Editing The Pen Addict 666/transcript (section)

== Introduction to Notetsu note cards and their qualities. ==

* And I got these. I wasn't familiar with the brand. I went to the Atlanta Pen Show, saw them at my friend Joe. The gentleman's stationer has been carrying them on his site. He had them at his table. And he had a little sample there of the cards. And I was like, oh, these look really good for fountain pen inks. And I tested them out. And they were. So I bought a set. And these are... At least the set that I reviewed are the to-do list style of note card. So this is a three-by-five card. It's got a to-do list on one side, just like a running list. And then on the back side, it has two sections into notes and sketch. So I like the layout of the cards. Importantly, for purposes of this show, the cards are great with fountain pens.
* They handled ink really, really well. So I wanted to... Everyone's always looking for a note card ever since our not cards went away. That's one thing. Like, I don't praise myself that often. We made a banger of a note card at Nock. And we can't get the paper. The paper got discontinued years and years ago. So, like, I couldn't even do a follow-up if I wanted to. The paper doesn't exist. And I haven't gone down the rabbit hole that Myke has gone down to find good paper.
* You know, for products like note cards. So the Notetsu, I wanted to test. I always test the note cards that come out. You know, whether it be the classic Exocomptas or, like I mentioned, the Foglietos. And there's been various products come and go, including Not cards. These are great. And if you don't like the format, they do make standard dot grid cards. Yeah, the format that they have is a double-sided format. You have to do on one side. And then on the other side, it's a portrait card, but it's split along the middle. Top half is in the lined notes. And in the bottom half is a dot grid. And they're pre-scored so you can fold them. From my perspective, these are doing too much. These cards, like, don't do everything. You don't need to do everything in one card. It's too much. It's a lot. What I would prefer is similar to you. I like the different sections. I don't need the headers on the backside. Just split. If you want to split my card in two with two different formats, knock yourself out. But I'm good. I lose too much space with notes and sketch in the header portion of the card. I would actually like to try just the plain ones. Like, these are good and functional for someone who's going to use them at a desk. They come with a box that, like, has this little magnetized system so you can, like, stack it on each other and put the card up. Like, so you can get a visual on your to-do list.
* I like the sections, but I would – there is a little much going on. I will admit with that. But also, I meant to put this in the notes, in the review. The little dots they use to check off your to-do list are way too small. Like, they're not functional because, like, most systems, they do – they kind of tell you how they intend you to use it. And, like, for your partial or your active items, they want you to color that dot in half. And, like, it's almost impossible. It's so small. Yeah. So, like, if they're going to do that, like, just make a bigger little dot. I know why they haven't, though. I can see why they've not, right? What do you mean? Well, the logical thing would be to put that, like, that little check mark on the left side of the line. But clearly, that's where their margin is. So, the only way they can make it work is they'd have to cut into the line. And then the actual amount of space that you have to write would be significantly decreased. Like, that's why it is this way. But I agree with you. I think they need to go back to the drawing board on it. Like, it's tiny. Like, honestly, like, if you're going to do this, you shouldn't suggest that people should half fill it. Because, like, it's impossible to do. For someone who writes small and has ultra micro pens, it was hard for me to. I tried to color the little half dot. And I think I did it. Like, you can see it in one of my pictures. But it's, like, it was kind of funny to try. I was like, yeah, I'm not even going to bother. I'll just, you know, if I'm going to use it, I'll just, like, scratch it off and complete it. There's no half-stepping with this little diamond thing they have going on here. But anyway, I wanted to bring this up because people are always, I always get emails like, hey, you don't make not cards anymore. What's a good card? And, you know, the list usually stops at Exacompta. But these are a good option. And I'm happy with the performance on these for everything I threw at it. Worked really, really well. Very cool. Do you know what the paper is? Or is it, like, not said? I don't. Probably not said, right? It's not said. And holy cow. Every time I pick up one of the cards, I think I'm picking up two cards. They are thick. Yeah. But, like, they handle ink really well. So it's probably, like, a cover stock. Like, we used, at Knock, we used, like, a hundred-pound cover stock for a card, right? You need some stability with a note card. That's why it tends to be really hard to get something that works well with fountain pens. Yes. Because you would not typically marry those qualities together. Right. There's a lot of companies, a lot of the Japanese companies will make small, like, they tend not to call them cards. But they basically make three by five, like, packs of three by five. And they're sheets. They're paper sheets. They're super thin, right? It's just, it's kind of not really the concept that I'm going for when I'm looking for a note card or a index card. So.
* Speaking of concepts, what about the Sidekick Pocket Notebook? Have you heard of these, Myke? I'm very familiar. Yeah.
* You sound nervous.
* I could be more nervous is what I'll say. Yeah.
