Between Rhodia And Leuchtturm

[elippman]

Im relatively new to the paper issue. Ive explored pens and inks quite a bit, but long ago settled on Rhodia paper for my own notebooks. Im left-handed, so its handy if ink is able to dry relatively quickly, but I like the look of ink on Rhodia paper so much that Im usually willing to wait for the dry time or use faster-drying inks. For a while now, Ive been getting irritated by smooth nibs on Rhodia paper, though. The combination of smooth nib (usually a plus?), lubricated ink (usually a plus), and glossy paper (also usually a plus) makes for a slippery writing experience and I find myself pressing down on the page in order to generate some friction, for control purposes if nothing else. Ive tried a small Leuchtturm note book as well and cant stand the general tendency toward graininess, feathering, and bleedthrough that seem to accompany that thoroughly uncoated paper. So Im at a bit of a loss generating the ideal writing experience. Is there anything in between? The ink resistance, not terrible dry time (vs. say Tomoe River), and decent pricing of Rhodia notebooks has kept me in their camp for a long time, but now Im seeking a happy medium that isn't so slippery, but is still more fp friendly than Leuchtturm. Any suggestions?

Edited October 12, 2017 by elippman

[LizEF]

I just got a Hippo Noto, which uses the heavier weight (68gsm) Tomoe River paper, in cream - which is pretty much the same color as Leuchtturm. It's smoother than Leuchtturm, but not as smooth as Rhodia, and it's Tomoe River, so it's very FP friendly. GouletPens have small notebooks made with this paper which would let you try it out without a big investment.

 

Apica and Black n' Red might also be more to your liking (awfully close to Rhodia from what I can tell, but may behave a little different - I *think* Black n' Red is slightly more absorbent than Rhodia, but can't exactly do scientific tests). I get Apica from Goulet (there are tiny ones, so cheap to test) and Black n' Red from Amazon (price varies widely - $5 for A5 is a good price; there's a smaller size if you want to test).