The InkJournal Comes in a Pack of 3
The other day I got a very nice surprise in the mail from my friend Tom over at Goldspot. He has his own side project going on and developed these awesome pocket journals called the InkJournal which are designed specifically for testing and comparing different inks.
InkJournal Cover
The cover of the InkJournal has a very nicely hand drawn picture of the nib of a fountain pen that is about to enter a bottle of ink, with them separated by the name “inkjournal” in a mix of script and print, which I think looks great. The cover itself is made from 18 pt chipboard and the interior pages are 70# text weight. The books are hand-crafted using presses and production machinery powered by renewable energy, and are all manufactured in Portland, Oregon.
Instructional Blotter – Front
Each set of 3 InkJournals comes with an instructional blotter. Pictured above is the front and it has helpful terms and definitions that can be used when writing about an ink. The card also has a flat finish so it can be used as a blotter as well.
InkJournal Instructional Blotter Card – Back
The back of the instructional blotter card (or maybe its the front?) has a tutorial on how to fill out the different sections on each page to help in consistent reviews and documentation of your ink.
InkJournal Writing Sample
So here is my first writing sample in the InkJournal. I really like the preformatted pages that remind you to test/document the basics such as:
- Ink Brand, name and color
- Date
- The pen used
- Nib size
- Flow
- Saturation
- Shading
- Scribble/Swab sample
- Dry time
The Inside of the InkJournal
All of these different factors accounted for in the InkJournal help to ensure a consistent and well rounded testing of the pen and ink that you are using. Not only does it help keep your own testing consistent, but you can easily compare notes with friends and other fountain pen fans. Clearly it doesnt just have to be fountains pens, these can also be used with any other pen or ink that you personally enjoy using so you can hone in on your ideal ink. In addition to just testing inks, you could also use it for specific pens only to see which ink you like best in your favorite pen, and it will also help me in remembering what ink is currently in my pen since I change so frequently and sometimes forget what’s in there.
I think the InkJournal is a great and long overdue idea, and I’m thrilled that it came from someone that is such a good friend of the blog. I’ll definitely be using these for some of my ink reviews going forward.
He He… This ink review notebook is a good idea! I print my own ink review sheets then keep them in a ringed binder for future reference.
The image on the front cover of the notebook is almost pornographic (or should it be penographic) 😉
My only beef is the paper. Those of us who write with large nibs would never use a paper this thin to begin with. But for the cheap pen F or M nib contingent, it should do the job.
I want to say something clever and erudite, but I’m too busy swooning.
I, too, use a lot of bold nibs, but I do like to know how much it will bleed through, since I often paint on the other side of the page in question.*deep covet*
Beth, the paper actually holds really well to fountain pen ink. Even when scribbling or light swabbing, the show-through to the backside of the page is minimal. That was one of the most important characteristics that led to choosing that particular paper supplier.
I saw on their website that each notebook only can catalog 15 inks. Maybe because I got lots and lots of ink samples but 15 does not sound like a lot.
I have been doing my own ink referencing cards for a while the big problem I see with that journal is you will never be able to lay color samples next to each other for comparison and the writing area is to small I like to test writing my inks with at least 2 different nib sizes. My future plan is for the pens to be all one make with different nib sizes plus one of my daily writers
“Text paper stock weight” is yet another method to measure paper weight per a given size to then equate it thickness. If the paper is 70Lb text paper stock it is about the same as 24lb paper or 90g paper.