Is This Medieval Paper? Full Test & Review: Nomad Craft Co. Handmade Antique-Style Recycled Paper
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
- Hello again everyone!
I’m trying something new in this video that, while not specifically bookbinding, is nevertheless closely related.
As I'm sure many of you did, I recently enjoyed Adam Savage’s (of Mythbusters fame) video in which he made his own handmade book. For that project he used a type of antique-style paper, and I was immediately intrigued, so I ordered some for myself.
In this video I’ll be testing out this paper with a full array of stationery and art supplies, and giving you my honest opinion on how it holds up!
If you enjoy this video, please give it a like, and do let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more of this type of content. Thanks so much for watching!
Cheers,
Dennis
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Adam Savage's Video: shorturl.at/kMT14
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Um.. didn't they use Parchment (very thin leather) in the Medieval period or am I completely wrong about this? Thanks for the video, I covet that paper deeply but as I'm in the UK and it's likely to be heavy, the postage from Canada would be pretty extreme!
Great question! They did, but not exclusively, at least by the later middle ages. Paper began appearing in Europe in the late medieval period and by the 1300's there were several established paper mills in Italy. Increased demand for books by the late middle ages contributed significantly to the widespread use of paper.
Fun fact, of the 180 bibles printed by Johannes Gutenberg in 1455 (the very end of the medieval period), 145 of them were printed on paper! (source: The Library of Congress Bible Collection)
It looks like your question was already answered, but I would like to add one small detail: parchment is not leather. Leather is chemically treated by soaking in preservatives -- traditional tanning used brains, among other things. Parchment, by contrast, is not soaked in preservatives. After removing the fur and flesh, the raw hide is stretched on a rack and scraped thin. The scraping causes the collagen networks inside the skin to flatten out and lock together, resulting in a very thin but quite strong material. It has a tendency to expand when exposed to moisture, so getting parchment wet is to be avoided.
Years ago the Harry Ransom Center -- a special collections library at the University of Texas at Austin -- had troubles where they would come in and find some of their medieval manuscripts lying on the floor instead of the shelf. They eventually installed security cameras, and it turned out that their vault was too humid. The parchment was expanding in the night due to humidity, and in some cases this was enough to actually push adjacent books off the shelf. It's climate controlled now. I'm unclear on when exactly that was supposed to have occurred; I heard about it in around 2006 when I took Janine Barchas' class *Graphic Design and the Literary Arts,* but I believe the phantom book pushing must have happened much earlier.
@@FourKeysBookArts Thanks for your reply Alan - this is really interesting. By co-incidence a YT'er I follow has this video he just released on a genuine and complete Anglo-Saxon book! The cover is particularly gorgeous czcams.com/video/NvqpM3mQ3T4/video.html
@@Tinalles Thanks for your response, that's so interesting. I love the idea of books being phantom shoved off the shelves, although I accept the reality must have been distressing for the librarians. As you seem to have an interest here is a video of a genuine and complete Anglo-Saxon book, amazing what's lying about in this country...czcams.com/video/NvqpM3mQ3T4/video.html
@@Tinalles THAT'S what parchment is?
Dennis... I want to specifically thank you by name for this video. Very often people making these kinds of videos try to "show excellence" and take a fast formal super dense tone. That's great for what it is. You "reviewed" the paper but you also "reviewed basic paper traits" in the process...sort of like putting a stack of notes on the podium then delivering the lecture extempo and chatty with no recourse to prepared remarks. Really good job.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I'm glad this kind of video is appreciated.
The subject of the video might be the paper but the writing and the pens are the stars of the show for me. Finding another left-handed writer doing calligraphic writing seems virtually impossible whenever I try to search for it, so it's pretty fascinating to see you do it! It's kind of sad that, in my experience, the vast majority of people trying to show off fancy-looking handwriting happen to be right-handed.
Left handed folks unite!
I had a feeling the pen and ink portion of the video would have a wide appeal! As for calligraphy, I've been an (often frustrated) left-handed enthusiast since my youth, but it can be done. Thanks for watching!
