The Graf it series of sketchbooks come in various sizes and all feature the same crisp sketching/drawing paper with a matte texture and feel, no vellum here, but more on that later!
Basic specifications;
Sketch pad.
160 pages.
80 sheets.
90g weight.
Pure white paper.
A6 / 10,5×14,8cm
2) Size, Feel & Appearance
The size is fantastic and as usual, well thought out from Clairefontaine, perfect size to just throw in your bag on your way to art class or your local café!
It features the similar physical style as the Rhodia in terms of design and construction but I am sorry to say it has none of the sex appeal. None.
The front cover imagery is quite simply horrendous, while I know that its a sketch pad and not a fashion accessory I still like to have a glimmer of pride when whipping out my new sketchbook instead of giving it an awkward glance and preemptively apologizing to onlookers while defending it by stating it has great quality paper.
Its just a stupidly childish design and what irks me the most is that Clairefontaine can produce pads in the style of Rhodia that exude class and sex appeal from every glossy fiber but apparently it was too difficult to reproduce for the Graf it line?
So let me break down what I don’t like aesthetically;
Above is the color of the cover, as close as I can get it.
What the hell Clairefontaine?
Even a neutral black would have been better than this awkward monstrosity.
Mauve? Pshh.
Secondly, the cover’s texture is not glossy and sexy like the Rhodia pads, instead it is a semi gloss/luster finish that just annoys me, just make your mind up!
Its also extremely bad when it comes to spills, while it wont absorb liquids as quickly as a pure matte texture its still not easy to wipe off like a full gloss one.
And finally I just hate the cover design.
You know what Clairefontaine?
I will design the next covers free of charge (I want unlimited supplies of your products however!) and I am 99% confident it will end up looking better than 5 pencils in some weird gauche photocopier style on a mauve back drop.
Just disappointing really, because I know they are a company that can produce some incredibly stunning stationery products with simply superb aesthetics, just look at the , etc. lines if you don’t believe me!
3) Features
The Graf it sketchpad has pretty much the same features as the Rhodia pads since construction is near identical (from what I can tell).
2 staples utilized instead of 1 does not warrant a huge paragraph! The features are clever and work well for their intended purpose from the pre-fabricated creases in the cover to the easy rip perforated pages it works well and effortlessly.
I like.
Check out my review on the Rhodia Bloc for more info and photographs on similar features!
4) Writing Performance
I tested it with a bunch of different writing mediums as per the usual with all my paper based reviews and as expected with a Clairefontaine product only the permanent markers bled-through.
Very impressive but not unexpected, frankly with Clairefontaine’s (well deserved) reputation I wouldn’t expect anything less.
This is the paper magnified by roughly x20, this was NOT easy to achieve so please take a moment to appreciate it.
Thanks.
The paper is completely matte and I hazard that it would be quite good in a watercolor role based on its sheer weight and texture, whilst dragging pencils across it I felt a degree of resistance that isn’t entirely unpleasant and while I am used to silky smooth Rhodia paper I have to admit I found myself enjoying the sudden change.
While it proves adequate for writing its true strength shines when sketching.
In a sketching capacity the paper really takes a life of its own and I find myself really impressed, specially with sanguine oil pencils and charcoal (2 mediums I am very fond of)!
5) Conclusion
To be honest I am torn, as people know by now I don’t write the usual boring reviews, I will touch on the good points and bad points with nothing but what I feel is brutal honesty and a heavily opinionated (and slightly wordy) slant.
Yes I got this stuff free from Exaclair but I assure you I am anything but a mindless shill.
I love art and I love stationery and I strongly believe I would be doing the community & Exaclair a great disservice if I didn’t touch on the negative points.
It does however mean that when I gush on the positives, its truly what I believe and not mindless “it was free so I like it”.
Case & point; the Rhodia pad, I truly love it compared to this one.
With the Graf it I am just ambivalent, I love the paper for sketching but I cant get past the stupidly ugly design, its just not chic, stylish or trendy.
Clairefontaine is 90% function and 10% passion, I love buying the products because they function flawlessly and look great doing it.
I don’t think the Graf it series represents Clairefontaine in that respect, its branding reminds me of nameless office brands which is sad when you take into account how superb the paper is in its intended role.
So what to do?
I think I will either relegate this to my desk and never let it be seen in public or I will make a cover for it that it truly deserves.
I have settled on a new cover, will keep you updated!
Thanks Karen @ Exaclair for providing those samples for review & please note that I am serious about redesigning the covers .
