28 March 2014

Free For All Friday No. 280

I think of my Filofax like it's a living thing probably more than I should, but am I the only one who thinks the feel of the rings through the spine of the binder (especially on the leather ones) feels like the back and ribs of a small animal, like a puppy? It gives the binder a cuddly-animal feel, in my opinion. I don't name my binders though, which I know many people do.

Do you think of your Filofax like it's a living thing?

And as always on Fridays, feel free to ask/ discuss anything ring-binder related!
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25 comments:

  1. crofter28 March, 2014 02:19

    Hadn't really thought of it that way, probably why I have never gotten it to "fetch" for me.

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  2. Patricia IamPlanningonIt28 March, 2014 03:23

    I think because it is so personalized, at least for me....that it has so much of me in it...that yea its' a companion...making it real to me in a not too crazy sort of way lol! I do name my FFs...they each have a definitive purpose and are named and treated accordingly! The other day I caught my self 'hugging' my Malden and yes, talking to her - same as writing within the FF...cause as one blogger says: I do tell it all to my FF !

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  3. fishwife28 March, 2014 03:45

    What I love about Philofaxy is the confirmation I can't be nuts because so many people feel the same way about their binder as I feel about mine. I also do love the feel of the rings through the leather of my personal ochre Malden (or Ginger as I refer to him) . I also love the way my thumb fits in the indent between the two sets of rings when I am holding him. I am waiting for my grey A5 Malden to be delivered and he has already been named Fox (silver Fox). I think a psychoanalyst would probably have a lot to say about all this ...

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  4. vamp28 March, 2014 05:07

    Not a living thing, per se, apart from it being an extension of (or replacement for) my brain. It is very much a tool to me, though I adore it--or more accurately, them.

    I was just thinking, though, after fiddling with my planner system yet again (I recently went up exponentially in ring size, and have just gone down again because I found the most beautiful, perfect, *me* binder ever and had to have it despite the rings being considerably smaller), that it's kinda like a solar system.

    I've moved into my new binder, and I certainly can't get all the life that was in my previous binder in it, so I've got the absolute barest essentials there. I've left the leftovers, the stuff I don't need at my fingertips constantly (but still need fairly handy) in my big-ringed binder. And I have my mini/wallet, which is the only binder that ever leaves the house. My mini I've always thought of as a satellite. And it's just hit me that, well, then my main/at-my-fingertips binder is Earth, and the big one is the sun. And then I've got the rest of my collection, some are storage binders, some have a definite purpose, well, they're other planets.

    I might need help ;)

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  5. Ligeia28 March, 2014 05:28

    I would like to ask a question: what kind of hole puncher do you have? I have been thinking to buy a Rapesco diary punch, but the feedback on Amazon isn't always positive, so I am asking for an opinion and your experience. Thanks.

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    1. Steve Morton28 March, 2014 05:47

      I have the Rapseco myself and reviewed it along with other punches here:
      http://philofaxy.blogspot.fr/2013/01/filofax-punches.html

      All punches will go blunt over time with repeated punching paper. But punch some sheets of aluminium foil and this sharpens the punches.
      Steve

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    2. Feld Effekt28 March, 2014 08:41

      Thank you Steve :-) this time I had to jot down your tip in my Homework binder named Stuart under the category maintenance -after I had sent back a Rapesco punch for it's already blunt punches while it was brand new. What a wonderful FF world..

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    3. Anonymous28 March, 2014 09:47

      I'm about to invest in an A5 hole punch, does anyone have one they would care to dispose of? Otherwise, recommendations appreciated. I note that the Rapesco doesn't punch A5 without some careful adjustment.....i really want a simpler solution.

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    4. Steve Morton28 March, 2014 09:57

      David,
      Please look at the post I've linked to earlier in this thread. There is the KW Trio shown in that post. It is an adjustable punch that does A5, Personal, Pocket, Mini, Mulberry etc.

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    5. Paul Taylor28 March, 2014 09:58

      I can heartily recommend the KW-trio adjustable punch for A5 use. The movable punch blocks have detents for the correct spacing for personal, pocket and A5 - I think the A5 setting is just push the blocks as far apart as they will go and you are set. I bought mine from Hummelmann Kantorvakhandel in Holland - the link is in one of the punch review posts I think.

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    6. Anonymous28 March, 2014 10:15

      Many thanks to both of you! I have now attempted to navigate the Hummelmann website, in Dutch, complete with cod English translation courtesy of Google, and have received an email from Hummelmann, again completely incomprehensible in Dutch, giving me what i *think* is details of how to pay them, featuring Swift and IBAN codes, something of which i have no experience whatsoever. i think this could be uphill all the way!

      Nice punch though......thanks again to both of you!

      David

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    7. Paul Taylor28 March, 2014 10:43

      I have just checked and discovered that I paid for my KW-trio from Hummelman using Paypal. So faffing with Swift and IBAN codes certainly didn't *used* to be required back in August 2012.

