[Fulcanelli]

My pens were laying dormant in my drawer because I had no real use for them for a while. However, recently I started keeping a journal of sorts, a travel log, of my adventures searching for photos in my area, and a hardcopy journal seemed the best of all worlds. For one, it gave me a real reason to ink up and write. I love it and write every day over a cup of coffee at Starbucks. It's wonderful.

I had been using a ball point at first when I decided to try my fountains in my Moleskine journal. For the most part, it works. The ink does bleed a little, blurring the fine line I cut with my Pelikan S400, Aurora black ink. The Moleskine is nice because it's easy to find (and I get a bit of a discount with my B&N member card.) They're really nice, size-wise, and I love the elastic band that keeps the book shut. It also has a great tradition, with users like Van Gogh, Matisse, and Hemmingway as users.

I searched in this thread for mention of journal-ers and found little.

What type of journal-type books do you prefer for use with your FP?

[Fulcanelli]

Hmmm...

Thanks for that information. Those slimy bastards. ;)

I do like the journal quite a bit and find it does reasonably well with ink. Are the claims about Hemmingway using the Moleskine in Paris? The history section of Moleskine says this:

Quote

In Ernest Hemingway's memoir, Moveable Feast, he chronicles Paris in the 1920s just after World War I while spending time writing in various Paris cafés. Hemingway reflects on the quintessential moments ordering a cafe au lait and pulling out his notebook and pencil from his pocket to start writing. It is this simple ritual that he describes so well.  That comfortable feeling, when even in the mist of a bustling café that one can immerse oneself into thoughtful prose or a delicate sketch. During this time in Paris, Hemingway apparently had also been working on The Sun Also Rises using his trusted Moleskine. Not a surprising notion to those that have come to know and love Moleskine.

The mention of Hemingway writing his memoirs does not specifically name Moleskine as his journal, but the later section does, his work on The Sun Also Rises.

I mean, I could really care less who used these journals because when I'm sitting down and writing, it really doesn't matter, now does it? LOL.

[georgem]

I started using Clairefontaine notebooks as journals a few months ago. They are really FP friendly. No matter what the ink, the pen, or how wet the line, the ink does not feather and the paper does not bleed through!!!

When I obtained the first notebook, I really tried to make feathering or bleed through happen by using wet writers with inks that were expecially prone to do just that. No such luck!. The written line just sat there on the page, drying properly, and, when dried, leaving no trace whatever on the obverse side of the page.

I bought several more Clairefontaine notebooks.

[Velma]

I like Clairefontaine journals, though I would like them more if they were narrow-ruled. The paper is a bright white, and it loves fountain pen ink -- as has been mentioned above, it's heavy enough that it doesn't bleed through, and it doesn't feather: the worst that happens is that occasionally, with a heavily saturated ink (Private Reserve Sherwood Green, for example), writing takes a while to dry.

Letts of London makes some narrow-ruled books that are quite nice if you like perfect-bound books; I've used three different sizes, and they're all fountain pen friendly. My current choice is either the classic filigree journal (384 pages) or the soft-touch journals (164 pages).

And Michael Roger Press has *finally* upgraded their recycled paper so that it doesn't bleed and feather (at least not with the dry-write extra fine nibs that I use.)

I have found that Japanese notebooks seem to take fountain pen ink well. There's one particular spiral called Boston Notebook that's narrow-ruled (you might notice a minor obsession here,) and works well; there's a bit of show-through, but it doesn't seem to bleed.

[Mike]

They're not as, ahem, flashy, as some people may like, but I'm a big fan of Miquelrius journals, especially the low-key boardbound composition-style book.

[Keith with a capital K]

My journal is about as low key as they come, it's a Blueline A9 hardbound journal with paper that is excellent for every FP ink I have used in it.

[Thesaurus Rex]

Quote

I have found that Japanese notebooks seem to take fountain pen ink well. There's one particular spiral called Boston Notebook that's narrow-ruled (you might notice a minor obsession here,) and works well; there's a bit of show-through, but it doesn't seem to bleed. 

Ah, yes, you clever girl! Those are THE cheap fountain pen friendly notebooks as far as I am concerned. You are sooooooo lucky to live in a big city where they are just a subway ride away. I have always received them in small batches of five or six when a friend goes to the west coast or to Japan. So, then, in 2001, when I went to Japan, the first place I shopped was the STATIONERY SHOP.

Ohhhhhh, the Japanese stationery shop... :drool:

My suitcases were sooooooo heavy coming back because they were full of notebooks and paper.

"Anything to declare, Mr. Rex?"

Oh, just about half a dozen acres of timber mowed down and made into this giant pile of... perfect...perfect...beauuuuuutiful noooootebooks.

[Stompy]

Miquel Rius, Moleskine, Clairfontaine. All bound notebooks, all excellent IMHO.

I'm going to Brussles tomorrow for work, if I can get away I'm going to see if I can stock up on the bound Clairfontaine books from a stationery store.

[Velma]

Thesaurus Rex, on Mar 29 2005, 11:24 PM, said:

Ohhhhhh, the Japanese stationery shop... :drool:

I limit my trips to Kinokuniya to four times a year (I get to do one in April -- yay!) because it's so dangerous. Needle-point gel pens, all the sizes of notebooks... wheeeee! Two weeks, and I get to go back!

[Fulcanelli]

After seeing all these new names of journal mfg, I decided to see what a local writing store had in stock. One I found that looked a bit like the Moleskine which I think I will continue to make my very own (even if Matisse didn't use the actual brand) is one called Hartley Marks. They looked a bit like the Moleskine.

[KCat]

i will use what I can find on sale that seems sturdy. I've stumbled on some that looked hideous but took FP ink beautifuly and were $3. Then on some $6 hardbound journals with cool graphics (made by "Artimus"?) but usually those are $12 or more. I bought about 6 of them at the sale price and have used them up.

In the US, a good place to look is Ross Dress-for-Less or Tuesday Mornings. They often have nice leather journals for 4-5 bucks and many of them are FP friendly. I found one recently that looked promising but it feathers. Still, I'll use it because it has thick ivory paper and is hard-back, leather-bound.

I like the little Clairefontaines but they probably won't stand up to the way I abuse journals. And a bit too expensive for such small booklets. I'm using one I got in a trade to keep track of new vocab words as I read. The paper is lovely.

so - i tend to go cheap but not so cheap as Mead which is great for pencil, not so good for FP. Especially not my heavy inks.

[Fulcanelli]

KCat, on Mar 30 2005, 06:26 PM, said:

I like the little Clairefontaines but they probably won't stand up to the way I abuse journals.

Kcat:

You seem to buy a wide array of books. I was thinking of sticking with one because I lack so much continuity in my life, that a stack of the same books filled with my thoughts might be nice for a change. (I'm still leaning heavily to the Moleskine.)

How do you store your journals?

[KCat]

Fulcanelli, on Mar 31 2005, 06:25 AM, said:

You seem to buy a wide array of books. I was thinking of sticking with one because I lack so much continuity in my life, that a stack of the same books filled with my thoughts might be nice for a change. (I'm still leaning heavily to the Moleskine.)

How do you store your journals?

For a while I bought only these black cloth, wire-bound, 100% recycled paper journals from the local art supply store. Continuity is nice - but I get bored. :) Sometimes I think it would be nice to have the sort of set-up that Levenger has - you can get a journal that fits into a nice cover. When the journal is filled, you can store it next to all the previously filled journals and they all look the same except for the label. But then I see some cool little journal on sale and can't help myself.

Store them?

oh.. you mean the shoe boxes stacked in my closet... :D