There's dozens of us. DOZENS I TELL YOU
another lefty who would not mind seeing some calligraphy side lessons. 😅 I didnt even know being a lefty might be an issue. now goes to look uo videos
I took a calligraphy course once and it was so discouraging. As a leftie I felt totally ignored and decided leftie can’t do it. Now I know better.
"I'm not much of an artist" -Proceeds to sketch a bottle and a book that look better than most things I can actually do.
I... am honestly surprised.
I did saw the Tested video, didn't expect to see a full review of it here, yet here I am. Such an interesting video! And honestly gives me some ideas for a D&D project I've been working on.
There's an artist I follow who uses the phrasing, "I'm not very confident at [insert skill here]." Which is like such a great way of putting it, because centers the speaker's feelings in a way that I don't feel as invited to compare myself to
So.. I think you need to create a spell book 🤗 you can do the artwork and random text designs! 🎉 oh, have family and friends create a page using that paper, then you do the binding and cover. That would be so cool!
I think, to be fair to Nomad, alcohol inks do bleed through most *paper* types, quite ferociously! Back when I used to journal in bought notebooks, the back page of each new (type) to me book would be tested with various pens/pencils etc. - exactly the same test you've done here - and alcohol inks would fail, every single time. I would always do 2 types of test: single line, and colouring in of a block (since the books were usually dot grid, the block would be 0.5cm square). I always wanted a book where the notepaper would stand up to a square of fountain pen ink - usually diamine with my TWSBI 580 - which I think is the kind you have as well. Eventually I got fed up with the books always failing on that one point and got into making my own - and that led me down the bookbinding rabbit hole! Interesting video though. Would be interested in further exploration of different types of paper - maybe a discussion of what kind of paper would be most suitable for sizes of books, in your experience, e.g. watercolour paper might be most sought after in an A5 landscape size for artists - what kind of watercolour paper, the pitfalls, the benefits, the kind of spine that might work best, etc. On the subject of vintage-looking paper, in the junk-journalling community (many of whom make their own books), its really popular to coffee or tea dye paper to get that vintage looking hue. Its also really popular to put plastic patterned tablecloths/doilies in as well so that the paper gets a pattern to it, as well as those watermarks you noticed. That might be another rabbit hole to explore...!
You're right about the alcohol pens, they were really the hardest test for this paper, and I can hardly fault it for not being able to handle it. I too habitually test new papers with my favourite media, so this video was just a natural extension of that. And it has been many years since I tea-stained paper, so maybe I'll have to give it another go. Thanks for the great comment!
I don’t want to presume what papers you have or haven’t tried for fountain pen ink. But my favorites are Tomoe River 52 and 62 gsm., Rhodia, and Endless Stationary. Tomoe and Endless do wonders to pop colors, shading, and shimmers in different ways. Cheers
@@Soul_Watcher to be fair, the process that i described above, of trying lots of different notebooks and struggling to find ones that could cope with fountain pens was quite a few years ago. I think the choice is not only wider, but easier to find alternatives. Or maybe I'm just better at finding alternatives!! I did try tomoe river papers a couple years ago and you are right, they do cope well with fountain pens, but by then i was already making my own notebooks. 🙂 It might sound odd but i disliked the thinness of the tomoe paper. I like firmness and crispness when i turn my pages. My notebooks are made with navigator 120gsm paper and that works very well for me. 🙂 Thank you for your suggestions though!
Over the past year or so I've been thinking about what sort of paper to use for a binding project I'm slowly working towards. I'd noy really made any headway mainly I think because I had no idea how to test things. This video not only introduced me to yet another possible paper but also gave me a real good template on how to go about testing. Thanks for the inspiration and instruction Dennis 👍👍👍
My pleasure!
I actually really really enjoyed this. I love seeing active, real test of art materials, especially by someone else who knows what to look for! I also like being able to actually see if something generally seen as "high quality" works well for real! I think it'd be awesome to see you test other materials you think would be good for bookbinding, whether for vinatage books like your stuffor handmade sketchbooks!!
