I have lusted after one of these for years, but the £50 (US$100) price tag could so easily have been spent on something else or be put towards something bigger that this seemed like a luxury too far. Fortunately I have reached the age and temperament where people now ask me what I want for birthdays and xmas rather than turning up with testcard-like jumpers. This was way down the list, but my better half picked it out.

There are two versions of this stamp. I chose the more expensive steel cased version for longevity. It should outlive me by a good few years. There is also a plastic version that is a few pounds cheaper. You might be asking why I would want one and what this has to do with pen and paper paraphernalia. I wanted this to number pages of notebooks so that I could index them at the back. When I am taking random notes at work as I go it can be difficult referring back to something in a notebook where I have written on 100 pages.

The stamp has 6 rows of numbers 0 - 9 so should be able to number even the biggest notebook! There is also a blank on each reel so that the first page can be 1 rather than 000001etc. The stamp has several stamping modes: -

0 - select a number and it will continue to stamp that number ad infinitum
1 - stamps consecutive numbers
2 - stamps duplicate numbers
3 - repeating numbers
4 - repeating numbers
5 - repeating numbers
6 - repeating numbers
12 - repeating numbers

Mine will be set to 1 for the vast majority of the time I would imagine, but if you wanted to make up some raffle tickets with a ticket and a stub I could see setting 2 being useful. Settings higher than 2 would be useful for multi-part stationery on a budget, but I wouldn't want to have to make up much 12 part stationery! If you were giving away 3 prize vouchers you could number them randomly up to 999999 for security.

The stamp is certainly robust in its steel case. The wheels are large to accommodate 5.5mm high roman font numerals. The stamp pad is very small and the manufacturers warn against re-inking the pad and suggest that you should buy their pads. I shall be inking mine with a washable ink when it runs out as the pad is fairly open to the air so I assume that the pads will not last for long.

Due to the sheer size of the stamp it is not easy to get the impression exactly where you want it on the page, although I am sure that this will improve with practice. The reels remain nicely in line in consecutive mode although it can take a couple of impressions of a number until it has got a decent amount of in on it. Supplied with the stamp is something that can be described as a robust thick tooth pick. This is so that you can set or reset the number wheel when you are about to start or have finished a job. It's a shame that they haven't built in a reset button so that when the handle is pressed the wheels all return to blank.

This method is certainly no quicker for numbering the pages of my notepad, in fact it is slower, but I manual dexterity has always been fairly hopeless since I was "converted" from being left-handed. Where it does excel is in neatness and accuracy. My mind will wander away and I will number consecutive pages with the same number - doh!

No photos? No, sadly it is too reflective and is like taking a picture of a mirror! Go and find one on Amazon! You can see it by searching for Trodat numberer.

Hi Andy,

Nice review! I have a stainless Reiner B2 which is more or less the same. I like to number my notebooks with unique numbers per page for reference as well .

For more easy stamping the pages I have the following trick:
The metal base-plate (that is the part resting on the paper) has with the Reiner a nice square cut-out. The upper side of the cut out is resting against the upper side of the paper, so I get almost perfect lined numbers, it is only to get the distance from the side of the paper right, but as long as it is parallel with the paper it is good enough for my taste.

I really like these stamps as they are from another era, when stamps where being used so much that cheaper plastic ones couldn't stand the abuse of daily heavy use.
In a way I'm sorry that I didn't buy the Reiner C1 because that one is even heftier, but the B2 will outlive me almost certainly with several decades.

Are there any other users of these superb stamps overhere?

Yes, now there´s me. Inspired by this thread I went out and acquired a Reiner B2 with block type in 5.5mm and a red color box. I have begun using that for numbering pages in my different journals, and the idea of being able to number pages in my diaries sequentially, continuing from the last page number in the last diary I filled out, pleases me.

I do the same!
I reall like to make some index of the places and the page numbers
but also special events or memoriable things that happen can end up in the index.
I know, I'm a nutter, but I really like it

The Reiners are nice...

I would never tell someone not to invest in a gadget that they wanted or felt they needed. But I just write the page numbers as I go along in my journals, takes no time at all.

That is a perfect solution, nothing wrong with writing the number.
But it is just like telling: " I write with the cheapest knock off Crystall ballpoint, it writes just as well as the most expensive fountain pen."
A lot of things on this site might not be the most economical way of doing things.
The joy is partly in the nice mechanisms, the good workmanship, good materials, nice designs that is put in them. Or the brand name
that is on top of the cap as a white star. I often don't understand the prices of Mont Blanc, but I see a lot of people
that are perefctly hapy with them. Live and let live, I think then.

For me those stamps are all about the fact that there is at least one thing readable on my pages: the number

Yes, I totally agree with you, just pointing out an option. Believe me, I do not need my Pelikan M600, or my gold Sheaffer Legacy Heritage, but I like them and I wanted them.

That was another factor that speaks for stamp use that I completely forgot about in my previous post - but an important one for me too.....

Very interesting. I have wished my journals came with numbered pages, but this method allows you to continue page numbers from volume to volume. I think the old National Geographics were that way.

Dumb question: Can you set the thing to skip between stamps. That way you only have to stamp the right or left hand page. (I warned you it was a dumb question.)

Doug

I really like the continues page number. Don't ask me why, I just do like it a lot.
Just to see those red numbers on my pages, hmmm. Nice.

Nothing dumb about your question. Mine can't skip between stamps. I don't know of any that can.
But I also only stamp the right hand page, so I'm not stamping pages, I'm stamping leaves.
Btw it is possible to stamp the same number for ever, once, twice three times or four times.
Can be handy when you stamp recu's or somthing.
But stamping only even or odd numbers isn't one of the possibilities.
Would be nice though.

Interesting accessory. Thanks for sharing.
I don't have one (yet ) but I do enjoy my Trodat date stamper. I use it with my rubber stamp that says "Mailed On" for fun or as a reminder.
I also use it on my 3x5 card that I carry daily in my pocket briefcase. It just looks nice and separates diffrent days' entries. Reminds me of library cards.

Hi Jeen,

date stamps are nice to and have their own useful uses
But what is it with the 3x5 card that you carry daily in your pocket briefcase?
I'm not natively English speaking, so I'm not always perfectly understanding what is said around here, but I'm curious about the use of the stamps and the 3x5's