Field Notes to go

After writing about them a little while back, I’ve finally managed to lay my hands on some Field Notes notebooks. I found them at a little store near to where I work in Clerkenwell.
View Larger Map The shop is called Magma, a design bookstore that also caters for the funky objects that funky graphic designers’ desire. They stock a small but random range of obscure and stylish notebooks: notebooks for the left-handed, lined at an angle; some covered in old wall paper; do it yourself versions; pre-doodled; 50s and Japanese styled exercise books; and so on. The Field Notes were £8.95 for three. I also picked up some ‘Idea pads’, but more on them later. The Field Notes themselves looked smaller at first than I imagined. But checking them against my pocket Moleskine, they are in fact the same height and width. It must be the lack of thickness and a soft cover that make them seem so. First impressions? A little less impressive than in real life than the images I have seen online, but still neat. Paper thinner than I thought too, in fact, I do wonder if it will hold fountain pen ink without bleeding through. I will have to test them later with a variety of inks and pens. Otherwise I might just have to treat myself to a new pencil to go with them :-) Review to follow…

Vintage Conway Stewart 58 fountain pen review

One of the pens that has been on my wish list for a couple of years at least is an early-1950s Conway Stewart 58 with Duro nib. Well, I was lucky enough to be blessed with one just before Christmas as a present from my wife (thank you!). A very pretty lined grey and black.

Design As I opened it, my wife said “I question your normal choices, but actually I really like this one!” She has a good eye for design, and I think her comment is a high accolade for the 58. The material is pearlescent and catches the light wonderfully. Conway Stewart can be a little light on the gold-plating and this one shows typical wear on the clip. The delicate lever filler has a dainty Conway Stewart logo. But most of all, I think it has a nice balanced look to it, whether capped or posted. Design 8/10

Feel The weight of this pen is just perfect for me. It’s a plastic-based pen, but not too light. (I really must get some digital scales to tell you the exact weight of these things). What is most noticeable though, is its solid feel. The balance is good when writing, and it is comfortable to hold. It is a reasonably fat pen. The cap is screw-fit, though unfortunately on this one, the threads have worn somewhat meaning they don’t engage and hold the cap in place that well. It will have to have the inner cap shortened at some point to make it more useable. Or have the threads rebuilt. Dimensions: 129mm (5 1/16”) capped, 153mm (6”) posted Feel 8/10 Nib 14ct Gold Duro fine nib. These have a fantastic reputation, there’s therefore little I can add really. It is on the hard side of springy and a good workman. Really smooth, but gives feedback – lovely. I’d like to try a flexible one. Nib 9/10

Filling Lever filler, with a very pretty lever as mentioned already. Filling 7/10 Cost I know my wife paid £70 for this pen. Reasonable, though I would have been happier if the cap threads weren’t an issue. Conway Stewarts are highly collectable and pretty solid, and I think the price reflects this. In comparison to other pens, I think this is pretty reasonable. As a point of interest Lambrou notes the original price of a 58 in the early 1950s to be 30 shillings. The price range from Conway Stewart at the time was 12 shillings to 35 shillings. Cost 8/10

Overall These are great pens, very presentable and good solid writers. Overall 40/50