I'm A Sad, Pathetic Stationery Junkie.

[ParramattaPaul]

I have to admit that the last time I used a guillotine paper cutter was about the same time I last used a mimeograph machine.  That was 1966, year 12 in high school when I worked in the school Library.  

[inkypete]

Hobby grade manual guillotines are never quite accurate on the larger quantity of sheets they say they will cut at once. If accuracy to the millimetre is important then you will be disappointed. They are really just meant for small jobs, minimal sheets at once. I have generally found the models that utilise a sliding blade to cut are cleaner, but same limitation with sheets.

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, inkypete said:

If accuracy to the millimetre is important then you will be disappointed. They are really just meant for small jobs, minimal sheets at once.

 

I personally would expect that if the manufacturer states that the cutting capacity is 10 sheets, then at the very least it can cut through 8 or 9 sheets (that is, given some margin of error in the manufacturer's favour) without deviation, whereas (one would reasonably expect) cutting 10 sheets of possibly thicker/heavier/denser specification or more at once is what gives rise to skewing or deviation, with a swing or pull of the blade-arm.

[inkypete]

1 hour ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

I personally would expect that if the manufacturer states that the cutting capacity is 10 sheets, then at the very least it can cut through 8 or 9 sheets (that is, given some margin of error in the manufacturer's favour) without deviation, whereas (one would reasonably expect) cutting 10 sheets of possibly thicker/heavier/denser specification or more at once is what gives rise to skewing or deviation, with a swing or pull of the blade-arm.

Paper GSM will obviously make a difference and the makers all rate their products at optimum performance. Hard to maintain that.

[AmandaW]

I changed my mind about getting an A5 Clairefontaine notebook and need help finding something else. The A6 notebook I bought at Daiso has 7mm line spacing and I realised I'm liking it much more than the Clairefontaine 8mm.

 

So... circa 200 pages, A5, 7mm line spacing and grey or faint lines. And soft cover since it's  going into a Lihit Lab cover. Bonus points for ivory or other off-white paper.

 

The pen will be a Pilot 912 with a posting nib which should be friendly with most paper, but I do want to write on both sides of pages.

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, AmandaW said:

So... circa 200 pages, A5, 7mm line spacing and grey or faint lines.

 

Midori MD notebook (176 pages)? Apica Premium C.D. notebook (CDS90Y, with 192 pages)?

[txomsy]

Just before Xmas, I used the guillotine at work to cut down watercolor paper sheets for a passport/B7 travel notebook to substitute one of the insets and be able to make watercolors on the go (actually making a watercolor-paper travel notebook inset with the sheets held by the elastic strap). At the same time I cut down some sheets to postcard size to replenish a metallic box and carry postcards for watercolors.

 

Here you can see how it looks, on a leather cover B7 travel notebook made in Germany that I had got long ago from Amazon at sale prices (think it was some 6€ for the TN with three kraft-paper bound insets. Am I a cheapie? You bet! The metal corners and pen clips are later add-ons.

 

So, I agree, a guillotine is one of the most useful tools if one wants non-standard notebooks or insets.

 

Otherwise, I just received a leather pen roll from Amazon (Angus Stoke Leonardo). It's the second I order. The first one was ordered to carry short-length Kolinsky travel brushes, and I was so satisfied with it that I got this second one for pens and pencils. What I liked the most is the upper fold which helps keep the pens/brushes if turned upside down, but it has some other niceties (as shown in the Amazon page). BTW, I see it is not available in US, but you can find it in other countries.

 

What else? several 12cm/5" metallic rulers from Aliexpress. The idea is to use them with passport- or A6-size travel notebooks (and the pen rolls): being metallic they should take well a good beating when moving around.

 

Several leather sleeves for passport-size notebooks, also from Aliexpress. Some thicker, some more flexible leather. They are great to protect soft-cover (note/sketch)books when you carry them in a jeans' rear pocket, and after I lost the first two, I wanted to substitute them and not run out any more. BTW they also have the right size for Collins' Pocket Gems books (of which I have now four encased in these sleeves). The one with the "Japanese phrasebook & dictionary" is taking a good beating lately. So, four for books, one (with credit-card pockets) for the passport and several for notebooks/sketchbooks. Thankfully they are reasonably cheap in Aliexpress (~5-7€ each delivered).

 

Some metallic, elastic clip-type pen holders for using them in travel notebooks (see pics).

 

And some metallic corner protectors (the ones that are pressure-affixed) for travel notebooks as well.

