Leuchtturm1917 Master & Medium Journals Review

[el.Fakir]

This is a much delayed review. I’ve been meaning to post this for more than two months but I felt too lazy to shoot the photographs. Anyway, finally here it is now. My first paper/journal review;

(Please note, in some of the photographs you may see a white dot paper. That's a sheet from Rhodia DotPad that I used for white balance corrections and to give you an idea of the colour of Leuchtturm paper)

 

I don’t know why but I’d always been neglecting the paper leg of the 'Pen-Ink-Paper' trio until the beginning of this year. That is maybe because standard papers/notebooks and Moleskines (which back then, when I was using them, were not as bad as people claim that they are nowadays), seemed adequate for my needs or maybe because my primary choice for nibs was standard M or B. As my nibs started getting broader and broader to BB, 1.5mm or 1.9mm stubs I thought it was time to look for more quality paper.

 

As you all might have guessed my quick search had brought me to one name; Rhodia Webnotebook. I got it, I used it and nothing has ever been the same again. The Rhodia paper was phenomenal, nothing like any paper I’d ever tried before, but the overall physical quality and the format of Webbies were not exactly perfect for me.

 

So the search continued until I came across Leuchtturm1917 journals.

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2701.jpg

Leuchtturm Master - Plain & Dotted in Black

 

Many additional features that Rhodia Webbies lacked and getting more pages per notebook have convinced me to try them. The only question remained to be answered was about the paper quality and whether it’s as good as (or at least close enough to) Rhodia paper.

 

Before going on into details regarding paper quality let me first introduce those features that made me want to try the Leuchtturm;

 

Leuchtturm hard-cover journals come in three sizes;

• Master: A4+, 225x315mm or 8.86x12.40in with 233 pages (There is also a Slim version of Master with 121 pages)
  

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Features listed at the back flier of Leuchtturm Master

 

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Product information cards

 

Master size is slightly larger than standard A4. This enables you to store unfolded A4 papers either in between the pages or inside the back pocket.

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2836.jpg

Document pocket at the back of Leuchtturm Master

 

Rhodia A4 is 210x297mm or 8.25x11.75in (exactly in standard A4 size and hence smaller than Leuchtturm Master).

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2829.jpg

Left: Red Leuchtturm Master, Right: Rhodia Webnotebook A4

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2830.jpg

Rhodia Webnotebook A4 is smaller than Leuchtturm Master

 

• Medium: A5, 145x210mm or 5.71x8.27in with 249 pages
  

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2704.jpg

Two Leuchtturm Medium journals, one in caramel and the other in cornflower colour

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2708.jpg

Features listed at the back of Leuchtturm Medium

 

Rhodia A5 with dimensions of 140x210 mm or 5.5x8.25in is slightly smaller than Leuchtturm Medium.

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2845.jpg

Rhodia Webnotebook A5 at the bottom and Leuchtturm Mediums on top of it

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2844.jpg

Covers of Rhodia Webnotebook A5 are thicker than those of Leuchtturm Medium. It's also the same for Master vs. Rhodia A4.

 

• Pocket: 90x150mm or 3.54x5.91in with 185 pages
  

Rhodia Pocket with dimensions of 90x140mm or 3.5x5.5in is also slightly smaller than Leuchtturm counterpart.

 

 

The last 8 sheets on all sizes are detachable in case you want to practice your origami skills. A feature I could live without.

 

Rhodia Webnotebook claims to contain 96 sheets. However, the first and the last sheets always come as partially glued to covers. I don't know you but I can't use these sheets and hence in practice Rhodia can offer me only 188 pages. Leuchtturm, on the other hand, offers 45 pages more in Master journal and 61 pages more in Medium journal than Rhodia Webbies. There are some occasions that I may find 188 pages to be just enough but generally speaking, for most of my purposes having more pages is always appreciated.

 

There are more than just page counts in the Leuchtturm;

• All sizes have index pages at the beginning to record important pages - a most-welcomed and nice touch!
  

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2831.jpg

Index page in Leuchtturm Master

 

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Index page in Leuchtturm Medium

 

• All pages are numbered,
  

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Leuchtturm Master Dotted

 

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Leuchtturm Medium Dotted in cornflower colour at the top

 

• and they come with stickers to aid you in archiving old journals. There are labels for both the front cover and the spine;
  

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Stickers coming with Leuchtturm Master

 

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Stickers coming with Leuchtturm Medium

 

As you can see they take their motto, ‘Details Make All the Difference’, very seriously in Leuchtturm.

