Cosmo Air Light Notebook

 

The new Cosmo Note notebook is fairly new to our shop, and is of particular note because it’s made from the new Cosmo Air Light paper, from Yamamoto in Japan. Cosmo Air Light (also available in loose leaf A4) paper is extremely fountain pen friendly, super smooth and luxurious. In comparison to Tomoe River Paper, it is thicker, heavier, naturally more opaque and less resistant to ghosting (because Tomoe River paper is so thin).

 

 

While the paper is the real treat, the binding in multiple signatures and the overall design and finishes of it make for a high-quality notebook for fountain pen users, allowing it to lay flat and the binding to stay strong over heavy use. Plus gold foil print! While most people I imagine might tuck this into a notebook cover (I think I might try one next for my journal which I keep in my A5 Midori leather cover), you could also consider a clear cover to protect the cardboard from liquid or the dreaded corner scrunching to show off some of the subtle design elements, which also has the bonus of allowing you to put on stickers or photos, something special for each notebook’s season of life.

 

 

 

 

Here is Sailor Konagi from the Manyo line, vibrant and sheening in all its glory, lines crisp and edged with that pink glow. A true blue.

 

 

The writing sample was done with a Sailor Pro Gear, the larger, full size, with a 21k gold nib, a dream to write with. The Pro Gear Slim (and the 1911 Standard) comes with a 14k nib, and normally that’s my pen of choice from Sailor as it’s smaller, but there’s a bounciness to the 21k nib that isn’t there with the 14k. It’s quite nice, and this has been a favourite in my rotation for the last year, bright without being too bright, possibly even a desert island pen for me. I do say give this honorific to any number of things, so let’s hope I never actually have to vacate to a desert island.

 

This particular finish is the Old Fashioned from the Sailor Cocktail special edition series.

 

 

 

 

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Currently reading: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Currently reading with Caleb: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Currently eating: a cold bacon sandwich

Currently concerned about: a package of curry powder that has split open and spilt inside the pantry

Also concerned about: my children not eating vegetables

Also concerned about: the longevity of fountain pens as useful tools and therefore the longevity of a shop that mainly peddles fountain pens