I'm trying to shift more of my writing from the computer to pen-and-paper, and I'm having trouble finding the right papers and systems of organization for me. I've tried Rhodia, which is expensive and the wrong size (I grew up with 8.5 x 11 paper, and A4 feels odd to me). I've looked into the Rollabind/Circa system, which looks promising, but will cost more than a good fountain pen for a starter kit. So I turn now to the experts.

What do you folks use, for note-taking, journals, stationery, organization, and so forth?

Note taking and problem solving: Ampad Gold Fibre 20 lb pads, in US letter size. I also have some of the half sized pads.

Journals, bound note books: Black N Red (at least that is what I am converting to).

3 x 5 cards: I've used Levenger in the past and have some left. Looking for a cheaper FP-friendly card. Alco was recommended here and worked OK with a couple of my inks and pens, poorly with others.

If I can find ones that work with FP, I also like steno pads (top bound, 6" x 9") and composition books.

Already posted in your Circa inquiry thread...

In addition to my Circa in 3x5, 5.5x8 and 8.5x11, I use:

Staedtler 11x17 grid paper for brainstorming and mind maps.

That green engineering computational paper.

Ampad grid paper.

Grid printed HP32# paper.

Plain HP32# paper.

3x5 Moleskinerie grided notebooks in regular and reporter style.

Oxford 3x5 and 4x6 cards.

And whatever cheap-o yellow pads the administration has ordered lately, Office Depot right now.

It is not at all unusual for me to handwrite 5 to 10,000 words in a day, almost all with a fountain pen. I switch between papers and pens to amuse myself and to fit the situation.

I'm new to the paper acquisition part of FP use but I think I've found a nice kit:

Rhodia No 18 pad, lined. Wonderful for note taking making answer keys (I teach) etc.

Rhodia No 13 smaller pad with grid. Replaced my post-it notes, which I found disagreed with my FPs.

Clairefontaine Triomphe writing paper and envelopes.

Excompta jounal: made with Clairefontaine paper.

My only disappointment has been my recently-purchased Craine's correspondence cards. They have a very scratchy surface that is not FP friendly at all. Glad I only purchased 50.

Bob

i use:

pocket moleskine with squared paper for lists, info, ideas, etc. and on the go use.

pocket moleskine sketchbook for on the go sketches and drawings.

large moleskine with squared paper for journal, notes, recipes, lists, detailed invention ideas, etc.

3x5 mead cambridge 20lb writing pads for quick notes and things to look into further and expand upon in the moleskines.

black n red notebook for fountain pen/ink samples, water tests, and other related things.

ampad gold fibre 20lb 5x8 legal pad in a padfolio with pen loop for on the go use.



im still on the lookout for a quality journal with good fountain pen friendly paper for writing and drawing. i also plan on getting another moleskine, but with blank paper, for nothing but quotes.

KMart's offbrand "Alco" 3x5 cards - very FP friendly and CHEAP!. They are the best cheap cards I've found by far. I made some templates up and print one side for notes, and the other for a weekly calendar & to do list.

I always carry a No 11 Rhodia pad or a tiny Apica note book. I bought a bunch of Apica note book just in case my local paper store would run out of it, this japanese note book has amazing paper for FP.

I also write in a Moleskine, I use a lot of Clairefontaine product and I write letters on G.Lalo paper.

Try to find Apica!

Samovar

Interesting... thanks for weighing in on this.

I'd heard that Moleskine notebooks weren't terribly fountain pen-friendly. Has that changed, or is it still a problem?

I carry a Reporter's Moleskine in my hip pocket always, since discovering it not long ago. It replaced a spiral-bound flip-top notepad that rode in my shirt pocket. I have found the Moleskine to be fine with every pen and ink I've tried with it -- which is not like dozens, more like 7. But that suits me. It seems, from what I am gathering here, that there is variation in Moleskine paper. Perhaps they buy paper from one source and then another, with the contradictory results that are reported here. I carry an Ampad Gold small notepad in a leather folio at times (something like 5x8, I've never measured it), or an Ampad Gold A4 pad in a larger folio at other times, depending on perceived need. For letters, I use the gray granite paper made by Ampad and by Southworth; personally, I think they come from the same manufacturer and just get branded differently.