In my humble opinion, the build quality of Leuchtturm journals is clearly superior to Rhodia Webbies. Covers feel more sturdy and nice to the touch and the tolerances are tighter. They show every sign of meticulously engineered and executed production.

Paper quality aside, my choice would always be for Leuchtturm for its overall quality.

 

However, we cannot put the paper quality aside, can we? This is why we pay more and buy these journals. So that we can write on fountain-pen-friendly paper and while doing it we can actually enjoy the act of writing as well. There is no better way to spoil your writing pleasure than having your best pen and ink ready but then writing on a bad quality paper. This, as we all can agree on, is where Rhodia shines; it’s very smooth and perfectly well-behaved paper with all kinds of inks, showing almost no bleed-through and feathering. It’s a true pleasure to write on Rhodia.

 

So, how does the paper in Leuchtturm1917 journals hold against Rhodia Webbie?

 

Before delving into more details, let me say in the first place that Leuchtturm’s paper is not bad at all. In fact it’s MUCH better than many notebooks/journals I used before. However, there are some issues and you shouldn’t expect to have the same quality of Rhodia’s.

 

Rhodia paper is very ink resistant. This makes nibs run a bit narrower than the size they actually are and also enables inks to show their shading properties quite prominently. My broad nibs, for instance, don’t feel as broad on Rhodia paper as they do on less ink-resistant papers, such as Leuchtturm's.

 

Paper in Leuchtturm is more absorbent and for this reason writing tends to swell a bit and you lose some shading.

 

Show-through/ghosting is also more prominent on Leuchtturm’s paper. I'm not sure whether this is due to colour difference (Leuchtturm’s paper being whiter - but not quite white) or sizing difference between the two.

 

As far as bleed-through is concerned, Leuchtturm can hold on pretty well IF you have the RIGHT Leuchtturm. Are you confused? So was I!

 

As you might have noticed from the information listed on the back flier, papers in Master and Medium sizes are not the same. The former comes with 100gsm paper as clearly noted at the back, whereas the latter has 80gsm paper which is not mentioned anywhere at all(except on Leuchtturm's website). I didn't see any inconsistency in paper quality among different Master journals. They all performed quite satisfactorily at the same level. The problem is mainly related to Medium ones.

 

Here are some pictures to demonstrate how Leuchtturm Master performed compared to Rhodia Webnotebook A4;

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/020LA4.jpg http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/026RA4.jpg

Left: Leuchtturm Master, Right: Rhodia Webnotebook A4

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/021LA4.jpghttp://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/027RA4.jpg

Left: Leuchtturm Master, Right: Rhodia Webnotebook A4

 

Details of Leuchtturm Master;

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/022LA4.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/023LA4.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/024LA4.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/025LA4.jpg

 

Details of Rhodia Webnotebook A4;

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/028RA4.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/029RA4.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/030RA4.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/031RA4.jpg

 

I bought two Medium journals with dot paper in different colours - Caramel and Cornflower. The Caramel came with the notorious sticker that so many here on FPN talk about. It says ‘New Paper – Stronger & Ink Proof, 80 g/m²’.

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/IMG_2707.jpg

This sticker on caramel Leuchtturm Medium tries to tell something which turned out to be far from reality.

 

I felt relieved to see this sticker because this should mean that the paper was from the new batch and not like the old feathering paper and it’s meant to be suitable for fountain pen use. I also felt a little disappointed for the cornflower one which didn’t come with a sticker to proudly present.

The funny thing is, though, it turned out that the case is completely the opposite. If this sticker was any indication for the quality of paper it should have been on the cornflower one.

 

Photos below clearly show how poorly the paper in Caramel behaved compared to that in Cornflower. (Please, note that this is the case for bleed-through only. I don’t see any feathering on either one of Medium journals.)

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/056LBLCA5.jpg

Left: Leuchtturm Medium Cornflower, Right: Leuchtturm Medium Caramel

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/057LBLCA5.jpg

Left: Leuchtturm Medium Cornflower, Right: Leuchtturm Medium Caramel

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/035LA5B.jpg

Leuchtturm Medium Cornflower

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/041LA5C.jpg

Leuchtturm Medium Caramel

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/037LA5B.jpg

Leuchtturm Medium Cornflower

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/043LA5C.jpg

Leuchtturm Medium Caramel

 

 

It’s inexcusable for a journal of this price to have two different paper quality from batch to batch, not to mention the misleading sticker that turns all into a big puzzle. Leuchtturm should fix this issue as soon as possible. You need to know exactly what you’ll get when you buy a notebook, just like you do whichever Rhodia Webbie you buy.