This review took me forever to do based on the color being impossible to photograph properly so thanks for reading it.
The Duke “Greek Key” (Note; Greek key is not the official model name, I actually dont know what the model name is thus I took my queue from ) is a high end offering from the Shanghai G.Crown Fountain Pen also known as Duke.
It is 13.7cm (5-1/2″) capped and 16cm (6-1/4″) posted.
2) Size, Feel & Appearance
Its a medium size fountain pen although size is completely subjective.
I like my fountain pens to be truly over sized in the Montblanc 149 category thus for me it is a medium pen, you might think otherwise!
It feels reasonably high quality- externally at least with a lacquer that reflects light beautifully- very deep.
I would describe it as refined, it is certainly not made of plastic in either feel or appearance.
The centerpiece of this pen is the cap, it features 5 cloisonne bands in a Greek key pattern and I have to admit that the bands are the sole reason I love this pen along with the Chinese lacquer.
The bands are just incredibly well manufactured and I often find myself turning the cap against the light in various angles just to see them glisten beautifully.
The clip is cheaply made out of sheet metal that has been stamped into shape and happens to be the biggest negative (outwardly atleast) of the pen.
This is a 125$ fountain pen.
A member of the high end line of Duke.
Sheet metal? Seriously!? Its like they are not even trying! Such a beautiful cap sadly ruined with tacky, cost saving crap.
The top of the cap features the Duke logo- Nothing much to add, its not particularly nice but you cant see any glaring manufacturing defects with the naked eye!
The end of the body has a rather ugly chromed button that cuts the flow of the design rather abruptly- I would have preferred the button to be domed to a certain degree or at least not as mundane as it is!
Near the end their are 2 chrome bands, they are not flush with the body and while I would normally penalize them for such a fault I am not entirely certain that it is a defect- perhaps it is a requirement for the cap to be able to stay posted.
While the materials are premium, brass body, Chinese lacquer and gorgeous cloisonne Greek key bands I find certain aspects to be so badly finished that I am amazed they are found on a 125$ pen. The inside of the cap is not even cleaned up & features manufacturing marks left bare in a way that can be viewed when placing the cap back on.
On a French, German or Japanese made fountain pen in a model costing half the price you will not find this.
Such a shame.
So, how does it feel when held? Pretty damn good. The lacquer is sublime and reminds me of the S.T Dupond one, it emits a certain degree of warmth while exuding class with its luster.
The balance is pretty good and the grip section while ugly is completely functional.
3) Writing Performance
The nib is 14k gold if we are to believe the advertising, however the marks on the nib are as follows 14K 580 and as we all know 585 is the number for 14k gold, I am inclined to believe that this is a mistake & that the nib is in fact 14k gold.
Regardless, the nib is unremarkably soft with a slight spring, no bite and very little feedback. Just a pleasantly boring nib that dishes out a medium wet western fine line in a perfectly controlled fashion.
I was going to take a writing sample but it is so ordinary that you would fall asleep looking at it, it simply has no character in either end of the spectrum!
Sailor nibs are surgically accurate glass smooth nibs while on the other end vintage Waterman nibs are full of character with a demented flex launching a challenge full of jest with every down stroke.
The Duke is just Zzz.
It works and its moderately pleasant (in a pick up truck reliability sort of way) to use.
Nothing else to add.
4) Conclusion
Here is my problem, if you drop $100 + you should be able to expect a certain degree of quality, and to me the Duke just fails short of that.
We always give Chinese pens an easy pass- “oh but its so cheap and in a European pen it would cost millions, so we should forgive minor defects as being part of the deal” etc.
I disagree.
You can buy a Sailor Procolor 500 or Waterman Phileas for half the price of this pen and you will not have the defects this has.
Duke has failed in producing a high end pen, because besides the Greek key bands & lacquer, it just doesn’t seem like a luxury writing tool after you look at it closely, and I find myself thinking the Chinese should stick to making cheap fountain pens that provide agreeable value and writing performance for the grand total of 10 bucks since clearly they are not ready to engage themselves in high end goods.
I own 2 Duke pens besides this one and neither of the other two cost more than $30, and I am truly content with them.
The only reason I will be keeping the Greek key is because of the cap design (minus the clip) which I am very fond of.
Unless future Duke pens reach a level of quality that I have come to expect out of Japan and Europe I wont be acquiring any from the high end models again.
In conclusion; I find that shoddy cost saving “features” are emblematic of the way China deals with its high end products, great materials utilized by workers who are used to designing and assembling cheap ballpoints.