People talk a lot about Red and Black notepads, and if I ever see them at my local Staples I will try one, but I'm pretty happy with what I've got at present. Someday I might get expansive and buy a suite of really good correspondence paper. I do like the sensuous side of FP use, which includes the feel and look of the paper.

I've had no problems with a Lamy Safari and the Moleskine I have. That's just an N of 1 though.

djehuty:
whether or not moleskines work well for you depends on the pens and ink you use. i love my moleskines-a large and a pocket size notebooks with squared pages. i write in them almost exclusively with fountain pens now, and dont have much of a problem with the paper being unfriendly.

the best combo i have is a medium knight and namiki blue. it dries fast, doesnt 'dry smear', and the nib is the perfect size for my writing, and the ink doesnt bleed through at all from this pen. it doesnt even show through the other side.

i just received a fine lamy vista and filled it with namiki blue. its a *very* wet writer, and is as wide as my medium phileas. this does not work as well with the thin paper of the moles, but isnt TOO problematic. at some angles of nib-to-paper the line is thinner and drier, so i try and write more in that way than the 'intended' angle, but either way works. it doesnt bleed right through the pages, but it sure wants to, and there is a good bit of show-through.

i also use a lot of parker quink black [i have an order of noodlers black on the way] in my moleskines, and its filled in a variety of parkers-mk1 fine "21" which is a wet writer, a mk2 fine "21" which writes drier, but not DRY-just right, and a fine 45 flighter which writes more like a medium/fine, and dont have a problem using any of them in the moleskines either. the 45 and mk1 "21" will bleed if i really lay down a lof of ink in one spot, but not with normal writing. it also dries plenty fast enough for me, but it also has a tendency to smear once dry with a moist finger since it isnt waterproof [but very slightly water resistant]. second to the knight would be the mk2 "21" with quink black.

i just filled the medium phileas with noodlers golden brown, after using waterman black. the waterman black worked fine in the moleskines, but it would smear with a moist finger after its dry, and was slightly susceptible to skin oils on the mole paper. the golden brown doesnt work well with the moleskine paper. it dries just a bit too slow for me [lefty], and 'dry smears' for a tiny bit longer until its 'really dry'. the biggest problem with it though is how problematic it is if there are any oils from your hands on the paper [moleskine paper only]. the ink just doesnt want to absorb into the paper, and takes even longer to dry, and wont leave a nice, true continuous line, just a bunch of dots along a line. if however, the page is oil free, the ink does very nicely, with some great shading to boot. would work perfectly in a not too wet writer for a lefty underwriter or righty.

i look forward to seeing how the noodlers black works. i think ill also try the lamy cart that came with the pen.
-hope that helped.


brerarnold:
the black n red paper is VERY nice, and every bit as good or better with various pen/ink combos as the ampad gold fibre 20lb. also, if you are looking for a cheaper version of the reporter style moleskine, with better paper, try out the mead cambridge 20lb 3x5 writing pads. i reviewed them in the paper/pen review section.



bayes:
what size nib is your safari? is it a wet writer?

If any of you get to Japan, you may wish to try "Life Vincent" notebooks. Spiral bound at the top or on the side in a variety of sizes, they have lovely cream colored paper with muted blue lines. I discovered this paper in a stationary magazine article featuring the best of what has to be the richest array of paper in the world. The paper is thick and on the smooth side, though with just enough resistance to make fountain pen writing, especially with wet nibs, a real pleasure. (Itoya in the Ginza carries them in many formats.)

