Life Noble Note

The Life Noble Note journal is the hardcover version of the simpler card cover notebooks with the distinctive coloured covers that tell you whether the paper is lined, plain or grid. Red is for the grid paper version. This paper is specifically designed for fountain pen use and shows off shading inks with no feathering present. Not everyone will love how cream the paper is, but it is definitely soft on the eye. This notebook is very well made, high quality and has a very interesting closure of an elastic on one corner, and also comes with a bookmark. This well-established Japanese brand had excellent pen test results, but I would avoid using watercolour paints.

My in-depth review video looks at the company and their products, the construction, features and markings of the journal, the paper, the company’s approach to environmental and social responsibility, and includes a pen test of a full range of pens (with a special fountain pen test) and watercolour paints. See my pen test page for an explanation of each test.