A blank Bible!

[Chris]

Oh joy! I looked at the back of my notebook cupboard - it's the one under the ink cupboard, neither of which I had before I found this site!! - and saw not one, not two but three unopened Allen notebooks. Given that my current one has been around for two years living in my briefcase daily and still looks lovely rather than battered, I am going to abandon lesser journals and use Allan more liberally.

 

Chris

[Strombomboli]

but the thin lines are something else. Why? I mean, really, why???

I thought about this and remembered the many jokes about Scotsmen being very tight-fisted. So my guess is, that the lines are so small because it is assumed that people write very small in order to save paper. It must take a very long time to really fill one of these journals.

 

I just ordered one and am eager to see how small I can actually write and what it will do to me, given that usually I write so big that I started to use 1.5 mm stub nibs.

[Stompie]

Thanks for ressurecting this thread! I never knew these existed and it is a solution to a problem I was facing!!!!!

[Gloucesterman]

When I saw the thread's title, I was expecting an Atheist's Bible.

 

Thank G-D you were wrong!!!!

[Gloucesterman]

Maybe the reason they have the word "Journal" on the cover is to let people know that it is the front of the volume! You have to admit that Journal looks much more impressive than "Front".

[Gloucesterman]

For what it is worth -

 

At our local second hand store quite a while back I bought a blank black leather (I think) bound book that had "Holy Bible" embossed on the cover and the same plus "King James Version" on the spine.The back cover has an ISBN # of 978 1 69866 6161. There are four pages in the front and four in the back of an "almost light card stock paper and then a very thin "Tomoe-like" blank paper. It's about 3/4" thick. The cover is 5 1/2"x 8 7/8, with the actual pages 5 1/4"x 8 1/2" and

 

Just touched the tip of a Pilot Prera w/ Diamine Majextic Blue to a central page (very close to the inner edge so that it is practically unnoticeable) and and it seemed to take it okay - no feathering and way to small for bleed through.

 

At the time, I thought it might be nice to write my own version (no disrespect intended) and have not gotten around to it as of right now.

 

I googled the ISBN and got nothing of value.

 

This may be my next Journal unless I decide to keep it or sell it.

Edited May 30, 2013 by brgmarketing

[Strombomboli]

Thanks for ressurecting this thread! I never knew these existed and it is a solution to a problem I was facing!!!!!

My pleasure.

 

At our local second hand store quite a while back I bought a blank black leather (I think) bound book that had "Holy Bible" embossed on the cover and the same plus "King James Version" on the spine.

I would call that a demonstrator bible.

Edited May 31, 2013 by Strombomboli

[Bigeddie]

I did a review here that is not indexed. They are very nice, and I'd highly recommend them.

 

I've never read the atheist bible, but I don't know why you think it would be so bad

[Stompie]

Yesterday I ordered one of these Journals, but I had a special request as well - can't say what otherwise you'll all inundate the chaps there

Anyway, today I got a response and they are going to do what I asked! Brilliant service - now what has happened to our clapping hands emoticon!!!!!

Edited May 31, 2013 by Stompie

[Gloucesterman]

Thomas Jefferson created his own version of the Bible. He cut and pasted what he wanted into a new volume.

 

Here are two links for more information:

 

From the Smithsonian Magazine:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/How-Thomas-Jefferson-Created-His-Own-Bible.html

 

and

from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible

 

Check it out if you are interested.

-S-

[Stompie]

It arrived today!

They emailed me yesterday to say it has been posted and today it is here - gotta love Royal Mail!

I like the look of it and I also like the small line spacing. I am doing a project which will involve one of these a month.
I have not fully opened it yet as I am about to go on leave and so will do that when I get back.

I did some tests as they sent me a spare sheet of the paper to test inks on - some of my wet writers just go straight through!

What did surprise me is that with my dip pens, even with big flex on swells with iron gall ink, there was not much bleed.

i have elected to use a mapping nib with Walkers iron gall as I can get the swells at a size that suits the writing size and lines, without having to go too big and so risk having some bleed through, which would have a negative effect on taking notes on the other side for the user - I am only writing on one side of each page.
Also, I must use iron gall as they are going to Africa and may get some harsh treatment so I want an ink that can stand that and a bit of damp or rain etc.

On all the inks I have no feathering at all.

This was really a great find and the service from them is also good.

I'll let you all know what happens.


