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My Inaugural Review: Hyacinth Notebooks & Notepad


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I found Hyacinth notebooks and notepads at my local art store in southern California. I had never seen nor heard of Hyacinth, so I was intrigued when the store had several large endcap displays of nothing but this brand. I was surprised by their fountain pen-friendliness and even more surprised by their price.

 

The specs of the 3 Hyacinth products:

  • B6 (176 x 125 mm) notebook, 112 sheets of 80gsm, blank, thread-bound, ivory-colored paper
  • A6 (148 x 105 mm) notebook, 112 sheets of 80gsm, blank, thread-bound, ivory-colored paper
  • B7 (125 x 88 mm) notepad, 60 sheets of 80gsm, blank, glued, ivory-colored paper

The notebooks come with a bookmark that is glued into the spine. They can be made to lay flat, thanks to the way the sheets are arranged. The last 16 sheets of the notebooks are perforated and they tear out cleanly.

 

The notepad can also be made to lay flat, with the cover capable of being folded back under the rest of the pad. It has a glued spine that allows you to tear off one sheet at a time.

 

I tested all 3 of the products listed above and found the paper in each to be identical in performance.

The outcome:

  • The paper performs very well!
  • It handled ink swabs without bleeding.
  • The broad nibbed fountain pens I used did not cause feathering or bleeding.
  • There was minimal (very minimal!) bleed from Noodler's La Reine Mauve, but I forgive these notebooks because Noodler's LRM seems to bleed through most of the fountain pen-friendly paper I use.
  • This paper allowed shading and sheening, though it didn't accentuate either of these ink characteristics.
  • The paper is similar in smoothness to the paper in my Midori passport-sized lined notebook. That is to say it is smooth but not as smooth as regular Rhodia paper.
  • One drawback: serious show through. The backs of pages are not unusable, but if you won't tolerate show through then this is not the paper for you.

Overall, I would say this is great paper for use as everyday notebooks, journals, scratch paper, pocket/purse notebooks, regular notepad duties, etc. I wouldn't use these notebooks for archival writing or for anything I want to cherish - I'd save that for more expensive, higher quality journals.

 

The final thing to mention: I bought these 3 products for a total of $6.50 plus tax! The B6 was $3, the A6 was $2.50, and the notepad was $1. For the number of sheets, the quality of paper, and the added touches (i.e. bookmarks, perforated pages, ability to lay flat) I think this is an absolute steal.

 

This concludes my review. Thanks for reading. I have added images below for those who are interested.

 

Hyacinth paper sleeve, front of notebook. Sleeve says 112 pages but in fact there are 112 sheets (224 pages):

post-135871-0-92005200-1523757251_thumb.jpg

 

Hyacinth paper sleeve, back of notebook:

post-135871-0-72839800-1523757369_thumb.jpg

 

Left to right = B6 notebook, A6 notebook, B7 notepad, Lamy Safari for size reference:

post-135871-0-27393900-1523757853_thumb.jpg

 

Notepad on top of notebook, demonstrating the ability to lay flat and showing sheet arrangement in notebook spine:

post-135871-0-57681500-1523758294_thumb.jpg

 

Thread-bound, ivory-colored notebook paper:

post-135871-0-15199800-1523758455_thumb.jpg

 

Ink swabs, top to bottom = Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Monteverde Califonia Teal, Diamine Oxblood:

post-135871-0-29914800-1523758476_thumb.jpg

 

Back of ink swab page. No bleed! Definite show through:

post-135871-0-21561200-1523758497_thumb.jpg

 

Pen tests:

post-135871-0-00600500-1523758528_thumb.jpg

 

Back of pen test page. Definite show through. No bleed for broad nibs, minimal bleed for Noodler's La Reine Mauve:

post-135871-0-13719200-1523758545_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Nice review, which art store?

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We Are Our Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams

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Great review. I may have to check these out when I run low of my current notepads and journals.

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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Great review. I may have to check these out when I run low of my current notepads and journals.

Thanks! These notebooks are great. I especially like the notepads for daily to-do lists, scratch paper, etc.

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Good find! A quick search only resulted in a non functioning company website, non availability at the Art Supply Warehouse site or amazon. One of these days paper makers might discover this thing called the internet.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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Nice review, thanks for posting. Ill be looking for these. My next step was to go to the net but pseudo88 has already been there. Too bad if theyre not available yet for wide distribution.

 

Maybe the company has already gone under which is why their website doesnt work.

 

I also found a picture of a notebook on Amazon but listed as currently unavailable: https://www.amazon.com/HYACINTH-Creative-Notebook-Multi-Colored/dp/B01NH0TKRF/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1524303924&sr=8-2&keywords=hyacinth+notebooks

 

 

If they have that is really too bad if this was a quality product at a reasonable price. Or the reason they were so nicely priced was the stare got the stricken at a bargain price.

Edited by Maurizio

The prizes of life are never to be had without trouble - Horace
Kind words do not cost much, yet they accomplish much - Pascal

You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream - C.S. Lewis

 Favorite shop:https://www.fountainpenhospital.com

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Maybe the company has already gone under which is why their website doesnt work.

I certainly hope not! Next time I'm at the store, I'll ask around to find out what the deal is with this brand.

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