What Is A Paracuruno?

[KrazyIvan]

Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook Review

 

Let me start by thanking Lily at JetPens who so generously provided this sample for review.

 

On to the review!

 

The Paracuruno is a pocket notebook in the A6 size. It displays it's specs on the front cover prominently next to the spine tape. 70 Sheets, 148 mm x 105 mm, the pages sport 6 mm ruled lines with 21 lines per sheet. There is a 14 mm top margin with a spot for the date as noted by two dots printed on the outside edge of the paper and in the same green as the lines. The cover is a kraft type card stock in a light green color. The spine is taped in black, similar to what you would find on a composition book.

 

The paper is smooth. I compared it to Clairefontaine Life.unplugged notebooks and it is not as smooth. The paper is an off white color, not quite cream but pleasant to the eye. The page color is bright enough that ink color looks vibrant but not so bright that it strains the eye. This brings us to the Paracuruno's claim to fame. The papers edge is cut in such a way that it makes tab like pages in two directions. They are not really meant to label sections of the notebook, although you probably could do that. No, it is to easily flip through the notebook pages at a quick rate while not getting caught like a normal notebook sometimes does. It is quite nice to be able to flip through the pages with very little effort but more control over your location in the notebook.

 

“That is cool, but how does it handle fountain pen ink?” Yes, that is the question that nags most fountain pen aficionados. I am happy to report that the paper performs like a champ. I must be up front. When I first saw the notebook, my first reaction was, “This paper is going to bleed like there is no tomorrow.” I was so wrong. There is no feathering. There is no spidery lines of ink. There is no spreading of ink. There is no bleeding. The only thing bad I can say is that there is some show through or echo as some call it. It is really not even worth mentioning because the rear of the page is very usable and the show through does not detract from the text on the page you are writing on. I was especially impressed when I did my scribble tests. I had my “I have you now!” moment totally pulled out from under me. As Lord Vader would say, “Impressive... most impressive.”

 

Now while this might have been the holy grail of notebooks, I do have a couple of qualms with it. The paper is glued in. I tried to find stitching in the spine and I cannot confirm or deny that it is there. If it is, the thread is about the width of hair. Maybe someone can shed some light on this. I don't know how the notebook will do in the long run because of the binding. The second thing is cost. This notebook runs $14 USD for one notebook. That is .20 cents a sheet or .10 cents a page. Ouch.

 

Pros:

 

Paper is excellent, no doubt about it.

The funky edge cuts make it really easy to flip through the pages.

Paper color and smoothness is pleasing

 

Cons:

 

The binding is questionable. Whether it can hold up to rigors of the back pocket remains to be seen.

The cost is a little steep but for such fountain pen friendly paper it may be worth the expense for a daily notebook.

 

Call forth the pictures!

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7046334883_b4604aef0e_z.jpg

Paracuruno Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7043817969_f62d20b142_z.jpg

Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6897747210_292a771dc8_z.jpg

Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5442/7043845079_92a9be25dd_z.jpg

Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/6897758562_5724780504_z.jpg

Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/6897762390_aa3ded52fe_z.jpg

Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5451/6897769264_1dbf8f89f0_z.jpg

Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/6897769280_33464479e2_z.jpg

Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5323/7043889021_d6c8b6db3d_z.jpg

10X Magnification of ink by IvanRomero, on Flickr

Edited April 5, 2012 by KrazyIvan

[Bogon07]

KI, as usual congratulations on a highly detailed and well photographed review.

I saw the Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook on the Jetpens site a few months ago and was wondering about its unusual edging; unfortunately there weren't any at Kinokuniya in Sydney to fiddle with.

 

Good to hear the paper is FP friendly. I expect it would handle those sub 0.5mm gel rollerball pen favoured by the Japanese equally well too.

 

Do you think the oddly shaped pages could become annoying ?

Also it could be hard to find a protective cover for it considering cost verses the durabiltiy of the binding could be an issue.

 

Thanks once again for the review.

[KrazyIvan]

KI, as usual congratulations on a highly detailed and well photographed review.

I saw the Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook on the Jetpens site a few months ago and was wondering about its unusual edging; unfortunately there weren't any at Kinokuniya in Sydney to fiddle with.

 

Good to hear the paper is FP friendly. I expect it would handle those sub 0.5mm gel rollerball pen favoured by the Japanese equally well too.

 

Do you think the oddly shaped pages could become annoying ?

Also it could be hard to find a protective cover for it considering cost verses the durabiltiy of the binding could be an issue.

 

Thanks once again for the review.

 

 

As always bogon, thank you for your comments.

 

 

To your questions:

Do you think the oddly shaped pages could become annoying ?

 

I don't find the tab looking pages annoying. It is kind of cool actually. I did envision a small packet of these with the "roll" labelled individually for different notebook subjects. It would look very file folder-like.

 

 

Also it could be hard to find a protective cover for it considering cost verses the durabiltiy of the binding could be an issue.

 

Yes, unfortunately, none of my leather Moleskine cover's work with it. There may be one way around this but it could get pricey. There are plenty of leather crafters on Etsy. I know some of them do custom work. It should not be too hard to find someone willing to make a custom cover for it. Again, since this is custom work, expect to pay a custom price. :ph34r: If you are the crafty type, you could even make a cover your self and it does not have to be leather.

Edited April 5, 2012 by KrazyIvan