I think i'd also love to see your recommended materials and a practical study of them? Just cause i'm always on the look out to try new stuff haha
I'm the same way, always looking for new materials or great value. And I'm happy to share when I find something, thanks for watching!
If you ever want to put up a long review of your lessons learned as a left-handed calligrapher -- especially since you write with a hooked hand, as I do -- I would be eternally grateful. I've always loved calligraphy but long ago realized it was simply not possible for me. I don't even like watching calligraphy videos because of that. But if you EVER feel inclined to put up a video about it where you discuss techniques, ways to write and hold the pen, smudge avoidance, and pens that work for you, especially that do NOT require "fixing" the hook, I would very much appreciate it. Literally, every single vide I've ever seen about left-handed calligraphy starts out with, "The first thing you'll need to do is not hook your hand."
I'm very much an amateur at calligraphy, but maybe my specifically left-handed experience might be useful to others in the same boat. Noted!
I bought the same paper after seeing Mr Savage's episode too. I've been doing some pyrography testing on it. I noted the same "rough" surface as you. For burning it causes some unintended "splotchy" burns, but it can be an interesting texture once you get control of it. I passed a bone tool over it and was able to smooth it out a lot and burns are more controlled. The surface has a tendency to turn white if you overheat it. This is probably the color components (chemicals?) burning out into the air . The cotton fibers are very hard to accidentally burn through. Overall it's been fun to work with and I'm getting results I'm happy with. I'm working on a binding now with it. Hope to see one here too! 😁
Very interesting to get more data about another art medium, thank you!
This was fascinating! And a really thorough look at the ways to test a paper sample, as well as some great explanations of what the basic traits are, what the terms mean and so on. I really enjoyed it! I do think that there's no such thing as a paper that can do ANYTHING, of course, so it didn't entirely surprise me that this didn't like high moisture. I don't know if this is a real term or not but it seems like the paper had a lot of "tooth" - like the nibs of the fountain pens dug down into the paper a little bit, and so that broad-tip parallel pen seemed to really bite into the grain and tear it up as you said.
I agree with you on the value though, that's a VERY good price for hand-made paper and it really would be fabulous for TTRPG use, I can already imagine how beautiful some of my old D&D maps would look on paper like that. Or a good cryptic letter, something I was fond of letting the players find now and again.
Really great video and I liked this kind of review a lot! I think you've got a wonderful knack for explaining! Thank you!!
Thank you so much! I agree, there's not really such a thing as an all-purpose paper, though maybe the marketing folks at Nomad would disagree. That being said, you're totally correct on the value factor. I'll definitely be making use of this paper in the future!
Just a follow-up: I bought a ream of this and have printed out a small book (**The Library of Chester Fritz** by Brian Urlacher, which is CC-licensed). Some lessons learned: first, this stuff is *thick*. I had to feed it through the sheets through the manual override tray on my printer one sheet at a time. Second, I made four-sheet signatures, and I can probably make them work, but honestly they're too much too thick to fold well in that quantity. In future I might try three or even two-sheet signatures. Finally, note that unlike the package in this review video, my paper did not have fold lines down the middle.
Judging by the visible fibers this paper clearly is less of traditional cellulose pulp and more containing either cotton or some other fibers that have been blended and pressed, which is why there was less bleeding with watercolors, as watercolor paper comes in various percentages of cotton. And specifically because of that I'd suggest just buying some more traditional watercolor paper which can also come in more "aged" forms and likely cost less, or just look for some of those who make pure recycled cotton paper, which should give better results and can be aged through various means if one wants to achieve that look.
I was pretty surprised by the printing result, regardless of that though, the video is very informative and you pretty much covered all grounds one would have looked for and I wouldn't mind seeing more in the future. Your writing is also very satisfying to look at.
Thank you for the feedback! And the paper is described as recycled cotton, so your observation is spot on.
A good test of the papers properties.
Agreed that pencils, gel pens, and printing is what the paper is best for.
