Tomoe River & LIFE paper VIDEO review

[earthdawn]

Well i was going to just do a writing sample and post the pics but I had everything still setup from Sundays review I did so I figured I would just do a video of the paper in action.

Man this stuff is great... The Tomoe River was as expected since I had some already but the surprise for me was the LIFE Vermillion notebook. I am going to have to place another order.

On a side note... Dave at http://www.nanamipaper.com that we all spoke about in the other thread was great. He packed it really well so it arrived as if I bought it in a brick & morter store. PLUS he shipped it super fast. Its great to know we have a source like this in the states finally!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU19LbySOzI

[Carole]

Thanks so much for these! I'm happy to hear that you had a good experience with Nanami Paper, as I did. It's going to be fun exploring all of the different papers that Dave has there. I got hooked on the Life Noble notebooks when working in Japan, and it's really nice to find those, too. Great to see you break out the pens and ink and do a video! Always fun to see fountain pens in action.

[tandaina]

Wow that paper is fine! Makes me want to try some, just not sure what I'd really USE it for...

[Robert]

Thanks for the review and also the link to nanamipaper.com. I visited the site and placed an order for a few items this morning.

[Tracy Lee]

Interesting video. I finally sat down tonight for some correspondence and used a bit myself. I used a wet pen, but I don't "flex" and rarely apply pressure so it took the ink beautifully with no bleed through and very little impression on the back side, either. I just love it. A great use is for additional sheets inside a note card as it adds no weight or fattness to the envelope. Nanami was a great experience, easy to order and fast shipping with good packaging. I bought three tablets of it. :-)

[earthdawn]

Understand when I did the video my objective was to punish the paper with pressure and flex to apply a lot of ink. If it holds up to that then it will hold up to anything.

Writing like Tracy Lee did is what is normal. It takes ink beautifully and shows no bleed through. As well the impression from normal writing pressure in minimal.

If anyone want to try it I would be happy to mail you a couple of sheets. Like I said I had 100 sheets before I even bought the pad.

Thanks for the comments and I am glad to hear eveyone else had a great experience with Dave as well.

[Bogon07]

Thanks for the review on both products - it is helpful to see them put through their paces with a variety of inks and pens.

[Tracy Lee]

Understand when I did the video my objective was to punish the paper with pressure and flex to apply a lot of ink. If it holds up to that then it will hold up to anything.

Writing like Tracy Lee did is what is normal. It takes ink beautifully and shows no bleed through. As well the impression from normal writing pressure in minimal.

If anyone want to try it I would be happy to mail you a couple of sheets. Like I said I had 100 sheets before I even bought the pad.

Thanks for the comments and I am glad to hear eveyone else had a great experience with Dave as well.

Absolutely, and I knew watching him with such good result meant a good result with how I write. I appreciated that approach, doing a review writing like me would not be as useful, in my opinion anyway. Paper has to take what a wide variety of writers need to dole out. This stuff really does.

[Newjelan]

Thanks for this. I use LIFE B5 notebooks for my work notes and love them. Planning on ordering some Tomoe River now, just because...

[Pens&Lit]

Now I need to order a Life notebook and some Tomoe River paper. Thanks for enabling my growing addiction.

[AlejoPlay]

I bought a L!FE Noble Notes and a Vermillion in Japan. Haven't tried them yet, but I love the look of the Noble Notes (actually obsessed with Apica and Tsubame and L!FE's coopting all those old timey Euro Belle Epoque designs for their notebooks.

[MarneM]

I thought that the Life notebooks on the site had kind of the same feel as Apica. I'm curious how the paper inside compares...

[AlejoPlay]

I thought that the Life notebooks on the site had kind of the same feel as Apica. I'm curious how the paper inside compares...

The L!FE Noble Notes had the same price point as the Apica CD Premium in Japan. The Vermilion were more in line with Campus, Apica CD or Tsubame notebooks.

[KrazyIvan]

I have both and the Life Co paper feels just a little thicker. Performance of both is excellent.

[Gareth]

Anyone know of any UK suppliers of Tomoe River paper?

[theadityajain]

You can buy from the US, there are few shops & people offering loose sheets, sample, bounded notebooks & pads. FPN member Penhand is offering 100 sheets for $25 including shipping and a sample for $6. http://www.paperforfountainpens.com have nice price for bounded notebooks at $29 for a notebook of 320 pages (160 sheets) but the shipping makes the cost higher.

[fncll]

The Life paper is definitely thicker than the TR, and while it seems similar to Apica from the outside, it's also significantly higher quality than Apica. And I like and have many Apica notebooks. Just IMO, ymmv, etc.

[KrazyIvan]

The Life paper is definitely thicker than the TR, and while it seems similar to Apica from the outside, it's also significantly higher quality than Apica. And I like and have many Apica notebooks. Just IMO, ymmv, etc.

I concur.

On the flip side, I do think Apica is a good alternative to Life paper. Performance of Apica paper is almost as good as Life but for a lot less money. Just bought an Apica SW40 30 sheet, 7"x10" notebook for $2.75 (Goulet bottom shelf - normal price is $3.80) while Life paper is going to be around $7 for the same 30 sheets at 5 7/8" x 8 1/4". In my initial tests, the performance gain of the Life paper is negligible. The value of the Apica far outweighs the performance gain of the Life paper.

Tomoe is in a league all its own. It's almost not fair to compare to Life and Apica just because of its performance and for such thin paper.

I have all of those papers and enjoy them all. It just depends what I am in the mood to use.

[fncll]

I'm not knocking Apica and see your point, but the look and feel of the Life paper keeps me coming back! Everyone owes it to themselves to use them all

[KrazyIvan]

I'm not knocking Apica and see your point, but the look and feel of the Life paper keeps me coming back! Everyone owes it to themselves to use them all

Yup. People need to get a pad of Life paper or at least try a sample pack that nanamipaper sells (no affiliation). I am not sure how the Japanese do it but they manage to make paper that does not feather/bleed without the super glass finish like Rhodia/Clairfontaine. This allows inks to dry quick. The paper is smooth too. Not glass smooth but a quality smooth. Not sure how to describe it.

On Tomoe, I noticed something. There is a difference in smoothness of the cream colored vs. the white. The white is slightly toothier. I am not sure but it seems from my research that Tomoe paper is not a brand but a class or type of paper. There seems to be different brands of Tomoe paper and I thought Tomoe was a brand. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.