Journals

[Scotto]

Well, this one is a natural extension of the fountain pen thread. Who has some good suggestions for bound journals with high quality paper? I use them at work extensively, and like to have nice thick paper for use with a fountain pen. I have used Levenger's Notabilia notebooks for a while, but I am out and they won't have anymore until March.

I see a few people here talking about the Moleskine journals. What are they like?

[Rich]

Scotto,

I write mostly with a fountain pen at work and tend to use either Rhodia or Clairfontaine notebooks. They are not 8 1/2 x 11, but the paper is heavier weight and my pens seem to glide better on them than the average notebook paper. They come in a variety of sizes and spiral bound or stapled bindings. They're fairly common at stationary stores so you can probably take a look at them.

I've purchased Moleskins before, but since I am not a fan of writing in bound notebooks, I never used them that much with my fountain pens, so I really don't remember the quality of the paper. They do come in a variety of sizes and with or without lines or graph paper. I think one of the selling point is the elastic band attached to them, it makes them good for travelling (they won't get all messed up and you can shove ticke stubs, post cards, &c. into them).

Best,
Rich

[rtaylor61]

Scotto,

I've used Moleskine journals for some time. Lately, they have become trendy. My orignal reason for buying one is that is lays flat. I have not had any other bound journal do that. It is available in a number of formats and sizes. They contain a "pocket" in the back and come with an attached book mark and a elastic band to help keeping it closed.

http://www.moleskineus.com/

Most recently I have been purchasing mine at Barnes & Noble, and they are also available at Borders. As far as using a fountain pen, I'm finding my Waterman pen bleeds through, but the disposable Pilot Varsity does not.

Randy

[murchmb]

I bought a small Moleskine planner and accordian file. Not sure if I like the format yet, but I guess I'll give it a year. I've used a Pelikan M75 med. nib without bleeding. I do have to wait a moment before closing it or switching pages to avoid ink transfer to the opposite page. No such problem with a rollerball. I will be getting another Pelikan in the future with a finer nib. Medium is too wide for a small planner or journal, at least for me.

[Cliff]

One word gents; PDA. Have never looked back.:001_tt2:

[rtaylor61]

One word gents; PDA. Have never looked back.:001_tt2:

Cliff,

I've got 6 PDAs...but they just don't compare to the smell, feel and enjoyment that the occasional written word can provide!

Randy

[mark the shoeshine boy]

We have a porcelain one in the men's room upstairs, but sometimes the handle gets stuck and the water keeps running...

mark tssb

[Cliff]

Cliff,

I've got 6 PDAs...but they just don't compare to the smell, feel and enjoyment that the occasional written word can provide!

Randy
Absolutely true. A PDA Can't give you that. One of it's major downfalls.

[Nick]

We have a porcelain one in the men's room upstairs, but sometimes the handle gets stuck and the water keeps running...

mark tssb
I don't care what Randy says, there's no way I could enjoy the smell of the ink coming out of your inkwell Mark!!! :9898: :em3000:


:wink:

-Nick

[rtaylor61]

This thread certainly went in the toilet! (Just beating Ron to it!)

Randy

[Rik]

This thread certainly went in the toilet! (Just beating Ron to it!)

Randy
And it only took ten posts this time.

[mark the shoeshine boy]

J-O-U-R-N-A-L.........That is a "J"....how stupid am I...something came over me and thought it was pronounced as a "Y"....

i was wondering why you were writing about that....

mark tssb

[Scotto]

I picked up a few moleskine journals today at Borders. I'll let you know how they work out. The pages aren't quite as thick as I would have hoped, but we shall see.

[rtaylor61]

I picked up a few moleskine journals today at Borders. I'll let you know how they work out. The pages aren't quite as thick as I would have hoped, but we shall see.

I hope you'll like them. I currently use the Yearly planner, and two of the larger notebooks, one for personal and one for work meetings and training. I also use one of their reporter notebooks for tracking my diabetes numbers.

I am just now starting to use a fountain pen with them. My Waterman bleeds through, but it has a medium nib. I am about to order another Safari (the kids lost my last one) and probably a Pilot Knight at the recommendation of Pam at Brauns. I've been using a Pilot G2 and various pencils.

