Cosmo Note Notebook Review | Cosmo Air Light Review

In this 4K video I review the Cosmo Note Notebook. This notebook features the exceptional Cosmo Air Light paper from Japan.
This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which mean if you buy something I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
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About this 4K video:
On Blake's Broadcast, I review the Cosmo Note Notebook. The Cosmo Air Light paper in this notebook is some of the best fountain pen friendly paper I have ever used. If you like wet and broad nibs this is a very good notebook.
About Blake's Broadcast:
Blake's Broadcast is a channel that reviews fountain pens, paper, and ink.

[@kaymcleod3629]

Such a useful video - thank you.

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Thanks for the comment Kay! I am glad it was helpful!

[@ginopagnani7286]

Very impressive !! I’ll have to check it out very soon, thankfully I have guide sheets in sizes I could use.

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Hi Gino, if you get one, please let me know how you like it. I am actually warming up to the 12mm rule guide sheet...I'll see if I make it to the end of the notebook without switching it to something else.

[@nadines.1107]

Nice review. Thanks! Subscribed. :-)

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Hi Nadine, thanks for the comment and the sub!

[@cheekyauschick]

Love this review and i agree with all you said. I predominately use the Iroshizuku inks in all colors and i have had no problems at all. Here in Australia we pay anything between $36 to $40 per book and its so worth it. This book has become my write or die i cannot recommend this paper enough. I will say i have only used the Yamamoto paper books as you have here today. I have also heard that not all Cosmo papers are the same and some others same name but different, papers, do have problems with ink slip, slide, dead edges etc...

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Hi Katrine, thank you for your comment. Cosmo Air Light is made by one company and the mill has ceased production as of Sept 2022. There may be some batch variations but in my experience it is a very consistent paper. The Paper Mind ( www.thepapermind.com) makes hardcover and twin-ring (spiral) notebooks with Cosmo Air Light paper if you want different formats including dot grid and ruled.

[@TheDormousesDesk]

Well appointed desk has free printable guide sheets in just about any rule/ page size you can imagine. I taped mine to a pencil board.

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Thanks for the suggestion I will check them out. I have been using the Nanami Paper templates most recently.

[@agathoklesmartinios8414]

The larger spacing between rules and squares might be to better accommodate Kanji characters, which can be quite intricate.

[@BlakesBroadcast]

You might be right.

[@gwfcanon]

8

[@rogerrothman]

great review and really timely! I'm a ruled notebook guy, and guidelines aren't my favorite, so I'll wait for someone to come out with a ruled version.

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Hi Roger, I am a ruled notebook guy too! Hopefully someone will make a ruled version soon.

[@jaeggirl]

If you’re looking for a ruled version, Musubi has the lined version.

[@taccora]

Danika58 on etsy has this paper bound in books and she has blank, lined, graph and dotted in A5, b6, b6 slim, and possibly even A6

[@YAMAMOTOPAPER]

Thank you!

[@BlakesBroadcast]

You're welcome!

[@Snick3927]

Hi Blake-I’ve been looking forward to this review. I got Cosmo Air Light notebooks from Yoseka and Etsy (where the seller, Danika58, has a wide variety of types and sizes). Yes, it’s impressive stuff but I had two (related?) problems: 1) the texture made many of my nibs feel rather draggy or sticky....2) with most nibs, I saw significant line spread-sometimes doubling the natural line. I bought a Graphilo notebook after your review thereof and liked that a lot...but, you know, after all these 'exotics,' I’m mostly back to my first love, Midori MD, just because it gets everything just about right. (Wish there was a bright white version though...!) 😎

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Hi Jack, thank you for sharing your experience. I have not yet noticed this but maybe I am not using similar nibs. Do the nibs you are using having anything in common? Do you experience it more on wide nibs or drier nibs etc.? I will try playing around with different pens. I've mostly been using my Montblanc 149 OBB and a TWSBI Vac Mini with a F nib. I too love Midori MD notebooks. They were my default notebook for several years. Writing on MD paper is great and the minimalistic design is just perfect.

