High-res version

So yesterday I shared with you my new obsession, journals and pens, and in specific, I reviewed the Allen’s Journal.  Nothing has changed today; I’m still obsessed. I think this will go on for a bit so sit back and enjoy the review of the next journal.

20-year-old leather Levenger Stanley Journal

The journal I looked at for part II is Levenger’s Stanley Journal. I’ve had this smooth leather journal cover for almost twenty years. Last year, however, when I went through a pebble leather obsession (yes, I know, I need to control my impulses), I purchased from Levenger a new black pebble leather cover. There was simply no comparison between the old and new covers. The twenty year old cover is incredibly well made, and looked like it was an expensive leather piece when I bought it. It still looks fantastic despite tons of use. The 2014 cover by contract, is slightly larger, isn’t nearly as well made, and feels flimsy right out of the box. The workmanship is similar to most of Levenger’s other current leather goods: cheaply made. This cover just isn’t up to the standards Levenger had years ago, which from my perspective is really unfortunate. For example: the stiff boarding in the front and back cover visibly ends near the binding area of the cover — you can see and feel the outline where the stiff boarding under the leather ends. It is incredibly unattractive. The current cover measures 6 1/8″ X 8 1/2″ and you can personalize it with your initials. You can find it on Levenger’s website, although with what I’ve shared here, I don’t know why anybody would consider buying it unless they simply didn’t know anybetter. Thank God I kept 20 year cover, because it still looks great.

The one thing going for the Stanley Journal is that it is refillable, something that is lacking in most good journals. The refills come in sets of 2 notebooks, 118 lined pages with gilt edges, and a linen brown cover that inserts into the leather cover. I received two of the earlier line blue covers before Levenger changed the color to Brown — so keep in mind I am reviewing the blue linen cover refills here. They are 5 1/2″ X 7 3/4, and fit well into the older leather cover, and a tad loosely, from my perspective, into the new cover. I was really exited to get these because it meant I’d be able to keep using a cover I really like, but the paper turned out to be a disaster.

If you are a fountain pen user, the paper in these refills will drive you batty. I used three pens when I did a writing test: a 1956 Sterling Silver with gold nib fine Parker, a Lamy CP1 with extra fine nib, and a TWSBI 580 Diamond Clear with an extra fine nib. In each case, my writing samples experienced feathering. And when I turned the page to continue writing on the other side there was enough bleed through to make further writing impossible. Note: using these same pens and the same writing tests on an Allen’s Journal yielded no feathering and no blade through. but when I turned the page to continue writing on the other side there was more than enough bleed through.

What a huge disappointment. So now starts my search for notebooks that will fit my lovely 20-year-old leather cover (I threw out the cheaply made 2014 pebble leather one).

Stay tuned for part III. I’ll be writing about the Japanese Midori Traveler’s Notebook.