During the course of February, I took a deep dive into planner comparisons to determine the logistics of what I laughingly call my “everyday carry”. As you will know if you read my previous post “The best of both worlds”, I came down resoundingly on the side of continuing to use my Filofax Holborn for the time being, but the competition was a lot closer than I expected. There is not so much to choose between the personal-sized Filofax and the A5 William Hannah notebook until it comes to fitting in a small-to-medium handbag. In a medium-to-large handbag or backpack, the William Hannah with its A5 pages begins to look much the more favourable option. I put together a table of the approximate sizes and weights, based on the amount of paper I would usually carry in each binder.
| Binder name: | Size | Weight | Width (inc. pen loop) / Height | Footprint (open) |
| Filofax Holborn | Personal | 15 oz | 6″ / 7.5″ | 12″ x 7.5″ |
| William Hannah notebook | A5 | 1 lb | 6.75″ / 8.75″ | 14″ x 8.75″ |
| Filofax Original | A5 | 1lb 6oz | 8″ / 9.75″ | 16.5″ x 9.75″ |
Open on a desk, there isn’t so very much to choose between the different sizes.
All of this fact-finding is very interesting, but I am not sure that it’s actually very useful. I seem to be stuck at a point in my life where a lot of my choices need to be based on practicality rather than enthusiasm. I am making my decisions with my head and not my heart, which is very adult, and very commendable, and just slightly depressing. When I look at my lovely planners all in a row, there is one format which draws my eye. Likewise, one of the covers is a colour of which I’m inordinately fond. No, of course they aren’t the same item – this is not that kind of world.
This month I found the perfect pen to match my Holborn – Lamy’s 2024 Special Edition Safari in the Violet Blackberry colour combination. It’s a constant struggle with the pen loop, but I can’t resist the matchy-matchy vibes this is giving me. I picked up the pen when Jarrolds, my local independent department store, had an exhibition of all 20 years of Safari Special Editions in their stationery shop. It was fun to see them all displayed in a case, and it helped me to see that I don’t much like the matte plastic bodies which feature on some of the Safari models. I thought, never having seen them in real life, that I rather liked the Strawberry and Cream variations from 2022, but they are the matte plastic. Luckily, the Violet Blackberry has a shiny body, with the matte plastic reserved for the grip section where it actually serves a purpose in reducing slipperiness. I swapped the black medium nib originally fitted to the pen for a steel extra-fine and I’m very happy with it all-round.
My currently inked pens list for March consists of:
Parker 51 with J Herbin Cacao du Bresil – I stuck with Herbin’s Cacao du Bresil in my journal fairly consistently, first in the Waterman L’Essence du Bleu, then when that ran dry I inked up Dad’s Parker 51, which is still going strong.
Namisu Orion with Diamine Aurora Borealis – wow! This is a lovely combination with some good shading and I’ve been using it a lot at work where it raises the spirits wonderfully.
Lamy Violet Blackberry Safari with Diamine Imperial Purple – this ink matches the pen quite nicely and works well with the diary insert and notes pages I have in my Filofax. In fact, it’s also the best combination so far for the rather low-quality To Do pages which date from 2015 and aren’t particularly nice paper. Considering I often find purple inks inclined to seep through all but the best papers, I’m impressed.
Waterman Hemisphere Rose Cuivre with Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-Yake – I inked this up quite early in February in place of the Kaweco and Diamine Honey Burst combination as that wasn’t working for me. The paler ink and very fine line the nib lays down just didn’t cut the mustard. Yu-Yake is suitably vibrant and has been a great contrast in my journal and any time I want to make a statement.
Montblanc Slimline with Montblanc Midnight Blue – There is just a tiny bit of Midnight Blue left in the pen, so I will use that up and then I’ll be inking the Waterman L’Essence du Bleu with something blue to take me into the main part of the month.
So, all set for March which has come in like a damp squib so I’m not sure what we should expect it to go out like.