* Well, you're not nervous because you know you built something good. And I'll just tell you, you did. Thank you. So I got the Sidekick and the IA Writer Notebook on the same day. Yeah. So I just unboxed them yesterday to review at the same time. That wasn't my intent. But if I'm going to use one pen on one page and I wanted to, it's nice to have just something, like, very different to test at the same time. Same pens. You get the same feel, right? The same concepts on from one page to another. It was interesting with the Sidekick when I was going back and forth. I'll get into the specifics on the Sidekick that you already know here in just a second. But it was interesting going back and forth how rough the IA Writer felt. Every time I would go to the Sidekick, I was like, dang, this is smooth.
* Brad, I have to come clean. I was lurking in your Twitch yesterday. I watched. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I already knew how you felt about the IA. I figured you did. I was like, there's no. When I saw that notification, I'm watching this. I was sitting there. That was when I was sweating. I was sweating yesterday. I was sweating today. Because I will tell it how it is. I know. Myke knows I love him. But if the paper doesn't work for certain pens, I'm going to say it. Your reputation is on the line. You can't just pick me up. Yeah. No. Guess what? It worked with everything I threw at it. Even the super inky hooligan pen that I have, it's this medium nib, and it's got this awesome ink flow. It throws so much ink on the page. I used it on the IA Writer. So it's the line. We'll put a link in the video to what I did. There's a line in there. It's called Taranishi Soda. So I just wrote down the inks I used in this because I had to write something down. It handles ink so well. And like you said, can you give the paper spec again? It's like a recycled paper. It's a 100% recycled paper. Yeah. It's called Accent.
* It's produced by G.F. Smith here in the UK. Yeah. So I could not believe how good it was when I first used it. Yeah. Because, and I forget all the time that it is not the Munkin paper that we use. Yeah, Munkin links. Munkin links. They feel very similar to me. So no feathering, no bleed, way less ghosting than the IA Writer. It's unfair to compare the two. They're not comfortable at all. Yeah. But I was just, I happen to do them side by side, but you flip over the backside of the page and yeah, you can see the lines through the backside of the page, but it's really not that bad. You could use the backside of the page here if you wanted to. The one thing it doesn't allow for, it's a flatter page, right? It's not like a coated paper. So your inks aren't going to shade as much and you're not going to get as much sheen, but the color is good. I'm very impressed that you can tell those features. Like this really shows you're not, but yes, it's uncoated. So you can, um, you get proper color, right? Like if I used, I use like Robert Oster blue lagoon, I have an expectation of what that color is going to be when I put before I even started on the page and that expectation is met. So you get proper color range. You just don't get extras. Like if you have an extra shader or an extra sheener, like you might not, you're not going to get the full benefit of that. But that's also like a, that's a fountain pen people's paper that, you know, kind of leans into that stuff. This is not, this is a universal usage paper and it's great for fountain pens. So from the fine to like the ultra wet medium curves of a tile, like it all worked well. The, um, pencils. I always like to do a pencil test because that's also how you can tell about coating on paper. If you get some type of tactile feel from graphite and like, this was very like stable for graphite. Like it's not too smooth, not too rough. Um, it's just kind of like right in the middle. So yeah, it, um, overall super, super impressed with the paper quality. I actually used it for my show notes today, which I haven't been using. Um, like this is a good, like you and your stupid correct product names. It's a good sidekick. Like it literally fits next to my laptop and doesn't like, it's hard for me to use something like the I writer standard a five when I'm on a laptop with a microphone next to my desk and on the right side, you know, having a notebook that I have to reach over the left page, even though I don't have to, some notebooks I use both sides, you know, I'm further and further away from my writing as someone who will talk and write at the same time, like into a microphone. Um, this sits right next to my laptop and I knew it was going to be good for show notes today because now it is in the range that I need it to be, uh, in the proper area on my desk to not make me just have to fumble over trying to write something. Yeah. This was like, obviously the sidekick notepad we made to sit between you and the keyboard, right? And that was its idea. But there were a lot of people was like, I don't want that. Like I don't work like that. I want something next to, and I have an idea for a different, like a bigger notebook, which would do that kind of like a five size that I want to do someday. Um, but the, until that point, I think the pocket serves this perfectly. Um, cause also top, top bound, um, which I failed to mention that's top bound perforated pages. Yeah. Top bound perforated pages. So I will probably, I, I think about how I use products a lot. I will, I don't know that I'm going to use the backside of the page here because at some point I'll start tearing pages out right on a top bound perforated notebook. These are usually like ephemeral type pages, right? That's how I design it too. Yeah. I'm not putting something here to keep, right? So I flipped over my ink test page, right? That's around the back. But after a few pages, I'm not going to, I'm not going to keep this entire notebook intact. I will use and destroy this notebook. And you can, you can, and I do kind of, and I wouldn't do this as a sidekick notepad, but with the pocket, I keep, I, I have like taken notes like a notebook. Like I've got like four or five pages going. Like I was doing this yesterday. I was in a call and I was taking pages. I'm just flipping them over and I will eventually tear those out and take them. But it's like, you can kind of do that a little bit more. This product allows for it a little bit easier, but it's not the way it's intended to be used. It's like you write, tear out and you're onto a new page. That's like essentially the thing that is not for everyone, but it's what I want to build because there are lots of notebooks that do it the other way. So for people that want it the way that we like it, which is like you kind of, the pages are ephemeral. This product serves that purpose. Yep. So final results on the, all the ink testing, like literally no issues whatsoever. So very happy with how it performed. Ultra smooth page too. Really, really like the smoothness of the page. So it's good stuff. Well done, Michael. Thank you. You just used the grid one. I just used the grid one. I have not opened the lined and the task. What's the other one? The task. I think you're a dick to do. Oh yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I'm going to, I'll probably end up doing a review and I'll just have like each out there. Right. And I like that it comes in a two pack.
