Leather Journal in Brown 7x5 Refillable Unlined Paper Tree of Life Handmade writing Notebook Diary leather Bound Journal for Men Women Gift for Travelers Writers and Sketchers

Very cool journal, or whatever you choose to use it for. The leather covers are really nice and, even though there's nothing added to stiffen them up, they're not all floppy, like you might expect a simple single layer of leather to be. The paper is excellent, it's a really heavy weight stuff that's real nice. The cut of the paper is semi-rough, but absolutely fitting to the style of this book. I worry a little bit about the way the pages are held in. Having them held with string that runs outside of the binding seems like a way in which it could easily be broken free. I suppose, exercising only a small amount of caution will prevent any risk in that way though. The only thing I could do without is the "gem" on the cover, this particular one is just a flat green color with no other color within/on/through it at all. Other than that, I really like this book/journal very much. Definitely recommended.

Okay, I'm ignoring basically everything in the description about this journal. After all, I don't know why anyone would care that the cover is "finest genuine goat leather" as opposed to "okay-ish genuine goat leather" or "finest genuine cow leather" or "finest artificial goat leather" "processed cardboard that feels like leather" or whatever. Likewise I don't really know that it matters that it's for "visionaries." Presumably they'll take your money whether you're a visionary or just keeping a grocery list.Nor do I really need a green plastic bubble on the cover of my journal, but there's one here so I guess I've got one now.More importantly, this journal appears to be sturdy and refillable (not always a combination that works, but it appears that they've hit it here) and standard size. So refills shouldn't be an issue and it looks like it won't fall apart with repeated use. So full points for, you know, being a journal and working like a journal :)The biggest issue I've got is the metal clasp on the front. Unless you're going to keep this somewhere it will never come into contact with another book, this fails to be useful. Specifically don't plan to keep it on a shelf with other journals, or in a bag with anything else, or in a bag at all of the bag isn't made out of steel. Because that clasp is going to snag or punch through--especially given that there's a metal burr that they failed to grind off at the factory on the bottom of the hook that will absolutely get you if you're not paying attention.All that said, this IS an attractive journal (the tooling is especially nice), so if you want something to leave out for people to see or to write in with a shelf of its own, this is the one for you.

This journal frustrates me, it is close to being a real treasure for collectors of fancy journals (I have so many) but it has some serious flaws. First off, the gem, the listing calls it semi precious turquoise and it REALLY isn't, it is cheap green glass, if it were real stone then I could ignore the fact that it really gets in the way when you have it opened and trying to write on that side. The clasp is awful, the metal is really rough along the edges so it makes a horrible grinding noise when latching it. I am going to just remove the clasp because it is in the way and unpleasant to use. The paper is fine, I tested it with a few of my various pens and pencils, I think it works best for writing rather than drawing (I use these style journals as really overly elaborate sketchbooks) but avoid fountain pens since the ink tends to feather pretty badly on it. Ballpoint, pencil, and microns worked fine with minimal ghosting and no bleed.What we are really here for is the cover, the tooling on the leather is beautiful. I had my suspicions about it actually being leather with the weird cloth backing and the painfully fake gem, but it appears to be a heavily stained leather with a fairly hefty varnish over it, at first I couldn't smell the leather, just the varnish, but after a few days it faded and definitely had that leather smell. I think the coating is a little excessive, but it does make it very waterproof so no worry if your drop your coffee on the journal. You can refill the journal if you know the most basic bookbinding, and it is worth it because the cover is very pretty. If you ignore the glass bauble and clasp.

I will be using this to write notes about my adventures in a friend's campaign. The design fits in with the fantasy theme of the game, and the Tree of Life motif fits well with my cleric. The pages are good quality and take the ink well. They are also not flimsy pages. The clasp is a nice touch, and the extra flap helps protect as well as keep the journal closed.Whether for you adventures around the game table, or in real-life, this is a very nice journal.

This journal is exactly as pictured. It is beautiful and well-made. I am going to use it for junk journaling but it could work for many things. I think it would make a very thoughtful gift. I'd recommend it.

This is a review for the Thar Artefacts brown leather 7x5 inch tree of life handmade notebook/journal. It was priced at $15.49 when I ordered it. This is a cool notebook with a sort of primeval and rustic vibe to it. I really like the tree of life design, and the metal clasp is cool.Some minor complaints/observations. First, the leather cover curls up/outward in the front corners. Hopefully I can find a way to get it to lay flat properly, otherwise it looks janky. Second, the inside cover is marred/discolored where it makes contact with the leather and the metal clasp. Third, there are no instructions on how to refill the notebook with more paper. This doesn't have a typical binding or ring system, but uses leather cords to hold the paper in an intricate way. It would help a lot if there were instructions explaining the process. I'm afraid that if I attempted to unravel the cords to replace paper I won't be able to get it back together correctly. Fourth, the metal clasp also protrudes outward more than I expected. So, this is definitely a specialty kind of notebook that you would have laying flat on a desk or other display location, rather than upright stacked close together with other books. But overall, this is a cool novelty notebook.