Hello! I found your channel about a month ago and have been binge watching all of your videos. I don’t like Filofax binders (or any ringbound system for that matter) but I really enjoy listening to you talk about them. 😊
Yeah, I would have given the same answer about a year ago when I started watching flatability. Two month later I started testing second hand Filofax Minis, only to buy the entire collection of ring binders of a household dissolution: 9 Piccolos (Mini 5 rings), 17 A6 Juniors (6 ring sightly oversized Pocket size ring binders). Incidentally I was really lucky. All except one in super condition despite some being about 60 years old. All made by a great Berlin-based company called Org-Verlag... I am not using notebooks anymore, my archive system is now a A6 index card system. I carry a Piccolo as my wallet, it is small like a Plotter Mini 5, does have flat pockets. For note taking I usually carry oner or two slim Juniors. I am a convert 😀
@@fastandcurious That’s really cool, it’s a rabbit hole I certainly didn’t expect to find myself exploring either. My main gripe is that I find the rings too obtrusive while writing. I’m left handed, and while I know that @flatability is as well, I could never find a comfortable position to write. Personally prefer stitched binding in a traveler’s notebook, but I must say that I have been intrigued by some of the binders featured here.
@@aspergersandthedog I completely get that. The Org-Verlag ring binders are very slim. Size wise comparable to the Japanese Plotter ones we don't get in Europe (and which are mighty expensive). Org-Verlag ring binders are all offered in 13mm Krause rings. They are much, much smaller than the Filofax rings which officially measure 13mm but in real life are more like 17mm. Before I just knew those big rings. Some of my vintage ones, especially the Piccolo have Krause 8mm and 11mm rings. The 11mm had become my choice for the wallet. 13mm Krause for the A6 is what Filofax Personal Ultra Slim used to be. When opening a ring binder, I rarely write on the first pages. Therefore when writing on the left, the elevation is most often nearly the height of the rings. Also I rarely have more than 30 or 40 sheets at once, I love to keep the ring binder slim. Not like those stereotypical stuffed ones. I use the Plotter idea of project folders. I use slightly thicker paper. Height the same as my normal paper. Double the with. Then you fold it to like an envelope which later wraps the sheets. Then punch holes in the folder. That trick allows you to easily take out or insert "folders" by subject or whichever way you want to organise sheets. I don't have cash in the wallet, just paper and 5 cards. I guess I need to add all this to the list of videos I plan to make😉
In these days of GDPR and the constant threat of personal information being stolen I can fullly understand that people are using the address pages less and less. Honestly, I don't use them at all. I still have all the info on my contacts, but it is stored in my phone, for better or for worse. That makes more sense to me. What we didn't get in this demonstration is the website password sheets. They have been around for a few years now, and are useful, although again you have to concern yourself with having that info written down. For or against anything could be misapropriated from our faxes, yet we do continue to use them. I prefer a paper diary so I can flick through it, I need general notes, I like the To-Do pages. On the whole I don't feel to hard done by regarding these fairly minor updates to the inserts. Honestly, I'm not that keen on the coloured paper (blue with blue ink!), but I do buy yellow paper, just for fun. Perhaps we should find out what inserts other readers would like to see? I can make most things out of blank paper myself, but perhaps there are some good ideas for some pre-printed pages. I'll start- some pages where you write down your insurance details. I'm constantly forgetting mine, and constantly getting auto-renewed when I should be comparing the meercat! If people want to play swaps I don't use graph paper, nor the coloured for the most part. I have plenty of each in personal and A5 size.
Interesting forensics, that transfer to card holders. Seems like that could be a writing prompt. Who knows, after all, what lurks in the shadows of an evildoer's Filofax? And don't let the naysayers get you down. Best of health and fortune.
Thanks for sharing an absolutely fascinating video. A real snap shot in time. I wonder might the original owner have been a student or recent graduate - the academic calendar being a clue and therefore would be like me in their fifties now? In IReland it is difficult to come across vintage Filofaxes in charity shops but the internet is a great source for them. My first “Filofax” was a Triad leather personal binder bought in London in 1988 that I used as a student. I was able to buy refills from it directly from the company for a few years after the initial purchase.
Fascinating. I had the Chambers Spell Well insert back in the day, and remember the Time Out city guides. There was also a wine guide (“tiring, drink up”), remember that? The most exotic inserts I ever used were the multitrack ones, designed for recording studios. I've often wondered how many others used them? The one vintage insert that has always intriged me is the "Troop Commander's Bible” which appeared every year in the Filofax catalogue but I’ve never seen it anywhere, not even in the heyday.
It's interesting to see so many unused inserts. The diary skipped from mid-July 1988 to January 1989, which suggests it was used for the first six months.
