Pens & Paper

There is something I have been wondering.

Various manufacturers regularly put out new notebooks with specialty covers either as a yearly special or a limited edition product.

My question is, why don't they start making covers instead/as well?

Hobonichi, Midori, Kokuyo and some others make basic covers but none make decorated paper, plastic, vinyl or fabric covers that can be moved between notebooks.

It would be nice to be able to get a fabric cover printed with something like Van Gogh's Starry Night.

I'm always looking for the smallest linewidth and the hit-tec-c .25 has been my favourite so far. The Jetstream is new to me as is the Kleid notebook - looking foward to trying them out!

How about you? Any favourite super fine lined writing instruments you like to use?

So far I've come across a really cheap $2, 80 sheet notebook on Walmart. However, I wouldn't want to support them. I might have to buy it though, if nothing else is within this range.

I have tried a set of high quality notebooks like $15 for 2 notebooks on Amazon but I found them too be too high quality for my liking. The paper is too smooth, cover too nice, generally not beat upable without me not feeling bad about it.

I'm looking for a high quality pen. I currently have a rotring 600, twsbi ballpoint, and trcpc bolt action pen. I would like to try more high quality machined pens. I exclusively use parker iso g2 refills so that is a requirement.

Has anything been heard about the Kuru Toga Dive in the last few months? It looked like a very interesting pencil, if somewhat overpriced. It was released, but never in more than small batches, and now seems to have disappeared.

The Pentel Smash mechanical pencil is usually compared to the Pentel Graphgear 1000, but I'd like to ask you comparing Smash to Graphgear 500.

Where I live, both are expensive mechanical pencils, but Smash is 70% more expensive and, IIUC, more professional. I'd like to know whether it pays to choose Smash over Graphgear 500 or both are kind of similar so I should go to Graphgear 500.

Do you know them? How do you compare both?

Thanks!

Upd: I have no idea why the picture is sideways. It shows ok in my gallery app...

My wonder-combo pen and gel refill.

Edit: sideways pic...