 

Here are the details showing how Leuchtturm Medium Cornflower - the better one, performed compared to Rhodia Webnotebook A5;

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/050LRA5.jpg

Left: Leuchtturm Medium Cornflower, Right: Rhodia Webnotebook A5

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/051LRA5.jpg

Left: Leuchtturm Medium Cornflower, Right: Rhodia Webnotebook A5

 

 

Details of Leuchtturm Medium;

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/034LA5B.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/035LA5B.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/036LA5B.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/037LA5B.jpg

 

 

Details of Rhodia Webnotebook A5;

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/046RA5.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/047RA5.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/048RA5.jpg

 

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/halidak/Pen%2090%20-%20Paper/049RA5.jpg

 

In conclusion, I can say wholeheartedly that I liked Leuchtturm1917 journals very much. I’m not sure if I’ll ever buy another Medium but I’ve decided to use the Leuchtturm Master as my primary daily journal. All the additional features combined with more generous page count make up for the slightly inferior (compared to Rhodia’s) paper quality.

 

If somehow Leuchtturm can make the paper as good as Rhodia’s it will be the PERFECT journal for me and I wouldn’t need to use anything else.

 

I hope I didn’t bore you to death and you find this review helpful.

Your most humble servant, Halid

[Ghost Plane]

:notworthy1:

How lovely to have another broad nib person answer all my questions. You are my hero as I was debating testing a Master since the smaller are one side of the page only due to bleed through.

Thank you for a lovely and exhaustive review.

[inkypete]

Great review - thanks. I love the whole form of Leuchtturm but despite saying their paper is ink friendly it isn't quite good enough for me. Clairefontaine is still unbeatable, although Rhodia is a close second. Thanks again - lot of effort in that review.

[Joe in Seattle]

Very nice review. I prefer 1917 to Rhodia because the Rhodia paper lets the ink sit on top of it and the 1917 paper accepts the ink from the nib. I agree webbies do have slightly better paper, but for about half the cost the 1917's do it for me. My experience is with the medium size and the 80 gram paper.

[mm1624124]

Great review! I've been contemplating whether to purchase a Leuchtturm and what size for over a year. This review definitely influenced my decision to try one.

[K. Cakes]

VERY thorough review! I prefer the Leuchtturm notebooks because the shading is really unbeatable. Since I use fine and extra fine nibs (with a couple stubs thrown in) bleedthrough has never been a problem with mine. I have yet to try the master sized, but I think I may pick one up on my next Goulet order.

[N2theBreach]

Nice review. Thanks. When Brian Goulet did a video review of the 1917, he said that he was in touch their rep about the paper needs of FP users. Apparently the company is receptive to discussing them. So, I guess I'll stay tuned to see what comes of it,.

 

Count me as a 1917 user also, although I like the Webbie for my personal journal.

[EKE]

Great review, and the results correspond very closely to my experience.

 

I bought a Leuchtturm Master as a candidate for my next professional journal. I was so very impressed with all of the incredible details built into it, which you have very thoroughly catalogued. It is a very well designed and made product.

 

But I just couldn't get beyond the paper quality. It nice enough paper, but the bleed through was just too much for me to feel ok with writing on both sides of the pages. This is a deal breaker for me with a journal. So despite the wonderful qualities of the Leuchtturm Master, I will be staying with my Clairefontaine A4 and my Rhodia Webbie.

[EKE]

I think that the whole discussion of absorbent vs. non- absorbent paper is an interesting topic. There seems to be really differing opinions on this here at FPN. Some folks prefer the very burnished and ink resistant Clairefontaine-type paper, where the ink stays on top of the paper and drys more slowly, while others prefer the paper to absorb the ink more readily, as with the Leuchtturm. It appears it's really a matter of personal preference, and there is no universally accepted standard.

 

I certainly prefer the less absorbent papers, and the 90 gr. Clairefontaine paper is like the gold standard to me. I like it precisely because the ink tends to pool on top of it and dry as much from evaporation as from absorption into the fibers of the paper - not in spite of it. I think that by pooling on the surface, the ink marks exhibit more shading as they dry. The pigment in the ink is drawn into certain areas and away from others, before being absorbed. This seems to be what gives great shading to the ink strokes, and it makes writing on this kind of paper look alive and "inky" to me.

 

My 2c. But others here clearly disagree with this, as I've seen posted many times. So interesting!

