u/InkStainedLeather

I had a few penpals a very long time ago and would like try again. Having a couple of things in common is fine but I'd love to have a penpal or two with different interests and experiences from me so that we can learn from each other while getting to know each other. Getting a nice letter in the mail would make my day, and I'd hope to make your day when you get a letter from me.

I'm in my 50s so my ideal penpal would be under 40 OR over 65.

I'm in Canada so my ideal penpal would be from anywhere else.

I'm a physics teacher so my ideal penpal would be a non-sciencey person (though being curious about science would be great).

Open minded with a sense of humour is a must. We can chat a bit in reddit and if things click we can start via snail mail, maybe about once per month(ish). I have a lot to offer in terms of being a good listener, and sending crafty things once in a while to brighten your day ☺️.

This listing is for one full set of all eight notebooks shown in the photos: Pocket Cache Testing Series Volumes 1 to 8

Verification and additional photos: Link

All notebooks are 7 mm lined, 48 pages, and each is made with a different paper:

• Iroful (75 gsm)
• Graphilo (80 gsm)
• Yamamoto Canopus (73 gsm)
• Crena Lightning Thick Retro 2 (90 gsm)
• Crena Starbow R2 (52 gsm)
• Crena White Olive (84 gsm)
• HP Premium32 (120 gsm)
• CansonXL Marker (70 gsm)

Price: $80 USD for the full set, including tracked shipping to USA or CANADA. 

Payment: PayPal Goods & Services.

Newer and even more Improved with several new premium papers, and I won't be actively looking for new papers until the fall!

This listing is for Pocket Cache Super Sampler

Verification and additional photos: Link

Price: $50 USD each set, including tracked shipping to USA or CANADA. 

Will ship worldwide - message for shipping estimate to your location if outside of US / Canada.

Note that sets sold between now and Thursday June 26 will be mailed out on Friday June 27.

Payment: PayPal Goods & Services.

I have eight identical sets available, being sold individually. The photo in the link shows one sampler as an example.

Set #1: sold

Set #2: sold

Set #3: sold

Set #4: sold

Set #5: sold

Set #6: pending

Set #7: pending

Set #8: available

Each set includes:

• One piece of OVER 110 different papers: Full list of included papers will be added as a comment below. Most papers are approximately 3.5 x 5.5 inches. There is some variation due to source sheet sizes and hand-cutting.
• One Page Layout Sampler pocket-sized notebook: 3.5" x 5.5", featuring a wide range of page layouts to try out and test. Custom notebooks with your choice of paper and page layout will be listed in the near future.

Condition: New 

I will close the listing once all eight sets are sold.

Details

I’ve collected well over 110 different papers, ranging from Tomoe River and Clairefontaine to Strathmore and Crena, along with pages pulled from notebooks and pads such as Leuchtturm and Rhodia, so people can test and compare papers directly.

Each sampler pack includes one piece of the papers listed below in my comment.

Each paper has a unique 4-digit ID written in pencil so it can be matched to a reference list provided as a link.

The included Page Layout Sampler notebook features a wide range of layouts, including some familiar ones (dot grid, lined, and graph), along with some less common layouts that I hope people will find interesting and useful. See photos linked above for page layouts featured in the notebook.

In the future, I plan to list Pocket Cache notebooks that can be ordered with one or more of these layouts, using a choice of papers from a curated selection. Not all of the papers in the sampler will become permanent notebook options; I’ll narrow the list over time based on availability, suitability, and demand.

New and Improved with several new premium papers, and I won't be actively looking for new papers until the fall!

This listing is for Pocket Cache Super Sampler

Verification and additional photos: Link

Price: $50 USD each set, including tracked shipping to USA or CANADA. 

Will ship worldwide - message for shipping estimate to your location if outside of US / Canada.

Note that sets sold between now and Monday June 22 will be mailed out on Monday June 22.

Payment: PayPal Goods & Services.

I have six identical sets available, being sold individually. The photo in the link shows one sampler as an example.