Magnificent explanation. I especially like the formal testing. Thank you ❤❤❤
Thank you so much for taking the time to make the tutorial on this paper. I always learn so much from your videos.
This video have been a blessing Dennis, please do make more. God bless
Yes please!
Bookbinding is something I'm looking at getting into and reviewing papers will be very helpful.
I absolute enjoyed this paper testing video. Loved seeing you break out your fountain and dip pens!
Paper, ink,nib choices, and brands create so much diversity that it’s always interesting and new every time I try a different combo. That’s part of the freshness that I’ve come to love so much about it myself. Cheers
What a great video! You took the time to test the paper in each of its attributes. I loved to see you testing each and every resource you had available and reviewing them as you went on testing. I really enjoyed the wonderfully crafted and honest reviews. Thanks 🙏
Adams' book led me to your D&D project and now I'm enjoying making little notebooks, and I even have some of this paper that I have been trying out. Great video, I appreciate your insight.
I really appreciate this video, I never know what paper to use for my projects. It's so hard to tell just over the internet but you've given a good foundation for testing different samples. Thank you
Thank you! And I like the ink choices and seeing the FPR in use.
Clear and useful info as always -- thank you for sacrificing some material to review it!
I saw the Adam Savage video a few days ago. Cool that you're testing the paper out. Thanks for the info.
Another vote for more videos like this. Watching you demo ink/calligraphy may have given me yet another hobby! Well done. 👍👍
Thank you very much for making this video. I have seen this paper and wondered what it would be like to work with, now i know.
I'm another leftie, so it is facinating to watch you using your pens.
This is my first video with you and I am hooked! Thank you for this.
I am endlessly impressed with your knowledge and many, many, maaany skills!!! So glad that CZcams recommended your channel to me.
Also, your filming is exceptional. The various shots and angles, the music, the voiceovers or the ASMR style videos, it's all SO WELL DONE. Bravo, sir!
this was fascinating thank you! i recently ordered a handmade journal on etsy and i’m now fairly certain this is the paper they filled it with. and i love it with my glass pen 🥰
As an archiving student who eventually wants to go into preservation and restoration, this video was SUPER informative for me! Thank you! I have only taken 1 intro bookbinding class but this video really solidifed some of the things I learned and even reminded me of things I had learned in my rare books class. I appreciate thebknowledge sharing!
Your channel is amazing! Thank you ❤
Great video! Thanks for doing this kind of materials test. Also, when I saw you bring the Higgens jar of ink out I had a feeling it would have the most bleed, it was the ink you used that I've had the most experience with.
Yes! Please do make more videos like this one!
I saw the thumbnail and thought, "Hey that's kinda like Adam's paper..." and, viola! Thanks for this!
that paper looks really nice, i love drawing on textured paper because of how it makes pencils and stuff look
those printer results are very impressive and I really enjoy sketching on toned paper!
I am so glad that you tested this paper as I have already used this same A4 and A5 paper in some journals and small books for my wife. I however did not have my paper show up with the center crease that your paper had. This could be just because it was a different batch and if you tried another order you may not have the crease either. I do like this review and it also makes me more confident in using it for the journals I am making for my wife. Keep up the great videos.
That was awesome! I've seen that paper and wondered about it! Thank you ESPECIALLY for running it through your printer! Hmmm! deb
Many many years ago Spicers used to make a beautiful hand laid paper. It was a stunning paper to print on.
So epic looking paper 🤩
I love your doodles in this!!
Thanks!
I was nearing the end of the video and was just about to ask about putting it through a printer in the comment section and it's like you read my mind!
Ero used to be a small German fountain pen maker, they made afordable but high quality pens. That's all I know of them, from this old profesor that used, and swore by, one. Thank you for remindig me of him and thank you for the video ^_^
When I saw Adam's video I thought of you. His technique was a bit different but seemed to work. I was curious about the paper too, so thank you for the review! I does look like it's coated with something, maybe that's where the no bleed comes from, but it really pills up a lot. Might benefit from some sizing. Would be interesting to put some sizing on a sample and try the wet media again.