      The only slight issue was that they were offering a reduced postage option for that punch to the UK when I ordered it, but they charged me full postage and then had to refund me the difference - but it all ended up OK, just took a few weeks to sort out.

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    8. Anonymous28 March, 2014 10:47

      I was trying to get the rather inscrutable website to let me re-order via PayPal but it didn't want to play. However, I'm now working on an alternative plan.......I've got a local printer ready to guillotine me a ream of Conqueror 90gsm cream wove into Personal at 3 up on A4 - that's 750 sheets of paper than will take any pen I care to use on it. Cost of paper £25, from a small local stationer. Cost of guillotining £3 (yes really). £28 for 750 sheets of Personal size. Add a Rapesco punch at £11 as a one-off investment and - hey presto! - enough paper to last me years, and a fantastic grade of it as well. Food for thought, FF?

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    9. soupdragon28 March, 2014 15:37

      I have an A5 punch from Timesystem dating fom about the 90s that my brother gave me. It has a paper guide and works very well, punching several sheets without difficulty. There is one in their current shop which looks quite similar to the one I have. I can also vouch for the other Timesystem accessories. I have their dividers (also from the 90s) and really like them. I've never actually bought anything from the shop but here's the link. http://www.timesystem.co.uk/index.php?page=36&id=29

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    10. Ligeia28 March, 2014 16:32

      Thank you very much, Steve: I am going to buy the Rapesco one, since my Saffiano is a Personal size, and my daughter's Retro Bloom is a Pocket. I don't think I will have an A5 organizer anytime soon ('cause I love too much the Personal size), so I think I won't have any issue with the Rapesco.

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    11. pattygardner.com28 March, 2014 17:44

      For personal size, I have a Franklin Covey punch that works great. For Classic, not A5, I had a FC punch but it didn't hold up well. I got a Day Timer punch and it's been great. I've never had a Rapesco.

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  6. SF28 March, 2014 10:01

    I fall into the group with vamp. I see it as a tool, albeit a critical one, that I have. All my friends think it hilarious that I have so many, but y'all understand... It goes everywhere with me, because it has slowly over time morphed into a wallet as well, (currently using my personal red Chameleon) with credit cards, driver's license, etc. in it. And it follows me around the house too. Sometimes my roommate catches me muttering to it as I write something in...but I don't talk to it on a regular basis. She understands and calls it my hobby, and all her calendar stuff is in there too.

    I use some of my other ones for specific areas of interest as well. But my Chameleon is the one stop, go everywhere Filofax.

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  7. Patricia IamPlanningonIt28 March, 2014 11:46

    And it follows me around the house too. Sometimes my roommate catches me muttering to it as I write something in...but I don't talk to it on a regular basis. She understands and calls it my hobby, and all her calendar stuff is in there too. .....
    I so understand this and now I too have my roomate asking will you pencil this into that notebook thingy that you carry into the bathroom with you! In spite of many electronic gadgets into which they put in their critical info...my FF is considered the most reliable...even if I do talk to it and take it everywhere and yes well never mind about the bathroom. FF is the backbone and the everything to organized life!

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  8. goldenwings90128 March, 2014 13:00

    Love this topic! We are certainly all kindred spirits here. I sometimes have a physical need to pick mine up and just hold it and smell it. I wouldn't share this with most people, including my husband, I think he would want to lock me up. I can't really explain the feeling, but it is quite comforting. I especially feel this way with my A5. When I pick it up it just sinks into my hands and bends down with its weight, ever so gently.
    On another subject, I bought a Repesco for my personal size paper but is there some way to make it fit the A5 paper?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous28 March, 2014 13:03

      Sadly, apparently not.......

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  9. Cassandra28 March, 2014 14:43

    No, planners are not living things. I have live Noah's ark here for that.

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  10. Miss Lily28 March, 2014 14:53

    Does anyone know of the Gillio pocket Compagna pen loop is elasticized?

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  11. Paul Taylor28 March, 2014 14:53

    My Filofaxen are definitely inanimate, although I do feel somewhat protective over them.

    Among the things I have to protect them *from* are a large number of animate critters - we currently have a total of 6 dogs, plus a colony of cats whose magnitude I prefer not to disclose lest someone invoke section 2 of the Mental Health act on me. Given that my Filos are all made of leather, keeping them away from (for example) Titch, our Rottweiler/Staffie cross lad is most important, otherwise his impressive dentition might well be employed to convert the tasty (Nom nom nom!) leather into small mushy pieces!

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  12. pattygardner.com28 March, 2014 17:46

    I'm not quite as attached as that but if there was a fire or tornado, it would be one of the things I would grab, along with my family and pets, of course.

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  13. Anonymous28 March, 2014 23:44

    My personal black Malden is an extension of my brain. At age sixty grey cells are fleeing faster than I care to count, and my Malden is my memory device. It also helps me keep the many tasks and errands from work and my personal life at my fingertips. I also have a honey do list for my boss, which keeps us both from letting anything slip through the cracks. I do not consider my Malden a pet, but I do consider it my lifesaver. And yes, I fondle the supple leather, smiling for no reason, quite often.

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