Levenger pads

[Winston Wolf]

Does anyone have an opinion/review of Levenger legal pads? I use a legal pad with extra thick cardboard backing every day...and they're becoming tough to find. I like the layout of the Levenger legal pad, but am wondering about the backing. Any guidance?

 

Thanks...

[dapv]

Everything I've heard and read has been positive. I work with someone who will only use these, and I'm considering the 5x8 version.

[Opus104]

I used to swear by them until I switched to fountain pens. The feathering is fine and the paper is smooth. But the show through is horrendous. Even my dry writing fine nibs show through. Don't count on using both sides of this expensive paper. Also, expect a darker color and slightly wider line. I keep some on my desk for jotting quick notes (at least until I use it up).

 

Hope this helps.

[Bill_D]

I love the white legal pads. They are heavy and take ink very well. I don't write on both sides of the paper, so I can't speak to the bleed-through issue. I have a couple of the yellow 5 X 8 pads and for some reason I can't get the ink to flow when writing on them. A broad looks like a very jagged medium. Like everything else that Levenger makes, I am amazed by the company's ability to price their pads at exactly the maximum price that I am willing to pay.

[Winston Wolf]

Thanks to all for the Levenger comments. I found another opinion on a separate thread. Most seem to like the paper, but it's a little pricey. I've got a package of five coming this week. We'll see how they fare, and I'll share a review here.

[rroossinck]

Get 'em yet?

[dvorak]

I imagine you'll find the same thing as some of us... they are good pads with good paper and stout backs. I use a Lamy Safari and have never had a problem, in fact, I really like them. I do find that I get a small amout of feathering with the white that I do not get with the yellow (which is too bad - I like the grid, which they only sell in white).

 

The layout is nice and is based on a famous note taking scheme (Chicago Univ? Carneige Univ? something like that - poke around and you will no doubt find it). I'd used the pads for 10 years before I figured out why they were laid out that way, since Levenger does not really advertise this.

 

Brent

[LouisA]

I used them at the office with my Nakaya with fine nib. Never had a problem. All of my pens write on them well with no problem

[Deirdre]

They need a fine (or at most medium) pen that's not too juicy a writer and dries pretty fast without a gob of feathering. I've learned to avoid a couple of juicier inks with them, but they otherwise work fine for me. I've only tried the white pads (and not the legal ones; I've only used letter and junior sizes).

 

[Conan the Grammarian]

The layout is nice and is based on a famous note taking scheme (Chicago Univ? Carneige Univ? something like that - poke around and you will no doubt find it).

 

It's the Cornell Notes note taking system. It was developed in the 1950s but is enjoying a surge in popularity today.

 

Edited January 30, 2008 by Conan the Grammarian

[Rapt]

Neat idea... The only drawback I see is that the page size has to be reasonable to really be effective. Otherwise you end up with a bunch of areas that are all too small to really be useful. At least if you write at a size bigger than tiny.

 

 

[snakeankle]

i am not in love with levenger paper.

i have a circa outfit, which i love in theory.

levenger paper has a big bleed problem, and the writing shows on the other side.

i want to love this paper because i love the gray lines.

but.

if i use either a MB broad or a Lamy 2000 broad the bleed is horrific.

if i use a VP fine it is scratchy.

they need desperately to rethink their paper, IMHO.

i bought the index cards, and those bleed too.

[CraigR]

I love the Levenger Cornell note pads and I do use the note taking system as well. My favorite plain old yellow legal pads are from Quill. I use their premium series which works well with my everyday fountain pens - fine nib and waterman black ink. They have also been great for use with ball pen, roller ball and pencil. /Craig

[wpblaw]

I imagine you'll find the same thing as some of us... they are good pads with good paper and stout backs. I use a Lamy Safari and have never had a problem, in fact, I really like them. I do find that I get a small amout of feathering with the white that I do not get with the yellow (which is too bad - I like the grid, which they only sell in white).

 

The layout is nice and is based on a famous note taking scheme (Chicago Univ? Carneige Univ? something like that - poke around and you will no doubt find it). I'd used the pads for 10 years before I figured out why they were laid out that way, since Levenger does not really advertise this.

 

Brent

 

 

Cornell notetaking scheme. Very cool system that essentially helped me "learn how to learn" after my ADD finally got the best of me during law school!

 

I use AMPAD Evidence Dual-Pads (yellow) and also Tops Gold "project pads" w/the Cornell margin and they hold up very well (not perfection) w/Lamy and Private Reserve inks re: feathering and bleed through. I don't use two sides of the paper, though.

 

The AMPAD line are probably my favorite. The backs are very heavy and stiff. I have great luck with note-taking w/my Lamys (m and f)...feathering isn't a problem, but it really isn't an issue for me either - they're just class notes and are transferred to my outline ASAP.

[Winston Wolf]

Thanks again for the comments. I've been using the Levenger pad for a couple of weeks now. Your assessments were on the mark.

