This is the Pine Needle one, 9 x 14cm, which is a little narrower than a true A6, ruled at 7mm. It clears a jacket pocket, a back pocket and the side sleeve of almost any bag, which is the whole argument for this size. The cover reads as a dark muted green, closer to a forest floor than to a lawn, and behind it sit 80 sheets of 140gsm acid free paper that will take a fountain pen without complaining. The one that actually leaves the house, in a colour picked for anyone who wants a colour that disappears politely into a desk or a shelf.

★ ART SHED STAFF TIP

Fountain pen people: 140gsm is the number that matters here. Most notebook paper is 70 to 90gsm, which is why your ink ghosts through. At 140 you get to use both sides of the sheet.

Perfect for

DraftingLists and planningLanguage studyHandwriting practicePocket carryOn the move

The colour: Pine Needle

Matsuba-iro is named directly for pine needles, and pine in Japan carries the idea of something that stays green while everything around it gives up for the winter. It is a green with almost no sweetness in it.

Traditional Japanese colour name: matsuba-iro (松葉色)

What 7mm ruling actually gives you

Seven millimetres is the classic wide-ish rule. It is generous enough that adult handwriting does not feel cramped and tight enough that you are not wasting half the page on air. If you write with a broad nib, a brush pen or anything with a bit of swagger to it, this is the spacing that stops your ascenders and descenders colliding.

Reach for ruling when you are writing rather than drawing. Daily pages, interview notes, study notes, long form thinking, anything that runs top to bottom. At 9 x 14cm you get about twenty words to a line, which is the part people forget to think about until they are living with the book.

What you are actually getting

Paper

80 sheets, 160 sides, 140gsm acid free and FSC certified, in a slightly cream white that cuts glare

Ruling

7mm ruled lines, printed edge to edge with no pre-printed margin

Cover

hard cover in Pine Needle, with rounded corners that will not fray in a bag

Fittings

elastic closure band, bound-in bookmark ribbon and an expandable pocket in the back for loose notes

Questions about the ruled Pine Needle notebook in 9 x 14cm

Can I still sketch in a ruled notebook?

You can, and plenty of people do, but if drawing is more than an occasional thing the dot grid version is the better buy. Lines are hard to ignore behind a drawing in a way that dots are not.

Are the lines dark or faint?

Light enough to sit behind your handwriting rather than compete with it. You notice them while you are writing and stop seeing them when you read the page back.

Will this fit in a pocket?

Yes. At 9 x 14cm it clears a jacket pocket and most back pockets, and it slides into the side sleeve of almost any bag. That portability is the entire reason this size exists.

Who makes these?

Sakura, the Japanese manufacturer best known for Pigma Micron and Gelly Roll pens, with distribution through Royal Talens. The paper spec is the same across the whole notebook range, only the cover, the size and the ruling change.

Are the corners rounded?

Yes, on both the cover and the block. It is the detail that decides whether a notebook still looks tidy after three months of being pushed in and out of a bag, because square corners are the ones that fray.

Is this stock held in Australia?

Yes. Art Shed holds this range in Australia and ships it Australia wide, so there is no overseas transit and no international shipping to pay. Our Melbourne store is in Moorabbin and our Brisbane store is in West End if you prefer to buy in person.

(NU94146901)

SKU NU94146901
Barcode # 8712079544423
Brand Sakura
Shipping Weight 0.1800kg
Shipping Width 0.050m
Shipping Height 0.050m
Shipping Length 0.050m

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