[@Snick3927]

-the line spread I saw was mostly with fine and medium nibs, with mostly Sailor and Iroshizuku inks. Interestingly-and in response to your pen/nib choice-I just tried my MB 149 O3B with MB Rudyard Kipling 'If' ink and, on CAL paper, the line was only marginally wider than on Life, Stalogy, and Midori MD-very close really. Like you, more CAL notebooks are in my future-in fact, I have an assortment of B6 and A5 sizes on the way (Danika58 on Etsy offers regular or double thickness notebooks, bless her!)

[@Richard_Barnes]

Finally someone else sees the line width issue! phew. Thought I was gonna go mad on my own. Now it is interesting that I also got it with the Iroshizuku inks, so we could be onto something there. I agree about the extra drag on nibs too. I don’t like that much from the CAL. I’m liking the tora-next paper though and I know Blake has ordered one for review soon. I never got on with the MD Paper as it seems to absorb my finger oils, then when the nib lands on that part of the page, it affects the ink flow badly. I do love the MD Cotton paper though, that’s nice in testing, but I’m not buying a book to see if I would like it. I’ve got enough. 😂 👍🏻😃

[@BlakesBroadcast]

@@Snick3927 Very interesting. I wonder why I am not seeing it. Maybe there is an inconsistency in the production?

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Okay, I think I see what you guys are on about.There is some line spread. To me it is very minor and not far off of TR. I tested some Iroshizuku Kon-peki and the spread does seem to be a bit worse than compared with Montblanc Irish Green in the same pen. I haven't yet had a problem with doubling but maybe with finer nibs and the right ink it is possible.

[@mjeol]

What is the dry time on this paper? I've heard that regular gel inks take a noticeable amount of time to dry. Is that true?

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Thanks for the question. With a Sakura 0.8mm Gelly Roll the dry time is over a minute.

[@DrDavidMLevy]

Looks great. The slow drying will be a problem but ok!

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Hi David, this notebook is pretty awesome if you don't mind blank pages and slower dry time.

[@DrDavidMLevy]

You're right! Wow!

[@jamesaritchie1]

Slow dry time shouldn't bpother anyone. That's what blotting poaper is for. This generation of fountain pen users seems to have forgotten that blotting paper exists. Among other things. There are some cheap substituie papers that work well as blotting paper. You probably have some already. But real blotting paper is cheap, and it's just silly not to keep it around. If you use TR or CAL, having a supply on hand is a necessity, or you'll store a journal that will NOT stand the test of time. If you write letters to anyone, they'll have the same problem, should they want to keep the letters for posterity. More sop, in fact.

[@lizpilgrim1]

Is Cosmo better than Regalia?

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Yes, it has much better performance with fountain pens. Regalia paper is prone to bleeding and feathering in my testing.

[@Richard_Barnes]

I’m having a totally opposite experience! Crazy. Mine is in A6 and 74gsm in weight. All 6 of my pens with Pilot, Montblanc and Diamine inks, write broader on it. Crazy. Makes one of my medium nibs too broad even. A very weird effect. I do find it too ‘toothy’ as well so I won’t bother trying anymore BUT, may I suggest you try the ‘tora-next’ paper as well? I got this from danika58 on Etsy and this is another incredible paper. Inks pop off both the CAL and tora-next papers. I just don’t get the wider lines effect I’m getting from these papers. Maybe I’m too used to Tomoe River and all that. Anyway, thanks for the video Blake, enjoyed it! 😃👍🏻🙏🏻

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Hi Richard thank you for the comment! I just pulled out the 75 gsm version I have from the Yamamoto paper sampler and I don't see a huge difference between it and the 83 gsm version. A couple of observations compared directly with 52gsm TR. 1) The coating on CAL has more drag but I it isn't toothy. I think it feels smoother than TR despite my nibs moving more easily over TR (...weird). 2) I don't see the lines being thicker on my pens and I've compared EF, F and Broad nibs that I have on my desk BUT I will say the CAL smooths out the lines. A line from the same pen on TR has a rougher appearance than on CAL. I just placed an order for the Tora-Next paper notebook. Thank you for the suggestion! I will let you know what I think.

