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View Full Version : Disappointment with Norcom Made in Brazil



coase
September 6th, 2015, 01:45 PM
I've been on the lookout for cheap notebooks that I can scribble in without worrying about price. I found some decent letter sized, single subject books at Staples (Brazil made) and I also like the 9.75 x 7.5 in. composition books (Casemate) that I got at Walmart which were made in India. Neither can handle really wet, thick nibs -- like the Sheaffer broad calligraphy nib -- without showthrough and even a touch of bleedthrough, but that's understandable. However, showthrough is acceptable with a variety of fine and medium nibbed pens loaded with different inks. Same with Sustainable Earth legal pads. And there is no bleeding or feathering.

I found a couple of the Norcom Composition books on sale at Walmart for 50 cents apiece, and when I saw they were made in Brazil, I bought four of them.

Now it is true that the paper is smooth, but unlike all the other papers above, I got a bit of feathering with Private Reserve and Noodler's Blue Eel inks. Worse is that the showthrough is much more pronounced for medium nibbed pens. Still ok for EF and some F pens.

They're still useful and at 50 cents a pop, easy to use just one side of each sheet, but I think I'll pass on these in the future.

Quantum Sailor
September 6th, 2015, 07:35 PM
I have a big stack of those Norcom 50 cent notebooks. They are touchy about what ink and pen you use. I have the most success with pilot fine nibs on them, though my TWSBI extra fine will work even though it turns into more of a medium. Everything else seems to blow up and bleed through. To the point of getting on the page underneath. This happens with my pilot inks and my diamine inks as well. Though I think the Diamine is a little better behaved if you use the very dry ones.

During the back to school sale Walmart has some mead books for around 75 cents or so and they work a lot better.

ac12
September 12th, 2015, 08:52 PM
I bought a bunch from Walmart after seeing the "made in Brazil" source info. After using the first book I rejected the rest, giving them to the nephews for their kids.
The paper is inconsistent; you may have good paper on one page, and JUNK on the next, and even on the same page the quality of the paper varied. It was very frustrating to use, and just not worth the hassle. Especially when I got a whole bunch of Staples wire bound notebooks with better paper for 17 cents each last year, in the back to school sale. While not as good as Red and Black, it was a heck of a lot cheaper, and all of my pens write reasonably well on it. I have enough notebooks to keep me going for a couple more years.