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Old 17 November 2019, 08:58 AM   #1
Bisquitlips
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William Hannah Journals

Really thought I had posted this review! Did a search and could not find it anywhere.

Love these journals a Laught!!!

If this is a repeat post, please forgive me. I just ordered their A6 journal in whiskey an Kingfisher. Excited to receive it!


I collect fountain pens and it seems as a side hobby collecting journals comes in a close 2nd.

I recently watched a You Tube video on the William Hannah journals and was so impressed with the price and especially the options available that I decided to pick one up.

Here is the review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDdileu-Qj4

Azizah does a great job with the review and it is worthy of the time to watch the entire thing, but if you are of the impatient sort you can skip to about 3:15 to see the packaging and start from there!

I decided on the same colors as Azizah did. The Whiskey outer leather cover and the Kingfisher suede inner liner. It is a beautiful combination.
Here is another video review which is also excellent!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czjHJh5hrew
The disc type of paper / notebook system has never appealed to me as the discs seemed to have to extend outside the cover much like Levenger's Circa notebooks, however the WH journals completely enclose the discs and function flawlessly.

Here are the best charcteristics of this notebook in my never to be humble opinion.

1. The Aesthetics! This jornal is gorgeous. The colors are rich and you will not find any imperfections in the leather dye even on the suede, which is very hard to dye evenly especially with vibrant colors.

2. The Engineering! The discs are milled to perfection. There are no burrs, no tool marks, which means when you turn the pages or add more there are no snags. The paper glides over the discs as easily as any ring notebook or binder.

3. The Price! For about $120.00 you have a gorgeous modular journal that will last the rest of your life and will grow forever. (See archive below.)

4. The Archive System. With the archive system you can remove finished sections of your journal and place them in a set of discs with their own covers and store them on a shelf and just keep going with no end in sight. Perfect!

[IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4186
/33843004074_be28f443bc_n.jpg[/IMG]



5. The PAPER!!! I don't care how wonderful any journal is on the outside, it is the paper that counts. This is what concerns me the most when buying an unfamiliar notebook or journal is that the paper will not be FP friendly and I will write 3 pages and then relegate it to a shelf never to be opened again.

The WH company has somehow found a paper that is the most perfect I have ever written on. Regardless of the pens / nibs / inks I have used on the paper the ink dries quickly and doesn't bleed through or feather. It is also thick! 115gsm!

I have nibs that will cause puddling on other papers, but dries perfectly on the WH paper.

I actually wrote to the company to share my findings and one of the primaries wrote me a lengthy reply. We we had a long discussion about the paper mill and company where they get their paper. To say the least, this guy has researched his burly British buttocks off finding the paper they use!

The worst thing about committing to a journal $ystem is the risk that the paper vendor / mill providing paper to the manufacturer will change their formula in order to save money, provide that "new and improved" paper to the journal manufacturer and the writing experience will go down the toilet because something has changed and no one knows until people start complaining.


David, the person at William Hannah that chose to make contact with me, visited the mill and insured that the mill will not change the formula of the paper that WH uses. The trade off is that, at some point, prices will likely rise in the future due to inflation. (just the way things are), but there will be no changes without notification.

WH will pay higher prices for the paper which means its customers will also, but there will be no surprises that ruin the journal and the satisfaction of its happy customers. That is foresight! I know that I am willing to pay any reasonable increase in prices in order to preserve my satisfaction. Especially with something I have used for years.

6. The Paper is Customizable. When you place an order you can choose from 10 different colors and those colors will match the color of the leathers you chose to create your journal if you so desire. You can choose from dot grid, line grid, lined, plain, to do list, week to page diary, weekly planner and week to page with notable dates. (UK only for now.)

7. The quality of the entire WH system is seen by how they are packaged and shipped. Watch the video. WH reeks of the forgotten qualities of presentation and first impressions. In my experience, about the only other company that pays attention to things like packaging is P.W. Akkerman in the Netherlands.

Enough said!

Here are some photos of the one I chose! I know this is long winded for a forum review, but this young company (c 2015) and their products deserve my time. I am not getting paid for this review or receiving any compensation of any kind. This is just good stuff and I am inspired to share with people that appreciate the rarity of quality that is all but gone in this generation.









[IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4171
/33875326923_739806e1aa_b.jpg[/IMG]



Amazing quality in the milling of their journal parts.




Company Info:
About
BUSINESS INFO Founded on July 1, 2015
http://www.williamhannah.com
https://www.facebook.com/pg/WilliamHannahUK
About:
William Hannah Limited makes bespoke leather notebooks that support your #WorkLifeBalance and inspire you to create, plan, dream and remember.
Products:
Bespoke leather notebooks
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Old 25 November 2019, 07:26 AM   #2
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William Hannah Journals

Thank you for sharing this - looks like a great journal.

I am currently using an Aspinal A4 leather booklet with refillable inserts. The leather is not wearing particularly nicely though which is a bit of a disappointment.

I still have one more refill pad to get through but may well upgrade to a different system when that’s finished.

