Paperblanks Nocturnelle Ultra Review

[rob1656]

I was looking for some reviews of paperblank journals and could not find any recent ones so I thought I would do a short one.

 

I have just started my fountain pen journey, I got tired of family members asking if I was ok every time they got a letter. So I thought Journaling would be a good way to use ink. My first journal was a note book I picked up from dollar tree that was fountain pen friendly. I started off testing pens and ink in it, then I found my self writing in it regularly. Once I finished it I thought if I am going to keep this up I should get something a bit nicer.

 

I picked up an Nocturnelle Ultra, after seeing Mister “hey there” do a video on them and here is what I though.

 

http://i.imgur.com/uozDNOe.jpg

 

So from the website I thought it was black, however it is a greenish blue. That and the fact that the gold feels like it can be easily scratched off are my only complaints. The image on there web site and the one I received had a few cosmetic differences, but for the most part they look the same.

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/cqjVcK8.jpg

 

 

http://paperblanks.com/si/en/collections/1/filtered?collection_id=348#2865

 

I think the Ultra is a great size, it lays flat and looks great. It feels very sturdy, like it will last a long time. I thought the metal clasp were for show, but they are magnetic and work great. It also comes with a red ribbon bookmark.

 

http://i.imgur.com/1nTiPGn.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/Moj61pt.jpg

 

 

The paper is very thick and heavy. So far I have only used, Rodia, Tomoe River and Sugarcane paper. I have no idea what to compare it to. It feels smooth but not slick and very heavy almost like a parchment paper. I had no feathering or bleedthrough. So far I have used nine different inks.

 

Noodler's Liberty’s Elysium, Medium nib

Noodler's Black swan in Australian Roses, broad nib

Noodler's Habanero, Medium nib

Diamine Red Dragon, fine nib

Montblanc Toffee Brown, medium nib

Lamy Turquoise, fine nib

Diamine Ancient Copper, broad nib

Waterman Harmonious Green,fine nib

Noodler’s Black, fine nib

 

http://i.imgur.com/HE5skly.jpg

 

Most of the ink took a while to dry. By the time I got to the bottom of the page the top would be dry. The Habanero however was a different story, It would not dry. I had to get a paper towel and blot it dry, and it still took a while. Granted I was at a bar and was using a napkin and not blotting paper. But still, it took far too long.

 

Overall I thought this was a great Journal, I plan on getting another once I fill this one up.

 

P.S. it has a memo pocket in the back.

 

http://i.imgur.com/IJXUfPU.jpg

 

[cleosmama]

Thanks for the review. I have not seen many reviews of the Paperblanks products.

[Ghost Plane]

They went through a bad stretch pre 2012 with some idiot in management trying to save money with nasty cheap paper. After that, the paper improved drastically and I use them regularly, but their rep took a hit in the fountain pen community. It's only now that the bad paper has finally worked its way through the supply chain that people are coming back.

[Joe in Seattle]

I enjoyed using the A5 size paper blanks journals, but when I switched to an 8 x 10 the paper was totally inferior. This is likely the time referred to by ghost plane.

 

I really enjoyed them.

[senzen]

Great review, it's an interesting item, looks more for spells than a diary for me; and not horribly expensive as I would have thought.

[goatgolfer]

Great review of the tactile moments for FPN users. Great find and best luck crawling out of the rabbit hole.

[rob1656]

I am crawling the wrong way. It just keeps getting darker and darker.