A4 The 8.5"x11" Blank Leatherette Journal Cover

[TREBFPN]

I have been trying to find a cover that will take 8.5"x11" blank notebook refills. Here is the scoop: I chanced a purchase on Rakuten Global (Japan's Ebay) and I found a wonderful notebook cover. Why was it so hard to find? There is a lot of grammatical mistakes and poor translation. A clear example is in their title "NOT COVER A4 SIZE". That is the big barrier but I know the difficulty Japan has in translating Japanese to English. What they meant to say is "Note Cover A4 Size". Knowing that in history wars have begun due to a single mistranslated word I became anxious and decided this product was what I was looking for, and I was right. http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/kyotobunguya/item/cp-44x/

 

 

They are a copy of the "LIFE" covers and they are a little less in cost at $27.79 with shipping. The "LIFE" notebook covers are $45.76 with shipping.

 

 

The "Life" cover is made of a smoother and a little stiffer material. The Global Rakuten version is made of a softer material with a little bit of a light rubbery feel. The softness of this cover can be seen while it rests on the crease of the inner pocket. I prefer this Global Rakuten version better because the front cover is blank and pure. It has a little leatherette flap on the inside just above the card pockets (I am not too sure what that is for I am guessing it is a bookmark of some type or a kind of clip to temporarily hold a business card during a meeting). It does not have the string book mark that the "Life" cover has. Having purchased both I am not very fancy with the "LIFE" cover relief type design but the material might be preferred since there is no rubbery grip surface feel but the Rakuten Global version might be made of this soft but nice rubbery material to allow a sheet of paper to be written on top of it - - I can see a fountain pen enjoying that kind of writing surface.

 

The great thing about owning this type of notebook/journal cover beyond its size is the more obvious fact that you can have several different less expensive notebook refills going at the same time. Just pop a notebook in, graph, lined or blank and go on your way. I found my favorite notebook type at shopwritersbloc.com , It is the "Clairefontaine Cloth-Bound Notebook- Large". They currently sell their notebooks for $10.95 each (this does not include their reasonable shipping rates).

 

Edited October 1, 2014 by TREBFPN

[senzen]

Thanks! (Looks at recently started large Clairefontaine notebook, starts salivating).

[Plume145]

Kyotobungya is awesome, they have a lot of great stationery for pretty cheap. I've bought a couple of Lihit Lab twist ring notebooks from them. Another store I like on rakuten is office-japan. They're actually even easier to deal with than kyotobungya for international shipping.

 

The cover is beautiful, and I actually think the cheaper one is better for not having the LIFE logo on the front. You can use it with any notebook, and maybe even customize it with your own design sometime in the future. And having nearly $20 left over to spend on actual paper is nothing to sneeze at! Thanks for the tip

[TREBFPN]

Thank you for the comments. This is my first order from Kyotobunguya. They seem to really have great stuff at good prices. I am happy to hear another fellow fountain pen user in the Network assure their service. I found them to be straight forward and backed by Paypal - that gives me full confidence. I have looked at Office-Japan and their prices look great. They may hear from me in the near future.

Edited October 9, 2014 by TREBFPN

[majorworks]

Sometimes it's better to let Google do the translating (note the "sometimes"). There's a link on the page that gets you to the original page in Japanese. Seeing both their version and the Google version can help puzzle things out.

[TREBFPN]

Just a small note: I am using the Clairefontaine notebooks that are shown but the covers for this particular notebook is glossy and a bit sleek so the notebook cover slips out a little from the sleeves of the leatherette notebook holder when you open it. I am currently waiting for an order from Kyotobungaya for a couple A4 Life Notebooks. I mistakenly purchased a vertical opening A4 Life Notebook from Amazon but I really like the smooth texture and weight of this paper; and, I now desire the roughness of the cardboard cover it has. The cardboard cover of the A4 Life Notebook has the friction to stay inside the Leatherette covers and not slip out. If you choose to purchase this A4 Life Notebook make sure the black binding is on the left and opens like the average book; the ones without the black binding open from the top and do not fit in the A4 leatherette covers mentioned. Remember to find the type of notebook with the paper that works best with your fountain pen first to determine the type of "A4 Leather (or leatherette) cover" you wish for. The quality of the notebook paper will matter the most when it comes to one's overall satisfaction. Some covers are made to fit thicker type journals and will not adapt to holding today's slimmer notebooks made particularly for the fountain pens.

 

Kyotobunguya A4 Life Notebook: http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/?k=a4+life+notebook&sid=kyotobunguya&l-id=gs_product_search

Edited November 2, 2014 by TREBFPN

[TREBFPN]

I just wanted to note that over time I have come to appreciate the LIFE notebook cover. It feels like quality material and the sleekness of the outer cover keeps it clean and looking sharp. I am not very mindful of the relief type brand print on the front of the cover, I rather find it to be rich and quite appealing. I have obtained a plain LIFE notebook through another FPN member's recommendation to a store located in California, Nanami. They really have great prices and are very reasonable when it comes to shipping rates. This store really knows how to impress given their style of packaging and shipping material used - - this is very important and quite rare in my experience with many other online retailers I have known. Naturally, this notebook fits very well inside the LIFE leatherette cover and is also of exceptional quality, the paper is a very nice smooth ivory color that is a slightly heavier in weight than other common caligraphy type papers I have used. I believe this notebook is hard to match as it seems to have been made perfect in all angles known possible to making a caligraphy style notebook. The wettest ink lines stay crisp and sharp. The color of the paper is easy on the eyes, the ivory toned paper registers well under both ambient and flourescent lighting. It really is set apart from other notebooks and I am certain much experience and thought has been put in its overall design.

Edited November 20, 2014 by TREBFPN