What's Wrong With Journals?

[Newjelan]

1355935973[/url]' post='2539302']

Journals

 

I am fussy and continue to look for a perfect journal. I attend far too many meetings and take copious handwritten notes. I tend to use a fountain pen too slow my handwriting down and to reduce writing fatigue.

 

Also I am a southpaw....

Well that is my want list in the ultimate journal. Priced at about 29.99 if you can get 250 - 300 pages bound to lie flat when the book is opened and no coils or rings or circa/Levenger discs to rub my left hand writing on the right side of the journal.

 

I would pay $60-125 for the reusable leather cover in a distressed brown or patent leather black.

 

Who knows where I can find my dream journal?

 

Mags

 

Agee with everything, except the pen loops as I don't use them.

[phoenixfeder]

When I'm at conferences or seminars, I tend to pick up a good selection of booklets/notepads from sponsoring companies. I've noticed that many of the cheap booklets/notepads have better paper than many of my journals! :hmm1: No bleedthrough, no feathering, and it shows the shading of the inks nicely, and the paper is thin enough. Now I'm looking at a way to re-bind these booklets/notepads, to make them look a bit prettier.

I'd love to find nice paper booklets like these without the companies' names and logos on them, preferably at affordable prices as I write and doodle quite a bit.

[maryannemoll]

I think my requirements are very similar to what other's have said:

 

Smooth paper that doesn't bleed or show through

Lies flat when open

A good size - I like something roughly 6 x 9

Is pretty, but not annoying

 

I am currently making my own Levenger Circa notebooks with their Jr. size covers, 1/2 inch rings and HP Premium 32# paper cut to 8.5 x 6 inches. I print lines on the paper and then punch it. The paper underneath the translucent Levenger cover is from the inside of envelopes of nice stationery. Scrapbooking paper works very well also.

 

Here is my current one:

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k526/stylobug33/Pens%20and%20Paper%202012%20and%20earlier/EE33204F-7441-41E0-BA5C-E4A2E880BB46-11757-0000077CA03F9195.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k526/stylobug33/Pens%20and%20Paper%202012%20and%20earlier/C5163B21-2712-4117-9134-D792256AAE15-11757-0000077D1FF2C426.jpg

 

This is great! I used to make my own notebooks, too. I buy heavy-grade stationery paper off the shelf in packs, and then print lines on them, and bind them with a double loop wire binder. I also use scrapbook paper for covers, plus a sheet of clear stiff binder plastic as the main covers.

 

Then I switched to the Moleskine, and for a while everything was peachy, until at some point last 2012 the paper quality went downhill. Now I am trying out the Quo Vadis Habana Smooth Notebooks (Ruled, A5), and I think I can give this a chance.

 

This actually breaks my heart a little, because I am such a brand loyalist (to wit, haven't had any other computer other than a Mac since 1996, never had any other phone than the iPhone since 2007), so I do not like the feeling of leaving a staple behind. But then again I'd rather switch notebook brands than stop using fountain pens.

[beachwalker]

It seems to me that most of the journals and notebooks available in the B&M shops are targeted to folks who probably couldn't or wouldn't keep a journal over the long run - they are more pretty than functional, even if you don't use a FP. I've admired a few but have walked away from many. What did we do before ordering on line made a real choice between good paper possible?

[Ted A]

It seems to me that most of the journals and notebooks available in the B&M shops are targeted to folks who probably couldn't or wouldn't keep a journal over the long run - they are more pretty than functional, even if you don't use a FP. I've admired a few but have walked away from many. What did we do before ordering on line made a real choice between good paper possible?

1. We didn't know any better

2. We used whatever we could find and put up with it because something is better than nothing

3. There was less competition so price wasn't the only consideration for the majority and therefore the manufacturers didn't have to cut quality to keep the price down. (and there wasn't a Walmart in every town to drive out quality for price

[Dimitry V.]

My main concerns are as follows (note that they are in order of importance):

 

1. 
    
   
2. Journal won't stay open/doesn't lie flat: These, IMO, are both in the same category. My first and foremost concern is how easy it is to write in the journal. If the journal won't stay open (or lie flat, for that matter), it is extremely aggravating to attempt to record anything in it. When you have to twist your wrist around in order to get into the tight space between pages or if whenever you let go of the pages they immediately fly up, that's a deal breaker for me.
    
   
3. Paper is not fountain pen friendly: IMO, any and all "paper issues" fall into this category. Bleed through and feathering are both signs of fountain unfriendliness. I don't really care for lined or blank pages, yet I do agree that most times, lined pages have lines that are too far apart. Who writes with half-inch tall letter? I certainly don't. It also is a great plus if you can write on both sides of a sheet but that falls into the "show through/bleed through" bunch.
    
   

These are, for me, the two most important points. I guess there isn't much else you could ask for in a journal. Often, I find that journals won't lie perfectly flat because they are too thick and, depending on how they are bound, will curve upwards in the middle. This also brings up another point. When you are at the bottom of the page of a thick journal (200 pages+), what is there to support your hand? I find that I often play around trying to support my hand while writing those last few lines. As a result, my handwriting degrades drastically for the bottom lines.

 

For example, I love the Oberon journal covers but their refills [a] don't lie nice and flat, don't stay properly open and [c] are not fountain pen friendly. This is a major let down, IMO. Furthermore, I prefer softbound booklets for writing. They lie open and flat better than hardbound. As for being fountain pen friendly, well, that's all about the paper. In this case, my guess would be that the best solution is to go for french paper.

[Gcouch]

I just wish there was a hard cover pocket size journal taht would stay open. I'd be in heaven

[Cambell]

Hello All,I have been purchasing really nice hand made leather journals on ETSY for a year or so know. I have been using the company DancingGreyStudios. The paper takes all inks, rollerball, fountain pen, etc. No feathering or bleed through. Here is a linkhttp://www.etsy.com/shop/DancingGreyStudioI hope this helps.Arthur

 

I just ordered one of these last night. They really do look great, and I will post my thoughts when I receive the journal to show others what it's like

 

Was a great price as well, for such a nice looking product