Set #1: sold

Set #2: sold

Set #3: sold

Set #4: sold

Set #5: available

Set #6: available

Each set includes:

• One piece of 110+ different papers: Full list of included papers will be added as a comment below. Most papers are approximately 3.5 x 5.5 inches. There is some variation due to source sheet sizes and hand-cutting.
• One Page Layout Sampler pocket-sized notebook: 3.5" x 5.5", featuring a wide range of page layouts to try out and test. Custom notebooks with your choice of paper and page layout will be listed in the near future.

Condition: New 

I will close the listing once all six sets are sold.

Details

I’ve been working on a handmade, customizable notebook project called Pocket Cache. As part of that project, I’ve collected 110+ different papers, ranging from Tomoe River and Clairefontaine to Strathmore and Crena, along with pages pulled from notebooks and pads such as Leuchtturm and Rhodia, so people can test and compare papers directly.

Each sampler pack includes one piece of the papers listed below in my comment.

Each paper has a unique 4-digit ID written in pencil so it can be matched to a reference list provided as a link.

The included Page Layout Sampler notebook features a wide range of layouts, including some familiar ones (dot grid, lined, and graph), along with some less common layouts that I hope people will find interesting and useful. See photos linked above for page layouts featured in the notebook.

In the future, I plan to list Pocket Cache notebooks that can be ordered with one or more of these layouts, using a choice of papers from a curated selection. Not all of the papers in the sampler will become permanent notebook options; I’ll narrow the list over time based on availability, suitability, and demand.

Very excited to get my first "nice" pencil! I just ordered this from Amazon - when it arrives next week I'll post my very first "New Pencil Day". Quick tip for any other Canadians out there (or anybody else really wanting to get their hands on this pencil) - it is currently available on Canadian Amazon for 50 CAD (roughly 36 USD).

This listing is for Pocket Cache Super Sampler

Verification and additional photos: Link

Price: $50 USD each set, including tracked shipping to USA or CANADA. 

Will ship worldwide - message for shipping estimate to your location.

Note that sets sold between now and Monday June 15 will be mailed out on Monday June 15.

Payment: PayPal Goods & Services.

I have six identical sets available, being sold individually. The photo in the link shows one sampler as an example.

Set #1: available

Set #2: available

Set #3: available

Set #4: available

Set #5: available

Set #6: available

Each set includes:

• One piece of 100 different papers: Full list of included papers will be added as a comment below. Most papers are approximately 3.5 x 5.5 inches. There is some variation due to source sheet sizes and hand-cutting.
• One Page Layout Sampler pocket-sized notebook: 3.5" x 5.5", featuring a wide range of page layouts to try out and test. Custom notebooks with your choice of paper and page layout will be listed in the near future.

Condition: New 

I will close the listing once all six sets are sold.

Details

I’ve been working on a handmade, customizable notebook project called Pocket Cache. As part of that project, I’ve collected 100+ different papers, ranging from Tomoe River and Clairefontaine to Strathmore and Crena, along with pages pulled from notebooks and pads such as Leuchtturm and Rhodia, so people can test and compare papers directly.

Each sampler pack includes one piece of the papers listed below in my comment.

Each paper has a unique 4-digit ID written in pencil so it can be matched to a reference list provided as a link.

The included Page Layout Sampler notebook features a wide range of layouts, including dot grid, lined, and graph, along with some less common layouts that I hope people will find interesting and useful. See photos linked above for page layouts featured in the notebook.

In the future, I plan to list Pocket Cache notebooks that can be ordered with one or more of these layouts, using a choice of papers from a curated selection. Not all of the papers in the sampler will become permanent notebook options; I’ll narrow the list over time based on availability, suitability, and demand.

Disclosure: I've been selling paper samplers over on r/pen_swap for the last month or so, but I consider myself a member of this community first and foremost. This really is not meant to be an "ad".

My paper sampler includes most of the papers that get talked about on this sub a lot, such as Clairefontaine, Midori MD, Rhodia, and Tomoe River (both the "original" Tomoegawa-made and all four of the modern Sanzen-made variants). It also includes papers that occasionally get discussed here, as well as many papers that rarely, if ever, get mentioned, and many that most people have never heard of.

Each of the papers in the sample pack is labelled with a four-digit code, but the paper IDs themselves are not included in the pack. I offer to provide the paper IDs when requested, but I explain that it is my recommendation that they NOT request the paper IDs until AFTER they have spent some time with all of the papers, and ideally tested them to find what works well for them, and chosen their favorites while not knowing what they are using (i.e., "blinded" to the paper IDs).