I’m also considering using the existing leather as an inner layer and adding a much higher quality outer skin to it. Not sure yet. But have about a year to figure it out and if I go this route source something worthy of everyday very heavy usage to bond as an outer layer. The Aspinal paper refills are great - a timeless colour and writing experience so would be happy to stay with them for this alone.

Edit - just seen the WH Notebooks don’t go to A4. That’s a shame as I find myself needing a full pages worth of space for my note taking at work. I moved from A5 to A4 about 4 years ago when I picked up the Aspinal, I don’t think I could go back now to a smaller size.
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Old 26 November 2019, 01:05 PM   #3
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"Edit - just seen the WH Notebooks don’t go to A4. That’s a shame as I find myself needing a full pages worth of space for my note taking at work. I moved from A5 to A4 about 4 years ago when I picked up the Aspinal, I don’t think I could go back now to a smaller size. "

Keep in mind that WH is a bespoke company. They will make you a journal in A4. Give David a ping and see what shakes out!

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Old 17 December 2019, 01:17 PM   #4
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I'm sending WH a note asking about getting an A4 set-up. I'll let you know what they say.
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Old 18 December 2019, 05:19 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep Sea View Post
I'm sending WH a note asking about getting an A4 set-up. I'll let you know what they say.

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Old 18 December 2019, 06:04 AM   #6
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No go on the A4 size. Here's the quote from David in the email he sent me today:

I am afraid that there are no plans to make A4 notebooks - even custom ones. For your information, I did make a prototype once, but it was very heavy, and because the leather we use is so soft, the cover flapped around quite a lot, making the notebook quite impractical.

So, I may need to order an A5, but I'd love to get my hands on some of their paper first to see how I like it. I will send them a note to see where I can find it in the US, or if I can get a small sample.
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Old 18 December 2019, 07:41 AM   #7
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Bump Martin.

Would really like to know what David said about the A4.
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Old 18 December 2019, 08:18 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep Sea View Post
No go on the A4 size. Here's the quote from David in the email he sent me today:



I am afraid that there are no plans to make A4 notebooks - even custom ones. For your information, I did make a prototype once, but it was very heavy, and because the leather we use is so soft, the cover flapped around quite a lot, making the notebook quite impractical.



So, I may need to order an A5, but I'd love to get my hands on some of their paper first to see how I like it. I will send them a note to see where I can find it in the US, or if I can get a small sample.


That’s a pity - I looked at the paper refills and didn’t see an A4 size either.

Maybe I just need to learn to write smaller or take fewer notes
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Old 21 December 2019, 02:34 PM   #9
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That’s a pity - I looked at the paper refills and didn’t see an A4 size either.

Maybe I just need to learn to write smaller or take fewer notes
I did not consider the softness and weight of the leather. I can see how an A4 would be a bit unruly due to its size, weight, and suppleness. These journals have two layers of leather in the cover so I get it. Thanks for sharing David's response.
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Old 22 December 2019, 04:36 AM   #10
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Well, I just ordered $360 worth of WH notebooks, paper refills, and pen bands. I can't wait to get my hands on them and start the note taking journey in a nicer notebook.

So, now I need to get my hands on a nicer pen to take my notes. I'll be on the lookout for a nicer pen, but I'm open to suggestions.

Anybody got a suggestion of a nicer pen, in the sub $80 range, in ball point or roller ball?
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Old 23 December 2019, 08:33 PM   #11
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I live in the UK and am notebook and fountain pen mad. I couldn’t believe I’d never heard of WH but I’m glad I found out eventually! I think they are just superb quality and like you, I’ve chatted with David about the paper and other stuff. I have the A5 in Whiskey and Kingfisher and then I got the Pocket size and an A6! Lol. Amazing quality gear right here in the UK. In fact, not far from where I live. Amazing and well worth the price tag. 😀👍🏻
Enjoy! 👍🏻
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Old 23 December 2019, 08:35 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep Sea View Post
Well, I just ordered $360 worth of WH notebooks, paper refills, and pen bands. I can't wait to get my hands on them and start the note taking journey in a nicer notebook.

So, now I need to get my hands on a nicer pen to take my notes. I'll be on the lookout for a nicer pen, but I'm open to suggestions.

Anybody got a suggestion of a nicer pen, in the sub $80 range, in ball point or roller ball?
Deep Sea you’ll enjoy it alright. The A5 is my main journal and with the weekly pages also, keeps a good diary too.
Nice pens - Lamy make some fantastic and low priced pens. Pilot are also brilliant with the Capless pen being ideal for EDC or otherwise. I can recommend TWSBI as well. For any of them as they are just awesome pens. Enjoy! ������

Edit - sorry for not reading your post properly. I am recommending fountain pens! Doh! ��
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Old 24 December 2019, 06:40 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deep sea View Post
well, i just ordered $360 worth of wh notebooks, paper refills, and pen bands. I can't wait to get my hands on them and start the note taking journey in a nicer notebook.

So, now i need to get my hands on a nicer pen to take my notes. I'll be on the lookout for a nicer pen, but i'm open to suggestions.

Anybody got a suggestion of a nicer pen, in the sub $80 range, in ball point or roller ball?
pm sent
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