Goldspot exclusive. They are now sold out. Retro 51 has a variety of designs, so if you like the look of the pen, which is metal, keep a lookout for them. Occasionally they make acrylic pens. I got the Silver Lining version, and it is hard to unscrew the section to get to the converter. It’s evidently a problem for that pen, because I read reviews where that was mentioned. 
 

Back to the Blue Lagoon. It was made with a nod to the Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland. 

 

Thank you Misfit, beautiful pens with steel appointments, but too heavy for me in metal.

 

 

[Misfit]

@Anne-Sophie the insert that came with the cover, which is the middle one in @penwarrior32’s photo, and a Pan Am insert from several years ago because it is blue. There is also a plastic insert for holding things I bought on AliExpress. Oh, and a clear folder and pencil board, which is a plastic board with images on one side, and grid on the other to make a solid surface for writing. 

[penwarrior32]

@Misfit

You should plan a trip to kyoto and visit the kyoto TF store. Tonnes of kyoto, superior labor, PAN AM related products. I prefer going to this store instead of the TF stores in Tokyo. 

You will spend at least one hour in this store. 

 

[Misfit]

Ah @penwarrior32 if only I could afford to go. It would be a dream trip because Japan seems like the stationery capital. That Kyoto store looks wonderful. 
 

I live in basically the middle of the US in a suburb of the back to back Super Bowl champions’ city. But right now, I’m the solo caregiver to my Mom, and I don’t feel right leaving her alone for more than 2 hours. 
 

Edit: are there any Braniff items left in the TN products?

[penwarrior32]

@Misfit Dare to dream. One day, you will visit Japan (Stationery Mecca). 

 

Ahhhhh a KC Chiefs fan.....

 

Gave my Bills and Josh Allen a hard time this year hahaha

 

If you are referring to TN & braniff collab products - yes in Japan. 

 

Edited April 17 by penwarrior32

[Misfit]

@penwarrior32 I’m glad you found FPN. I will dare to dream. For now, I must start using the TNs I own, which are three regular size, and one passport. In my first regular size TN, the brown one, there are two inserts of Tomoe paper. One is the old Tomoe paper, the other is the new Tomoe paper. I use the same pen to write in both, and post the images on the Stub of the Day thread.  

[penwarrior32]

@MisfitI prefer the inserts - midori paper rather than TR. The lightweight TR paper insert - too thin for my liking.

[Centurion]

5 hours ago, penwarrior32 said:

@MisfitI prefer the inserts - midori paper rather than TR. The lightweight TR paper insert - too thin for my liking.

I prefer just using the TN inserts too, passport size since I can fit it in a shirt pocket. I prefer ecru over white, but the blank cream color Midori insert (013) is staple bound. Only the lightweight TR paper insert (005) is thread bound, and it's not too bright white, also the thinness isn't as bothersome in a bound notebook versus separate sheets of thin TR. Overall, I like both, but prefer the lightweight 005. Actually, any small thin notebook would be okay with me since I tend to use pencils with them since I don't need gravity using pencils, but having TN inserts is comforting knowing that I could use fountain pens anytime. I tend to use pocket notebooks when at meetings or talks because taking notes on a smartphone is not enjoyable.

 

How and why do you use TN? Perhaps I will use it as intended one of these days . . . when traveling!

[penwarrior32]

16 minutes ago, Centurion said:

I prefer just using the TN inserts too, passport size since I can fit it in a shirt pocket. I prefer ecru over white, but the blank cream color Midori insert (013) is staple bound. Only the lightweight TR paper insert (005) is thread bound, and it's not too bright white, also the thinness isn't as bothersome in a bound notebook versus separate sheets of thin TR. Overall, I like both, but prefer the lightweight 005. Actually, any small thin notebook would be okay with me since I tend to use pencils with them since I don't need gravity using pencils, but having TN inserts is comforting knowing that I could use fountain pens anytime. I tend to use pocket notebooks when at meetings or talks because taking notes on a smartphone is not enjoyable.

 

How and why do you use TN? Perhaps I will use it as intended one of these days . . . when traveling!

 

I have 8 TNs. Each for a specific purpose. One TN for sketching, One TN for japan only content/travelling to Japan. One TN for travelling to other countries beside Japan. One TN for work. One TN for cooking / food reviews. One TN for journalling. One TN for general knowledge / quotes. One TN for brain storming / causal doodle. 

 

One good thing about TN is that you can switch out the inserts. Therefore it is quite flexible. 

 

Having TNs give me the excuse to use my FP more. Never like the idea of having too many virgin inserts lying around hahaha 

[Misfit]

I decided back when the new Tomoe paper came out, that I wanted to try it for comparison. Paper Penguin on Etsy had the inserts for TN and other sizes. So I got old and new Tomoe from her. Of course, that was before it went away. Well before Sanzen came along. 
 

I did use the TN Weekly plus Memo, and had no issues with the paper. I bought some MD loose sheets for letters. I need to check it with inks I know have sheen. 
 

Last October, I was going to get the new covid and flu vaccinations. It brought back to mind the first covid vaccine that my parents got. I wanted to write this down, but couldn’t decide on a notebook. Another memory came with a bank issue. Some things make me think of my Dad, who died in August of 2021. While I didn’t choose a notebook to write these events that trigger memories, I think the insert that came with the Kyoto TN would work. It’s a special cover, and that size (in pages) might would be perfect for this type of use.