I adore these notebooks-went through two of the older 6mm ones before I couldn’t get more. Unfortunately, I’m a 6mm girl, so I’m a bit heartbroken by the move to 7mm. Highly recommend if you like 7mm or one of the other formats available!
So good to hear Olivia's back with her lovely notebooks! I had thought that was pretty much it a couple of years ago and pitched in with another great brand, Musubi, which also uses 52gsm TR paper. And I bought several to keep me going for awhile. But if Elia is back I'll not be able to resist for all the reasons you've explained so clearly here. Thanks so much for the heads up!
"Paper's confusing." Yes! It makes such a difference in making writing enJOYable. Good for you Kerry! 🙂 P.S. Must . . . not . . . make . . . Stalogy . . . joke. ;-)
Oh. My gosh!! I have been looking for these 2 inks from Troublemaker everywhere! Just bought 3 bottles of each and a notebook! Thank you thank you thank you Kerry!
Thanks so much for this recommendation!!! I placed an order for the thicker A5 blank and two thinner A5 (one blank/one grid). Not only did they arrive from Malaysia to the US in five days but she also sent a free “defect” A5 68gsm notebook!!!! The paper looks and feels the closest to the old TRP that I have tried.
Kerry you have never led me astray in tracking down A5 TR notebooks. I followed you to Galen Leather (and continue to return) and then to Odyssey Notebooks so now I've placed an order for 3 Elia Notebooks. I found the shipping reasonable against approx $100 shipping from the US to Australia. Great video! Thank you for your good work 🙂
Wonderful review! I love seeing people so passionate about stationary. How does this compare to Galen? I’m familiar with “new” TRP, but I have found Galen Leather “new” feels different to let’s say Nanami. Nanami feels like it has a slightly more textured, maybe drier experience (which I actually like). Would you say this os comparable to Galen or does it have slightly different qualities?
I learned the trick to getting a cat to the vet is use a towel. It worked with Munchkin, my formerly feral cat who turned out so sweet I actually use it more with my grey tigers Loki and Sylvie. All of them hate the car and protest loudly even when going home.
I prefer the quick version of your Patreon list. I am going to look into the resurrected Elia note books I think I will go for the blank pages to use for sketching. Ghosting isn't a problem for me.
This is so exciting! I really like their dotted lines. I wonder if they'll ever come out with a smaller A6/passport notebook. It would be nice to have a little edc notebook with me. I saw they had a spiral memo book but I'm not a spiral bound person. Thanks for sharing!
Last time I checked they were no longer shipping outside the US. (And before that shipping was the same price as the notebook) Lovely notebooks, but difficult to get in Canada! The Crossfield is hands down my favourite notebook, but I have not tried Elia. I might now!
The first Seven Seas Standard (blank/A5)I bought in 2020 is my absolute favorite TRP notebook. However, I just ordered a new one in 2023 and a few of my pen/ink combinations have bled through. This never happened in my original one.
Thanks for presenting a book I 'd never heard of. The Tomoe paper I have is the thicker one, but I'd be happy to try the thinner, even though most of my nibs are B, BB or Music. (The one nib exception is on the new x159, a pen that feels good to my hand but a nib that makes my handwriting look like a monkey did it.) The difference you feel between 6mm line spacing and 7mm, I feel between 7mm and 8mm, the latter of which I enjoy daily in my diminishing supply of the previous version of the Quo Vadis Habana journal, which is roughly 6.25" by 9.50", a good size all around for capturing a lot of stuff on one page without ever feeling confined. P.S. I've liked your reviews, especially when the cat makes a cameo.