Great demonstration of the properties of this type of paper, always great to get an actual review instead of one put out by the manufacture or paid reviews. It appears the paper may have an added binder to neutralize the acid that may transfer to a coating and is made from all sorts of recycled scrap paper used to produce the paper. I am also guessing that with the paper already having a fold and the folds are miss-folded that it is the paper they use to make the inexpensive handmade books/journals produced in India. Thanks for the very informative video. If anyone wants medieval/renaissance paper Amalfi paper is still made in Italy in Amalfi and it is the finest writing paper you can get in my opinion but that is just me.
When i began binding books i wanted to know and complete the whole process. The paper process was a wild ride but very satisfactory to bind a book 100% made by me.
I definitely missed some of those red tones you get with Apache Sunset. That such a dynamic ink and the paper just doesn’t do it justice.
Great video....would like to see you dungeons and dragons map on this paper
Good information 😊
Well, it's certainly visually attractive if you like the old-fashioned hand-made paper look. When using the nibs, if you listen carefully you can actually hear the nib catching on paper fibers as it passes over the paper. Still and all, it looks like it could be an affordable option for those who cannot make their own hand-made paper. I did like the look it gave with the pencils, which is about all I can do these days, I might even give this paper a look myself. Must say, your calligraphy skills have survived much better than mine, LOL, must admit to serious lack of practice. Thank you, this turned out to be not only informative but also entertaining. I'll watch more if you make them! 👍
Be cool to see you print and then bind the results into a book? Also more sketching please.
Your brush can also cause the paper to roll up as well. Try a goat hair brush and silver black velvet brushes.
One of the better reviews I've seen in recent times. Good job there!
Glad you liked it!
Dennis, so this paper would ve good for journaling, yes? Thank you for testing the paper. When I saw Adam use it, I thought journals.
I think if you use pencil, ballpoint pens, or gel pens it would be a very good paper for journaling; less so with markers or fountain pens.
Excellent review as I was also looking into getting some of this paper for some medieval books, but was looking for something larger like Adam had (11"x17") and couldn't find any. Is there anywhere else to find a similar product for making larger tomes? Also would love to a video by you making signatures or journal from this paper.
Glue!!! You didn't test glue! Lol. Seriously collage is important. But you covered it all except perhaps a burn test lol. Very interesting. Things for me to think about when I make my own paper.
I would be interested to see if there was any method of improving the paper, or preparing it for particular media usage.
Regardless of any labeling on the quality per pens, I just went to Amazon and bought some! I love this paper! (and your video) And I appreciate your quality review anyway. ;) PS what kind of printer did you use?
Alt-Goldtrun is such a nice color of fountain pen ink
I want that willow book lol
I had purchased this paper a couple of weeks before this was published. Mine did not come with a center crease but did have some of the clip marks.
Not surprised the watercolors didnt work well, most watercolor paper has sizing on it, which makes a huge difference. You dont want an absorbant paper for watercolors, you want the paint to sit on top of the paper and flow.
I too was doubtful of how the watercolours would perform, but the paper was marketed specifically as such, so I had to give it a try. Thanks for watching!
Nice paper
Did you do the same testing on the other side (blotting) side. Many we know are working the blotted rather than screen side for texture.
I'm impressed at how little feathering the inks had, but i'd also agree that it's fountain pen tolerant not friendly. No idea if anyone mentioned it but should have tried both sides
It’s about as tolerant as a grumpy cat. 3.5 touches and then you’re on borrowed time.
For the markers, while you generally want a white surface for most things, toned paper can make for some nice effects with the right colours.
However I fear that the rough surface on this paper would likely damage the brush nibs; some brands are more durable than other, but generally the foam brush nibs that many alcohol markers have are quite sensitive and fray easily on the wrong surface.
I'm not surprised that they bled. Alcohol markers are notoriously difficult for paper to handle and I suspect their bleedthrough claim was for fountain pens and other wet water-based ink.
Would it be possible to dampen and iron the crease out?
