Grail Diary - education needed

I freely admit, I'm pretty ignorant on the subject but I've been looking for a grail diary for a while. I've seen the quality diaries produced by Indy Magnoli and Sarednab and while I know they make outstanding products, they are a wee bit out of my budget. So, I've been scouring the interwebs looking for a diary that is accurate, quality and suited towards my budget. I know good and well I will pay good money for a well made diary, but there are so many out there with price ranges varying from $100-400. I know the difference between the hero and story diaries, but that's about it. I also know enough NOT to buy the "diary on a disc" from eBay, but that's the extent of my knowledge base. Lastly, I don't want to by from a recaster, but again, with my limited knowledge, I couldn't identify one.

Can anyone help educate me?

thanks,
Wes

Trying to stay neutral and serving only as a general bit of advice to all:

I'd recommend staying away from eBay and such places when it comes to Grail Diary items. Many of the diaries that pop-up on eBay are still derived from either the old Cokewithvanilla project from Club Obi-Wan, or the community-made/free diary from the now defunct Indianajonesprops site. They also mostly include inserts that are highly inaccurate and also taken without permission. I know of some people (you know who you are) who completely strip-mined the COW forum and IJP site to sell the items for profit without proper credit or permission.

Stick to the forums or a reputable maker. There are really only a few of us who offer quality diaries now. Figure out what kind of diary you'd prefer (hero vs story... handwritten vs computer font) and choose the diary that falls under the conditions you set. With that said:

If you want to be truly faithful to the recognized hero prop, then two conditions are already set: handwritten details and repeating pages in a set order, with specific pages/details/inserts added in certain places. Technically speaking, once you add anything else to the diary, even if based on a production piece, it's not really the hero prop anymore.

To further expand on that... Only a certain number of unique pages appeared in the hero prop, but there are other production pages which only appear in various b-props. Some of these pages and details are among the most recognizable from the movie (ie: the Leap from the Lion's Head spread). When I add those to a diary, I consider it a "as seen on screen" diary, rather than a hero version.

On the other hand, invented story diaries are great for those who prefer something a bit more "realistic", even if they're not true to the production props. A lot of people like reading them cover to cover, which you can do with most. They go wherever the maker's imagination took them, but many take storyline liberties from other sources, such as the original diary source books and the mini diary that came with an old Indiana Jones PC game.

In any case, good luck with your search... I'm sure others will be chiming in momentarily.

The 'handwritten' Hero Diary made by Serenity :love along with a real 1940's 3 x beaver Royal Stetson fedora (not screen but historical accurate as in the time the Indy stories took place ) and a holy grail made by Alan Castillo. Picture courtesy © Chaim Murzan Photography 2011

-Chaim

I have the sarednab diary. At first t thought it was too expensive but i decided to save up and buy it. I think it's worth every penny. All the hard work that goes into it explains the price. Each page is seperatly aged. I did a review on it on the board and on sideshowcollectors. My advise....save up get it. It is one of favorite pieces.

Best,

I too have Sarednab's amazing diary! I looked for nearly a year, spoke to many people and did as much research as possible.

When I look back I have to laugh, I nearly went for an ebay diary at first, before I knew what to look for as far as accuracy goes..... :facepalm

Anyway, for me pesonally I still think Sarednab's is the best diary out there! :thumbsup In no way do I want to knock the work of other diary makers, as they all do fantastic work.

I too was a little short on funds at first, but instead of rushing out and buying something that I could only afford at the time, I waited a little while and saved up to buy a diary that I would have absolutely have no regrets in buying, and that is exactly what I got!

My amazing diary:







Regards,

Andy

Welcome to the grail diary foray.

I wrote this in another thread, but think it provides some helpful info on Sarednab's diary. Goodluck:

I could not be happier with mine. I actually have one of each, his story prop and his hero prop and they are fantastic. "Story" means the diary has been arranged to read as of Henry truly wrote his account. It has dates, it's in order, and tells the story of his adventure. The "hero" prop looks just like the actual prop diary. It repeats pages and is in the same order the actual diary used in the movie. (the text is mostly repeated and makes little sense- but it's also neat to own a replica of what was used). A good first question to ask is which you find more appealing as different sellers sonetimes offer either one or both.

Sarednab's fonts are the most believable I have seen. It is probably my favorite prop replica in my collection. Feel free to PM me any questions.

