Friday, May 29, 2015

Conklin Duragraph Cracked Ice

 by Tony Thomas

I recently purchased a Conklin Duragraph fountain pen from my friends at Goulet Pens.  I really like the throwback design of the pen and its “cracked ice” resin body.

For those not familiar with the Conklin name, it was a very popular fountain pen company established in 1898 and located in Toledo, Ohio. Although the original company no longer exists, its original pens are highly prized by collectors. The name was resurrected by Yafa Brands in 2009 to produce new pens with the vintage look of the originals.

The Duragraph is a pen that uses standard European cartridges and a screw-in converter. I selected a 1.1 stub nib. The pen is very well balanced and not too heavy even when posted. It is a smooth writer and enjoyable to write with. For the price I paid ($44), I feel that this pen is a real bargain and looks much more expensive than it is.


http://www.conklinpens.com/




Friday, May 8, 2015

Notebook Survey Results

















by Tony Thomas

Here are the results of the notebook survey:
  • Composition Books: 74% said they use composition books.
  • 3.5" x 5.5" Notebooks:  A bit over half use this format.
  • If Rhodia made a composition book (9.75" x 7.50"), would you buy it?:  48% said yes.
  • If Rhodia made a 3.5" x 5.5" notebook like the Moleskine Cahier or Field Notes Brand, would you buy it?: Only 35% said yes.
  • Notebook popularity: Rhodia was #1 by a wide margin (70%), Clairefontaine was #2 (48%),  Leuchtturm 1917 was # 3 (35%), Kokuyo, Field Notes Brand, Generic Composition book all tied for #4 (22%), and Apica and Moleskine tied for #5 (17%).  Others used include Maruman, Midori, Tomoe River, Banditapple, Filofax, Picadilly, Aurora, Graphilo, and Fabriano.



Friday, May 1, 2015

Is Rhodia Missing the Boat?

by Tony Thomas

I love Rhodia products, but I really wish they would make them in popular US sizes rather than just European (metric) sizes.

Two examples are composition books and 3.5“ x 5.5” side-stitched notebooks (like the Moleskine Cahier and Field Notes Brand notebooks).

Neither of these sizes is available from Rhodia (although its parent company, Clairefontaine, offers some 3.5“ x 5.5” notebooks that aren’t as easy to find). And Rhodia does have a smallish 7.5 x 12 cm 48 page notebook that would be just perfect if it was a bit larger.

I have nice leather covers that fit these two sizes and I would love to fill them with Rhodia notebooks!

Clairefontaine/Rhodia has hinted that they may be open to producing composition-sized notebooks if there is enough interest.

How do you feel? Would you be interested in these size notebooks? Let Clairefontaine/Rhodia know via their U. S. distributor, Exaclair:

http://www.exaclair.com/contact.php

Take a quick survey on this subject:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TG6SM7C