 

 

All together here: a travel notebook with metal corner protectors and two pen clips (holding my old trusty MB Noblesse), several leather sleeves protecting sketchbooks/Collins Gems books. The top one is obviously starting to show signs of wear. BTW the bottom notebook is a 300 page A6 Miquelrius notebook.

 

[AmandaW]

8 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Midori MD notebook (176 pages)? Apica Premium C.D. notebook (CDS90Y, with 192 pages)?

Thankyou.  While I like the Midori paper in the plain notebooks I have tried, I'm not sure about that heavier line across the middle of the ruled version.

 

Apica is new to me. The cover design reminds of the little Daiso notebooks. I will seek one out. It does tick all the boxes. Pulp has them too.

[Runnin_Ute]

Busy week....  with money from my year end bonus, first there was a Parker Slimfold from Peyton Street Pens which will arrive on Monday, just completed an order from Vanness - four bottles of ink along with some Tomoe River and a new Col-o-ring. The inks? Lamy Dark Lilac and Turquoise, Diamine Merlot and 150th Silver Fox. The latter three are replacing bottles that are empty or near empty.

[lamarax]

 

Don't. It's retro and all, but the paper is awful (it's not your standard Clairefontaine; it's some... dunno, recycled 70 gsm paper?)

 

 

it tears nicely though...

[Doug C]

9 minutes ago, lamarax said:

 

Don't. It's retro and all, but the paper is awful (it's not your standard Clairefontaine; it's some... dunno, recycled 70 gsm paper?)

 

 

it tears nicely though...

I've got one but I wish there was a cheaper refill option. 

[lamarax]

10 minutes ago, Doug C said:

I've got one but I wish there was a cheaper refill option. 

 

There are no refill options where I am, and that's for the better, lol 😅 (I think I saw refills on Amazon... Belgium, but whatever 😛)

 

Anyway, this thing packs 170 sheets; that's gonna last the lifetime of my... heirs -- I ain't gonna use any significant quantity 😀

[Misfit]

@lamarax I have one of those. Cult Pens has refills. Is shipping from the UK expensive?

 

I got the middle size.

[Lithium466]

2 hours ago, lamarax said:

 

Don't. It's retro and all, but the paper is awful (it's not your standard Clairefontaine; it's some... dunno, recycled 70 gsm paper?)

 

 

it tears nicely though...

Did you try the other side of the paper?

[lamarax]

21 minutes ago, Misfit said:

@lamarax I have one of those. Cult Pens has refills. Is shipping from the UK expensive?

 

I got the middle size.

 

Yes, mine is the 'middle size' (No.4) I think as well. My point was that I loathe the thing though, so no need to search for refills 😉

 

Shipping from the UK since the B-word, has gotten more expensive troublesome than anything Trump can throw at the EU 😛 

 

12 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Did you try the other side of the paper?

 

Yes, in fact the block's already turned upside-down in the picture.

[Runnin_Ute]

On 1/25/2025 at 8:36 PM, Runnin_Ute said:

Busy week....  with money from my year end bonus, first there was a Parker Slimfold from Peyton Street Pens which will arrive on Monday, just completed an order from Vanness - four bottles of ink along with some Tomoe River and a new Col-o-ring. The inks? Lamy Dark Lilac and Turquoise, Diamine Merlot and 150th Silver Fox. The latter three are replacing bottles that are empty or near empty.

Arrived today.  Swabbed the inks in the new Col-o-ring. 

[Misfit]

I bought a Midori one year diary impulsively because there was a celestial themed one. I’ve been tracking the Merriam-Webster app Word of the Day this year. I’m planning on putting the word of the day in the new notebook, and commenting on whether it applies to the day, or me, or whatever it makes me think of. 
 

The layout gives you 6 lines per day, with 2 days per page. In the Celestial version, the paper looks to be different shades of blue. Images show 4 page layouts, so 4 different blues. I might will dedicate one pen to this notebook, likely filled with Diamine Eclipse.

[AmandaW]

Feeling a bit down I thought a Daiso visit might help, I went, I looked but left with nothing... they were all stocked up with notebooks too cos it's  back to school time here. Not a good sign. Is there a stronger remedy?

 

[inkypete]

17 hours ago, AmandaW said:

Feeling a bit down I thought a Daiso visit might help, I went, I looked but left with nothing... they were all stocked up with notebooks too cos it's  back to school time here. Not a good sign. Is there a stronger remedy?

 

I reckon Daiso downunder has dropped the ball a little re stationery. I find a trip there doesn't cost me as much as it used to.

[A Smug Dill]

33 minutes ago, inkypete said:

I find a trip there doesn't cost me as much as it used to.

 

You need to make a trip/pilgrimage to a Daiso store in Japan.