10 March 2011

Filofax Organisers -'Laying Flat'

I'm sure you have seen comments on Philofaxy about the ability of different Filofax organisers to 'lay flat' But it got me thinking yesterday about why some organisers lay flatter than others. It is obviously something to do with their construction.

At the time I was carrying my Finsbury Slimline. I wondered was it because the interior of this particular model isn't all leather that makes it more supple than others therefore it can 'lay flat'. I jotted down a note to look in to this a bit more when I got home and put the thought to the back of my mind and got on with the job in hand of noting down how many south facing windows this particular house we were viewing had in its salon se jour (living room).

When we got back home again I grabbed my other Finsbury, a personal size one to compare it to the slimline, the interior looks similar, but the cover is much more stiff and it doesn't lay flat at all.

Now I could have just photographed the two, but in a static state the pictures wouldn't tell the full story, so I thought ah why not make a short video.



Apologies first, this was hastily put together last night using my compact digital camera and the office lighting, so the quality isn't that brilliant. But I think you will see it illustrates the point quite well.

First you will see the slimline and how well that just opens under its own weight and how easy the cover is to bend without causing it any permanent damage. Then the Personal Finsbury is put to the same test. It just won't open fully under it's own weight and it is quite full of paper.

I haven't done anything to either of these organisers in terms of 'training' them or extra polish they are both about the same age. The slimline has been used more than the personal, which might give it a slight advantage I suppose.

Anyway take a look at the video, which amusingly I thought about calling 'How Stiff Is Your Organiser!' but I think it might have caught the attention of the You Tube Censors for all the wrong reasons!



Hope you enjoyed that, I might try making some more videos, but I will look in to improving the lighting and the quality. I think I look like a failed magician, no rabbit appears from between the pages!



19 comments:

  1. Loved it! I do wish a Deco had magically appeared though. That would have been amazing. My finsbury personal is also very stiff which I find annoying. Other people have mentioned finsburys that lay flat.

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  2. i think maybe it depends on the leather, the Amazona i would of thought wouldnt lay flat but it seems to near enought, as its quite stiff leather?

    Maybe they just need alot of use to soften up? or maybe the leather is streched tigher over it? :-S

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  3. I don't know about the clasp personal Finsbury.
    I've had a Zipped Personal Finsbury for years, and I can't remember the time when i first got it, but it lays flat as a runway right now with zero effort.

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  4. I won't take a video but I can tell you the Deco lays flat immediately. This is helped by the leather, and by the weight of the clasp on the front cover.

    (Go on CP, you know you want to!!!!)

    ;D

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  5. Oh and PS Steve I loved the video! Especially the tagline at the end!!! LOL

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  6. The reason I got rid of my personal finsbury is because it was so stiff. Annoyed the heck out of me. My personal classic isn't laying flat either, but it's not closing quickly either.

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  7. I have a slimline Amazona which lies flat and did so from new, my favourite filo at the mo. The personal size Amazona does not which really puts me off using it.

    I have a pocket sized classic which was in constant use for 6 years and it never laid flat. I was so relieved when I finally stopped using it and bought a new filo.

    I have seen some people’s finsbury's laying flat though perhaps due to constant use.

    I imagine after 6 years it would?

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  8. @Saffy - Ive had a Personal Amazona for a few weeks now, and its not staying completly flat, but its getting there i think, the more i use it the more it flattens out and becomes a bit more soft :)

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  9. I sometimes have the opposite problem - neither my A5 domino nor my personal domino will stay shut without the band being put around them - they stay sprung open!

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  10. My first Filo was a Domino but I didn't use it much as the cover got all dented up. I switched to a cherry cross in personal size and that thing just will not lay flat! It's is a stubborn as an old mule. It just wants to close up on itself all the time making writing a real hassle.

    I loved the overall look and feel of the cherry cross, but just couldn't take the stifness and gobbling of my hands as I wrote. I've now upgraded to a personal Finchley which lies wonderfully flat, right from the box and stays flat too. It's made using my filo much more pleasent.

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  11. @JellyBooBarbie - thanks, perhaps I will give it a try. I thought that it was going to be stubborn like my old classic I mentioned (it was called a Cross in those days) so I can relate to Annie's frustration. I couldn't wait to 'retire' it.

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  12. @saffy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo2LubBE9go

    i did a video to show how flat it lies, :-) xxx

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  13. @JellyBooBarbie - ha, ha, you made me laugh. I love the end 'yes' :-) smiley face. Thank you so much, I will give it a go now.

    Your Filofax looks so well loved and used (and fat). Love it.

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  14. @SAFFY - THANK YOU. IVE NOT HAD IT THAT LONG BUT I DO LOVE IT SO MUCH, I WANTED A PINK ONE ORIGINALLY BUT THIS ONE I CAN USE SO MUCH MORE AND ITS MORE VERSITILE :) YAY

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  15. @JellyBooBarbie - I know what you mean, that is how I feel about my slimline Amazona. It feels so lovely to the touch and looks great (I have the almond colour).

    I bought a slimline Adelphi to switch to for variety but can't bring myself to use it cos I just love the Amazona.

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  16. I'm OK with being the outlier here.

    The fact that my personal Sketch doesn't lay flat doesn't bother me at all. When I'm using it, the weight of my hand keeps it in check. When I'm done, it sort of snaps closed.

    Also, the extra effort I use to fling it open makes me look very important. LOL!!

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  17. I have a personal sized Portland that has to be over 15 years old and lays flat as a pancake - I wish I could remember if it always did or it does just because it's pretty darned old!

    The leather is really really soft though and always has been - I don't think the new ones have leather like that

    Tracy

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  18. Hello! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for
    my comment form? I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm having problems
    finding one? Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A long way off.... Look in your blogger dashboard
      Then Settings
      Then scroll down to Comments, and in there you will find Captcha that can be turned on and off. I've turned it off because we moderate all comments

      Delete