Its a second hand Toyota with a nice paint job, it will reliably get you from A to B, but its just not a BMW.
A+
[By the way A+ is a way of saying see you later in French (A plus!), and it is not a grade!]
The Bloc Rhodia N°12 is the ubiquitous pad for the discerning creative, its unapologetic orange veneer is tantamount to being bitchslapped and challenged to scribble down something truly special, which of course is what this pad is all about!
Scribbling.
Its dimensions are a usefully diminutive 85 x 120 (3 3/8 x 4 ¾ “) which is perfect for shoving down the back pocket of your favorite corduroys on your way to an adventure.
80 pages.
80g weight.
Blaze orange.
Epic Vellum paper.
2) Size, Feel & Appearance
Its small, minimalistic and orange which is all that needs to be said!
Speaking of orange, while Rhodia does manufacture this pad in the boring, uncool black that your math teacher probably uses I would advise you to purchase the orange one.
Orange is a controversial color, it does not flinch and will not bow down to social custom or expectation, orange does not say sorry; it either punches you in the face or makes you grin from ear to ear!
I likelove orange.
So of course I am biased towards Rhodia pads & the orange ones in particular, (and should Karen from not tire from my overly poetic ramblings on her companies products and thus wish to send me more Rhodia samples then orange>every color ever envisioned).
3) Features
One awesome feature of Rhodia pads is that they come with a seam/crease pre-fabricated into the blaze orange card cover which makes them easy to just fold back and write with.
I have always hated reporter style pads in which the cover seemed to ostentatiously slam down on your hand as you are writing.
Not fun!
With the Rhodia this problem is non existent, the cover protects the paper (and attracts the fairer sex with that powerful orange aura) when not in use but other than that it does not interfere what so ever.
The sheets of delicious 80g vellum paper are individually perforated which allows them to be tugged free with no asymmetrical undoings!
Hurray for people the world over!
4) Writing Performance
The 80g vellum paper is smooth however as you can see it does feature just a touch of texture which is just lovely and as a matter of fact I prefer it to the super glossy Clairefontaine paper thats the true benchmark for fountain pen aficionados.
It just seems to want to be written on with the way it bites in and guides your writing instrument, the quality of the paper is superior (from what I can tell and based on my tastes) to the Journal 21 daily planner that I reviewed last week.
I tested the paper using a variety of writing mediums from fountain pen ink to Sanguine oil pencils & as you can see the only pen that bled through was the permanent marker (surprise surprise!) I was not really shocked, Rhodia paper is known for its resilience so I expected it to pass with flying colors!
5) Conclusion
I will say straight up that I am a Rhodia fanboy, I have been a firm proponent of the brand since I first utilized it in science class while at school at the tender age of 7..or 8.
I would pick a Rhodia pad or notebook over the more prestigious (and expensive) simply because to me Rhodia personifies the freedom to write without constraint and it evokes a childish streak within me (my Rhodia pad has a whole page of me scribbling “Kaboom” over and over again using a purple crayon!) that is so often forgotten in today’s 24/7 corporate lifestyle.
Rhodia is the trendy, quirky side of Clairefontaine, its fantastic paper without the pressure to write down a flawless piece of literature from a Triomphe pad.
Rhodia pads just dont judge you.
I can write 80 pages of complete bullshit using a Bic 1 day and 80 pages of heart wrenching Harry!Romance using my Waterman LeMan the next day and the Rhodia would just give an uninterested Gallic shrug and point out that it does what its designed to do.
Karen @ sent me some awesome stuff this week so first up is my new daily planner for 2010!
I developed a new review format for stationary that I hope is more thorough and professional, if it is well received all future reviews will follow this format.
The ““
1) Model & specifications
The Journal 21 is a daily 8 am to 9 pm planner made out of 72g acid free vellum paper with a very soft tint, it is refillable and the pages feature sewn binding.
It also has;
16 months monthly, September 2009 to December 2010
Soft green tinted vellum paper
Acid-free and pH neutral paper
Annual planning calendars for 2010 and 2011
Current and following month calendars
Elegant round corners — tear-off corner opens to day in progress
Lays flat when open
Full line per half-hour
Blank space for daily notes
Bound in address book
2) Size, Feel & Appearance
The Journal 21 features a very tactile experience in a very crisp faux leather cover, the pattern is very subtle with mild pebbling and artificial crease lines, very nice effect that has the advantage of not looking like the average common store planners while retaining the weather proof benefits of man made materials!
The binding is sewn perfectly and when opened the planner is pretty much flat which is just perfect if like me you like to be able to write without needing your other hand to keep your planner open.
