Monsieur Notebook - Fountain Ruled

[TrinityTam]

I decided to post my first ever review of the Fountain Ruled Monsieur Notebook because I looked all over the internet and couldn't find anything written about this notebook.

 

Ordering

I placed my order online with Hide Stationery in the U.K. (www.monsieurnotebook.com) and had the notebook shipped to me in the U.S. The ordering process was fairly straightforward. After shopping in the store, it bumps you to PayPal to complete your purchase. I always have a "did that work or not?" moment when I use PayPal check out and to this end, Hide Stationery didn't help much since they didn't send me a confirmation email. I got the generic "you have made a PayPal payment" receipt, but never an order confirmation directly from Hide. After about a week with no response, I emailed them to check on my order. Tom from Hide responded promptly that the order had been shipped and that mail might be delayed coming out of England because of the Queen's Jubilee. Tom said that usually, shipments to the U.S. take about a week to arrive. My package finally did arrive approximately 2.5 weeks after I ordered it.

 

Notebook Details (From Monsieur Notebook website)

Fountain Ruled

A5 - 14.8 x 21 cm

100 gsm White paper

Stora Enso

7 mm lines

192 pages

 

First Impressions

I had very high hopes about this notebook based on the pictures that I saw online and the promise of "fountain ruled" paper. Unpacking the notebook did not disappoint. Aesthetically, it is a beautiful book with full leather covers - not leather-wrapped, but a thick slab of hardened leather sandwiched around a dense binding of pages with the ubiquitous black elastic band. The surface of the leather has some natural imperfections which, in my opinion, adds to the handsome charm of the design. It comes with an attached brown ribbon bookmark, but no inside pocket. At the time that I placed my order, the only cover option available for the fountain ruled paper was brown.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7268/7460621294_62e5b0379d.jpg

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7258/7460621686_903c4c734f.jpg

 

The back of the cover features the subtly embossed Monsieur Notebook logo in the lower right corner. At first, the book opened very stiffly because of the hardened leather spine. But after working and bending it a bit, it loosened up some. I still had to hold it open to do any writing but it seems like the kind of book that breaks in over time.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7460620494_c1e752df66.jpg

 

The Paper

The paper (100gsm) looks and feels nice. It's a smooth white paper with olive colored lines at 7mm intervals - the perfect ruling width, in my opinion. Unfortunately, my excitement waned a bit when I put the paper through its paces. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I really wanted to love this book because of its beautiful aesthetics.

 

Once I started writing, the first thing I noticed is how absorbent the paper is. It's as though the paper is pulling the ink from my nib. And as a result, the lines that were laid down came out broader than I'm used to. My pens are mostly vintage nibs that lay down a wet fine-medium line on Rhodia/Clairefontaine paper with little to no feathering. But on the Monsieur Notebook, I was seeing more of a medium-broad line. I also noticed feathering with many inks. The colors also showed up duller on the page than I'm used to.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7261/7460621032_b985bc6c19.jpg

 

I was particularly surprised to see feathering with my Pilot Prera using a cartridge of Pilot black ink. That combination is usually a very tolerant duo on cheap copy paper and the like, but it noticeably feathered on this paper.

 

There was also noticeable show through and some bleed through to the other side of the paper. This is particularly prevalent with the two Pilot Iroshizuku inks that I used. Almost every ink I used showed a hint of bleed through, especially in the spots where ink tends to pool, like dotted I's and at the end stroke.

 

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At the end of the test, only one ink behaved properly on this paper with no feathering, no bleed through, and no ghosting: Noodler's Bulletproof Black.

 

Postscript

I wrote an email to Tom at Hide Stationery describing my experience with the fountain ruled notebook and he wrote back promptly. Here is Tom's response:

 

"Thank you for your email, and I am sorry that the Monsieur notebook did not live up to your expectations. We have strived to find the best papers, and the 100 gsm white paper held up in all of our tests!

 

However, we have found another option, and though it may cause a slight price increase in the Fountain range, we feel the benefits will outweigh the costs. We have been testing the 80 and 100gsm BILT Royal Executive Bond paper, which comes highly recommended from the Fountain Pen network.

 

We are a new company, and currently dealing with low quantities so we can change our papers quite easily. We are now distributed in Australia, and have just agreed distribution for Canada. It will not be long before we are in the United States.

 

I do hope that you will try our book again in the near future."

 

I am hopeful that the new paper will push this notebook over the top for me as my go-to. And I'm excited about the prospects of U.S. distribution. But in the meanwhile, I will have to be content with using only Noodler's Bulletproof Black to fill my Monsieur Notebook.

Edited June 28, 2012 by TrinityTam

[The Good Captain]

I had similar problems and experiences with a CAIK journal a while ago. The only ink that worked satisfactorily in that was Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black or Brilliant Black and then with a F or EF nib. I've not bought any more of them.

[DanielCoffey]

Have you had a look at Diamine Registrars Ink or equivalent with it?

Edited June 28, 2012 by DanielCoffey

[TrinityTam]

I do not currently own any Diamine Registrar's ink but I did try the following:

 

Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa - feathered, no bleed through, show through

Diamine Damson - feathered, bleed through, show through

Diamine Eclipse - minor feathering, minor bleed through, show through

 

I have some J. Herbin Rouge Hematite ink but no available pen at the moment to try it out with.

[Arcadian]

I am curious, has anyone tried the Monsieur Fountain after they purportedly changed the type of paper they use?

[inkypete]

I haven't seen the new variety in Australia as yet although these notebooks are still sold downunder. This review was spot on - paper was poor and I also understand the binding did not hold up under pressure of daily use. I would like to know too if this new paper did eventuate.

[dneal]

Nice review, but I'm surprised you find Pilot cartridges to work well on cheap paper. For me (on xerox paper, for example) it writes about 2 widths wider and feathers horribly.

[inkypete]

Nice review, but I'm surprised you find Pilot cartridges to work well on cheap paper. For me (on xerox paper, for example) it writes about 2 widths wider and feathers horribly.

The fun of fountain pens. You never know how they will react with various papers under various hands.