That brings me to the first thing I've learned from this: we are all influenced by "reputation," and it can fool us into thinking we like a paper more, or less, than we really do. I am certainly not the first to recognize the importance of "blinding" like this, and in fact I am reminded of a quote from Richard Feynman: "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool."

Most users who take me up on my optional "blinded paper test" challenge end up being surprised by what their favorite papers actually are. I was prompted to write this post by one such person who shared their experience with my paper sampler just last night. Here is a direct quote from them: "Wow my previous favorite Midori didn’t even make it to my favorites." And this was after they listed 14 papers as "all being great," meaning that their previous favorite, Midori, didn't make it into their top 14 out of roughly 100 papers in the sampler.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Midori is a bad paper, and neither are they. In fact, here is the second thing I have learned from this project: there is no single paper that is "best" for everyone. There is a LOT of variation in personal preference for papers, which should not be surprising, but I don't think gets talked about enough. For example, some people love thinner papers, such as 52 gsm Tomoe River, and others hate them. Just like pens and inks, different people value different paper qualities. Some people value smoothness above all else, while other people value other things more, such as fast dry time, showing off ink behaviors like shading or sheening, etc.

If you've been using the same paper for a while, I'd encourage you to give a new paper (or two) a try. I'm always surprised when people have 50+ different inks they like to experiment with, but only one or two different papers.

This listing is for Pocket Cache Super Sampler

Verification and additional photos: Link

Price: $50 USD each set, including tracked shipping to USA or CANADA. 

Will ship worldwide - message for shipping estimate to your location.

Note that sets sold between now and Monday June 1 will be mailed out on Monday June 8.

Payment: PayPal Goods & Services.

I have six identical sets available, being sold individually. The photo in the link shows one sampler as an example.

Set #1: available

Set #2: available

Set #3: available

Set #4: available

Set #5: available

Set #6: available

Each set includes:

• One piece of 100+ different papers: Full list of included papers will be added as a comment below. Most papers are approximately 3.5 x 5.5 inches except for cover stock papers which are approximately 3 x 5 inches. There is some variation due to source sheet sizes and hand-cutting.
• One Page Layout Sampler pocket-sized notebook: 3.5" x 5.5", featuring a wide range of page layouts to try out and test. Custom notebooks with your choice of paper and page layout will be listed in the near future.

Condition: New; Papers were prepared by hand. The layout sampler notebook was printed, folded, and saddle-stapled by hand.

I will close the listing once all six sets are sold.

Details

I’ve been working on a handmade, customizable notebook project called Pocket Cache. As part of that project, I’ve collected 100+ different papers, ranging from Tomoe River and Clairefontaine to Strathmore and Crena, along with pages pulled from notebooks and pads such as Leuchtturm and Rhodia, so people can test and compare papers directly.

Each sampler pack includes one piece of all 100+ papers.

Each paper has a unique 4-digit ID written lightly in pencil so it can be matched to a reference list provided as a link.

The included Page Layout Sampler notebook features a wide range of layouts, including dot grid, lined, and graph, along with some less common layouts that I hope people will find interesting and useful. See photos linked above for page layouts featured in the notebook.

In the future, I plan to list Pocket Cache notebooks that can be ordered with one or more of these layouts, using a choice of papers from a curated selection. Not all of the papers in the sampler will become permanent notebook options; I’ll narrow the list over time based on availability, suitability, and demand.

I've been working on my own hand made notebooks and did a deep dive into the world of paper. I'm now ready to start an "experimental pocket sized notebook of the month club". Each month will feature a notebook along with some little surprises. I'm going to start with just one round and if it goes well I will offer a monthly subscription.

Cost will be $20 plus shipping which is actually from Canada. I'm guessing closer to $30 all in. Notebooks will be pocket sized (3.5 x 5.5 inches), made with different papers, covers, page layouts etc to keep things interesting! Let me know if interested in being among the first to join! Aiming for June signups with first round going out towards end of June, receive early July.

I'm a Leathercrafter and just bought my first couple of nicer pencils. I had the thought of wrapping one of the "disposable" lead holders they came with in leather and then just top it up with fresh lead as needed. However they are quite small as they came bundled with the pencils.

