Australian Pen Enthusiasts Finding It Hard To Get Good Stuff?

[thepenmarket]

hey guys,

my name is jamie and i am new to this network, and i was having difficulty finding some quality high GSM paper that wont bleed or feather when i write on them with wet pens like the jinhao x450.

Are any og you guys having the same issue ? it seems to me that there isnt really enough places to get quality things for fountain pens, becuase officeworks doesnt carry any paper with a GSM high enough to not bleed like crazy, and they have a very very limited range of fountain pens.

what sort of stuff are my australian mates having difficulty finding?

 

[sakayume]

Where in Australia are you? Officeworks should have some Clairefontaine and Rhodia. I prefer Life Japan, which I get either from Magnation or ordering over the internet from Notemaker (Australia based). Notemaker also stocks a whole bunch of Clairefontaine, Rhodia and some Midori. There's also Bookbinders online who stock Tomoe River paper products, amongst other things, though I haven't ordered from them yet. If you're in Sydney, Kinokuniya should have lots of Japanese stationery, and they also do phone orders if you ring them up.

 

I don't really shop at Officeworks (I think normal paper is generally awful for fountain pens), but I don't feel it's that hard to get decent paper here. Prices are on the high side, and maybe the selection isn't as broad as it could be, but it's not that hard to get decent paper.

 

There's also Daiso and Muji, though their products are rather hit and miss, trending towards mediocre. Look for the "made in Japan" paper though.

 

Also, welcome to FPN!

Edited April 28, 2016 by candide

[Ceelo]

Welcome!

 

There are a few bricks and mortar stores that you could check out depending on where you are located. Agree with the above comment however that range and price are not so great. Notemaker and bookbindersonline are great sources however.

[Cryptos]

>>>

 

 

Don't get too hung up on GSM, it has little direct connection with bleeding or feathering. As an example, take Tomoe River paper (from Japan). It's only 52 GSM and it is a favoured paper by many pen users. In fact, in my last piece of correspondence I used this paper and wrote with everything from a stub nib to a very sharp flexible dip pen.

 

You may want to look up - http://www.notemaker.com.au/

 

They sell, Rhodia, Life Stationery, Midori and Quo Vadis, plus a few other interesting brands.

(disclaimer: not a customer, and have no connection with them. The only reason I haven't used them yet is because being in New Zealand I can often find stuff cheaper elsewhere, but I may use them in the future).

[Cyber6]

When I was in Melbourne a fellow Ozzy told me to go to Officeworks and get a "Nu" notebook. Is a very nice quality paper (heavy paper) and if you are not crazy on wet flex pens.. it will do nicely with 90% of your inks.

 

Another good place for supplies is JustWrite.com.au .. their BlackStone inks are totally amazing. Prices are great too.

 

 

 

C.

[skinny_tie]

When I was in Melbourne a fellow Ozzy told me to go to Officeworks and get a "Nu" notebook. Is a very nice quality paper (heavy paper) and if you are not crazy on wet flex pens.. it will do nicely with 90% of your inks.

 

 

All the advice in this thread is good but I have to second the recommendation of "Nu: Elite" notebooks - they're fantastic value.

 

Although the construction is different think the quality of the Nu: notebooks is comparable to Rhoda at about a quarter of the price of a Webnotebook. For note taking at work I actually prefer the Nu: as it's spiral bound. Just make sure you get the "Elite" and not the "Tradie" waterproof version - some inks feather so much on the waterproof paper that words become unreadable.

 

Unfortunately Officeworks doesn't seem to carry the Elite in A4 any more, but the A5 is still available.

[skinny_tie]

what sort of stuff are my australian mates having difficulty finding?

 

 

I probably depends on where you are, but certainly in Melbourne I don't think there's any fountain pen paraphernalia you would have trouble finding.