Randy

[DoubleE]

My fountain pens bleed in my Moleskine as well. I now just use a nice rollerball in it and save my fountain pens for thicker paper in a couple of my other journals. I love the size and look of the Moleskines. I wish the paper was just a little thicker.

Jerry

[rtaylor61]

Here's a link some of you may find interesting, especially if you are concerned about ink longevity:

http://www.journalisimo.com/

The site has been quite for some time, but was recently updated. I emailed Mike Rohde about whether the site was dying, and he let me know it will be back strong soon.

Randy

[Bagheera]

Cliff,


One word gents; PDA. Have never looked back.:001_tt2:


Whatever I write in my Moleskine journals will probably be read later when my kids clean out the house when mom and dad have passed on to another place.
Try that with your PDA, mine a "top" brand lost everything already several times, I now make backups like 2-3 times a week but then it broke down 3 times in less then 3 years time luckily I had a 3 year repair/replacement contract.

Just writing with a good fountain pen in a journal, getting your thoughts together and writing them on the paper using a pleasant color ink that makes the fine or medium gold nib flow over the paper ever so smooth like an ice skate champion over ice is so much nicer then tapping the ëlectronic keyboard on an PDA.

Try it, its fun and I'm pretty sure a decent fountain pen will outlive any current PDA ;)

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera

[rtaylor61]

Cliff,




Whatever I write in my Moleskine journals will probably be read later when my kids clean out the house when mom and dad have passed on to another place.
Try that with your PDA, mine a "top" brand lost everything already several times, I now make backups like 2-3 times a week but then it broke down 3 times in less then 3 years time luckily I had a 3 year repair/replacement contract.

Just writing with a good fountain pen in a journal, getting your thoughts together and writing them on the paper using a pleasant color ink that makes the fine or medium gold nib flow over the paper ever so smooth like an ice skate champion over ice is so much nicer then tapping the ëlectronic keyboard on an PDA.

Try it, its fun and I'm pretty sure a decent fountain pen will outlive any current PDA ;)

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera

I back up my PDAs every night. It's automated. I use Daynotez a lot, and if I record a lot of information, I'll back it up right then, and hotsync as well.

Randy

[solri89]

My friend, writing on a Moleskine is like taking dictation for the Lord on his personal journal stock! I had 8 of them and foolishly gave 3 away as gifts. These notebooks make writing, even with fountain pens, a absolute pleasure. Myself, I own a Waterman Expert II with a medium nib. I am going to soon buy a fine nib for it. You would be wrong not to buy such an outstanding notebook. This is coming from one of the most pickiest persons when it comes to writing instruments and writing tablets.

[guenron]

This thread certainly went in the toilet! (Just beating Ron to it!)

Randy
Well now that you are flush with pride, I say we can CAN the potty humor without raising a stink about it!


Certain more subtle puns highlighted for the SSB

[mark the shoeshine boy]

OH RON, YOU ARE SO WITTING EARLY IN THE MORNING.....:lol:

mark tssb

[MJB]

My fountain pens bleed in my Moleskine as well. I now just use a nice rollerball in it and save my fountain pens for thicker paper in a couple of my other journals. I love the size and look of the Moleskines. I wish the paper was just a little thicker.

Jerry

When a fountain pen bleeds into the paper it is in part the papers fault but the writer may also be able to change things a bit. Writing bigger and faster with less pressure--thinking of the fountain pen more as a paint brush.

That being said--I am being a bit of a jerk here because--I agree my fountain pens which have generous ink flows or nibs that are not fine or comparatively fine mediums bleeds (which is most of them that I consider most worthwhile using) into the Moleskine pads.

MJB

[DoubleE]

When a fountain pen bleeds into the paper it is in part the papers fault but the writer may also be able to change things a bit. Writing bigger and faster with less pressure--thinking of the fountain pen more as a paint brush.

That being said--I am being a bit of a jerk here because--I agree my fountain pens which have generous ink flows or nibs that are not fine or comparatively fine mediums bleeds (which is most of them that I consider most worthwhile using) into the Moleskine pads.