Tomoe River is the best paper for you. It's one of the very worst for me, and for anyone who is writing something they might want their grandkids to read. Or even to read themselves twenty years down the line. It has the longevity of toilet paper. Tomoe River makes ink look great. Everything else about it truly sucks. It's like writing on glass. Glass that crinkles, creases, and warps. The ink looks great but doesn't sink into the paper at all. Just like writing on glass. That's where the ink dries, if you can wait that long. Some inks will still smudge days, or even weeks later. It's nearly useless with bulletproof inks, which have to sink down into paper and bond with the cellulose fibers to work. It's almost as bad with waterproof ink. It seldom bleeds, but it ghosts so badly that it may as well bleed. TR not only isn't the best paper, it barely qualifies as paper at all. But if you don't care about terrible ghosting, if you don't care how long it takes ink to dry, if ink that can still smudge days or weeks, or months later doesn't bother you, if you don't care that the writing isn't going to last because the paper won't last, and if all you care about is looking at ink and thinking, "That sure is pretty", then, yes, TR is great.
What do you recommend? I am not crazy about TR paper, but they are the most commonly available fountain pen-friendly paper for quality notebooks. I might want to read what I wrote 20 years later, but I don't need my grandkids to read them, lol.
@PensandTea So even though you know the Canadian prices, because that is what you yourself pay, you won't share that info with your fellow Canadians? It's not going to go over 2% with that approach. I followed _because_ you are in Canada and I was hoping to get a Canadian perspective.
It's so good when a favourite item from the past gets resurrected.
Isn’t it though!
I adore these notebooks-went through two of the older 6mm ones before I couldn’t get more. Unfortunately, I’m a 6mm girl, so I’m a bit heartbroken by the move to 7mm. Highly recommend if you like 7mm or one of the other formats available!
I prefer 5mm so I just buy blank!
So good to hear Olivia's back with her lovely notebooks! I had thought that was pretty much it a couple of years ago and pitched in with another great brand, Musubi, which also uses 52gsm TR paper. And I bought several to keep me going for awhile. But if Elia is back I'll not be able to resist for all the reasons you've explained so clearly here. Thanks so much for the heads up!
Their costumer service is great. I enjoyed doing business with them. So glad they're back. I'll have to pick up a few more notebooks!
"Paper's confusing." Yes! It makes such a difference in making writing enJOYable. Good for you Kerry! 🙂
P.S. Must . . . not . . . make . . . Stalogy . . . joke. ;-)
Hahahahahaha
Now I just got to test Elia Note notebooks. Thank you for this video @Pens and Tea.
Oh. My gosh!! I have been looking for these 2 inks from Troublemaker everywhere! Just bought 3 bottles of each and a notebook! Thank you thank you thank you Kerry!
Thanks so much for this recommendation!!! I placed an order for the thicker A5 blank and two thinner A5 (one blank/one grid). Not only did they arrive from Malaysia to the US in five days but she also sent a free “defect” A5 68gsm notebook!!!! The paper looks and feels the closest to the old TRP that I have tried.
Try also musubi notebooks from Singapore. They use the old & the new sanza tomoe River. Notebooks and journals
Kerry you have never led me astray in tracking down A5 TR notebooks. I followed you to Galen Leather (and continue to return) and then to Odyssey Notebooks so now I've placed an order for 3 Elia Notebooks. I found the shipping reasonable against approx $100 shipping from the US to Australia. Great video! Thank you for your good work 🙂
Yay! I’m so excited that you love quality paper like I do hahahaha
Wonderful review! I love seeing people so passionate about stationary.
How does this compare to Galen? I’m familiar with “new” TRP, but I have found Galen Leather “new” feels different to let’s say Nanami. Nanami feels like it has a slightly more textured, maybe drier experience (which I actually like). Would you say this os comparable to Galen or does it have slightly different qualities?
do you have any suggestions for fountain pen friendly B5 size notebooks?
Fantastic review; details are good. I have placed an order with them. I never have too many notebooks!
How do these compare with the Nanami Seven Seas?
So is the 52gsm the new/Sanzen Tomoe River?
I learned the trick to getting a cat to the vet is use a towel. It worked with Munchkin, my formerly feral cat who turned out so sweet I actually use it more with my grey tigers Loki and Sylvie.
All of them hate the car and protest loudly even when going home.
WONDERLAND 222. The best ever.
I prefer the quick version of your Patreon list.
I am going to look into the resurrected Elia note books I think I will go for the blank pages to use for sketching. Ghosting isn't a problem for me.