 

Although Officeworks has a pretty limited range of pens (Safari or Prera) and inks (cartridges or Quink), they stock Rhodia pads and journals so there's a reliable supply of decent paper. It might also be worth looking at their higher end copier paper - I've just started making my own pads with 100 GSM paper, but I'll use 120 GSM next time. 250 sheets of high end copier paper costs about as much as a Rhodia pad and you can either print lines (dots, whatever) with a laser printer or leave it blank.

 

Lamy pens and inks as well as Rhodia and Clairefontaine journals are available from Mag Nation, and I've even seen J. Herbin cartridges in a shop in Emporium (which may have been Mag Nation but I wasn't paying attention).

 

If you're looking for specialty shops in the CBD Pen City in Elizabeth St has an amazing range of pens, and of course they sell paper and inks too. Their website really doesn't do the store justice. I bought a Kaweco there and the price wasn't much more than online plus I got to try it first. Taft's has a smaller range and not much entry level stuff, but they've always been lovely and helpful when I've been in there. Theres a Mont Blanc shop, which I'm sure is great if you want Mont Blanc.

 

I know there are few more specialty shops out there, including vintage pen dealers, but I haven't had much cause to look for them. However, when I wanted a very specific Parker 51 to match a set, in perfect condition and quickly (for a gift) it was nice being able to get it locally from The Pensmith.

 

All of the above applies to Melbourne, but I'm sure the situation in Sydney and possibly other capitol cities is similar. If you're outside the capitol cities you might not have as much luck with bricks and mortar stores, but tat doesn't mean you can't shop 'locally' online.

 

If the pens and inks in the specialty shops seem a little pricey there are two ranges of Australian made inks available from JustWrite - Toucan and Blackstone. The Blackstone inks are lovely and I think every Aussie fountain pen user should have the set. The Toucan inks aren't amazing on their own but mixing them is great fun and they're so cheap you get a few colours and go nuts. If you want the Toucan inks a few cents cheaper or in enormous quantities you can order directly from the manufacturer, Tintex.

 

When you're ordering ink from JustWrite you can also pick up an inexpensive Chinese (or German or Pakistani) pen. Suer, you can get them a bit cheaper on eBay but you won't have to wait months if you order from JustWrite and there's an extra level of quality control. JustWrite also sells a few basic tools like syringes (also available from pharmacies) and their nib tuning kit.

 

Others have mentioned Bookbinders Online and Notemaker. As well as paper, Bookbinders has their own line of ink (which I haven't tried) I've had good service from them. I haven't ordered from Notetaker but with their huge range it's only a matter of time.

 

Of course if you can't find what you want locally, everything is available online. Chinese pens from eBay can be addictive and Rohrer & Klingner inks are well priced with free shipping from Seitz Global - that combination is probably enough to keep me occupied for the rest of my life.

 

The point of my pen shopping brain dump? While the range availability of fountain pen paraphernalia might not be quite as good in Australia as it is in some other countries, and while it's probably tougher outside major cities, you should be able to get the basics without too much trouble.

[bonsaiboy]

I agree it's much harder to come by good quality bricks and mortar stationary stores in Australia, at least in Perth where I am. However, buying from online stores, both local and international, is pretty convenient and opens up a lot more variety. Most of my purchases have been from online.

 

As noted in above posts, Officeworks offers a limited range, but they do carry some decent items. Some of their nicer copy papers, generally marked as for 'digital printing', perform very well with fountain pens. I use a 100gsm Xerox paper, and the Mondi branded paper is pretty good too. The downside to Officeworks is they will randomly stop stocking products, so the papers available today might not be available in the future.

 

I'm not sure if it's common, but the few Officeworks that are near me have 'clearance tables'. Sometimes great quality items with minor scuffing can end up on them. I've picked up some pocket-sized Clairefontaine Duo notebooks at $1 for a pack of two, and some A5-sized Clairefontaine classic notebooks for $1 each.

[HaydenM]

Melbourne definitely has fountain pen stores and paper in spades. Some are more expensive than others but selection isn't a problem.