MJB

MJB:

You're probably correct that writing faster may help with the bleeding issue. My problem is if I write fast, there's no hope of anyone being able to read it, and likely not me either!:blush: My penmanship sucks and always has. I must write slowly if there's any hope of legibility.

I would love to be able to use my fountain pens and if I use an XF nib, it does help!

[Scotto]

I gave up on the Moleskines because of the bleeding issue. I am returning to my Levenger notebooks for general use with fountain pens.

[DoubleE]

I gave up on the Moleskines because of the bleeding issue. I am returning to my Levenger notebooks for general use with fountain pens.

I'm going to have to give the Levenger's a try!

[setherd]

I love moleskin books but my problem is the ink seems to take longer to dry with them. For journal writing I use clairefontaine (?) and exacompta. I think I got them both from swisher pens. swisher pens has a horrible website BTW.
my exacompta has silver-gilt edges, a ribbon bookmark in it, and says journal on the front. I actually like the clairefontaine journal better but it's in plain black and no bookmork, so I use it for taking notes.

[SFsc616171]

Hi folks! It is true that Moleskins have become the unofficial trademark of many an aspiring writer. I started, a long time ago, in those familiar "black and white speckled composition" books. Now, I have found a hard-bound journal source, that is easy on the pocket, and yes, they take just about any kind of ink.

Here is the website .... don't laugh too loud, when you read it, please?

http://shop.manconinc.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=11784&prodid=7530002223521&sku=7530002223521&bcuse=1

I have used for years, when I was 'a government wonk', and when I worked in supply, and then electronics, in the Air Force. It is not as 'light' as a moleskin, but ask our folks 'in the sand', since they swear by them, too. Besides, most 'bookstore journals', are the same dimensions as these, so they fit nicely on the shelf.

[SmoovD]

Hi folks! It is true that Moleskins have become the unofficial trademark of many an aspiring writer. I started, a long time ago, in those familiar "black and white speckled composition" books. Now, I have found a hard-bound journal source, that is easy on the pocket, and yes, they take just about any kind of ink.

Here is the website .... don't laugh too loud, when you read it, please?

http://shop.manconinc.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=11784&prodid=7530002223521&sku=7530002223521&bcuse=1

I have used for years, when I was 'a government wonk', and when I worked in supply, and then electronics, in the Air Force. It is not as 'light' as a moleskin, but ask our folks 'in the sand', since they swear by them, too. Besides, most 'bookstore journals', are the same dimensions as these, so they fit nicely on the shelf.

Thanks for the link. Don't know if green is the color of choice but the price is certainly right.

[SweetOne69]

Moleskine is hit or miss on being FP friendly. Rhodia and Quo Vadis make have the same style books as the Moleskine and are FP Friendly.

[my19]

I have a Rhodia Webbie that uses Clairefontaine paper. It's terrific paper, very smooth with a nice sheen. But it can take a little longer for the ink to dry on it.

A couple of months back I bought an ARC notebook from Staples. Surprisingly good paper with it, available in ruled, graph and other styles. Very fountain-pen friendly paper. It seems Staples has a sale on them every few weeks, so they're a pretty fine deal. Like the Levenger system, you can refill them easily. I've used the Levenger, but prefer the Staples ARC, which also costs quite a bit less.

[oc_in_fw]

I have an Ampad Gold Fibre journal. Relatively cheap, and the paper handles the ink.

[JasonAG]

I used to use Moleskine, but after a friend turned me on to the Miquelrius flexible notebooks, I've never gone back.

[Hidesuru]

I have used Rhodia and Moleskine. I got the Moleskine partly to try it, partly because I liked the format of the yearly planner. Frankly I can stand the Moleskine paper, but its nothing special. The Rhodia, however, is freaking awesome...

[litework]

My preference (in order) Quo Vadis Habana, Rhodia Webbie, Exacompta, and Clairefontaine softcover. I do not care for Moleskine.

[Doc4]

To answer the OP's question, I suggest that you take a Quo Vadis Habana notebook with you to Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

[januaryman]

I use the Staples Sustainable Earth Bagasse composition books, cheap as dirt, good with fountain pens, and now I have a leather cover for it I got from Renaissance Art. Great combo for journaling.

Planners are another category, and I prefer a good old MS product like Outlook because I came program it to beep at me.