5 1/4″ x 8 1/4″ (13 x 21 cm)
Just a great, versatile size.
The planner is removable from the cover and this allows you to refill it at the end of the year (or keep the same planner but have different covers for different occasions throughout the year?)
The covers material is not so thick that it becomes inflexible or so thin that it feels cheap and easily torn.
I feel Quo Vadis struck the right balance with this one. The stitching while not perfect was still very good and clearly professionally executed.
Overall I would rate the Journal 21 very highly in terms of quality and workmanship.
3) Features
As you open it you are graced with a very nice & in-depth personal information page, although to be honest all I have filled out was my name & e-mail.
Should I ever misplace my planner I would not want the finder to have so much information about me!
On the next page you are faced with the holidays for the year, a nice touch being it features major world holidays too!
International access codes!
Super useful if like me you work in a profession that requires a lot of international networking!
Time zones for the United States of America, not very useful for a European like me but since you incorrigible Yankees are the largest market I am sure it proves useful for you! I like the details with the fonts, very nicely done Quo Vadis.
The typographer in me approves.
You also get a great semi annual planner (3 months a page) AND mini annual planner (1 month a page that goes up to February 2011).
Great to highlight important dates & appointments!
I simply love tabbed corners instead of those place marker ribbons because the ribbons tend to fray and get in the way. Cut out corners are all business, pure refined utility.
I like.
Thats what its all about baby!
Full size page fabricated from that sumptuous vellum paper (but more on that later!) its quite honestly a delight to wake up with an empty page to write down your slave schedule for the day and other scribbles.
The spacing implements 30 min increments from 8 till 9, great detail that’s nicely executed.
It also features tabs on the side so when you flick through you can quickly locate the month in question!
Makes you wonder why the folks at Quo Vadis did not include a toaster. ;]
Whats with that omission Karen?
And finally at the back it has a very simple and straight forward address book with space for name OR company name, e-mail and mobile & home phone numbers.
Its a nice extra to have when you dont have your phone in hand or if you need some numbers jotted down for emergencies/reference.
4) Writing Performance
Now onto the fun part of the review!
The samples above tell the story, 74g and its completely amazing! I have used 90g paper that bled through like crazy but this is truly awesome!
Unfortunately I couldn’t show off a plethora of fountain ink samples since I left all my ink in Singapore from my hasty return to Europe due to personal reasons and instead I just used a bunch of pens that I had lying around and that reflected a wide range of scenarios and uses.
To make something clear; the only sample that featured prominent bleedthrough was the red permanent marker and it looks worse in photographs than in the flesh, you will just have to take my word for it or man up, call me a liar and buy a Quo Vadis Journal 21 just to prove me wrong ;] .
While it handles fountain pen ink perfectly I found myself utilizing pencils on it alot this week since the vellum that makes it oh so smooth to write on also takes it oh so long for the ink to dry!
However when I am writing in a less hasty fashion I do revert to fountain pens.
At the end of the day the Journal 21 offers you the choice to use whatever writing utensil you desire and thats what makes it awesome.
Besides Sharpie markers you will find very few restrictions when choosing your weapon of choice to wield for scribbling dentist appointments in a very angry self hating script (why oh why do sweet things taste so good? MHMM?).
Speaking of script, I wrote in block because my writing is horrendously styled and happens to be legible to only myself and those sexy blue people from Avatar.
5) Conclusion
The true awesomeness of this Journal stems from the paper utilized, I spent a few days trekking through a jungle in search of the recipe and after battling hordes of giant jelly babies the method in which the paper is manufactured was revealed to me…
Wood pulp
Fairy wings
Chewing tobacco
and the tears of new born kittens
Makes perfect sense to me!
In all seriousness I just dig the paper, its just almost perfect (if only ink would dry quicker!).
The build quality is awesome.
I sometimes wish it had a back pocket but if it had one it would become fat should I utilize it so to be honest I dont want one (I just like the IDEA of one ;] ).
No much else to add really, Awesome.
Future reviews of a Rhodia pad & Clairefontaine sketch pad coming up, I wont review the Rhodia pencil that was sent along since I dont know how to review a pencil! And who knows, perhaps I will receive more products in the future!
On the 7th of December 2008 I received a parcel from Karen Doherty who happens to be the vice president of marketing for .
Inside that parcel was a planner- to be specific it was the “” planner and I said I would review it.