For work I use the Clairefontaine A4 sized wirebound notebooks (soft covers) - it fits well inside my Padfolio. I use this mostly for to-do's, project notes, etc. I also carry one of those Levenger 3x5 pocket briefcases and use Crane cards - however once these are gone, likely switching to the Staples Oxford cards - just to be able to afford my kid's school

Has anyone had any experiences with these Exacompta journals? They almost look like something I've been wishing for: a Moleskine body (black cover, elastic closure, ribbon bookmark, interior folder) with Clairefontaine paper (because the Moleskine paper can be iffy sometimes). I don't think these particular journals have the ribbon bookmark or folder but I'm okay with that. If anyone's used them, I'd appreciate your feedback.

I'm new to the paper side of fountain pen writing myself, but I now use a Moleskine large daily planner at the office to keep track of billable hours, a Moleskine large ruled notebook as a writing journal, and a large Moleskine Cahier notebook for quick notes.

Clearly, I have taken a shining to Moleskine products. But I have discovered that the quality and ink friendliness of the paper in Moleskine notebooks and journals are inconsistent and vary tremendously from product to product, as has been noted in FPN posts. For example, I had no problems writing with a fountain pen in one Cahier notebook, while I experienced inconsistent writing and poor performance in another Cahier notebook even though both came in the same three-pack of Cahier notebooks.

Sonnet:

I have one of the journals and am happy with it. They are a tad smaller than your average hard back "marble"/composition notebook you'd find at staples. Nice paper. Only one smear and that was with Pelikan Brilliant Black and a thick, wet italic nib when I was numbering the pages (the page turned over and smeared a bit).

Given that the paper is CF, I'm not sure I'd pay the premium again for the fancy cover or just get an ordinary CF notebook

Bob

I'm a child of the 8.5 x 11 sheets, and have come up with a system for it.

1. For my journals, I used to use looseleaf 8.5 x 11 sheets and then when i have written on enough pages, bind them into 2 inch-thick volumes. (I journal a great deal and now have ten volumes of 2-inch-thick journals). Now I'm tired of loose leaf so I now print lines on 8.5 x 11 sheets of Crane paper or other good stationery papers, and then bind them using a wire binder (good for sixty sheets for the thicker papers and eighty sheets for the thinner papers). I like this system as I get to pick my own artsy covers, combined with the paper and the line size I prefer, and they're more handy to bring around. When done with a wire-bound journal I just put them on the shelf with the rest. But just in case I want to bind them into the 2-inch thick volumes to match the others, I can just take out the wires and then have them bound in the usual manner.

2. For my notes and hand-written drafts, I use letter-sized legal pads. At the end of the day -- or at the end of a piece or an article, or at the end of a pad, for that matter -- I just tear out the pages and then file them into folders. The drafts of and notes for articles and stories get filed together with the various printed revisions, with a file for each title.

3. While taking down notes on the go, or in very windy or cramped or table-less environments, I use a pocket moleskine.

3. I use an 18-month Moleskine planner with the week on the left and a lined page on the right of the spread.

These are the components of my "analog system." Very crude and simple, but works quite well for me.

My journal system is similar to the above, except I use half-sheets, 5 1/2 by 8 1/2, for portability in a junior-sized 3-ring binder. The journal is one section of a binder I regularly carry. As I use up pages, I file them and add new pages, then at the end of the year bind the filed pages. This has worked for a long time. An advantage to this method is that I can choose the type of paper I want, and currently I'm using acid-free archival paper, of a brand that takes FP ink well yet avoids fading. I cut and punch my own paper for the notebook. It's unlined. When I feel the need for lines, I use an under-sheet guide page.

The binder also contains my calendar, address list, and other daily working notes, and I save most everything that goes through it. This has proven very useful over the years. Lately, I've taken to using small lined Moleskines for ad hoc notes; I find that these have the advantage of exteme portability and ready access. Although the pages can't be filed separately under headings the way my binder pages can, they are quickly scannable just by flipping through the pages. More commonplace notebooks than this, and I get into problems of finding things.

Another thing I've found very useful is blank business card stock. Those little cards are substantial and a great size for quick notes, bookmarks, inserts, etc., and take FP ink well.