And here is a review I wrote on Sarednab's story diary:






02-24-2010, 01:08 PM * #1
thegreatgalling
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: USA
Posts: 2,885

Sarednab's Story Grail Diary
For the first time EVER, a prop replica actually left me speechless when it arrived.

That was Sarednab’s story grail diary.



After getting in the mail, and spending an entire day looking through it and reading it, I wanted to write my feelings. The longer I have been a part of the RPF, the more I have come to seek and expect high quality items.

It means a lot for me to say this, but this is by far the best prop replica I have ever owned. Yeah, it is that good. Out of every single piece I have stashed in a box or displayed on a perch, in over fifteen years of collecting, this is the crème ala crème. It is worth by far every single penny (I actually felt guilty for paying so little after seeing it), and I am grateful I ordered it when I did.

To help illustrate how amazing his work really is, here is my breakdown:


Overall appearance: First and foremost, the book arrived in the mail safely and wrapped very well, always important. Removing the bubble wrap, I found the diary wrapped as it was in the film with the brown paper, realistic stamps, and Indy’s address. As soon as I opened the wrapping, I knew the diary was special. It just FEELS like the diary. The cover was perfectly aged (not too much, not too little), and the leather was SOFT. Taking the elastic band off, and opening it, I was STRUCK with its quality, it’s hard to explain, but it utterly blew me away.



Accuracy: Even though I went for the story prop, the pages in the Archives book were also included in mine as per my request. Comparing Sarednab’s book with the photos we all know of the diary will produce euphoria. To me they are dead on. Sarednab has found a handwriting I feel is very true to Henry Jones.



Quality: Sarednab is quick to note his book is printed. Well, you could have fooled me! His pages are very crisp and dark. I looked at each page as if a heavy fountain pen etched strong deep lines and not as if it came out of a printer (I like that black space is uniformly filled). I thought the rich black color of the ink made each page POP. The handwriting, which is a font, is absolutely believable. I would not have known each word was not hand written unless Sarednab told me.

With regard to aging, each page is perfectly aged. Again, not too much and not too little. The pages were flat and crispy, not wavy as I have seen in other books. I know Sarednab has improved his aging techniques and I was fortunate to get a next generation book with his new techniques.

The inserts are all aged and produced with a lot of care. I asked for some not glued in case I wanted to swap them out, but after seeing them, his inserts are strong enough to stand on there own.

The binding is professionally done by him, and I know it will last forever. The pages are flat, even, and secure.



Customer Service: Want a cover that is only slightly aged? Want a brand new book without aging? Want it very aged? Want no inserts? Want them glued? Here is by far the best part of this purchase. Sarednab is probably the kindest person I have dealt with. He is quick to respond to PMs, ALWAYS provides updates without needing to ask, and sends photos of your diary upon requests. He will tell you, I was a pain. When I first PMed him, I sent him a LONG list of requests from cover aging, to page order. After reading his response and seeing more photos, I threw out most of these requests. They were unnecessary, he knows what he is doing and you can rest assured you will receive a terrific item. He did accommodate my request to substitute a page here and there to match the Archives book and he did so happily. If you want more pics, PM Sarednab, I am sure he would be happy to oblige.

Thank you Sarednab.

So far, I own his grail diary and Abner Journal.


Check out these two threads:

http://www.therpf.com/f9/who-made-best-grail-diary-prop-replica-142421/

http://www.therpf.com/f9/sarednabs-story-grail-diary-80719/

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I appreciate you guys chiming in. It's definitely a lot to digest and go over.

Orange_Blend makes one too.

Sarednab fan here. Great value for the dollar. An amazing amount of time and care put into his replicas. I have both the A and the B. VERY sweet so you have no worries about being dissapointed with his work. He will customise as well as customer service is his pleasure Bwah ha ha.

I have held most others and there a re a few others I liked but being that I know Sarednab the best these are rather special to me Go forth!!!!

Best
TAZ

I have both Sarednab's Hero and Story diaries and they are amongst my favourite Indy props.

The attention to detail, quality, ageing, inserts and binding are fantastic. Heck they even smell old!

On top of the excellent prop itself, Sarednab is simply put one of the nicest, most genuine people you will find on these boards. I feel lucky to count such a talented artist as my friend.

Best
Mark
Indiana Andrews