Guest Post: An update on FiloWiki - Robert.

Thank you to Robert for an up-date on FiloWiki, if you haven't discovered it yet, it has the answers to most of your questions

Pen-loop sizes

I don’t use the pen-loops in my planners at all as I use a cut-to-fit Filofax Flex A5 pen-loop insert I punched and added to my EDC. This way I can always have the same pen-loop size with me.

But people have expressed interest in the size of the pen-loops in the Filofax models, so I added an overview page and a few categories in an attempt to provide a bit more information. The overview-page can be reached via:

http://filowiki.robert-mayr.com/index.php?title=Pen-loop_sizes

The most common pen-loop-size categories are already listed, including pens that do have that measurement. Sometimes the measurement is not exactly the size e.g. “11mm”, but more leaning against “10mm”. In those cases I have added “10mm-11mm” in the model-description.

I would like to stress that the measurements of the flexible pen-loops are made to be a “comfortable fit”. A good or nice usage of the pen-loop. The pen does have a good foothold and does not overly stretch the pen-loop.

I added as many measurements as possible, the pens and planners listed are from my own little herd. If anyone wants to help out, you can send missing measurements by email to filowiki (at) robert-mayr.com. Please send mm-information or the pen you used. If you are not sure that I have the specific pen in my little collection (don’t ask!), just drop me a line …

Browsing production years

With more Filofax-catalogues available I converted the majority of production information entries in the Filowiki away from pointing to decades to listing the years a model was available. This is something I wanted to do early on but only now got the chance to realise it. The overview-page can be reached via:

http://filowiki.robert-mayr.com/index.php?title=Category:Production_years

Like always the information is as good as possible and not free from errors. If you encounter an error, please contact me via email or Facebook. Every entry is up for debate.

The models with production-time information state the start and end year for the model. Every year-information is clickable and sends the user to the year-listing with every model in that year.

There is a navigation-line at the top of every year, listing it’s nearest neighbors to ease the navigation to the other years.

Is this a vintage model???
Maybe one of most often asked questions in the community is “Is this a vintage model?”. The questions behind this are quite often: “Was it a bargain?” “Can I sell it at a premium?”

Ethics aside, as this has led to quite some confusion with newbies and regulars, so I chime in to make another definition nobody accepts … no, only joking. I’d like to create a page, a listing which everybody can accept and maybe refer to. So, in discussion with others, I have created three categories, their pages with remarks on top about the content and started categorizing models to these categories.

Before I describe the categories I would like to stress that this is a work-in-progress! They are not listed on the front page and only reachable via the links below. The categories and their contents are up for debate and I don’t want to dismiss any objections or ideas on this. That aside, the categories:

Vintage model: Models of the legendary Filofax-era, the 1980s. Up until about 1992 when the last real "Made in England"-models were made and production was moved to Asia. Link: http://filowiki.robert-mayr.com/index.php?title=Category:Vintage_model


Vintage-style models: Models made after the legendary Filofax-era of the 1980s which are reminiscent of that style and/or it's quality. Link: http://filowiki.robert-mayr.com/index.php?title=Category:Vintage-style_model


Vintage-ish models: Models that copy the look of the classic Filofax-style, but do fall short in one aspect or another. Like inferior leather or low-quality ring mechanisms. Link: http://filowiki.robert-mayr.com/index.php?title=Category:Vintage-ish_model

Ok, the last one is a bit tongue-in-cheek and might lead to a bit of a chuckle here and there, but I wanted to acknowledge models that have a classic look and have been sold in high numbers. Models that might have started people with Filofax and do represent Filofax for many customers.

At the end I would like to take the opportunity to point to my currently running “Planner of the week”-series showcasing a different model of my personal planners every week. Showing the old, the slightly newer, the obscure and maybe some unknown creatures. Link: http://filowiki.robert-mayr.com/index.php?title=Planner_of_the_week_series

If you are a member of the Philofaxy-Facebookgroup you can follow the series on Facebook-Hashtag too. Link: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/planneroftheweek?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG

I have a soft spot for oddballs and yes, my personal collection-page is hopelessly outdated. Link: http://filowiki.robert-mayr.com/index.php?title=My_collection

So for now, keep on planning. Robert.

What was the name of that model?

How many times have you seen questions about particular models, or other models that also have a certain size of rings or a wallet back pocket.... the list goes on!!

Well help is at hand for all of these types of questions.... FiloWiki. This is a site created and managed by our friend Robert Mayr.

On the site you will find one of the most comprehensive listings of all Filofax models that I know of.

If you have any information that you would like to contribute to FiloWiki, please contact Robert I'm sure he will welcome more input.

Add in all the old catalogues here on Philofaxy and hopefully you should be able to find an answer to most questions easily.

Guest Post - FiloWiki - Robert

A wiki, yes it should be a wiki for Filofax-models. It was in November 2013 that I started a thread in the German Filomaniac-Forum asking for a webpage which could help a newbie like me in researching information about Filofax-models.

Models listed on eBay with sometimes really bad pictures, no names and no further information at all where hard to identify and I was hoping for pages assisting me in the research on those models. It did not take long to realize that there are no webpages like that and this sparked an idea. Since the community has so many Filofax-models, could we start a page like that? Could we get them all together? I thought we could at least start to collect as much as we know ... so I set up a wiki.

After tossing around many ideas and working out the details I published the first pages in February 2014 listing mostly my own Filofaxes and 14 weeks later on the 9th of June I added the 100th model. 

A collection of photos and information about every Filofax-model ever made, that is the mission of the filowiki.

Gathering data about each model to the best of my knowledge, I also got requests on listing rather subjective information. Getting away from a pure data reference to include things that really matter, like how is this binder in real life? How will the material age? What is so special about this model?

This is the reason I started adding sections like 'experience' to every article to include how people might use a certain binder and how they think about it's features. Like the Sandhurst which has proven itself to be quite hard-wearing in daily use.

Another section I'd like to expand on is 'ageing' to show how the material on models might age. Where it might be easily damaged or if it will develop a patina. Like the following example, the Hamilton. A binder made of oiled leather, quite rugged and ageing with dignity.

To include more information like this I do need more photos of well-aged models, so if you have such photos I'd be happy to add them!

I also like to highlight the most striking features of some binders like the Cavendish in the next picture is most searched for because of it's bigger than normal rings. 

Fortunately I also received some shots showing whole families of a Filofax-model in all their colours or sizes. This way I can show how the different colours or sizes of a model compare like the Finchley-family in the following example-pictures which I am very happy to show you.

Writing about so many different Filofax-models gets you thinking. There are the stars everyone knows and likes to have but there are also the lesser-known Filofax organisers and the downright rare models. So I thought about a showcase for the silent stars of the scene and started a series on "lesser-known" Filofax organisers with the Stratford

I will add to this series in the months coming especially interesting or just rare models maybe not known to everybody.

The wiki would not be where it is now without the community and the many submitted photographs and information for all those articles so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank again all the submitters and I hope there will be many more.

If you find any errors or have photos of models or colour-versions not already in the wiki do not hesitate to contact me via filowiki@robert-mayr.com