Pam Alison Knits 
hallo Pamela, it was interesting to read that you purchased a Lamy Safari special edition. I purchased both the strawberry and Aquasky models. I swapped both nibs to 1.1 nibs as I preferred the broader nib. The strawberry is filled with Pelikan brilliant red and the Aquasky with Pelikan Apatite. They are quite pleasant to write with. Your Blackberry matches perfectly to your Holborn diary. Wish you a pleasant month of writing. Eric
Hi, Eric. I do like the sound of your Strawberry Safri with the red ink. How do you find the standard Pelikan ink? I am often tempted to try one just because I feel the bottle is a very satisfying shape. One of the very good things about the Lamy pens is how easy it is to swap out the nib for one that suits you. I am going through a bit of a personal revamp at the moment and I was laughing with my hairdresser when I realised the colours I had chosen for her to add some highlights to my hair were not that far from the colours of my new Safari.
It is interesting to see these size and weight comparisons in the quest for the Goldilocks winner. As you know I am a late arrival to the Filofax party having recently bagged a Finsbury Personal, electric blue in TK Maxx. I enjoy this very much but have just added an A5 Lockwood Cognac, non-zip version, when I happened to stumble across it at an irresistible bargain 70% off, in John Lewis “reduced for clearance” sale. At the moment it is too nice to write in, let alone carry out of the house. But I love having it. I may paginate the notes pages to break the ice.
Your new Safari looks lovely with your Holborn as though made for each other. Happy organising!
Oh, my goodness, a Lockwood? I had my eye on that design for the longest time and, like you, I would have snapped one up at such a glorious discount. You’ve done very well indeed with your first forays into the Filofax world. When you start using the A5, if you have any notes or “to do” lists on your personal-sized paper, you can put them into the A5 binder, you just have to either fold or snip off a little triangle at the bottom left-hand corner of the page then it will sit securely on the top three rings and the first two of the bottom rings.
I’ve been looking back at my personal Filofax pages from 2016 today and it was such fun. I didn’t realise how many little notes I’d kept demonstrating the pens and inks I was using.
I always enjoy your planner updates. That violet color is beautiful!
Thank you so much. The colour is deliciously autumnal, but I think I can rock it through spring.
I see ‘bearded iris’ when I see that color.
The Lamy safary looks amazing and matches perfectly with this violet ink.
Purple inks are hitting the headlines at the moment and I’ve been having fun looking back through old journals at purple inks from my past, including the notorious Lamy Dark Lilac. I would have been tempted by the matching Lamy Blackberry ink, but they didn’t have it when I bought the pen. Then I saw some reviews and it has such a heavy sheen that it’s more green than blackberry and I wouldn’t want it anyway.
Pamela, there are some stories on the internet at the moment about Lamy again releasing their dark Lilac special edition ink from 2016. I think you meanwhile realise you posses a legendary ink at the moment 🙂 In the meantime, I am completely absorbed in this story that I definitely want to buy the 2024 version of the Dark Lilac. This updated version differs slightly in color and will not be a ‘special edition’. What a story 🙂 Thanks you for commenting, best regards.
Ah, yes, the Dark Lilac furore is so much fun to sit and watch. Back in 2016 I had a pack of the Dark Lilac cartridges and I did really like the colour. I don’t recall there being much fuss at the time about the sheen (it was minimal). When all the fuss started this time around I dug out my old journals and sure enough found some pages written with the Dark Lilac.
Do you intend to buy the ‘new’ release for making a final judgement?
Pelikan inks are good value for your money, a good performance ink but not so exciting, The Edelstein range is certainly much more interesting.
I’ve been in a dilemma about the personal size Filofax and you’ve answered my question that I can move personal pages into the A5 and they will fit! With little cutting. I’m just waiting for my William Hannah to arrive – very excited and thank you too for your top tip of stamford notebook paper for my A5 Filofax – perfect! Thank you for this wonderful blog
I’m glad you’ve been able to glean some useful information from my blog posts. So which colour combination have you gone from for your William Hannah?