Sunday, May 26, 2013

Saddleback Leather Medium Rhodia "Webbie" Notebook Cover


I love Saddleback leather... Its expensive... In fact most of my leather pieces cost more then my Wife's Coach bags or two...  The original price for this is $64.00 + tax & S/H. But cost is nothing compared to quality...  Full grain leather, chrome tanning and not cheap quick tanning too... The process that Dave Munson explains is that tanning leather hide takes time, and time = money. So allot of tanners out there use cheap products and quick processing for their leather (china). If you have an old belt laying around cut it open and see for yourself... If its "real" leather it will be tanned on the outside and blue on the inside. Thats because that leather did not get tanned properly... Also Chrome tanning is more expensive because the vegetable tanning process can actually dry out leather. Dave is so confident that in everything he makes that he offers a 100 year warranty! 

So before I get off on a tangent... yeah this cover rocks! Its originally made for a moleskine but moleskine's are garbage so I decided to finally get a RHODIA Webbie or Webnotebook. This is Tobacco color and it actually was from Dave's Deals and was a savings of 10%... 

Daves deals work like the "uniqueness" that come about creating the article of leather. The "hand held discount 10%" is uniqueness that was created that you can only or possibly see if your holding the piece in your hand. I can not find anything wrong with mine and believe me I've looked! The next level of discount is the "three foot discount 15%" and that is something that you would see from about 3 feet away so any scratches, coloring blemish or even a vein from the animal itself would count under this, either way its still awesome and dave "still" has a 100 year warranty on all his products or he doesn't sell it! The final discount is the "10 foot discount 25%" not to say that there is anything wrong with the item but it could be a combination of the first two discounts combined or something entirely different... Nonetheless, I would purchase a 25% discounted bag, wallet, or notebook cover anyway. It would add character to the leather from the beginning and unless your completely anal from the get go about the way your "things" are you shouldn't be buying from SBL in the first place. I believe those people buy from china anyway and then throw it away and get something new because they can and its cheap.

This is the Medium... They have a small for the pocket size moleskine or Rhodia Webbie notebooks. standard size is A4 (5.5x8.25) Pocket size is A6 (3.5 x 5.5)


The SBL notebook cover was originally made for a moleskine... the Rhodia Webbie I use is the same size height and thickness but the length is about 1/4 to a 1/3 of an inch wider. Its not a problem because the overall design of this cover will compensate for that length. What you have to do is stick the part that goes into the sleeve (back of the notebook) first all the way and then insert the flap side or the cover into the notebook and push the notebook into the cover.  The Design allows the use of the built in pocket of the notebook to be accessed easily. also the strap that came with the notebook can wrap around the cover to secure it in place during storage.  




Overall the feel, the smell and the experience of using this cover is overwhelming. Its unlike anything you can achieve by the notebook itself. Its almost takes up a life of its own. Just carrying this around you will achieve a higher status amongst friends and further spark greater creativity within yourself... well that last part maybe... but its sure looks cool! I plan on using this as my main journal. taking this in and out of my SBL Tobacco Messenger bag will be a joy and I will no longer have to worry about the binding scuffing on the notebook from getting ruined because this cover will guarantee long life for the notebook.

Once again cost is a factor... some just can't or won't spend that kind of money. but if you are like me and drool over leather or enjoy the finer things in life then this is defiantly your cup of tea. 


If you are interested in this style of cover then you should definitely pair it with something "other" than a moleskine.  Hopefully I plan on getting all four colors. Dark Chocolate Brown, Chestnut, Carbon Black and the current one, Tobacco.

I haven't done a full review of the Rhodia Webbie yet but its in the works. Currently have to many irons in the fire right now so once I work them out I'll get right to it. So follow, like and share and don't forget to comment. See you soon on the next Blog Carnival.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

DIY Midori Passport Notebook



For a few months now I've been drooling at the opportunity to try the Midair Notebooks for their ruggedness and leatheriness goodness. However their high price tag has been stopping me in my tracks to get one. I figure I would save it for a special occasion like a trip to Seattle Washington, But even then that opportunity is fleeting. I've also looked at buying a small piece of leather at a nearby Tandy Leather Factory store... boy was I surprised that leather not only cost an arm and a leg but they don't cut leather at all... I would have to buy a whole hide and that price tag was higher then the Midori itself. I could buy the leather and make like 30 of them (which I could probably sell) but all in all I was again struck down by the all mighty dollar. But good fortune was finally at hand when I struck gold at our local Michaels craft store.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

A long awaited return... A NEW NOTEBOOK!!!!!

A Rhodia Webnotebook Webbie or "Webbie" for short. I know there are probably a bunch of reviews out but I'm super excited. This is for sure a premium notebook and you get what you pay for.

`192 pages, 92 sheets with inner pocket and 90g paper made in France... not to mention it smells great! If you ever bought a cd and open the multi layers of packaging your instantly hit with that smell. Thats what I get when I opened the Rhodia. This is only just a fraction of what I'm
My new package From the Goulet Pen Company

Here you can see that the Goulet gang really make every effort to personalize each and every order they do... Because they are AWESOME!

I was really expecting much more wrapping which normally comes with every order... 

Once unwrapped its starting to look like a notebook

The Rhodia Webbie, What a beautiful artwork...

Yeah so I'm totally addicted to notebooks. I love the tactility of the notebook as its smoothness overwhelms me with such joy... It's hard to know if its really the excitement of the material or just the shear pleasure of obtaining something new... time will tell... I will have a full review soon and a new toy to share here...

TOMORROW!! 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Cracked...

Lately my TWSBI 540's and ROC 100 Fountain pens have been... suffering from cracked nib syndrome. As to no fault of my own, In fact even before I know these were cracks all the pens wrote beautifully. As I remember I believe that It came with one before I even inked my pens for the first time. Now I know that this is a manufacture problem and it to the best of my understanding has been fixed in the new smoke colors and Vac700 fountain pens. 









Here are my three pens. and the cracks they possess . I am currently working with TWSBI to deal with having these replaced with newly manufactured nibs. I will let you know of the results.