Notebook: Baron Fig Confidant, Maker Limited Edition

The Baron Fig Confidant in the limited edition “Maker” variation ($18) is identical in size, shape and paper stock to the original Confidant. What appealed to me was the darker grey book cloth cover that the original Confidant. I also purchased the Maker Edition with lined paper instead of dot grid, just to try a different experience.

The book comes in the same style box as the original Confidant, with a promotional flyer. I’m generally over the term “maker” to describe anyone in a creative endeavor but since the book itself is relatively free of the stigma of hipster branding, I let the name slide. Baron Fig has been pretty good with the naming of its other editions, hopefully this was a hiccup.

The end papers are coordinating yellow that match the yellow cotton bookmark. I already kvetched about the fraying of the bookmark in the original Confidant review so I won’t flog that particular horse here.

I do prefer the darker grey book cloth as I suspect it will withstand a bit more use before showing any dirt than the lighter original Confidant.

For comparison, I thought I’d show the tonal difference in the greys between the Code & Quill leatherette cover which is a warmer grey to the Confidant Maker Edition which is lighter and a cooler grey cloth.

The paper is the same color with the same toothiness as the Original Confidant and performs similarly. I did notice a bit more bleeding with the pesky Sailor Jentle Yama Dori ink but I think its because it was the last pen I tested at the bottom of the page. The Kaweco Ruby Red in the J. Herbin Rollerball took an age to dry and I did smear a little as a result but this has been consistent across all the Baron Fig notebooks. By the bottom of the page, there may have been some oils or moisture accumulated from my hands by the time I got to the bottom of the page. It happens sometimes regardless of ink or paper so I don’t think the paper is at all different from the original Confidant but be warned that warm hands or too much lotion may affect your pen/ink performance.

So, fountain pen ink performance on this paper will vary depending on nib width, wetness and ink composition. YMMV.

With the lined paper, there is a bit of resistance to the ink when it touches the printed lines particularly with fountain pen inks. Its a little disappointing as I find it distracting. I didn’t notice this resistance to the ink with the dot grid Confidant, probably since there’s a lot less printed ink on the dot gird paper than on the lined version.

From the reverse of stock, there’s a little bit of show through but its the same culprits from the other Baron Fig tests I’ve done this week. Which leads me to think that once you find a good pen and ink combination that works with the Baron Fig, stick to it or be prepared for some inks to bleed a little and be okay with that.

I wished I gotten this edition with the dot grid or blank as I like the overall book cloth color better than the original but find the ink resistance of the lines a bit disconcerting. Maybe Baron Fig will change the ink composition for the printed lines in future editions so this won’t be an issue any longer.