Journal Recommendations

[teamacacia]

Gentlemen,
I am in the need for advice concerning the purchase of a writing journal. I intend to use either my current pelikan 400 fine nib or possibly purchasing something with a finer nib, looking at the sailor xfine and fine right now. I would prefer brown leather or black leather as the cover and a good paper that will take the ink nicely. I am not very knowledgable in this area and look forward to your recommendations.
Thanks

[htownmmm]

It is possible to find some nice journals @ Borders that use archival paper and are bound in leather.

Marty

[ratcheer]

Gentlemen,
I am in the need for advice concerning the purchase of a writing journal. I intend to use either my current pelikan 400 fine nib or possibly purchasing something with a finer nib, looking at the sailor xfine and fine right now. I would prefer brown leather or black leather as the cover and a good paper that will take the ink nicely. I am not very knowledgable in this area and look forward to your recommendations.
Thanks

I have always wanted to do that, too. Well, for the past 18 years or so. But I've never focused on it to the point of actually starting it. :001_unsur

Tim

[kozulich]

Gentlemen,
I am in the need for advice concerning the purchase of a writing journal. I intend to use either my current pelikan 400 fine nib or possibly purchasing something with a finer nib, looking at the sailor xfine and fine right now. I would prefer brown leather or black leather as the cover and a good paper that will take the ink nicely. I am not very knowledgable in this area and look forward to your recommendations.
Thanks

I bought mine at Barnes & Noble. Nice paper. Takes fountain ink well. Bound in black or brown leather with gold leaf paper edges and ribbon marker. Very classy, refined, elegant, understated.

[Dennis]

Consider the Moleskine (http://www.moleskineus.com/) line of journals. Very nice - I use one for sketching while backpacking.

Dennis

[webguru24]

+1 for the Moleskine, but you may need a finer nib, as at least in mine, the lines are rather tiny and my medium nib pen can't really get in between.

[teamacacia]

I bought mine at Barnes & Noble. Nice paper. Takes fountain ink well. Bound in black or brown leather with gold leaf paper edges and ribbon marker. Very classy, refined, elegant, understated.

Do you have any pics or something that I may compare with when I go to Borders and/or B&N?
Thanks

[smithno]

I have tried several including:

Red & Black. From Staples in the US. Heavy paper, I really liked the A5 size.
Miquelrius. Available at Target in the. Nice paper and most of my fountain pens work with it.
Naturals. Books-A-Million store brand. Very much like the Moleskine. The pocket size is slightly bigger than the Moleskine equivalent. Again, the finer the nib the better.
Moleskine - college rule, paper varies, the finer nib on the fountain pen the better.

The order is least expensive to most. I have a couple of Moleskines, but they are too expensive IMHO. I'm a frugle kind of guy. I tend to use the Naturals pocket size and Miquelrius in the bigger size (A5/8.5x5.5+-) because it works well with fountain pens. I like the paper in the Red&Balck, but the binding doesn't want to lay flat. All are good quality widely available.

Choosing a journal is like choosing a fountain pen or shaving stuff; it's a very personal choice and what every works for you is the correct one!

Norm

[Scorpio]

Yoy may also want to look at your local stationary stores, the kind that do wedding invitations, they carry different types of fountain pen ink friendly paper. In addition, you may want to look in www.fountainpennetwork.com, they have a lot of information and you dont have to register to look around. Hope this helps.

Raf

[Scotto]

Moleskine paper stinks for fountain pens, IMO. I have used various journals from Levenger (http://www.levenger.com) for years and have always been extremely pleased.

[fuerein]

Moleskine paper stinks for fountain pens, IMO. I have used various journals from Levenger (http://www.levenger.com) for years and have always been extremely pleased.

I agree. Levenger paper works very well with with fountain pens. Nearly all (if not all) the paper they sell is 60lb paper and has very little bleeding with a fountain. When I use my fountains on their paper the only places I end up with bleed throughs are small dots where I lingered for too long with the nib stationary on the paper. I guess that is a bad habit retained from ballpoint writing.

[kozulich]

Do you have any pics or something that I may compare with when I go to Borders and/or B&N?
Thanks

No, sorry I don't, and I couldn't find it on their website either. I looked at the moleskine journals and just thought their paper looked too thin for use with a fountain pen. This one that I bought, and I can't remember the name of, has nice thick, smooth paper. Came in several sizes, softbound, and in either classic black bonded leather or british tan bonded leather cover with the word "JOURNAL" embossed discreetly on the front. It looks very much like this (http://www.crane.com/prdSell.aspx?Name=11032_BlackBondedLeatherSoftCove rJournal) but I can't be sure that's the exact one. Description sounds like it except that mine is larger format.

[Woknblues]

absolutely, moleskine will be perfect. They come in every size and format one would ever need. They are the perfect combination of durability and function and style. Many famous artists and writers have used them. They are also pretty cheap; I found ebay a great source.

[kozulich]

Do you have any pics or something that I may compare with when I go to Borders and/or B&N?
Thanks

I did some research over the weekend. My Journal is by Gallery Leather. Hope that helps.

[Trev1960]

This is what I use (in black) and they are very good
http://www.renaissance-art.com/Prod16/Product.aspx

I did find that the paper had too much "tooth" for a fine nib, the second one i bought I ordered with Zerkell paper. It is not listed in the options but email them and they can help you out, I asked for and received a sample of the paper to test.