That was a very thoughtful gift of a father to his son. I like to think he specially ordered that insert on where to get what after hours in London, expecting that their son might be going out at night and then having some information to fall back on. The sort of thing a protective father would do. Almost a coming of age gift
Is there a difference between a task and a to-do? In non-english speaking Europe most languages have simply adopted to-do rather than the native word for task. To-do is short, everyone seems to understand what is meant. Which is why "to-do" does not need a translation anymore, hence Filofax decision to simply use a universal "to-do".😊
Sorry if I am late to the party. I have a Holborn black slimline just like your one in this Mail time and I have to agree that it is a great organiser. I bought it from a seller from Steve Morton's excellent philofaxy website. It was in an excellent condition. I also bought newer one in tan and brown leather of 2008 vintage (according the calendar sheet and inserts included) from a local charity shop but the leather is not as smooth and the rings already had some scuffing and patina on them. I also have a non-leather metropol in brown of approximately 2022 vintage, bought on discount at a local WH Smith and its rings are seriously corroded. I have other recent (post 2000) leather filofaxes and their rings are of a similar poor quality. On the other hand, as well as the slimline Holborn, I was success in bidding via ebay of a 2001 sherwood (according to the inserts the seller provided, but could be earlier) its rings and mechansim cover are still in excellent condition. I chanced on a vintage vinyl filofax and although it had black coated rings and mechanism, they were still in nearly new condition. To cut a long story short, I am not sure if I have been unlucky with new filofaxes or it is poor quality control by Filofax currently and I will not be tempted to buy new organisers from them.
Oh man, wanna see something interesting? If you have Diamine China Blue (the only ink I’ve found that does this), try doing a writing sample and swab with the stone paper and give it 24 hours. For whatever reason, China Blue fades to this odd, yellowish color. I have a few samples over ten years old and it only gets more faded with time. I mean, look… it doesn’t take a lot to entertain and interest me. But for some reason THAT does it for me, lol.
I love many Noodler’s inks… …and this ain’t one of them. I keep my bottle of Rome Is Burning around only so I can glare at it and wish a pic on its family every time I open my ink cabinet.
I have been lucky to not have ring issues with my Filofaxes - direct from Filofax, vintage and even modern ones from retailers. Luck of the draw! I wish they would be interchangeable though, so we could change ring sizes at will!
Regarding the heritage flyleaf pen loop - I have the feeling designers of these products mean for us to use our own clip only - rather than putting our pens in. Just makes no sense otherwise!
So so true about people always reporting on negative experiences. Has haopened to me many times over the years at work. But as a positive note on Filofax rings, i currenrly have 12 Filofaxes that i bought new and all have perfect rings.
I recently fell in love with disk binding systems. Tul brand A5 was my first choice. Finding new options is difficult because Google is so bad at giving me what I'm actually looking for.
I love my filofax norfolk personal 30mm rings are perfect, having previously been in a Malden, it's great for more pages, having bought 2 x Maldens and a Norfolk I've never had problems with rings or zips
I enjoyed every second of this video, thanks Neil. It is funny to see that a Filofax really can tell a lot about the owner, I really like that. And those inserts...I understand why they're not made anymore, I am sure it wouldn't be cost effective to offer them all...but I can't help but wish they were still available. I know I'll be watching this video at least for a 3rd time 😍😍
These are some fantastic inserts, love the spell checker! It's interesting thinking about previous owners and what they used their binders for (or in this case perhaps what they intended to use it for but never did). I acquired a well battered Kensington last year, and the seller hadn't removed his contacts from it. There were no private individuals in it, but a lot of organisations and companies that for sure told an interesting story. Likewise it came with some plastic business card holders; these were empty, but the actual print on the cards had transferred over onto the plastic over time, so you could see who they had belonged to. It was like getting a small peek into someone's life. Clearly not in line with GDPR, but it is what it is.
I found this extremely interesting, thanks Neil. I guess the inserts need to evolve as needs/wants change. I did find it interesting that there never used to be graph paper inserts...although I knew it, I just never thought about it. But graph paper is now very popular. ❤
Thank you for sharing this. It was absolutely fascinating! I especially enjoyed the Cardiff maps. For some reason I enjoy looking at maps and all things related to maps. I remember browsing atlas books at my school library as a kid. That binder looks chunky with that many inserts in it. It's a good look!
I have a generic $37 binder from amazon that suffers from the same ring problems, it annoys me regularly as it catches the pages (it's currently my only personal size binder)... there's a statement there somewhere about the decline in production quality if Filofax's high-end products are frequently arriving with the same problems.
The slim Holborn has been a favorite of mine for some time. The leather of course is fantastic in the black color, and I much prefer the smaller rings. Now I fare with my Mignon organizers, but I share fond memories with Holborn (and Malden…)
