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How Are The Quality Of Moleskine Notebooks?


Miriel

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Hi all,

 

I am new entrant to whole fountain pen world, I have bought Lamy Safari EF nib and Diamine inks. Now I am searching for a quality notebook that I use for taking notes from books, documentaries, journals etc.

 

In my country there is limited range of choice thus I have to order from abroad, therefore shipping cost is significant issue for me. Moleskine provide quick and very cheap shippinng options relative to other suppliers.

 

Will I disappoint with Moleskine notebooks?

 

 

PS: I like the design of Moleskine :)

 

Thanks.

Edited by Miriel
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I use them all the time, a great journal paper.

 

[many people on here will trash Moleskine 24/7, it isn't the best at absorbing every type of ink.]

 

As I was gifted with a lot of them I learned what doesn't work, BBB nibs and pressing down heavy on the pen isn't the best move, so I used my brain and adjust to what the paper tolerates.

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Moleskine paper is not fountain pen friendly; you will get lots of bleed-thru and feathering. Try Rhodia, which design is very similar to Molskine. Leuchtturm1917 and the Black & Red notebooks are also good.

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Moleskine paper is not fountain pen friendly; you will get lots of bleed-thru and feathering. Try Rhodia, which design is very similar to Molskine. Leuchtturm1917 and the Black & Red notebooks are also good.

Leuchtturm1917 is more expensive with domestic price and it is also true for if I order from abroad due to shipping costs. I think Rhodia is not as elegant as Moleskine. Lastly, Black&Red is not sold in my country and again shipping cost has huge impact on total cost to me.

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Depending on the ink you maybe able to reduce the feathering and bleed through that is common with Moleskine notebooks, though you will still see a little even with an EF nib. The best quality paper I have found with Moleskines has been in their Cahier line of notebooks, which are not as durable as the hardcover versions, but keep the bleedthough and feathering to a minimum. Also Iron Gall inks such as Diamine Registrars works very well with the Moleskine line overall.

 

If you can provide the specific county or geographic area you are in, we maybe able to offer suggestions that maybe easier to buy closer to where you are located.

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Depending on the ink you maybe able to reduce the feathering and bleed through that is common with Moleskine notebooks, though you will still see a little even with an EF nib. The best quality paper I have found with Moleskines has been in their Cahier line of notebooks, which are not as durable as the hardcover versions, but keep the bleedthough and feathering to a minimum. Also Iron Gall inks such as Diamine Registrars works very well with the Moleskine line overall.

 

If you can provide the specific county or geographic area you are in, we maybe able to offer suggestions that maybe easier to buy closer to where you are located.

I am living in Turkey.

 

Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook costs me 85 Turkish Liras(TL).

Moleskine Classic Black Notebook with similiar size costs me 58 TL(including shipping cost from Italy)

Rhodia costs me about 70 TL.

 

For the Iron Gall, as a newbie it is suggested me to not use Iron Gall at first.

Edited by Miriel
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I think the Rhodia texture(symbol) is not seem good :)

 

I would consider that a small price to pay for paper quality that Moleskine can only dream of, and the logo doesn't bother me. To me, the Moleskine paper is not pleasant to write on, nor does it show off ink as well...but that's just my opinion! I was an ardent supporter of Moleskine and it's great with ballpoints and pencils, but I can't see myself ever going back. I'd encourage you to try quality paper just once before going with Moleskine.

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I would consider that a small price to pay for paper quality that Moleskine can only dream of, and the logo doesn't bother me. To me, the Moleskine paper is not pleasant to write on, nor does it show off ink as well...but that's just my opinion! I was an ardent supporter of Moleskine and it's great with ballpoints and pencils, but I can't see myself ever going back. I'd encourage you to try quality paper just once before going with Moleskine.

Is there that significant paper quality difference? The logo seems much better with beige color and actually I like it.

 

Thus, we can assume that Moleskine and Rhodia cost me same and we can also assume that I love both.

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Yes, there is a significant paper difference. The Clairefontaine paper that Rhodia uses way outperforms whatever no-name paper that Moleskine uses. I don't have to use a specific ink, or nib, or write in a specific way, it just works.

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Amazon critics suggest the paper quality of Moleskine has declined in the last 2 or 3 years.

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Miriel...I like the variety of styles that Moleskine offers but find that their paper is not consistently fountain pen friendly. Because of this I've switched to the Black n Red notebooks which are very fountain pen friendly and reasonably priced.

 

That being said, I've found that the Moleskine notebooks appear to tolerate Lamy blue-black ink quite well.

 

Mary

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You get to use whatever notebook you like. If your locally available range is limited, wait till you can try some mail order resources. I like molies, have used them for decades, have some from the pre Modo a Modo days. It is true the paper is not fountain pen friendly but we are not their target audience at all; there will never be a liquid ink paper from molie, I do not believe. There are hundreds of molie clones, some better and more expensive, some more expensive and worse, some less expensive and terrible. You can search for Moleskine here on the forum and you will find hundreds of posts, mostly negative.

 

ONe reason I like molies is I have a lot of them. The other reason is that I only use the recto side of each leaf. Feathering and bleed through don't bother me that way and the information density is greatly reduced; makes it easier to find stuff later.

 

The quality is not just in the paper, though. Most of my molies are built well, finished nicely, don't come apart, and the signature ribbon/elastic/pocket features all function perfectly. I prefer the lined with red hardcover. But I've had a few that separated from the spin or the elastic was limp or the ribbon pulled out.

 

Ask your family and friends for molies as gifts for holidays and birthdays.

Edited by bogiesan

I ride a recumbent, I play go, I use Macintosh so of course I use a fountain pen.

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Amazon critics suggest the paper quality of Moleskine has declined in the last 2 or 3 years.

saying that Moleskine has declined over the last few years, suggests that it was at one time, fountain pen friendly. Moleskine is fine for pencils and ballpoints, not for fountain pens. Buy a Rhodia or a Black & Red notebook. Don't listen to anyone who says Moleskine is fine

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My experience with Moleskin has been very disappointing. If you are tempted buy one to try out first. Problem is paper quality varies sometimes within the same batch. As a general rule I stay right away from Moleskin which is a shame as they make some very nice products.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/7260/postminipo0.png
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Rhodia webbies have superb paper. You pay dearly for it. And your fountain pen ink takes a few minutes to dry. Be careful of smudging until you understand how your ink works.

 

Welcome to the family. There are literally hundreds of notebooks on the market.

I ride a recumbent, I play go, I use Macintosh so of course I use a fountain pen.

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Looks like you've made a choice, but I'd like to add that despite the mixed reviews of Moleskine on forums online. I've used their books (different sizes and sub-brands) over the past 8 years without a hitch with different mediums ranging from pencil, charcoal and ink. I've put up a few ink sketches on my Instagram and tagged them as moleskine at https://www.instagram.com/flumm0x3d/

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