Edit: Sorry, I meant to mention that even with the mapping nib and a Gillotte 303, the paper is very smooth and the nibs flow nicely over it.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Stompie

[Strombomboli]

Mine arrived today, also quite fast. It took not even a week to travel from Glasgow to Berlin, while the two books I ordered over a month ago in the UK seem to have gotten lost.

 

I like the journal. It looks very serious! The lines are really that small; too me, they look more like a pattern, or maybe a proposal. I'll ignore them, I think, just like I ignore the squares on other paper. I wrote a little bit, and it's like everyone said, no bleedthrough, only showthrough. I had to check if the paper really is so thin, because you don't think it's made of thin paper when just opening it. So not really like a bible; the pages are much thicker.

 

The good thing is, that I'm getting used to actually using expensive things (right now, I am waiting for my Visconti Opera Crystal to come back from adjusting, the most expensive pen I ever bought). Given its solid quality, this journal actually is not expensive; it's not posh, just old-fashioned good quality, so I won't be using something expensive, but something of good quality. And since the lines border on uselessness, it has an aspect of playfulness for me. I have the feeling that I can do with it whatever I want. It will serve me well.

 

I'm very happy I found it, i.e., grateful to the FPN, because without it, I would never heard of this journal.

[Gloucesterman]

My pleasure.

 

I would call that a demonstrator bible.

 

The real question now is, "Is a demonstrator Bible considered 'open source*' "? :glare: :glare:

 

* For those people who are not familiar with the term "open source", it refers to computer software that was created and made available to anyone and everyone who has interest in using or modifying it (or both). The information (programming code) that tells the computer what to do is made available so that anyone with the appropriate knowledge can change it.

[Strombomboli]

 

The real question now is, "Is a demonstrator Bible considered 'open source*' "? :glare: :glare:

 

Very good point! I'd say: Yes, definitely, that's the beauty of it!

 

We shouldn't tell that to the good people, though, who manufacture these demonstrator bibles, because I think they consider them only as a byproduct to their real ones. They might feel offended and then stop selling them to us who are not in search of God, but only of the flawless journal.

Edited June 6, 2013 by Strombomboli

[Stompie]

I got a mesage from Allan Bibles that they are considering doing a batch of 5mm lines for these journals - must say, I like the 4mm, suits my style of writing and leaving a line blank gives nice spacing without losing too much in the way of paper.

[Strombomboli]

They should offer a choice of line widths, that would be a real mark of distinction to any other manufacturer! 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, and blank pages. That should suit almost every taste. At leest, instead of going from 4 mm to 5 mm, they should jump to 6 mm, that would be a real difference.

 

On the other hand, yesterday, I tried out how it feels to use two lines instead of one, and that was no problem for me. Although, when writing in this way, 3 mm lines would be even better. (JUST JOKING, dear people of Allan's!)

[Ana_]

I have a question, immediately, because the maker is a bible maker and the journal covering follows the same format, my mind takes what it thinks is the next logical presumptive step and I am imagining the pages to be as thin and nearly transparent as bible pages?? Am I hopefully wrong about this and are the pages thicker? I'm thinking if they are thin pages, there is no way my ink won't bleed through. If anyone knows the thickness of the page, a few posters here are owners, I would love to know how they compare to say a moleskine, rhodia, CF or even a simple printer page. Thanks!

Edited September 3, 2014 by Ana_

[Ana_]

Never mind! I found a great post with photos of the all bible journal FP ink bleed through's here:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/64152-bible-like-journal/

Thank You Ryan! (drifting)

[Karen Traviss]

The extra-narrow rule lured me (I'd prefer plain, but small grid/ 4mm lines is the next best) so I bought the small journal. It's beautifully made. I've started testing inks; some bleed, some don't. It's trial and error so far. Diamine Sargasso with a fine nib bled while Bilberry just had some show-through. No feathering with either, though.

 

Overall, I like the Allan's book better than Smythson floppies. Illogical as this sounds, it just feels more comforting and usable right away. I spent a lot on Smythson notebooks in various sizes but ended up not using them because of the wide rule (no plain option) and the blue colour. Smythson featherweight paper is always FP-friendly and has no show-through. But, for some weird subjective reason, I don't enjoy writing on it in the same way I do Tomoe River or bible papers in white or cream. (I have some rolls of Offenbach 40 gsm and 50 gsm bible paper I bought from from Falkiner/ Shepherds.)

 

Good personal service from Allan's, too. I haven't seen their bibles, because I'm not a bible person, but they must be lovely, and especially nice to carry with you.