[@Richard_Barnes]

@@BlakesBroadcast - ahh interesting! Appreciate you testing this out too. I’m saying the CAL is toothy but am I getting it wrong? It does have more drag, so what is ‘tooth’ then in this context? I may be mixing up what I actually mean. I would have to try and find some other samples of the CAL to try out. Mind you, I won’t as I really prefer the tora-next 👍🏻 I look forward to your review of it. I got mine to the UK in 3.5 days covering a weekend too! Crazy good delivery. Appreciate ya. 😃

[@Richard_Barnes]

@@BlakesBroadcast - In reply to your first comment. This is gonna sound stupid but here goes - when you say “the CAL feels smoother, despite your nib moving more easily over TR”, I liken this to the CAL almost feeling like a cushion to the nib, whereas I liken the TR to a hard table top 😂 haha. If you see what I mean? I’ve lost it! 🤪

[@BlakesBroadcast]

@@Richard_Barnes That is a very good analogy. I agree.

[@jamesaritchie1]

The Cosmo I have is 74gsm. I haven't seen any heavier than this. The lines are not as crisp on CAL as on the Tomoe River I have. It isn't even close. The ghosting is also too much for my personal use. For me, the surface does drag, and is toothier than TR. Again, for me, too much ink dries on the surface, and while this looks great, it can be disastrous for long term storage. Triply so, if you want to read whatever it is every year or three. Richard Barnes says he gets spread on CAL. I don't know that I'm getting spread, but something is wrong with the way the lines appear. The lines simply are not as crisp and as clean as they are on Tomoe River. Maybe it's the inks I prefer, I don't know, but it's a very blatant difference. CAL also seems to be much too ink resistant, just as Tomoe River is. Which makes sense because, if what I've read is true, both were originally designed to do the same job, which is to hold a lot of ink on the surface so they would work well for catalogues and the like. I know most people judge paper by how much it ghosts or bleeds, and by how pretty the ink looks sitting on the surface. I don't. I can get pretty ink and no heavy ghosting or bleeding just by using a gel pen. Using expensive paper and fountain pens for such things as scrap paper, memos, notes, or anything that is just going to be thrown away as soon as it's read strikes me as being pretty pretentious. Fountain pens are a joy to write with, bit if that's all there were to it I wouldn't go to the expense, time, and trouble to find one that was well-tuned, that fit my hand, just to have fun writing notes. I want what I write to last, and this means using paper meant to last. Paper that lets the ink dry on the surface is not paper meant to last. Higher gsm doesn't change this, so unless something changes, unless I learn something new about CAL that makes me change my mind, it is never going to be the gold standard for me. For now, it just seems like Tomoe River take two. It's a little thicker, but I see no other difference. As for what do you do with blank sheets of loose-leaf paper? The same thing you do with loose-leaf lined paper. You write letters with it. Not notes Not things you would put on fancy, decorated stationery. Just a plain sheet of paper, whether blank or line ruled, the same as you would use for a business letter. You want whoever receives the letter to take you seriously, and they won't do so if you use any kind of fancy, decorated stationery.. Not only is this one of the great joys of using a fountain pen, but such letters can change people, and people can change the world. I know because I get paid for writing such letters. But it should be a natural thing. It's is for many, many, many fountain pen users, and for people who don't even know what a fountain pen is. It's why loose-leaf paper exists. E-mails and text messages get deleted unread by the tens of thousands. Real letters on real paper get read. And if those letters are thoughtful, serious, and meaningful, they can make people think in new ways. If nothing else, they can also make you new friends, and enrich your life.

[@BlakesBroadcast]

Thanks for the comment James! I don't consider anything I write with a fountain pen to be permanent. I don't sign contracts or checks with a fountain pen. I use to have pen pals and it was fun to write letters. I am curious to know how you are paid to produce handwritten letters. That sounds like a nice line of work.