On their site, it says, "52gsm white Tomoe River paper (new)." Are you able to tell that this isn't the original Tomoe River 52 gsm?
I actually like the 7mm, but the shipping to the US is kind of frustrating...
This is so exciting! I really like their dotted lines. I wonder if they'll ever come out with a smaller A6/passport notebook. It would be nice to have a little edc notebook with me. I saw they had a spiral memo book but I'm not a spiral bound person. Thanks for sharing!
Great discover! thanks.
You're welcome!
Holy Cow over $30 cad for shipping to Canada. I will buy Stalogy over this unless they discount to book prices a fair bit buying two.
Thank you for the review. Is this the old Tomoe River or the new paper. Thank you
Have you tried Nanami Paper's Seven Seas A5 notebooks? They use Tomoe River paper, and price per page is the best out there, I believe.
Last time I checked they were no longer shipping outside the US. (And before that shipping was the same price as the notebook)
Lovely notebooks, but difficult to get in Canada! The Crossfield is hands down my favourite notebook, but I have not tried Elia. I might now!
@@muscidae That's a damn shame.
The first Seven Seas Standard (blank/A5)I bought in 2020 is my absolute favorite TRP notebook. However, I just ordered a new one in 2023 and a few of my pen/ink combinations have bled through. This never happened in my original one.
Thank you for this review. I've never heard of them before. Do you see any difference between the old and new Tomoe River paper ?
I’d say slightly in the “spread” of the line but it’s so tiny and not at all feathering or anything. It’s pretty darn close
Thanks for presenting a book I 'd never heard of. The Tomoe paper I have is the thicker one, but I'd be happy to try the thinner, even though most of my nibs are B, BB or Music. (The one nib exception is on the new x159, a pen that feels good to my hand but a nib that makes my handwriting look like a monkey did it.) The difference you feel between 6mm line spacing and 7mm, I feel between 7mm and 8mm, the latter of which I enjoy daily in my diminishing supply of the previous version of the Quo Vadis Habana journal, which is roughly 6.25" by 9.50", a good size all around for capturing a lot of stuff on one page without ever feeling confined. P.S. I've liked your reviews, especially when the cat makes a cameo.
Have you compared Tomoe River paper to Dingbat paper?
Elia notebook 448 pages that is a must get one notebook in 7mm width too bad unlined is not an option!
Tomoe River is the best paper for you. It's one of the very worst for me, and for anyone who is writing something they might want their grandkids to read. Or even to read themselves twenty years down the line. It has the longevity of toilet paper. Tomoe River makes ink look great. Everything else about it truly sucks.
It's like writing on glass. Glass that crinkles, creases, and warps. The ink looks great but doesn't sink into the paper at all. Just like writing on glass. That's where the ink dries, if you can wait that long. Some inks will still smudge days, or even weeks later. It's nearly useless with bulletproof inks, which have to sink down into paper and bond with the cellulose fibers to work. It's almost as bad with waterproof ink.
It seldom bleeds, but it ghosts so badly that it may as well bleed. TR not only isn't the best paper, it barely qualifies as paper at all. But if you don't care about terrible ghosting, if you don't care how long it takes ink to dry, if ink that can still smudge days or weeks, or months later doesn't bother you, if you don't care that the writing isn't going to last because the paper won't last, and if all you care about is looking at ink and thinking, "That sure is pretty", then, yes, TR is great.
What do you recommend? I am not crazy about TR paper, but they are the most commonly available fountain pen-friendly paper for quality notebooks. I might want to read what I wrote 20 years later, but I don't need my grandkids to read them, lol.
Why USD? I follow you because I am also in Canada and I'd love it if you gave prices in CAN as well.
I do USD because about 85% of my viewership is American. Only 2% are Canadian 🤣🤷🏼♀️
@PensandTea So even though you know the Canadian prices, because that is what you yourself pay, you won't share that info with your fellow Canadians? It's not going to go over 2% with that approach. I followed _because_ you are in Canada and I was hoping to get a Canadian perspective.