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KrazyIvan
April 4th, 2012, 10:29 PM
Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook Review

Let me start by thanking Lily at JetPens who so generously provided this sample for review.

On to the review!

The Paracuruno (http://www.jetpens.com/Kokuyo-Design-Paracuruno-Slanted-Page-Notebook-A6-4.1-X-5.8-21-Lines-70-Sheets-Olive-Green-Cover/pd/4892) is a pocket notebook in the A6 size. It displays it's specs on the front cover prominently next to the spine tape. 70 Sheets, 148 mm x 105 mm, the pages sport 6 mm ruled lines with 21 lines per sheet. There is a 14 mm top margin with a spot for the date as noted by two dots printed on the outside edge of the paper and in the same green as the lines. The cover is a kraft type card stock in a light green color. The spine is taped in black, similar to what you would find on a composition book.

The paper is smooth. I compared it to Clairefontaine Life.unplugged notebooks and it is not as smooth. The paper is an off white color, not quite cream but pleasant to the eye. The page color is bright enough that ink color looks vibrant but not so bright that it strains the eye. This brings us to the Paracuruno's claim to fame. The papers edge is cut in such a way that it makes tab like pages in two directions. They are not really meant to label sections of the notebook, although you probably could do that. No, it is to easily flip through the notebook pages at a quick rate while not getting caught like a normal notebook sometimes does. It is quite nice to be able to flip through the pages with very little effort but more control over your location in the notebook.

“That is cool, but how does it handle fountain pen ink?” Yes, that is the question that nags most fountain pen aficionados. I am happy to report that the paper performs like a champ. I must be up front. When I first saw the notebook, my first reaction was, “This paper is going to bleed like there is no tomorrow.” I was so wrong. There is no feathering. There is no spidery lines of ink. There is no spreading of ink. There is no bleeding. The only thing bad I can say is that there is some show through or echo as some call it. It is really not even worth mentioning because the rear of the page is very usable and the show through does not detract from the text on the page you are writing on. I was especially impressed when I did my scribble tests. I had my “I have you now!” moment totally pulled out from under me. As Lord Vader would say, “Impressive... most impressive.”

Now while this might have been the holy grail of notebooks, I do have a couple of qualms with it. The paper is glued in. I tried to find stitching in the spine and I cannot confirm or deny that it is there. If it is, the thread is about the width of hair. Maybe someone can shed some light on this. I don't know how the notebook will do in the long run because of the binding. The second thing is cost. This notebook runs $14 USD for one notebook. That is .20 cents a sheet or .10 cents a page. Ouch.

Pros:

Paper is excellent, no doubt about it.
The funky edge cuts make it really easy to flip through the pages.
Paper color and smoothness is pleasing

Cons:

The binding is questionable. Whether it can hold up to rigors of the back pocket remains to be seen.
The cost is a little steep but for such fountain pen friendly paper it may be worth the expense for a daily notebook.

Call forth the pictures!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7046334883_b4604aef0e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7046334883/)
Paracuruno Notebook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7046334883/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7043817969_f62d20b142_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7043817969/)
Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7043817969/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6897747210_292a771dc8_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897747210/)
Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897747210/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5442/7043845079_92a9be25dd_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7043845079/)
Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7043845079/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/6897758562_5724780504_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897758562/)
Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897758562/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/6897762390_aa3ded52fe_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897762390/)
Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897762390/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5451/6897769264_1dbf8f89f0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897769264/)
Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897769264/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/6897769280_33464479e2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897769280/)
Kokuyo Paracuruno Notebook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/6897769280/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5323/7043889021_d6c8b6db3d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7043889021/)
10X Magnification of ink (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/7043889021/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

goldiesdad
May 19th, 2012, 08:28 AM
Great review ... I like the tab thingy way cool ... Thanks for your review ...

Pinkys.Brain
June 27th, 2012, 01:44 AM
Nice review. You should take a look at the Tsubame notebooks:

http://www.mymaido.com/tsubame-notebooks/962-tsubame-notebook-b5-blank-7-x-10-.html

They are bigger (B5+) are available in A6+ and the paper is also great (83g). The sewed binding and the thinner notebooks can almost lie flat. Not bleedthrough, only some showthrough, not feathering as far as I can see. I will post some pictures soon...

p.s.: They also seem to be cheaper than the Paracuruno but without the nice edge cut.

p.p.s.: I am also very surprised by the glued binding. Japanese notebooks are normally sewed while Western notebooks are normally staple bound.

KrazyIvan
June 27th, 2012, 09:09 AM
Nice review. You should take a look at the Tsubame notebooks:

http://www.mymaido.com/tsubame-notebooks/962-tsubame-notebook-b5-blank-7-x-10-.html

They are bigger (B5+) are available in A6+ and the paper is also great (83g). The sewed binding and the thinner notebooks can almost lie flat. Not bleedthrough, only some showthrough, not feathering as far as I can see. I will post some pictures soon...

p.s.: They also seem to be cheaper than the Paracuruno but without the nice edge cut.

p.p.s.: I am also very surprised by the glued binding. Japanese notebooks are normally sewed while Western notebooks are normally staple bound.

Thanks for the tip. I actually just saw this notebook on someones Instagram account and was wondering about it. I do have another Kokuyo notebook I need to review. I won't mention what it is for now. It did very well in the initial fountain pen test.

jfsisler
June 27th, 2012, 06:44 PM
Love your handwriting! Thanks for sharing the review....I love it just for the funky tabs.

KrazyIvan
June 27th, 2012, 08:05 PM
Love your handwriting! Thanks for sharing the review....I love it just for the funky tabs.

I am glad somebody does. :p

pelahale
August 1st, 2012, 04:30 PM
Wow, really impressive non-ghosting, non-bleedthrough paper. I wish blank ones were available from jetpens. Thanks Ivan!

KrazyIvan
August 1st, 2012, 06:08 PM
Thank you for the comment. Also a fan of your videos. :)

southpaw52
August 2nd, 2012, 06:29 AM
Nice review, very interesting looking notebook.

KrazyIvan
August 22nd, 2012, 11:45 AM
Thank you. It is a pretty neat book. I think it may be finding a new home soon.