Piccadilly Notebook Review

[KrazyIvan]

I purchased this Piccadilly hardbound/wirebound notebook some time ago at Barnes & Noble for $5 USD. It has graph paper with dimensions of 8.5”x5.5” (215mm x 140mm) and I am just now putting it into service as my next personal journal notebook.

 

The idea of a hardbound/wirebound notebook appeals to me for a couple of reasons. One would be the fact that you have a hard surface to write on anywhere you go. This makes it very mobile. The second is a double edged blade, the wirebound pages. I like the fact that it can fold back on itself, gicing you full use of the page but the wirebound spine causes problems when I write on the left hand side of the book. My hand runs into the coils and it makes it a bit uncomfortable to write. I tend to end up hurrying my writing so I can get to the right side of the page. That has it's drawbacks too. My hand then tends to drop off the edge of the page. It is almost .75” (18mm) thick. These two issues make it a not so ideal notebook for me from the get go.

 

The paper is squared with .25” (6mm) squares. I really enjoy using graph paper even for just everyday writing. I don't know what it is about it, I just do. This is also where I ran into something I had not experienced before until I started using fountain pens. Fountain pen ink does not seem to penetrate the paper where ever there are grid lines. I noticed this first with Field Notes Paper. It happens here too. It is not that noticeable if you are not looking for it but once you see it, it tends to be a little distracting to me. Some inks show it more than others. I find Lamy Blue Black hides it the best out of the inks I have tried with this paper.

 

This brings us to the paper performance with fountain pen ink. This time I tried some metter pens to really push the paper to its limits. The pen-nib and ink combinations I used are as follows:

 

- Harley Davidson Waterman M stub nib (Stub by 777 Pen Repair), Diamine Asa Blue

- Reform 1745 F nib, Lamy Blue Black

- Parker Duofold Junior F nib, Noodler's Midway Blue

- Sensa Meridian F nib, Noodler's Air Corp Blue Black

- Lamy Safari EF nib, Noodler's Blue

- Kaweco Sport Classic F nib, Kaweco Blue

- Jinhao X450 M nib, Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue

 

Let me start by saying that I am not used to broad nibs. They are growing on me. I started this test with the second wetest pen I own. It is my Harley Davidson Waterman pen (V Rod style in chrome). I recently had the nib ground to a stub by Tyler Dahl of 777 Pen Repair and it is really a joy to use. I have used this pen on paper that has soaked through two sheets at a time. It was not pretty. The Piccadilly paper, however, did handle it quite well with Diamine Asa Blue. There is just a hint of bleed and definitely some echo on the back side of the page. Feathering is there but not readily apparent until seen under magnification or inspecting the page closely. Overall it did okay and is perfectly acceptable to me.

 

Next up was the Reform 1745 with Lamy Blue Black. I smoothed this nib and adjusted the tines for better flow. It really needed it. This ink/pen combination is one that works well together. Lamy ink seems to be dry and with my nib adjustments it has enough flow to keep me happy. Just a slight echo on the back of the page but no bleed at all. Feathering is also kept to a minimum but visible under magnification. This is also the ink that did best at covering the grid lines on the paper.

 

We move the the Parker Duofold Junior with Noodler's Midway Blue. This one feathered right off the bat and had a stronger echo on par with with Diamine Asa Blue. Slight bleed through also. I am surprised it did not bleed more because feathering was very apparent, no magnification needed. If I write a little more larger it would be okay to use on this paper but it will take practice.

 

The Sensa Meridian with Noodler's Air Corp Blue Black behaved as I expected based on the other tests. Very controlled, no apparent feathering even under magnification. A slight echo is visible but very close to Lamy Blue Black.

 

I followed this with the Lamy Safari in an EF nib and Noodler's Blue. Being the EF nib I had high hopes for this not to feather. It did not. It performed as well as the Sensa Meridian inall departments just with a finer line. This would probably be my first choice if I had to choose one pen/ink combination to use with this paper.

 

The Kaweco Sport Classic with fine nib and Kaweco Blue cartridge ink also performed very well with this paper. The line is a little wider and feathering is visible under magnification. I just don't like the ink color.

 

Last but not least is the Jinhao X450 with Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue. This is the wettest pen I own and consequently this was the worst performer of the lot. Fortunatley it is through no fault of the pen. The paper just could not handle the amount of ink the X450 lays down. Feathering to the point of almost blotting out whole letters is readily apparent. It also bled through the paper the worst. Because of the bleed it is also the ink that shows the problem with the grid showing through the ink the most.

 

With the right pen/paper combination this paper works fine. It is smooth with all my pens with just a slight tooth that is pleasing. If it were not for some of the feathering bleeding issues, I would highly recommend the notebook. I have also read that paper quality is spotty ala Moleskine variety of notebooks. I think I liucked out and purchased one of the better ones. Only time will tell if I get another one of these notebooks.

 

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Piccadilly Journal/Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

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Piccadilly Wire Bound Squared Notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

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Piccadilly Graph notebook by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

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Piccadilly Graph notebook-back by IvanRomero, on Flickr