WalknTalk journals are uniquely designed journals crafted in an old world style. They are handmade in the US with sumptuous high-quality leathers and eco-friendly paper. Their designs make a bold statement and are unexpected in the world of journals. If you are looking for a beautiful, unique journal, read on.
I have had the opportunity to use WalknTalk’s Tom Sawyer journal for a while and this is what I have discovered. There are a few interesting features with the most obvious being the simple binding. Forty five sheets of unlined paper have been hole punched and sewn into a thick leather cover using a Roman Numeral stitch pattern. This yields ninety pages or 180 sides to write or draw on. When the journal is folded closed, the pages protrude from the cover into a soft point. While this makes it easy to find a page in the first half of the journal, it does leave the page edges susceptible to dirt and damage. It also makes it difficult to tuck into a pocket or bag as this edge tends to get hung up on things. This type of binding does not allow the journal to lie flat when opened unless you are on the center spread, and even then you will need to manipulate it a bit to convince it to flatten out.
I did find the paper lovely to write on and found it compatible will all but my most difficult pens. The paper is a thick, eco-friendly vellum, smooth for drawing and writing. It is Rainforest alliance approved (http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/) and meets the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard (SFI) (http://www.sfiprogram.org/). In my pen test, I found that all of my pens performed beautifully with minimal feathering and no bleed through with the exception of a Copic permanent marker, which bled through the back as expected.
The leather used to make the journal is simply beautiful. It is thick, soft and fragrant. This is my favorite part of the journal. The two-toned, rustic stitching is a nice compliment to the design and seems to be very sturdy. There is a built in pen holder on the back cover of the journal is a nice touch, but I had trouble finding a pen or pencil to use with it because the diameter of the opening would only hold the thinnest pen I own, the Tombow 707 Zoom. Perhaps this would stretch out over time with use, but it is quite tight to begin with.
This is a very nice journal with beautiful materials and high-quality construction. Is it my dream journal? Almost, but with a few small changes this would be as functional as it is beautiful. WalknTalk also make other fine journals and pads, including the refillable Infinity Pads which are bound with a nickel-plated screw in the top of the journal which pivots to reveal the pages below. Please visit WalknTalk for more information. You can order WalknTalk journals directly from their site and at other fine retailers.
Very helpful review – thank you. The handmade quality is appealing to me, but it is crucial for me that he journal open flat. So I am going to give this one a pass.
I like the handmade aspect and the paper looks good but the shape of it when closed puts me off a little bit. The pages at the edge would get damaged really easily.
Hi Everyone, my name is Nathan. I’m the designer of the Tom Sawyer and founder of WalknTalk. I thought I’d clarify a few things. The Tom Sawyer fuses an old world design aesthetic with a new age philosophy of self-actualization that I’ll get to in a bit. The single signature provides for a rounded spine, creating a sense of companionship while wrapped in your hand. The tear drop shape created by the single fold is what I call the Dream Scope. The Tom Sawyer is the adventurer’s journal, and is named as such to encourage people to be with it from a place of exploration and creativity, hence the Dream Scope and companion touch. The unconventional design proposes a reaction to the established square bindings. Insofar as Tom Sawyer was unconventional and stuck out in the crowd, so the pages stick out as well. The paper used in this particular journal is two grades thicker than our normal stock and was noted as being so when sent to Journaling Arts. Our standard stock is thinner and more compliant in settling flat. The pen pouch is fit to the standard BIC round stick and fits a pencil perfectly as well. Lastly and perhaps most notably is the roman numeral stitching. This pattern is a signature aesthetic draw of the journal, and also a huge focal point for Tom Sawyer enthusiasts of whom there are many. WalknTalk encourages people to self-actualize with journals that bring you into a unique mindset, in this case of “adventure and self exploration”, that accompany you to express your highest form of the thought your penning.