 

First, I love the layout. Plenty of ruled room for notes, and the left margin box is great for non sequitors, reminders, etc.

 

Second, I've found that it holds the ink pretty well, but there is some show-through. Like some others on the thread, I don't use both sides so it's not a big issue for me. My daily use pens are usually Aurora and Waterman, but someone (dvorak?) mentioned he/she uses Lamy Safari. I tried mine (medium nib) and was satisfied.

 

Third, while the backing is pretty solid, the Ampad Evidence series with the double-thick backing is still the score to beat. I side with wpblaw on this aspect. I have to order these on line, though; hard to find in any local store. Thankfully, I ordered a dozen about 4 years ago...

 

Finally, the previously mentioned "crack-cocaine" pricing is appropriate. I'll go through the five pads from Levenger and return to Ampad.

 

Thanks again for all the commentary and insight.

 

[vilasman]

I want to add one little thought to this thread...

I use the levenger pads, I have 5x8, 8.5x11 and 11x17. I have the 8.5x11 in both yellow and white.

I got the 5x8, yellow 8.5x11 and 11x17 in the store. I got my wife 2 of the levenger Ambi folio, purple and celery cause those are her sorority colors and the white pads came with them.

 

I got the pads because I hate office supply paper, it's too thin, and franklin covey/day-timer/day runner paper is to expensive.

I believe it's more costly than even levenger.

For throw away notes, I got a stack of cheaper pads a couple years ago, when my wife was at a corporate job, and now she is back at a corporate job...

 

But for notes that you need to keep for awhile, I am a contractor and I make lots of list and notes and estimates that sometimes I need to go back to months later, the levenger paper holds up better. I tend to write the body of what I am thinking on the lines and then write the conclusions in the open section to the right where it is easy to find. Or I make list in the lined section and total the cost, of the count or whatever in the open section. When I go through a blueprint I use a 11x17 page to list all the things I am counting with the running total from the print and then use the outer lined section to neatly list all the things that I counted with just the total, so I can quickly see what I need to buy or install. Or if I have to sketch up something I will sketch it in the open space and make the notes on the lines. Then I punch the sheet on 1 end and I can put it into my work notebook along with a 11x17 copy of the prints.

 

My wife who is a raving Type A personality as well as being the child of a teacher/principal, Mrs hyper organized whose list have list, to remember to make list... At first just wrote all over the pad like normal legal pads. Cause, well, all good ideas have to originate with her. But I am noticing that she is getting the hang of using the sections... notes in the body of the pages and then pulling the important parts out to the left.

 

Hopefully now that she is upper level management she will hook the rest of the company on the paper.

 

That does remind me, she needs a power pen.

 

 

[JDFlood]

My first inclination was to like them as well. However, over time I realized, they suck. Kind of like blotter paper. The ink is very quickly absorbed... straight out of the nib. Hence the problem with visibility on the other side. I then realized the lines were much wider than you get on good fountain pen paper that is not so absorbent. So now, I'm in the process of switching to alternatives for my Levenger loose leaf journals and pads. Using good paper has taken care of some major issues I have had with my largely Medium nib fountain pen collection. Which is the line spacing is too close because the width of the lines is so big. All a paper issue not a pen issue. Too much bleeding and enlargement of line width. The paper has very even permeablility so it bleeds equally, so it doesn't look feathered. Anyway, I am enjoying having crisp lines using my new alternatives. JD

[BillZ]

I like the jr. sixe grid pads with the left side annotation area for jotting down drawings of woodworking projects. I usually use a pencil so bleeding/feathering isn't a concern. BUT the price is breathtaking!!!! 3/$14 plus shipping. I will probably start dprinting my own sheets from one of the download sites. They are good pads though.

[Tricia]

I have scads of levenger paper, both pads and Circa, in various sizes. I do like it quite a lot, though I first got hooked because of the modded Cornell note system others have talked about. My favorite paper is Clairefontaine, but I like Levenger's a lot, too, because it has just a hint of tooth for writing, which the Clairefontaine doesn't have. Some of my pens prefer that. Will I buy more? Not sure... I certainly like the paper, but I also have a lot of it, as I said, so when I do get to the point of needing more, the world will have changed so much that I'm not sure anyone will be using paper of any kind anymore.

 

Most of my pens are fine on it. I use mostly wet(ish) writers, M nibs (a few Fs), though, the slight tooth of the paper makes me use it with certain pens more than others. I used to use only one side - and sometimes still do - but since I got the Fujitsu ScanSnap, I've been writing on both sides and scanning the page. Best of both worlds - handwriting with fountain pens and digital retrieval (after adding a few keywords/tags).

 

 

 

[Lemon328i]

Levenger pads are nice, but lately I've found that the Black N'Red line of notepads to be a nice alternative for everyday writing. Docket Diamond Premium pads are also very good and even more expensive than Levenger's, but they are basically 25% cotton watermarked, fine stationery bound into pad form. Both pads use 24lb sheets and take even my wet writing Danitrio Raw Densho without feathering or bleed through.