[Velma]

Rantlets:

1) Barnes and Noble, and Borders, and other chain stores often have very pretty journals on their shelves.

What they also often have are:
* journals sealed in plastic; and
* clerks who know nothing about paper.

If they say, "Oh, sure! You can use fountain pens on this paper, no problem!" don't believe them.

2) My experiences with recycled paper and imported journals with hand-made paper from India have generally been negative. ink bleeds and feathers, with anything except a ball-point pen -- those just leave oily blots.

Am I a cranky journal keeper? Why, yes, I do believe I am. I want my ink to go where I put it, not spreading out all along the paper, and I want my paper to feel nice, both to my fingertips and through the pen nib.

[KCat]

Velma, on Apr 29 2005, 11:33 AM, said:

Am I a cranky journal keeper? Why, yes, I do believe I am. I want my ink to go where I put it, not spreading out all along the paper, and I want my paper to feel nice, both to my fingertips and through the pen nib.

I don't think that's cranky - I think that is a perfectly reasonable expectation.

of course, i think most of us here would think that and since, as Wim often points out, we are all a little nuts...

i think it was fortunate that the little journal I picked up from B&N that was wrapped in plastic turned out to be FP friendly. Has a little show through so it's not for everyone obviously. But i took a $5 risk.

[wimg]

Hi KCat,

Quote

of course, i think most of us here would think that and since, as Wim often points out, we are all a little nuts...

Who, me? Naaaahhh, couldn´t be :lol:.

Warm regards, WIm

[corienb]

*chokes on her breakfast*

[wimg]

Hi Corien,

corienb, on Apr 30 2005, 10:56 AM, said:

*chokes on her breakfast*

Why? :lol:
Warm regards, Wim

[Fulcanelli]

Just a sad note to add...

I finished my first Moleskine last week and started another. I've never really been very pleased with the performance of the paper, but it did an okay job for me. I dusted off an old Sheaffer pen with a nice fine point and noticed that the paper bleeds quite a bit. Sigh...

So I will be on the lookout again for a journal, something plain, lined, with a more FP-friendly paper.

[Fulcanelli]

Over the past few days, two noteworthy events occurred. First, after just about giving up on finding Letts of London, one magically appeared in my life. There it was/is. And second, I found an old journal I had, one I liked quite a bit, and tracked down the maker online. I bought this at Borders some years ago and apparently they do not carry this brand anymore. You can see from their web site that they have a wide variety to choose from, both sewn and wire-bound....books, wrap-around closures, wire-bound designed, imprinted soft leather, etc. The one I have (Chunky Kraft Hardbound) has really nice thick paper and it lays open nicely.

Here is the site of Michael Roger Press: http://www.bookbinders.com/

Products > Blank Books > Journals

[Velma]

Michael Roger Press well-nigh took over the blank book market here in NYC, with all sorts of sizes and colors, for a while in the 1980s and 90s. They're good sturdy books, and I like them, though I wish the small spirals weren't always as big.

The flaw was that for a while in the late 90s-early 00s, they used recycled paper that bled and feathered, no matter what sort of pen you used (apart from a ballpoint). But in the past few years, they've evidently come up with a better grade of paper.

I'm partial to the "Double-O" wirebound books in the 5x7 size: narrow ruled with faint grey rules, stiff covers, so the books support themselves if you hold them in your lap, and a wide variety of covers, from velvet to florentine designs. And that size fits conveniently into most shoulder bags.