Piccadilly, Inc. sent a second item for review, the Leatherlook Journal. There’s a lot to like especially for the price so let’s see what sets this journal apart from the competition.
Piccadilly Leatherlook Journal
The look is functional but classic with contrasting stitching for accent. The leather free cover feels good in the hand and seems to wear well. It isn’t stiff but bends slightly though not enough to prevent it being useful for lap writing. It is book bound with a satin page ribbon and has 200 pages, lined on the right and blank on the left. The paper is very heavy at 100 GSM and is wood free. The specs call it cream but the paper looks slightly green in good lighting. The pale gray lines are spaced 7mm apart which should work well for most writers. At $5.99 for the small and $7.99 for the medium size journal, the Leatherlook will fit most budgets.
So those are the specs but performance counts and this entry from Piccadilly actually surprised me. The paper bears a resemblance to the Apica 6A10 paper though not quite as absorbent. Most inks tested feathered but hardly enough to be of concern. The worst were inks most likely to feather on any paper so while not ideal, it’s within acceptable limits.
Due to the weight of the paper, there is virtually no show-through except with the heaviest deposits of ink and no bleed-through except tiny dots again with very dark ink from rather wet nibs. This means that the blank pages are entirely useful. If you are so inclined, you can draw on one side and write text on the facing, lined side. This opens up a world of possibilities whether for diagrams, drawings, or anything you might attach to one side and write about on the other.
Take a look at the ink tests and note the nibs and pens used. For now I only have the pair of 1.1mm italics at the wider end of the scale and they performed well enough. I suspect a wet medium or broad nib might display the usual ills but I lack a proper test pen for that range. Certainly a dry-writing fine to extra-fine nib will do the job nicely and mediums likely will, too. The format, weight of the paper, and quality are strong selling points. This is one sample journal that won’t go to waste.
Piccadilly Leatherlook Journal Ink Test
Piccadilly Leatherlook Journal Closeup