For writing drafts, I too use lined 8 1/2 x 11 pads.

For short correspondence: G. Lalo blue deckle edge correspondence cards.

For letters and such: G. Lalo Verge stationery and envelopes or some Smythson stock (Nile blue paper and Bond St blue envelopes or is it vice versa).

Quick notes: Exacompta gridded cards.

Magpie like stuff: Paperblanks "Listening to the Bamboo" journal

I also have an assortment of notecards with various motifs, including some smaller ones with custom pictures ordered off of Shutterfly.com

I went to a local printer and asked about card stock in an approximate 90-110lb range and ink friendly paper. He gave me a 2-3 inch stack of scrap stips , remainers, rejects, samples and I looked through/tested them and I selected 3 I liked that tested well with FP and bought sheets of those for .03-.05 each (legal size 11X14). I set up a template for 3X5s (6 cards per sheet with lines for one side and grid for the other) to use the space available, printed on my laser jet printer and cut my own. Total cost for 17 sheet to make 102 cards (6 sheets blue, 6 sheets cream, 5 sheets pale yellow) less than $.85, total labor one hour, satisfaction priceless.

I just returned from Paris where I bought Clairefountaine notebooks and paper, which I am planning to use until it runs out, I have been experimenting with paper since I started using fountain pens and Clairefountaine Seyes or French ruled is my favorite.

I use a a variety. I have some Apica notebooks, one CD-5 pocket size I use to take quick notes, and a CD-11 approx 5 x 8 I use for sermon notes at church. I have two (2) pen carriers which nicely hold an Ampad Embassy 2 x 4 inch pad, and another two carriers which nicely hold Planner Pad note cards, which are roughly 3 x 5, but are preprinted for to-do's etc. I recently acquired a leather-bound journal at Walmart for 8.97, in 5 x 8 form factor, by Markings by C.R. Gibson. All are thoroughly fp friendly, except the journal, which is "Mostly friendly" to paraphrase Miracle Max from Princess Bride.

I used the journal to take notes at a bible conference a couple weekends ago, using my new Reform Calligraph F and my not quite as new Pelikan M200 Binder F, both with Noodler's la coleur royale. It is easy to telll which was written by Reform and which by Pelikan, because the Pelikan nib is wider. However, a couple of days ago I decided to write a sample with each of my pens, in the back of my journal, and take a digital photo and post it, just to show the differences in ink and pens -- I have a variety of pens, mostly F, but only 2 inks - Skrip BB and LCR. The Binder F with LCR in the back pages, wrote like a Medium, and even my Phileas F was much wider than usual. It seems that the paper in the back of the journal is not as fp friendly as the front. Odd. I will have to do some more research.

I am trying to find a source for the reportedly wonderful Japanese notebooks referenced in a post on the paper and paraphenalia section, but no success yet. I have one source who is traveling to Japan later this year, and will try to become a regular source. I will keep you posted if any of my efforts work out -- I have no commercial affiliation, but I did tell the vendors I approached that if they get it I would mention it on FPN and they would probably get inundated -- a little salesmanship, to get them moving to find a supply line.

Donnie

I have been using the Levenger "Infinity Journal" for the last couple of years. It consists of a leather cover with place marking ribbons and a removable well bound blank journal of 600 pages. The paper is thin, but with the inks and pens I use, there is no bleeding through the sheet, so that I can write on both sides. (F and VF nibs and PR Velvet Black; also Noodler black and Aurora blue) From time to time Levenger offers refill journals for the leather binder at about $28.00 for two. When they are on sale I buy a few and keep them on hand in case Levenger drops them sometime in the future. One of the refills lasts me about six months.

These are a little bulky for travel so I often take a smaller volume for trips. The bound volumes of sketch paper at Barnes and Noble work very well if you don't need lines. Some inks feather badly on them, however, so I normally write with a VF nib on a Rotring 600 when I am travelling.