Kokuyo Campus Loose Leaf Paper

[Armstrong]

Recently I bought a ream of Kokuyo Campus Loose Leaf paper from Jet Pens in size B5. I was impressed with this paper and thought I would present a quick review. I apologize for my writing as my hands are not very stable today, but it will serve for the purpose of showing the quality of the paper and its characteristics.

This paper is wonderfully smooth to the hand. So smooth that people I write letters to on this paper will comment on it. The nib glides nicely over the surface. If you apply a bit of pressure you will feel a slight tooth.

For everyday writing like notes and letters with a nominal fountain pen - fine, medium, 1.1mm stub, and a moderately wet nib it works very well. I would then assume a dryer nib would be just fine though I did not test it with such. With a nib that is wet to very wet you may run into problems with feathering. My Eco's with 1.1mm stubs write perfectly on this paper. A TWSBI 580 with a 1.5mm stub did not feather if I was careful not to leave the nib on paper too long. But when I go to a 580 with a Pendleton BLS nib, which has a very wet feed - I get feathering (Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher). You can see that in the images below.

The paper has a minimal amount of show through on the reverse, very little really in normal lighting conditions. You can see there is writing but not enough to interfere with writing on the reverse side. The 1.5mm nib, wet feed, very black ink did show through more in a couple of spots. The photo was taken with no flash because the flash made the print readable from the reverse. Even with no flash the photo has much more show through than is visible to the naked eye. I believe this is due to near Infra-Red light which is a longer wavelength than visible light. This helps the near-IR light penetrate the paper to the camera's eye. I show the photo for completeness - just realize the 'show through' on this paper is low to the eye.

Would I buy this paper again? Yes, with confidence.

Here are the spec's from the Jet Pen page. ( Kokuyo Loose Leaf Paper, B5 (http://www.jetpens.com/Kokuyo-Campus-Loose-Leaf-Paper-Sarasara-B5-Dotted-6-mm-Rule-26-Holes-100-Sheets/pd/5609) )

SPEC'S:
Kokuyo Campus Loose Leaf Paper Sarasara $9.00 ($0.09 per sheet)
Rule Dotted 6 mm Rule
Punched 26 Holes
Number Sheets 100 Sheets
Model Number KOKUYO NO-836BTN
Weight 12.5 ounces (I think this is package weight not the rated paper weight.)
Manufacturer Kokuyo
Standard Paper Size B5

PEN & INK:
TWSBI 580 with Pendleton BLS nib - Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher
TWSBI 580 with 1.5mm stub - Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin
TWSBI Eco with 1.1mm nib - Noodler's Polar Brown
TWSBI Eco with 1.1mm nib - Noodler's Generals of the Armies
Pentel Tradio felt tip - Pentel Blue

Click the thumbnail picture below to see the full size image.
FACE PAGE:
http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah294/armstr0ng/Pens/th_201601KokuoLLPaperFace_zpsahkyw6fh.jpg (http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/armstr0ng/media/Pens/201601KokuoLLPaperFace_zpsahkyw6fh.jpg.html)

BACK PAGE:
http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah294/armstr0ng/Pens/th_201601KokuoLLPaperBack_zps8dblvws3.jpg (http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/armstr0ng/media/Pens/201601KokuoLLPaperBack_zps8dblvws3.jpg.html)

[Lady Onogaro]

Thank you for this review. I love this paper, too. I have it in the Kokuyu notebooks, and I have it in looseleaf. It deserves a good review like yours. :)

[katherine]

I love this paper! I used it through a large part of high school and college.

I'm surprised it isn't recommended more often.

[Armstrong]

You are welcome. It is very good paper and at a better price, if you consider the size of the paper and the number of sheets, than many of the 'premium' papers. The quality is right up there, to me, with say Rhodia. If the paper were a bit thicker I would be hard pressed to tell a difference. I also like the 26 ring binders that go with the paper. I am finding, by trial and error, there are more good papers out there that just don't get the press. As an example Tops Docket notebooks come to mind in that regard. I am interested to try a bamboo based paper if I can find any. Seems like bamboo with its speed of growth is a perfect material for paper manufacture if the pulp works well.

[katherine]

I love the binders -- I find that pages tend to tear in 3-rings (I guess only three points for the stress to be distributed) but I've never had a page tear out of my Kokuyo binders. I guess it helps that Kokuyo paper is also much nicer than typical binder paper.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

You are welcome. It is very good paper and at a better price, if you consider the size of the paper and the number of sheets, than many of the 'premium' papers. The quality is right up there, to me, with say Rhodia. If the paper were a bit thicker I would be hard pressed to tell a difference. I also like the 26 ring binders that go with the paper. I am finding, by trial and error, there are more good papers out there that just don't get the press. As an example Tops Docket notebooks come to mind in that regard. I am interested to try a bamboo based paper if I can find any. Seems like bamboo with its speed of growth is a perfect material for paper manufacture if the pulp works well.
Tops Computation books are also quite nice, IMHO, if you want something fairly large and graph-ruled.

[Armstrong]

Tops Computation books are also quite nice, IMHO, if you want something fairly large and graph-ruled.

As a matter of fact I use graph ruled paper quite a bit. I use a gaming keypad to put hotkeys on for programs, like video editors, and use the paper to draw out the grid for a reference to the keys. Speeds up tasks considerably. But they get a good bit of wear and tear so I need a sturdy paper. I will check it out, thanks.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

They have Tops Computation books where I work and that's how I discovered them. The paper is fairly thick and quite sturdy. The cover is also pretty thick cardboard and the wire binding is a double-ring style that doesn't seem to snag at all.

[mtnbiker62]

I'm a big fan of this paper also. For the price, it's one of the best I've found.

[Armstrong]

I saw an Ampad quadrille pad with 100 sheets and I think 15lb paper. It was about $6. Probably will give it a try. I have been a fan of Tops Docket paper and now I am of Kokuyo also.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

I love this paper, and I much prefer the binder to a 3-ring binder. Another good option is the Lihit paper in the Lihit Aqua Drops notebooks/binders.

[Armstrong]

Have to give Lihit a try. I have some of their pen cases which do an excellent job of protecting pens in minimal space.

I have a lot of hope in the Top Docket Gold pads I ordered. If it is the same paper as Tops Docket it will work well with Fountain pens but at 20lb weight instead of regular Docket's 16lb. And that at $0.03 a page.