Are there any particularly functional full sized lead holders to use as the inner holder, that would still work well if wrapped in leather? Thanks!

This listing is for Pocket Cache Super Sampler

Verification and additional photos: Link

Price: $50 USD each set, including tracked shipping to USA or CANADA. 

Will ship worldwide - message for shipping estimate to your location.

Note that sets sold between now and Monday June 1 will be mailed out on Monday June 1.

Payment: PayPal Goods & Services.

I have six identical sets available, being sold individually. The photo in the link shows one sampler as an example.

Set #1: available

Set #2: available

Set #3: available

Set #4: available

Set #5: available

Set #6: available

Each set includes:

• One piece of 100+ different papers: Full list of included papers will be added as a comment below. Most papers are approximately 3.5 x 5.5 inches except for cover stock papers which are approximately 3 x 5 inches. There is some variation due to source sheet sizes and hand-cutting.
• One Page Layout Sampler pocket-sized notebook: 3.5" x 5.5", featuring a wide range of page layouts to try out and test. Custom notebooks with your choice of paper and page layout will be listed in the near future.

Condition: New; Papers were prepared by hand. The layout sampler notebook was printed, folded, and saddle-stapled by hand.

I will close the listing once all six sets are sold.

Details

I’ve been working on a handmade, customizable notebook project called Pocket Cache. As part of that project, I’ve collected 100+ different papers, ranging from Tomoe River and Clairefontaine to Strathmore and Crena, along with pages pulled from notebooks and pads such as Leuchtturm and Rhodia, so people can test and compare papers directly.

Each sampler pack includes one piece of all 100+ papers.

Each paper has a unique 4-digit ID written lightly in pencil so it can be matched to a reference list provided as a link.

The included Page Layout Sampler notebook features a wide range of layouts, including dot grid, lined, and graph, along with some less common layouts that I hope people will find interesting and useful. See photos linked above for page layouts featured in the notebook.

In the future, I plan to list Pocket Cache notebooks that can be ordered with one or more of these layouts, using a choice of papers from a curated selection. Not all of the papers in the sampler will become permanent notebook options; I’ll narrow the list over time based on availability, suitability, and demand.

This listing is for Pocket Cache Super Sampler

Verification and additional photos: Link

Price: $50 USD each set, including tracked shipping to Canada or the USA. Note that sets sold between now and Monday May 25 will be mailed out on Monday May 25.

Payment: PayPal Goods & Services.

I have six identical sets available, being sold individually. The photo in the link shows one sampler as an example.

Set #1: sold

Set #2: sold

Set #3: sold

Set #4: available

Set #5: available

Set #6: available

Each set includes:

• One piece of 100+ different papers: Full list of included papers will be added as a comment below. Most papers are approximately 3.5 x 5.5 inches except for cover stock papers which are approximately 3 x 5 inches. There is some variation due to source sheet sizes and hand-cutting.
• One Page Layout Sampler pocket-sized notebook: 3.5" x 5.5", featuring a wide range of page layouts to try out and test. Custom notebooks with your choice of paper and page layout will be listed in the near future.

Condition: New; Papers were prepared by hand. The layout sampler notebook was printed, folded, and saddle-stapled by hand.

I will close the listing once all six sets are sold.

Details

I’ve been working on a handmade, customizable notebook project called Pocket Cache. As part of that project, I’ve collected 100+ different papers, ranging from Tomoe River and Clairefontaine to Strathmore and Crena, along with pages pulled from notebooks and pads such as Leuchtturm and Rhodia, so people can test and compare papers directly.

Each sampler pack includes one piece of all 100+ papers.

Each paper has a unique 4-digit ID written lightly in pencil so it can be matched to a reference list provided as a link.

The included Page Layout Sampler notebook features a wide range of layouts, including dot grid, lined, and graph, along with some less common layouts that I hope people will find interesting and useful. See photos linked above for page layouts featured in the notebook.

In the future, I plan to list Pocket Cache notebooks that can be ordered with one or more of these layouts, using a choice of papers from a curated selection. Not all of the papers in the sampler will become permanent notebook options; I’ll narrow the list over time based on availability, suitability, and demand.