Graf von Faber-Castell Linen-Bound Notebook
Graf von Faber-Castell is a name that’s synonymous with quality, prestige, precision German engineering and craftsmanship with all types of writing instruments. Whatever they produce has great attention to detail, and really sets them apart from the rest. Even their everyday line of writing instruments (under the Faber-Castell name) is incredible. So, imagine my curiosity when I heard about the Graf von Faber-Castell Linen-Bound Notebook. I always keep an eye out for paper that is new, unique, high-quality, and usable with all types of writing instruments (as you can see from my review of the Leuchtturm A5 Hardcover Journal here). Therefore, I had to snag a couple for myself to try out. I got my two favorite colors from that line: the Burned Orange and the Viper Green.
I’m very impressed with their color choices! For a company that’s not mainly focused on paper, they offer a wide range of options. Choose from: Burned Orange, India Red, Yozakura (a pink), Electric Pink, Violet Blue, Turquoise, Gulf Blue, Viper Green, Olive Green, and Golden Brown. These colors are all patterned after the Graf von Faber-Castell Guilloche pen series. This way you can have a matching collection if you want.
What I didn’t expect at all was how wonderful the linen cover would be! The current trend with most journals is to have leatherette covers. I really love how it feels like an actual book (more than just a journal). And the embossing of “Graf von Faber-Castell” along with their crest, perfectly centered toward the top of the journal cover, is a very nice touch. Attached to the journal is a “bookmark” like most come with now.
Also unexpected is how much I love this paper. Details of this paper were surprisingly not easy to find (in terms of paper weight mainly). The Graf von Faber-Castell Linen-Bound Notebook arrives in a protective shrink-wrap. The informational sticker attached to the shrink-wrap simply states that it’s an A5 sized notebook with a linen cover, has 160 pages, and lists the color. So I tested the paper with every writing instrument I could think of without knowing how heavy the paper was. As you can see, the results are very impressive! There was no bleeding, feathering, or ghosting! I also used several types of nib sizes and inks to try and put this paper through the paces! It was smooth to write on to say the least. Later, I discovered the paper is 100 g/qm with a special smoothed surface to create that effect.
The elaborate thread-stitching of the individual sheets make it so that you don’t have to worry about pages falling out after repeated use (opening and closing and flattening) of the notebook. Speaking of the individual sheets, it’s very noteworthy that the pages only come blank. No option for lined, grid, or dot so far. However, I like the freedom of the blank pages for writing at any angle, using stickers, sketching, color swatch spots, or anything you want to use the open space for. I know I’m definitely exploring the potential for creativity while having the outward appearance of a fancy journal.
What do you think? Do you have yours yet? You can check it out here.
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