Silvine Moleskine Clone...

[lurcho]

...Which I've ordered from Amazon UK, but not yet received.

 

I have high hopes for this notebook, because I've gone off expensive notebooks in the last few years. I go through a Moleskine-sized book in 4 to 6 weeks tops, and if they cost ten quid, like a Moley, or anywhere near that price, it puts me off using it properly. I.e., ubiquitously, spontaneously.

 

I really don't believe that truly creative people in the arts or sciences give a monkey's about the 'quality' of their notebook, so I think, accordingly, that it's important to feel absolutely uninhibited about recording any-old cr**p in one's notebook.

 

But I love FPs (and use mech pencils with Pentel 4B Ain Stein leads otherwise), so here's hoping that Silvine has come up with a relatively cheap notebook that lies flat, doesn't fall to bits, and accepts water-based ink nicely. Silvine is a very prominent British stationery manufacturer of ancient standing, and one that basically produces very popular and very cheap products for everyday use.

 

I will update. Hoping it'll be Monday.

 

PS. Here's a link:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006O8ACCI/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

Edited January 12, 2013 by lurcho

[The Good Captain]

I can't wait to read your comments after you get it.

[WillSW]

I've been enjoying some very inexpensive Silvine airmail paper and another pad, hopefully the quality and ink-friendliness translates to the heavier notebook paper.

[lurcho]

I can't wait to read your comments after you get it.

 

I'll make sure I do.

 

It's a bit redundant to post about a notebook yet to be tried, I know, but I'm expecting good things.

 

Their catalogue says it has superior, ivory paper, and certainly their usual range is not designed for fountain pens. But the demise of Tolland and Harvey's Guildhall notebooks, which were superb, meant that I've used only WH Smith's £1.43-a-pop A6 notebooks for a good while. They're good for FPs, but not perfect. I've been buying them by the score (literally), and have loads left.

 

This new Silvine item was £4.25, I think, including postage.

 

I have a decent camera now, so I'll do a proper review.

[Sirvinya]

Ooh, let us know how it is, the lime green one is calling my name!

[lurcho]

The notebook arrived just now, so here's my review.

 

This will be brief, as I'll need to write a bit more in the thing to know whether I really like it. But I think they might have nailed it!

 

My photographs are not very good, I'm afraid, but they give a reasonable idea. I'll just lay out my comments in point porm:

 

- The format is very similar to Moleskine, though the cover is slightly shinier, the lines, as you can see are more broadly spaced, and don't reach the page edges, there is no text other than the 'Silvine' embossing on the front.

 

- The paper is thick enough to prevent bleeding or bleedthrough, at least with my fairly wet selection of pens, but there is some showthrough, which doesn't bother me personally.

 

- The paper is smooth, but I'm not sure that it's perfect. Not yet. I've scribbled the few lines you can see in my photo literally minutes after getting the post, and I need to write more. So far it seems fair to say that it's more than adequate.

 

- It lies flat once you've flexed it just a little.

 

That's it for now. I'll have a little more of a try out later on today, and I also hope that others give it a go too.

 

Note: Trouble attaching my photos. They're too big, apparently, despite their showing on my system as small enough. I'll try to take more later today. Apologies.

[WillSW]

That sounds promising. I look forward to the pictures. Thanks for blazing the SIlvine trail. For what it's worth, many people here, myself included, prefer to host their photos somewhere else and link them in the thread, such as photobucket or flickr. It avoids the limitations of FPN attachments.

[lurcho]

Hope this works.

 

Seven photos at Photobucket:

 

My link

[lurcho]

Sorry for the paucity of the review (and poor photos!) after the build-up.

 

I'm afraid I'm ill in bed, and not up to better yet.

 

Hope the pics were accessible and gave some idea.

 

I'll come back in a few days.

[WillSW]

Thanks for the pictures and the review. It looks like a good, less expensive alternative to a Moleskine. My own preference tends towards narrower line spacing and lines that reach page edges, but if I was in the market for this kind of thing I'd probably go Silvine over Moleskine now.

[lurcho]

Thanks for the pictures and the review. It looks like a good, less expensive alternative to a Moleskine. My own preference tends towards narrower line spacing and lines that reach page edges, but if I was in the market for this kind of thing I'd probably go Silvine over Moleskine now.

 

Thanks for your interest, Will. And thanks, also, for the heads-up on using an image host.

 

My old WHSmith notebook's about to pack up, so I'll be actually using the Silvine in a couple of days. At that point, I'll be in a position to know what it's really like. And naturally I'll post my experiences here.

Edited January 19, 2013 by lurcho

[lurcho]

Hiya, people.

 

This will be brief, and that's not good.

 

I've been writing for quite a while tonight with three pens, all containing the new incarnation of Waterman Florida Blue, i.e., Florida Blue with its new moniker, Serenity.

 

The paper renders a slightly too-toothy experience, and the pens seem to dry-up. You all know what this feels like.

 

Suffice it so say, I'm retiring the Silvine and starting a new WHSmith cheapy, which, basically, works excellently with all my pens.

 

It's not worthwhile to give a blow-by-blow, 10-out-of-ten evaluation to different criteria, as I would have liked, since I'm simply not going to use this notebook.

 

Sorry. High hopes dashed. Deja vu all over again.

 

YMMV, etc. (And I mean this. The notebook is well-appointed, but simply inferior in writing experience - in MY writing experience - to one that is readily available at a third of the price. But it's by no means awful, and I hope others give it a £4 punt.)

Edited January 21, 2013 by lurcho