I've been trying to find my ideal journal: large pages (8.5 x 11, or A4, etc.), unlined, and opens flat. An off-white paper would be nice, but I'm okay with white. I used to use the large Lalo cahiers, but they were discontinued. Then I started using the large Exacompta Basics sketchbooks but they were discontinued. Then I tried the Tar-Calion custom-made journal using HP 32 Premium, but although I like the smoothness of the paper, I'm less fond of the way it broadens the thin strokes of an italic nib. I found out about Kunst & Papier journals/sketchbooks from Kate Katzer of WetPaintArt.com so I thought I'd try one out. I actually bought this test copy from Kunst & Papier because I was confused. Mine carries the stock number "1003 12" if that helps. It costs 18.99 plus shipping.

Here's a shot of it on top of the Tar Callion 8.5 x 11 journal made with HP Premium 32 paper. The Kunst & Papier dimensions are an odd 8.25 x 11.75. You can also see the difference in paper color. The K&P is a nice off-white.



I don't like writing into (or out of) the "hump" so I need something that will lie flat when open:



The hardbound journal contains 112 pages of 100gsm alpha cellulose paper with a paper toothier than the slick Clairefontaine or HP Premium. It can accommodate my .5mm cursive italics, but if I use any pressure it starts snagging some of the nibs. Round nibs are no problem, but you will feel the difference between this and the smoother papers. It's a good, useable paper for me even though it's not ideal (Zerkall Book Smooth comes close to that).

The paper is fountain pen friendly, and that's what counts. Although HP Premium is very smooth, I don't like the way it absorbs a bit of ink and broadens the line. The K&P paper (like the Exacompta paper) is very ink friendly and preserves the thins and peserves the crispness of your writing. No print-through or feathering either! Here's a closeup:



[The bowls/minims of this sample around 2mm]

I'm going to continue using these. Actually, the next volume of my journal will be on a Kunst & Papier Binderboard sketchbook. It's the same paper except more (144 pages vs. 112) and cheaper ($15.99 vs. $18.99). But I'll report on that when the time comes. For now, I'm a happy boy.

Doug

That looks like an interesting journal. I don't care for superslick paper, so this looks fairly nice. I also prefer an offwhite or an ivory to brilliant white, which hurts my eyes after a bit.

The only thing about most journals that turn me away, though, is the hard cover. I don't like writing to or from the hump, either, but even if it lays flat, I have an aversion to hard covers. I cannot explain it. Something about hard covers, in that they seem to have the Mont Blanc storefront repellant force shield. I guess I've spoiled myself with the flexible leather covers.

Your handwriting remains quite nice, by the way. My only real question for you though, is how the heck do you fill your journals so dang fast??

a very dorky observation, but I really like the way all the lines after the first one in the paragraph are indented.

Oh, and yes, a very nice review. I'm the opposite of Kiavonne! I like hardcovers, because I often write lying face down on my bed, so the hardcover and lie-flatness are important to me, too.

Thanks for the review and the pictures. As you know, I am an admirer of your journaling - handwriting, style etc... sigh. Mine are never this presentable!

I love these books too and I noticed on their website that they have softcover and all kinds of sizes -

http://www.kunst-papier.com/

Thanks!

Just wanted to update this review with a photo of some of the other colors I received yesterday. Very nice, I think. (They also come in yellow which I didn't order.) These are the thinner 112 page books; the 256 pager is too thick to write in comfortably when you get near the page bottom and your hand either has to dangle or skim on desktop.



They are all a very nice, deep color with a "laid" type texture. I stick little labels on each to tell me the dates and number of days covered. By the way, that's a Pelikan M200 thrown in for scale.

Wetpaintart.com doesn't carry the thinner version so I got these for $18.95 each directly from Kunst & Papier with free shipping since the total of the three was over $25 threshold for such. It took 11 days to get to me here in Honolulu (from California) which is a bit long, but for free shipping quite reasonable.

Okay -- I'm set for a few months!

Doug

Thanks very much for this write-up, Doug. These Kunst & Papier journals sound like a really good product. I can't stand the slick Claire Fontaine--the very slow ink absorption seems to work well only for dry writing nibs. So hearing that the K&P is a little toothier is enticing.

So what is your preference between the two journal types? The Binderboard is described as "heavyweight acid-free paper is excellent for all dry media and is suitable for waterbased markers and light washes", while the Hardbound Sketchbook is noted as "acid-free Alpha cellulose paper is an excellent support for all dry media and is suitable for markers and light washes." They both say "pH buffered Lignin and chlorine-free," so I assume these use the same paper--or is there a thickness difference? It's interesting how WetPaintArt shows the 8.25x11.75 size, but the K&P website shows 8x11 for the same model number--I take it the K&P website has a typo?

By the way, if you don't mind my asking, what are you writing that fills your pages so quickly?

Do they have a ruled journal?

The Binderboard uses the same paper, but has more pages and I find it too thick. It makes writing on the bottom of the page too difficult. As far as what I'm writing, I guess I have ... uh... a rich inner life? It's not like the neighbor's dog talks to me or anything like that. Also, since writing with a pen instead of a keyboard means that the pen having writ moves on, I often recast a sentence I've just written in a number of ways. Sometimes I'll rewrite the sentence days later as it occurs to me. Basically it's just a journal and I seem to average about 2.5 pages a day, so it doesn't take more than a couple of months to fill up one journal. I have no interest in being economical with words and have no shame in destroying the space on a perfectly good blank page with a lot of blah blah blah. Kind of like my posts here at FPN.

Doug