-EKE

[mAnuscript69]

Great review. I have yet to try these out myself, but enjoy my pocket and medium Leuchtturm notebooks.

While many people will say that Leuchtturm paper doesn't hold up, I've had great success with finer nibs. The only time I ever experience bleedthrough is when I really flex my Ahab.

 

I love these notebooks for their balance between cost and quality. My only complain is that oils from my hands transfer onto the page causing my pen to skip when writing over the patch. Then again, this happens with my Rhodia and Clairefontaine notebooks as well (even more so). An envelope beneath the palm of my writing hand solves this problem.

 

I've just reviewed an A4 Quo Vadis Habana and will post it soon once I get some pictures taken.

[leomitch]

Salaam Halid

An excellent, exhaustive review! Your findings concur with mine. I have switched from the Quo Vadis to the 1917 Master as my main journal because of the thoughtful design, the generous size and quantity of the pages and the broader writing space of 8mm between lines as opposed to 5mm for the Quo Vadis. The quality of the paper is just fine providing I don't use my 1.9 mm nib on my Lamy AL.

Thank you so much for this detailed effort.

 

Leo

[el.Fakir]

:notworthy1:

How lovely to have another broad nib person answer all my questions. You are my hero as I was debating testing a Master since the smaller are one side of the page only due to bleed through.

Thank you for a lovely and exhaustive review.

 

Aww, thank you! :embarrassed_smile:

I'm glad you found it helpful.

 

I first thought of including many broader nibs into the review to show more evidently the limits of this paper but decided against it in the end. Then, I’ve included nibs of every possible size available to me. (I have to say, though, my medium nibs all tend to be generous, wet writers, exactly the way I like them.) Besides, the inks that I used in TWSBI 540 1.5mm are the ones that have a tendency to bleed-through, so it can give an idea about the capabilities of Leuchtturm paper.

[el.Fakir]

This seems to be what gives great shading to the ink strokes, and it makes writing on this kind of paper look alive and "inky" to me.

 

My preference is also for non-absorbent paper exactly due to this reason.

I so wish Leuchtturm could offer Rhodia-like paper in their great journals. That would be unbeatable.

[el.Fakir]

VERY thorough review! I prefer the Leuchtturm notebooks because the shading is really unbeatable. Since I use fine and extra fine nibs (with a couple stubs thrown in) bleedthrough has never been a problem with mine. I have yet to try the master sized, but I think I may pick one up on my next Goulet order.

 

I agree with you. If I were using finer nibs I wouldn’t look any further than Leuchtturm.

[EKE]

I agree completely. If the Leuchtturm Master had 90g Clairefontaine dot paper, it would be the holy grail of journals. As it is it is very good indeed, and if you are a F or EF user, it's probably already plenty fine enough.

 

EKE

[FPFan]

A really great review! Thanks for it. But this shows me what I had been wanting to know and I will have to stay with the Rhodia and ClaireFontaine that deal with my larger, wet nibbed pens.

[inkypete]

I agree completely. If the Leuchtturm Master had 90g Clairefontaine dot paper, it would be the holy grail of journals. As it is it is very good indeed, and if you are a F or EF user, it's probably already plenty fine enough.

 

EKE

It used to be called Quo Vadis Habana.

[EKE]

I have no experience with the Habana. Can you get it in dot grid?

[John Cullen]

Wow, excellent review and photographs.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. I read this with my morning coffee and was delighted to do so. I am sure I will return to this and read it again.

 

I just decided to write on only one side of the paper in any journal I use. I know this seems wasteful to some people, but it is a pretty small bit of waste really and it is not like I am running through a journal each week or anything extreme.

 

I am going to try one of the Master sized ones and see how it is.

 

Thanks again, J

[el.Fakir]

Wow, excellent review and photographs.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. I read this with my morning coffee and was delighted to do so. I am sure I will return to this and read it again.

 

I just decided to write on only one side of the paper in any journal I use. I know this seems wasteful to some people, but it is a pretty small bit of waste really and it is not like I am running through a journal each week or anything extreme.

 

I am going to try one of the Master sized ones and see how it is.

 

Thanks again, J

Thank you, John, to you and all, for your kind and supportive words. It means a lot to me. I’m really glad you liked it.

 

I also debated myself about using only one side of paper in journals. However, it didn’t seem right to me, not because I thought it’s a waste of paper but because I’d be worried about storage issues. Using only one side of paper means trying to find storage for twice as many journals and I don’t have that much space to utilise.