One of the issues with having a 'large' collection of organisers, is that they don't all get a lot of continuous use, even though I might have owned some of my organisers for 10 years or more.
There are some exceptions, my A5 Van der Spek Custom does get a lot of use, mainly because I like the pocket layout and the feel and structure of the organiser.
The other exception is my A6 William Hannah disc bound notebook. I didn't realise it until the other day that I've had this binder for over five and a half years. I did a review of it back in 2017. It's been carried around in my small messenger bag most of the time since then too.
The outside is showing a few dings in the leather, but any marks from pulling it in and out of my bag simply rub out with a slightly dampened finger. I've only conditioned it once or twice at most and the interior still looks like new. Looking at it under the studio lights it definitely has a lot of 'character' now. Comparing it to the photographs I took when I got it back in 2017, it has a nice shine to it as well.
Being disc bound allows me to move pages around easily, refresh the contents easily too. Although I got some of the excellent William Hannah paper when I got the notebook, I've been using up some of the A6 paper I already had.
Fortunately I have a suitable Arc paper punch to punch the paper to fit the discs, so I'm reasonably self sufficient for paper supplies. I use it plain, or I print off some pages with a light grey thin line to suit.
As the William Hannah A6 is quite thin, it holds a decent amount of paper in quite a compact volume and hence it doesn't take up too much space in my bag.
The bag I'm mostly using these days is my Lowepro Event Messenger 150 camera bag that I bought in 2012. It has long since been discontinued, but it's stood up well to a lot of daily use in that time. The inside of the bag has a soft padded lining so it's gentle to anything delicate I put in there. I also like the size of the bag, not too small and not too large. It will take an A5 organiser easily and my usual 'clutter' and it doesn't get too heavy on your shoulder.
Overall, the William Hannah A6 notebook is working well for me, likewise their other products that I own are too. The leather quality is excellent and the stitching and quality of manufacturing is excellent too. Check out their website for full details.
Further Information:
It's great to see how it has stood up to 5 years of use. I've had mine just over a year now and I suspect it will last a lifetime. I love the paper too.
ReplyDeleteI have three, the oldest going back several years. They just feel nice in the hand and as they age, a few dings give them character. I have started purchasing the paper, unpunched but with the rounded corner, from William Hannah so that I can run it through my printer and then use an arc punch. WH is a wonderful company to do business with. Shipping from GB to the US is about a week to ten days.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Steve, & I think that the leather looks just more beautiful with use!
ReplyDeleteI absolutelly love my WH notebooks ( 5 to this date A5 and A6). Absolutelly adore the system only I had to separate full year calendar and notes separatelly as I prefer keep full year at hand rather then moving used or future to the separate binder. Using A6 notes and moving them to A5 is really great. The textured leather ones which are available since like mid 2022 are really nice. Compact and minimal. Packaging and overall Daves approach to the customer is excellent. Still get his daily notes in email and love to start the day with his views. Highly recommended.
ReplyDelete