Review: @Gallery_Leather Desk Ruled Journal - Tan

Luke from Gallery Leather sent this leather desk journal in tan, handcrafted in Maine, right here in the USA. Thank you, Luke, for the opportunity to review this journal.

ABOUT

Size: 8" x 5.5"
Color: Ivory
Ruling: Lined
Sheet Count: 192 pages
Price: $22.00USD
Where to buy: Gallery Leather

APPEARANCE

Well now. If you have read my review of the Key West desk journal in honeysuckle, you'll know I found it attractive. This one? This is a leather desk journal in tan, and it's even better looking. It has the same features: rounded edges, satin bookmark in cream, ivory pages with non obstructive ruling, shiny golden page edgings, "Journal" is engraved into the leather, and the leather itself is a rich, warm brown. It's less tan, in my opinion, and more milk chocolatey brown, in the best way possible. I think it's a gorgeous journal that will appeal to most. Elegant, sophisticated, and professional.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

First of all, the paper is smooth but not coated, and as their product page says, there is just a little bit of tooth to make the writing experience noteworthy. I must agree. The cover is soft flexible, which I also like. This journal is also a good size - portable, not too thick, not too small, but also a good enough size to leave at home on your desk if that's where you want it to sit at all times.

In my review of the Key West desk journal, I mentioned the paper smells really good. In this journal, the leather smells good and the paper smells good, too. Delicious. The whole journal is really nice. I love to sniff my journals. Yeah, I'm weird. I also write a blog about stationery and cats, go figure.

I tested the same pens, markers, pencils, etc, that I used in the Key West desk journal. I expected the paper to perform the same, and it did. What am I going to do here? Well, tell you the same thing I said about the Key West:

Sharpies, both the regular and brush tips, look great in this journal. No feathering, flows nicely on to the page. Of course, bleed through is likely, though I was surprised to find there was no bleed through with the metallic Sharpies, only some show through. Pencils, of course, had no issues on this paper.

Liquid inks and rollerballs were not too bad either - good flow on to the page, no feathering, but there is some bleed through as the paper appears to be absorbent. If you use a really fine tipped roller ball that is dry and if you write quickly, you will probably get away just with show through, otherwise, expect some bleed through.

Marker pens like the Sharpie premium pen, Sakura Pigma Microns, and Copic Multiliners performed really well - no feathering, very little bleed through, and minimal show through. The marker tips were really nice to write with on this paper as well.

Gel pens also performed really well and were really nice to use - no feathering, bleed through, or show through with the pens I tested, including the Pentel Slicci, Pilot Hi-Tec-C, Zebra Sarasa SE, Dong-A Miffy, Pilot Choose, Uni-ball Signo DX, and ST Dupont Jet 8. Of course, ballpoints had no issues either. And they were fun to use as well. Also, I can't spell "gel" either. Why did I spell it "jel"? I don't know.

If you want to use fountain pens in this journal - it is possible. You can expect small amounts of feathering, depending on the nib you use. Oddly enough, I experienced feathering with an extra-fine Lamy Safari nib, as well as with a Namiki Falcon soft-fine nib, and more with those two nibs than with a Pelikan M400 BB Stub nib (broad and wet). Ink choice affects this - inks that have a sheen (that is, seem to pool with some sort of surface tension) seem to feather less because they sit on the paper instead of soaking in. It'll be a little bit of a trial and error to find the right combination or one that works for you. For a journal that doesn't claim to be fountain pen friendly, I was content with the results. There will be some feathering (but not extreme), and show through and bleed through will be frequent. If you can live with this, you can use fountain pens in this journal. I have been. It's not cut out for flex pens though. That's okay though. I know the limits of the notebook.

Looks good, doesn't it? Not too bad if you avoid flex pens.

Note there is more feathering and ghosting with this extra-fine nib than there is with the broad nib on the Edison below. 

Lookin' good Edison. 

Again, flex is out. 

PROS

• Made in the USA. 
• Good looking journal.
• Journal feels good in hand. Good size.
• Pages are both glued and stitched.
• Paper smells really good. Don't act like I'm the only one who smells paper and notebooks.
• Does really well with gel pens and ballpoint pens. And pencils.

CONS  

• There was extra glue visible from binding leftover on the spine and some squeezed out on to the outside of the pages, but much less than on the Key West Desk Journal. 
• Not entirely fountain pen friendly, but it's not terribly unfriendly either. 

OVERALL 

I recommended the Key West desk journal based on the fact that it was attractive, made in the USA, had pretty good paper, and came in a variety of colours. At $2 more than the Key West ($20USD), this Leather desk journal ($22USD) is a little more of a luxury item, but it comes in six colours, and it's really nice. Smells great. It would be a lovely gift for a professional, a graduate, a stationery addict, or for yourself.

I was provided this notebook free of charge to sample, play with, get accustomed to, and review. I was not compensated monetarily to write this review. All opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links in this review.