[tm3]

just to add to the confusion, based on info at fountainpennetwork.com (where i did some preXmas research) ...

it has been reported that levenger has changed their paper and the new stuff is not equivalent to the old.

i read a lot of complaints about moleskine and bleedthrough with fountain pens.

[murchmb]

People have had good results on Moleskine paper with the Lamy 2000 in XF and Namiki Vanishing Points in F. There is also the issue of inks. Some work better than others on particular papers. I would suggest something dries quickly.

[rtaylor61]

I use the Lamy Safari with my Moleskine journals.

Randy

[supercarl]

hero 329 works perfectly with moleskine

[ravkesef]

I use the Lamy Safari with my Moleskine journals.

Randy

What ink are you using? I find that my Lami Safari (even with an EF nib) bleeds through Moleskine. (I also understand that Moleskine has changed their quality recently, but I still have the old notebooks.):confused:

[thestubblefactory]

There are a lot of good journal makers out there. Your paper choice will have a dramatic effect on how you will enjoy your fine fountain pen. I personally prefer Clairefontaine journal paper. You can get them at thedailyplanner.com. For a good leather cover go to renaissance-art.com. They sell paper and bound journals as well but their paper is rough and better served with medium to stub nibs not fine nibs. Red and Black, Exacompta and Levenger are also very good papers. None of these brands will have bleed through like you will usually get on Moleskine. However, Moleskine users are sort of a cult following and they will usually experiment with pens and inks to find the right combo to avoid bleedthrough. With a fine point fountain pen you want a less toothy paper. With that in mind I think there is no equal out there to Clairefontaine paper IMHO.

[N2theBreech]

There are two that I use that are similar to the Moleskines, without the bleed through problems (check out the video @ Goulet pens). I use the Rhodia webnotebook and the Leuchtturm1917 journals. The Webbie is everything I could want, except for the price. They are a bit high. The 1917 is comparable in price to the M-skin but it has better paper.

As a long-time user of M-Skins, I switched when I switched to an FP. I like that style, a lot, but have no loyalty to the company. In fact, I think Leuctturn has been around longer than the company that now makes M-Skin. I believe the '1917' harks back to the year it was introduced. I don't know if it has been in constant production since then.

[RichieRich3902]

Holy grave dig Batman! This thread is five years old lol.

[chuckr9]

Moleskin is the standard (and you can buy leather covers if you like that as an upgrade)

[Slivovitz]

Another old thread, but some topics are of recurring interest.

For a journal, I prefer notebook sized paper like the Clairefontaine, which is a metric size close to the American 11 x 8.5. Journal sized paper like the Moleskine approx 8 x 5 feels too cramped. I also like margins for notations on things that might be important to come back to later, ideas, or questions that I need to answer. Otherwise they would just get buried in the daily blather.

I suppose if a leather cover were important to me, I could get something custom, but it's not something I care about.

[N2theBreech]

Holy grave dig Batman! This thread is five years old lol.
So I wonder how it popped to the top of the queue? Oh well, I suppose it doesn't hurt to reach to the back of the closet occasionally to grab something and brush all the dust off to see what it is?

[tattewell]

If I had the duckets, that medeival art journal is real purdy!

[Barbash]

Does anyone use the Leuchtturm1917 journals? I have been using MS for years, but now that I have swtiched to a FP I am seeing a lot of bleed through. I was thinking about getting a Rhodia journal, but than I saw that Goulet now carries the Leuchtturm1917 and the price is a lot closer to what I am use to paying.

[EmptyB]

Does anyone use the Leuchtturm1917 journals? I have been using MS for years, but now that I have swtiched to a FP I am seeing a lot of bleed through. I was thinking about getting a Rhodia journal, but than I saw that Goulet now carries the Leuchtturm1917 and the price is a lot closer to what I am use to paying.
I just ordered a pocket sized one from Goulet Pens yesterday. I am currently using a pocket sized Moleskine, and it works OK for most pens. But the paper does show through, bleed through, and "feather" with the few fountain pens that I have. I was looking at several other brands, and the good ones are expensive. So I decided to try the 1917, which appears to be somewhere in the middle in terms of quality and price. If anyone is interested, I will do a writing sample in it after I receive it.

[Barbash]

I just ordered a pocket sized one from Goulet Pens yesterday. I am currently using a pocket sized Moleskine, and it works OK for most pens. But the paper does show through, bleed through, and "feather" with the few fountain pens that I have. I was looking at several other brands, and the good ones are expensive. So I decided to try the 1917, which appears to be somewhere in the middle in terms of quality and price. If anyone is interested, I will do a writing sample in it after I receive it.

Would love to see a review once you get it. I watched the reviews on Goulet and they seem to hold up very well with many different inks and I also heard they lay pretty flat.

[casus4844]

I know I'm in Korea and its easily available , but I would recommend banditapple. I have two and I'm thinking about picking some more up this weekend. I have the Rhodia Webbie which is great, but if it's cheaper and works just as well, why not! I know Goulet carries them.

[EmptyB]

Would love to see a review once you get it. I watched the reviews on Goulet and they seem to hold up very well with many different inks and I also heard they lay pretty flat.
I received it. Short review: it's better than my Moleskine.

I will make a new post in this sub-forum comparing the two. I'll get that posted soon.

[USCGME3]

My recommendation is for a Rhodia pad. Similar in design to the moleskine pads, but the paper is much nicer, IMO. I have a number of moleskine pads and they will mostly all be replaced with Rhodia's as I find them more pleasurable to write on with a fountain pen. They are available with a black pleather cover, as well (though I prefer the orange models.