It is now the 22nd of December 2009, over 1 year has passed and still no review- whats my excuse you ask? My right lung collapsed, I stupidly moved continents for a stupid reason and many other events affected my life but excuses wont make amends thus;
The Quo Vadis Notor
The basic specifications
Daily Planner
12 x 17 CM | 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″
Appearance and size
Its hardbound and pretty slick, the cover is made of and it has a nice feel to it, not tacky at all! It feels reassuringly subtle and comfortable. It is definitely made to be used- hand sewn construction and a very solid feel.
It comes in pretty perfect size, feels substantial without being overwhelming which is my problem with most planners, either too small or too big- with the it felt just about right!
The writing experience
I like wet and bold nibs so the and I initially did not get along, it does not feature the regular paper that I am used to but rather a thinner, less substantial alternative.
The weight of the paper is 64g and I could visually appreciate that fact the moment the tines flexed and the tip of the nib hit the page. Epic bleedthrough, I hasten to add however that this is not a smear against the, my choice of writing instrument is just not suited for the material. If it had super thick Triomphe paper I would not doubt complain about how bulky the was.
The ‘s paper requires the appropriate tool to be utilized against it, I would suggest a gel pens, pencils and if you insist on fountain pens then a western XF or asian F (or thinner of course)! .
Other thoughts
The has impeccable quality, as stated before it really does feel very well put together, the back has a nice sleeve and it contains a plethora of pages with a dazzling amount of options and features amongst the line of information featuring public holidays, your blood type, insurance provider, a diminutive 2010 planner, international telephone access codes and the list goes on! Everything you could possibly want basically. I would have prefered the to come with heavier paper to withstand my usual instruments of choice, that being said I cannot fault for their decision since they had cost, size and weight ratios to adhere to. Overall kudos has to be given to and the /group, a solid 8/10 from me.
Side notes
The photographs I took at the time (last year) happen to be horrendus and while you may simply advise me to retake said photographs unfortunately I cannot since in my mess of a life I seemed to have either misplaced or lost it the planner in question! Taking into account that its the end of the year, perhaps it is a sign that I should purchase a new? Perhaps the this time!? (74G paper vs 64G!).
Photographs of the can be seen at ‘s review of the very same planner! !
My apologies to Karen once more and I assure you that should you want me to write a review on any further products I shall do with due diligence and a sense of pressing urgency!
Obviously this is designed to fill the void between portable powerhouse & notebook- its not light and its not heavy, not big but not small. Its just uniquely fantastic, Onwards with the review!
Appearance
The M1310 is quite simply gorgeous, brushed aluminium (I think) casing on the inside and chunky metal casing with a high quality polyplastic shell on the outside- its just smooth and understated with just enough oomph for me to be comfortable smirking at mac zealots.
The build quality is extreemly high with no flexing of the frame or the plastics and a sturdy feeling when holding it.
Its not going to crumble if you breathe heavily in its direction.
Stats & Computing power
It handles everything I have thrown at it so far with no problems, I use it primaraly as my on the move portable design lab- its geared (for me) towards hardcore multitasking and opening/modifying large files. As I type this I have the following apps running;
Firefox 3 with 11 tabs open.
Photoshop CS4
MSN Messenger
Xfire
Seesmic Desktop
Main Type
Windows Media Player
Utorrent
Essential PIM
Microsoft Expression Web
Cute FTP 8 Professional
& 5+ small passive apps like the razer drivers, Fngerprint reader suite etc.
No lag, not hang ups, no problems. It wont run crysis (with decent framerates) but then again it is not intended for such an application- it can play mid level game adequately if one so wishes however I view it purely as a personalized “on the move” desktop replacement.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Great looks.
Good balance between portability & power.
Amazing build quality.
Fingerprint reader makes security accessible.
Full of gorgeous little details (integrated media remote control, shiny buttons etc.).
Best laptop keyboard I have ever used.
Track Pad isn’t too big (you wont hit it when you type).
Chicks dig it.
Cons
Came with some useless bloatware (easily fixed).
Battery life isn’t the greatest if you use the screen to its full capacity (max out the sexy brightness!).
I dont like the typography used for “XPS” its tacky and tries too hard to be futuristic.
It cant make toast and your gamer girlfriend will ninja it. :/
Additional pics
It glows!
Nice trackpad with good feedback.
Even sexier brushed aluminium palm rests.
Makes me feel special.
If only it would play “authorized” everytime I swipe it.
A seriously crisp keyboard, feels nice and sturdy.
.
Taking into account that its the end of the year, perhaps it is a sign that I should purchase a new? Perhaps the this time!? (74G paper vs 64G!).
