A wallet notebook may sit untouched for months, then see intense use during a market week. It might live in a humid Jeju cupboard or a dry Seoul apartment. The binding and paper you choose determine whether it is still legible in fifteen years.
Paper weight
We use 120 gsm cream stock in our studio volumes. Lighter paper — 80 gsm or below — shows through when you write on both sides and tears when you erase pencil marks repeatedly. Heavier paper, above 160 gsm, makes the book bulky without adding durability for this purpose.
Test any candidate notebook: write with your usual pen on both sides of a page. If you can read the reverse clearly, the paper is too thin.
Binding
Sewn bindings open flat. Perfect binding (glue-only paperbacks) cracks when you press pages wide for writing. Spiral bindings snag on shelves and catch on other papers in a drawer.
For a volume you will update annually, sewn or stab-stitched binding with a cloth cover outlasts most alternatives.
Cover protection
A plain cardboard cover scuffs within a year of shelf life. Cloth or leather spine with board covers survives handling. If you use a generic notebook, consider a simple slipcase — even a folded archival folder — to keep dust off the edges.
Storage
Keep the notebook away from direct sunlight and radiators. Humidity above 65% encourages mould on natural-fibre covers. If you store in a safe, leave a silica packet nearby and check the cover annually.
Our notebooks
The Net-Worth Notebook we produce in the studio follows these specifications. If you prefer to source your own, use this article as a checklist before you write a single wallet address.