G.Lalo Verge De France Souris Grey

[Bling72]

Hello. This paper is made in France by G.Lalo.

G.Lalo, a parisian social stationery manufacturer
since 1919.

Their hand-crafted stationery has been provided
to the Royal Courts of many European countries.

G.Lalo is well known for it's wealth of range of
colours of their papers, plus the excellent
presentation of their products.

If you would like to add this paper to your writing
collection, consider that for it's quality this does
cost more per page, so it is not the cheapest
paper to use for practicing or random scribbling.

However !!!... if you would like to wow your reader,
or receiver of your excellent penmanship, the right
paper with the right ink you won't be dissapointed
with this paper.

Now with the photo you will see, please keep in mind
that the photo taken was with a smart phone under
hallogen light. The paper looks like a cream colour
when you look at the image, but make no mistake
this paper is DEFINATELY 100% purple type of grey !!.

It is thicker than standard paper, absolutely beautiful
to write on, it is a little bumpy so make sure you are
writing on a very stable, comfortable surface.

Unlike some other brands of paper the pads of 50,
of this range the paper is the same on the back as
they are on the front.

It is part cloth as well, and the ink does dry quicker
on this cloth-paper as opposed to traditional paper.

It would be interesting to find out how this paper
copes with scented ink. Does the frangrance stay
longer, or is absorbed quicker?

When I have finished testing more ink colours with this
paper, I will post a second page of ink colours so you
can see to compare.

I have posted several reviews on Mont Blanc Inks so
take a look at the ink section, please feel free to
provide any feedback.

Notice that a majority of my reviews are using Mont
Blanc Pens. Some of the reviews have some Lamy
nibs. I own about 6 pens. Half of them are Mont Blanc,
the other half Lamy.

Understandably that it is smoother and easier to write
with the Mont Blanc pens, but they are more pricey.
It doesn't imply that more pricey, should always write
better.

For the time-being I am just using Mont Blanc inks in
Mont Blanc pens. I do have J.Herbin inks that I have
tried on the Lamys, just not on the nice papers yet.

You may also notice that my post icons have a specific
kind of face. The happier the icon, the happier I am with
the product I am reviewing.

This pad of 50 cost me roughly $21 Australian dollars per
pad, so it is pretty pricey per page. However like many
other things, you have to pay for the quality.

Technically speaking, since I am still a novice Calligrapher,
I developing my own font. I have much work and years
ahead of me before I can even get comfortable with
my writing.

So I 'should' be just using the cheapest white paper to
write on as possible? Well it will not stop me using
this lovely paper anyway, plus it is nice to compare
various inks on these papers, to share these experiences
with you guys is the cherry on the sundae.

[Lion]

Cool, Thanx for the education and your thoughts on the very fine French made stationary and it's history. Also for sharing your writing samples with us and a question for you.....are you using a Nib which is flexible on any of your pens and hand writing samples???

[Bling72]

Hey Lion. I sent you a PM did you receive it ?

The Lamy Joy nibs are about $30 Australian, each, they slide very easily at the end of the pen. None of those are what you would say 'flex'. I would summise that if they were they would be too delicate to handle and would snap very easily.

For a flex nib, they would have to be larger than those Lamy Joy 24-nibs and they would have to come in nearly 2 pieces since the ends have to separate for that flexibility.

The non Limited edition newer Mont Blanc Pens are more flexible than the Lamys, but.. don't flex a whole lot. The more flexible ones are the limited edition. However the more flexible are the Mont Blanc pens that are more than 10 years old, the really old ones even more flex.

There's also of course the calligraphy nibs that flex so you can do Copperplate font.

However I guess if one is 'experienced' enough with Calligraphy, they will have the technique to bypass any flex concerns and write ANY font that they wish.
$2 pen or a $20k pen.

Make no mistake I get much more out of my Mont Blanc Meisterstuck than the Lamys, even if you take into account that I can change up to 5 different nibs, 1.1, 1.5, 1.9, medium and broad. The MB LeGrand Meisterstuck is soo nice to write with, I just won't want to pick up the Lamys.

The feel of the pen, the finish, forget what the pens look like, I am refering purely to how it feels to write onto the paper. The paper also makes a difference on the overall experience. I want to try as many ink colours and and as many papers as possible.

The differences will be more obvious once my handwriting and calligraphy improve and my style becomes more flexible (no pun intended).

If you can get your hands on the Quill paper range, they are very nice to write on as well, just about the same price. The Metallic paper is amazing, it is like chamellion paint on a car. If you don't like the green from one angle, tilt your head several degrees and the colour of what you see changes to blue, or yellow. Move your head to the other side of the paper the paper spectrum changes to oranges, pinks and reds.

Yes my writing does not quite show much variation of the thickness, unless I am NOT in a hurry and write very slowly with my Mont Blanc. It certainly to me feels easier to variate my thickness of writing using a Fountain pen, than a fineliner or mechanical pencil.

In the hands of a skilled writer (as I stated before), they can create as much flex and magic on the paper that it doesn't matter. Don't want to know how long it will take me to get to that stage haha, but I will certainly try hard to get there ASAP.