Jump to content

Desk Pads?


Dimitri

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 18
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Dimitri

    4

  • Bookman

    3

  • Mari1013

    2

  • astronautcowboy

    2

I think Levenger's carries one. But, they are hard to find otherwise. I found one a few years back at an local antiques store.

Also check out the either the Chatter or the First Observed sub-forums. There is another thread there where a guy asks about desk pads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saddleback Leather makes one as well, although I have my eye on a complete Levenger desk set.

Edited by astronautcowboy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Levenger's products are nice, but Staples has this:

http://t.staples.com/Artistic-Rhinolin-II-Desk-Pad-with-Microban-17x24-Black/product_938200

It's not a blotter of the kind that takes a large sheet of blotting paper (like Levenger's Bomber Jacket desk blotter seems to) -- it functions strictly as a writing surface.

This item at Target

http://www.target.com/p/artistic-executive-desk-pad-with-leather-like-side-panels-black/-/A-15220681?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=15220681&CPNG=Seasonal&kpid=15220681&LID=20pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=15220681&kpid=15220681&gclid=CjwKEAiAtNujBRDMmoCN46aB8noSJAC7SYv7IHh4u3wYPCh04vqJPrGZdedt1ICej045JOzMzv7sqxoCZDfw_wcB

looks more like the Bomber Jacket pad. (I hope these links work. If not, my apologies.)

 

If you prefer the blotter kind of pad, the next question is where to find the sheets of blotting paper. Both of these items -- pads and blotting paper -- were standard issue in just about any office building in the country 20 or 30 years ago, but they're practically extinct now, more's the pity. If you work in an older office building (or know anyone who does), it might be worth your while to look in some little-used storage room, if there is one around. That's where I found the last pad I used in my previous job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can buy a desk pad at Staples/Office Depot/Office Max. Whether you buy online or at a brick-and-mortar, these desk pads tend to be rather small, 18x24, 20x26, etc. But if you have a decent art supply store in your area, you can widen it to a usable size while you turn it into an ink blotter.

 

I bought a desk pad at a local stationer about five years ago. It was roughly 20x24. I got it home, lay it on my 30x60 desktop, and decided it wasn't wide enough. I wanted 20x36. So I took my brand-new desk pad apart. The padded sides were easy to separate from the backing: the adhesive wasn't difficult to overcome and they slid right off. Then I went to my local art supply to buy my own backing material and a sheet of blotter paper. (If this project doesn't sound easy to do, chalk it up to my poor writing.) I chose Bainbridge 2000 Mechanical Ruling Board for the backing. It was 3mm thick, which looked right. I don't remember what it cost. The blotter sheet was $1.50. (Now they're $3.) Each piece was 24x40, and so I had to cut them to size, which I did, using a utility knife. I slid the padded sides on and voila!—a 20x36 padded desktop blotter. I keep an extra blotter sheet handy and replace the one in my "holder" as needed. The leftover material gets cut up into smaller, variously-sized pieces. I carry one in my shirt pocket at all times. Custom-cut pieces go into notebooks.

 

I've since gotten a new, smaller, desk (30x48), and so I slid the padded sides off again and re-cut the backing and blotter sheet. In the one dimension, a desk pad is perpetually re-sizable.

I love the smell of fountain pen ink in the morning.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More keen on the writing surface aspects then the "blotter" aspect, which I know nothing about?

 

I like to write on one sheet of paper at a time, and the combination of mechanical ruling board + blotter paper + single sheet of writing paper works for me. I remembered at the time I made the switch that I actually preferred the new writing surface to the original material that had come with the desk pad. But to each his or her own. And when I'm in the mood for more cushioning I just add a few sheets of writing paper. As to the "'blotter' aspect," I have a question: Have you never seen a desk blotter? Maybe I've misunderstood your reference. But as long as I'm here—not for you necessarily but for all the kids out there who don't like to watch old movies and therefore might never have seen a blotter—a traditional desk blotter looked very much like today's desk pad except the writing surface was a sheet of green blotter paper on top of some kind of backing material. You wrote on your piece of paper, and when you were finished you flipped the paper over, lay it face down on the blotter, and rubbed the back of the sheet with one hand while holding it steady with the other. The ballpoint pen rendered the blotter obsolete for everyone but fountain pen users. That's the blotter aspect in a nutshell. But my main point was that one doesn't have to live with the lateral dimensions of the desk pads readily available in stores. If you want a 24-inch-wide work space, then the typical desk pad is the perfect size. If you want something wider, you can work around the problem.

Edited by Bookman

I love the smell of fountain pen ink in the morning.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple of years ago I bought a large, traditional style leather desk pad from Laywine's of Toronto.

It has soft, padded leather side panels, its main pad made of heavy weight leather with felt lining underneath. A large sheet of white blotter paper( from Pedamonium) was cut to fit the pads' surface, wide enough to slide underneath the side panels.

Hmm....

Now that I've flipped the pad around, I notice a small leather label sewn on the bottom:

BOSCA China. :(

I'm quite surprised,... as I was under the impression that this was an Italian leather item. Sure was expensive enough.

István

Edited by tinta

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a leather set from Levenger in the Bomber leather. The neat thing about the desk pad is that the sides fold out to hold 3 x 5 cards on one side, and business cards on the other.

the Danitrio Fellowship

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tip my (virtual) hat to you, Bookman. Your pad modification is so smart! And an art supply store is the logical source for blotting paper. Thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tip my (virtual) hat to you, Bookman. Your pad modification is so smart! And an art supply store is the logical source for blotting paper. Thank you.

 

You're welcome.

I love the smell of fountain pen ink in the morning.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you just want a pad, there are flexible plastic sheets/pad. These give you the cushion effect for writing, but not the use as a blotter. I use one over the kitchen table cloth, so I have a smooth giving surface to write on. You can buy them from office supply stores. I got a large sheet from FLAX art supply, that I can cut to fit whatever desk space I need to.

 

FLAX also had a HUGE sheet of blotting paper, which could probably cover a small desk. So I'm set for a long time.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On both my office desk and my home desk, I use writing pads from the Rhinohide brand. These are not blotters, nor do they have "side panels" but they are a really usable pad to lightly cushion my writing surfaces. The pads are made or linoleum - a lot like the stuff you used to have put down on your kitchen floor. They are smooth, with just a hint of grain, and just the right amount of cushion so that I do not need to place second sheets beneath my writing sheet, and are available in several sizes.

 

I'm not even sure I can still get desk pad sized blotters here in Chicago. The last time I bought one was in 1990, in a Horder's Office Supply store in downtown Chicago. Even then, I had to have the store clerk get the older manager, as the young guy just didn't understand what a blotter would be used for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those beauties from Saddleback Leather http://www.saddlebackleather.com/#business/business-accessories are fabulous to look at (and fabulously expensive) but I find that a desk top camendar works best for me because I doodle a lot and have some pens which need a little 'push' to start wrting from time to time. By the end of a 30 day period my desk top calendar needs changing.

Edited by DrCodfish
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Graf von Faber Castell make nice desk accessories, including a pad.

 

+1

 

Their leather and craftsmanship is amazing.

 

Inked

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...