* The packaging was great. When I, everyone enjoyed the packaging. We use that on all of our Sidekick products now. So I had been, this is something that changed in the last year or so. It's, we call it book wrapping. That's what the, that's what the manufacturer calls it. Um, and so we started doing that on the big guy. Uh, and then on, we do on the little guy. It's the same paper and it's got the same foil stamping on it. Uh, I liked that you kept the logo to put in your journal. I thought that was cute. But yeah, it's the same paper the cover's made from, which is all GS Smith color plan. Um, and I really like that the, the stamping is actually a pigment stamp. Um, that goes onto each of these. So it's not clear. It's actually like somewhat color matched. It's color matched best on the orange and the yellow. The blue is a little off, but I actually kind of like it cause it's different. Uh, so yeah, I'm really, you know, I'm really happy with this product and I really wasn't sure what people were going to think of it. And I think it has probably been our most positive launch. Like people are very positive about this product. Um, and the people that get it seem to really dig it. So I'm very, I feel very effused, uh, by, by how this one has gone down. Last little small detail that I mentioned when I was reviewing it, and I haven't mentioned yet today is the cover scoring is ridiculously good. Yeah. It's just so pliable. Like it's what you would, you don't want to, you don't want to have to break in your cover scoring for a top bound notebook. That was so, um, that's really noticeable. We, again, like we didn't, this is the great thing about this product is I didn't need to do a lot of development on it because we'd gone through all of these specs on the sidekick notepad. But when we were making the sidekick notepad, this was a big deal for me of like, I do not want the customer to be dealing with their own like folding in any way because I want it to be just right. And like, and I, the, the tolerances that we have on that, on the way that these covers flip is, I think is incredibly good considering what's going on. Um, and so, yeah, it was, uh, an easy thing for me. Do you like the, the thick cover, like backing on the cover? Oh yeah. No, I, I think it's mandatory. Like I wouldn't want a similar color. And I also like that, um, it's the same color match as the color. So a lot of top bound notebooks will have the front cover, um, the scoring, and then like a tape over of a standard cardboard and yours match the, um, the aesthetic of the whole thing. So that's like a noticeable point. It's like one solid unit, not like a tape over, uh, flip. And this is one of those things of like, why are our products more expensive? It's decisions like that. Yeah. It would be so much cheaper for me to use a recycled gray board, which is what was recommended to me. But instead we use the same paper. We use just a much thicker piece of color plan, um, to, to make it sturdy, but also continue to look good. Uh, so yeah, I'm really happy that you like it, Brad. Genuinely am. Because, you know, I know I'm never getting a gimme from you. And so, uh, I genuinely appreciate it when you like it. Because there's the thing where like, you can do the nice thing where you can be like, that looks really nice. Like it, and, and, you know, you've built it really nice, but to get the, this also feels nice to use like that's that one, that one can't be a gimme. So yeah. Yeah. No gimme's here.
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* Yeah, go take yourself there right now. Thanks to our friends over at Penshalet for their continued support of this show and all of Relay. All right. A couple of little short notes, Myke. I could have put this in the follow-up section up top, but the Ohuhu pen, which I mentioned when I was looking at the red dot winners from 2024 when we're referring to the IA writer. And this was a Copic style alcohol marker that looked really cool, but I had never heard of them, didn't know anything about it. And previous week's shout out, a friend, a June Thomas emailed me to say, hey, number one, thanks for the shout out. Thank you, June, for being awesome. She also couldn't believe that it had been like a decade since she was last on the show.
* Said that the Ohuhu is very, very legit. And there is a video, which I have not watched because I probably just won't. I'm not into these markers. There's a video called Who Killed the Copic Marker by Jazza, who has like 6.68 million subscribers on YouTube. So they must be a very popular artist. So I went and kind of browsed around them, but they did a comparison with the Ohuhu and the Copic. And guess what? Ohuhu. Ohuhu was the winner. So if you're looking for that type of marker, alcohol-based marker, maybe something to check out. So I can't vouch for them. I haven't used them. I'm not generally an alcohol markers user. I've used Copics, like the Fineliner products, but alcohol marker hasn't something I've gotten into. But yeah, take a look if that's something you're interested in. Because like, honestly, the Copics have gotten really, really pricey. So the Ohuhus are something to look at if you're into that.