...and I cannot lie (either)

Now, it won't have escaped the notice of regular readers that Amanda is way ahead in the B5 admiration stakes. But your second reviewer might be coming around to it. Maybe. More to follow on another day. For now, let's talk Leuchtturm 1917.

This firm is to paper rather what Lamy is to pens; not showy, not all that flashy, but a haven for admirers of Teutonic efficiency and low-key cool. That's arguably still the case with the production shifted to China, as at least the design still happens in Germany - but your mileage may vary.

In the interests of full disclosure, it's fair to share that, upon first opening, the package may present a few challenges to those of delicate olfactory dispositions. It's nothing unbearable, but suffice it to say that the herbal essences are getting a bit of a wafting around an example of the species. It'll pass.

Other than that, it's all as one would expect, and actually the paper is a bit better than Leuchtturm were presenting a few years ago. It can handle fountain pen ink well enough, and thanks to the eccentric format (sorry, Amanda) there is certainly quite a lot of it. One to watch, as they say.