I've been searching for a good journal, with little luck so far. So little luck, in fact, that Moleskine is close to winning by default, even though I like neither the quality of their paper nor the size of their ruled lines.

My definition of "good" for a jounal includes:

- Will lie flat for ease of writing.
- Has good, preferably smooth, fountain pen-friendly paper.
- Ruled lines, preferably somewhat broader than Moleskine.
- Either refillable or of standardized form.
- Preferably book-like rather than wirebound.
- Looks nice (very broad range of possibilities there).
- No leather.

I've tried to find the Boku book mentioned elsewhere in this forum, but have been unable to find any except some very bright pastel colors. I could go to Barnes and Noble for the random journal crapshoot, but I can't afford to waste money on journals I won't like, and B&N won't take them back if you've tested them.

So far, the only reasonable candidates I've found have been Exacompta refills (no pizzazz, won't lie flat, rough paper) and Moleskine (perfect except for tiny tiny tiny ruled lines and wretched paper).

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EDIT: Never mind. I just found this post in the Marketplace. Problem solved!

Is there a reason why you haven't tried the Clairefontaine ones?

I'm really liking the Apica books. They work great with FP's, thin and smooth and no bleed through for me at all. The 6A10 version has 100 pages and lies flat, it's about $6. The CD series comes in different sizes, but has less pages. This ebay store sells them for the best price I could find, and shipping rates are very fair. I think Daily Planner also has them.

I've been through Moleskines, Miquelrius, Clairefontaine and Rhodia pads. Just about everything you can find at local office stores as well. The only ones I keep around are the Rhodia's and now the Apica. Though lately I'm only using Apica.

I have an Exacompta (same company that makes Clairefontaine) journal, and I don't care for the rough texture of the paper, nor for the fact that it won't open to lie flat. The only journals I've seen from that group of companies all put these plain Exacompta journals in leather covers.



I have a number of these, and I like them as well. I'd love to find this sort of thing in a journal-type book. The problem with Apica, for me, is that they're small and difficult to use. They don't open flat unless I bend the spine back, which shortens their lifespan dramatically, and they just don't feel journalish.

For note-taking, I like Apica and Rhodia, but I want something pleasant, comfortable, and bookish as a journal, as an encouragement toward good journaling habits. I'm hoping Ar-Pharazon's hand-made journals will fit the bill.

I don't know what size you're looking for but I've used the Blueline notebooks for years in 8 1/2 X 11

http://www.bluelineinc.com/vw/fs/p014.htm

Staples is now carrying them.

You occasionally will get one with paper that bleeds through, but generally they are fountain pen friendly

The parent company's different brand lines contain different finishes of paper. I have a Clairefontaine brand notebook, approximately 3 inches by 5 inches, sewn binding (it will lie flat after some work), cloth-over-spine, cardboard front and back, rounded outer corners. The paper is very smooth. I know this style comes in other sizes.

The National 56-907 is probably too thick and heavy for your purposes. There are some other likely products on that Rediform catalog website.

The two papers are totally different. Some people actually find the Clairefontaine journals too smooth.

From what I've read, even though it's the same parent company, Clairfontaine, Rhodia, & Exacompta papers are all different. I've never tried the Exacompta.

How big a journal do you want, in terms of number of pages? I'm enjoying a Paperblanks that I picked up from Powell's books on a lark. It has wider ruling than Moleskines, and opens flat quite nicely - better than others I have. (I tend not to be a spine-bender. I haven't had bleed- or show-through with any pen/ink combination I've tried. Their designs may be too ornate and non-standardized for your taste, though.

My local Tuesday Morning [outlet store] had the Eccolo brand, bound in both hard and soft cover leather. The soft are excellent if you don't want to break a spine and they like fountain pen ink.

When I'm not using composition books I use and prefer these journals from BN. They're durable, a good size and they're cheap without looking or feeling cheap. They also come in some nice basic colors.

Basic Black Lined Journal