😂 woot woot another type of paper to use on my sketches 🎉
As a left handed artist myself, I feel your pain. Sometimes I have to write upside down to get a decent result
Looks like taht paper is thirsty af xD
By the way ive watched your marbeling video, what kind of paper do u use, if u so kind, researching for paper is breaking my nerves.
Love your channel
I wish I had your handwriting :o
As a frequent user of alcohol markers I've been fooled by "bleedproof" paper too many times.
What exactly are they bleedproof of?
In the example where you used the technical pen over the colored pencil then moved to a blank area of paper, you may have coated the tip of the pen with the color which probably affected how it behaved.
Good point. I should try to be more scientific, not cross-contaminate and so forth. Thanks for the comment!
If the paper Is made in a frame by hand would there be a green in the paper?
thanks
The staedtler pens always seemed to go dry super fast compared to microns
Is that a train at 9:58 or am i going nuts lol
from own experience gonna say, for color pencil on textured non-white paper you better have sort of primer for good color, or push really hard
Out of curiosity, did you contact the vendor and ask them why every single page was damaged because you know, if I went to an office supply store and bought a thing of paper and it was all folded in the middle, I consider it damaged. And if so what was the response. ;)
I'm going to make a D&D character journal out of that paper.
Isn't skipping often expected of most such paper since they often lacked more modern finishing?
Ohhhh did you also see the savage video?
👏👏👏👏👏
👍
The fold is where they were hung over a line. They can't use clips or it would leave impressions.
I wonder if the paper needs to be left out to dry out, I suspect the paper was made with water only and no binder much like a Japanese washi
So how many deep breaths did it take to watch the Mighty Adam Savage's bookbinding? 😉
I've encountered something nearly identical to this paper in a "rustic" journal I was given. I was NOT pleased with the writing experience, it felt almost like writing on some sort of stiffened fabric. It didn't like a standard HB pencil at all, and my fountain pens caught on the rough texture to the point where I had to pick fibers out. It was too stiff and thick to tear out a sample from the back. Had to resort to sticking on a thin washi label paper to write properly. Might see about a sample of this brand for my paper sample collection...
Also, I do think this paper has a "coating": the dyes or pigments used to color it. The aged look was added after production, not as a dye in the paper pulp itself. When I finally did manage to tear the suspiciously similar paper I have, it had a white core. Definitely not a quality practice, in my opinion. Again, I wasn't impressed.
I feel for you, as one who has in the past received notebooks with handmade paper. Unfortunately many such papers are more 'home-made' than 'hand-made', and require a bit more creativity to use. But I have tried some handmade papers that are really marvelous too, so each need trying I guess.
Okey Dokey, totally unrelated to the paper... what is the "font" you are using for the word "Dragons" etc at about 22:10? looks LOTRish, but isn't... i love the aesthetic, i want it in my repertoire...
Does anyone know of a good consumer grade printer that can handle this kind of paper?
I guess never mind I made the comment before getting to the end of the video.
I think the pen is an older Diplomat Aero
A fountain pen lefty.....
Interesting that it doesn't feather and draw out the ink...
Do they say what the paper is made of? I pretty much exclusively use Noodler's bulletproof inks, and they chemically bond with the cellulose in cellulose based papers...
(Nathan lives the next town over from me, we went to the same university, i have to support the local guy, lol)
There is a notable detail that you did not mention, that's wood pulp, not rag paper, so it's more of a 1700s threw 1800s paper.
It is advertised as 100% recycled cotton, though I’m not sure how to test that claim.
The crease is most likely from being hung over a string to dry.
Will it go through a printer?
Yes!
I wondered about printers. That rough edge worried me it might get caught.
It did okay with a single sheet but I’m not sure I would trust it to do multiple pages.
Mine had no crease. Interesting.
The crease in the middle is externally frustrating to see. It means it basically can only be used to create a book type item. No scroll, wall art or anything else. I’m also super annoyed the crease isn’t even in the middle. Just my opinion though 😊 besides the crease, the paper seems awesome.
Original paper of the Late Mediaeval, it's a light cream.