Moleskine Notebooks Made For Fountain Pens

[9a3eedi]

I've been to the US last year, and found a Moleskine shop, and I heard good things about Moleskine at the time (from my non-FP-using friends) so I decided to get one as my current notebook had almost finished.

 

At the store, they had the normal notebooks. I asked if they had anything specific for fountain pens, and the store guy showed me. Now I was new to this at the time, and I noticed that the paper was a lot thicker than what I was used to, like it almost felt like cardboard or something that painters would draw on, so I decided to not to get it and got the normal notebooks (as that's what I was using before and despite some bleed-in I was pretty).

 

Now I regret it, the notebooks have a lot of bleed through, even more than my previous notebooks. However I'm still using them, I like them for other reasons.

 

But I was wondering.. Online I see a lot of fountain pen users not recommending Moleskine notebooks in general because of the paper. Are they referring to their notebooks in general, or the fountain pen specific ones? I wonder how well the fountain pen specific notebooks hold up compared to other notebooks. Has anyone considered this? I also see them mentioning different notebook types with different names, but I don't remember what were the ones I saw.

 

I don't have much experience with different notebooks for fountain pens. I've only used one or two before that I randomly got, which were made for any pen. It'll probably take another year or two before I'm done with this moleskine and in the market for a new one, but I was just wondering for next time.

Edited February 6, 2018 by 9a3eedi

[Inkling13]

There is only one Moleskine paper that I am aware of, but plenty of better imitations of the Moleskine format. I would strongly suggest not even finishing this notebook and trying a Rhodia Webnotebook. The paper is smoother and less prone to bleed through, and IMO constructed just a bit better than Moleskines. I had one Moleskine that I started to journal in. To finish it was painful. The Rhodia that followed was a dream to write in.

[gerigo]

9a3eedi, unfortunately you have been taken in by the great marketing Moleskine has. Also even more unfortunately, their store employees, although helpful, have ABSOLUTELY no idea what constitutes great fountain pen paper. I was sneaky and went into said store to find out whether they know what they are talking about, and of course they don't. They THINK fountain pen paper = thick, and we all here know that's so not true.

 

I hypothesize moleskine paper is basically uncoated cream paper stock, which is not suitable for fountain pens since ink is primarily water based. To work well, coated stock is best. As Inkling13 mentioned, try Rhodia. It's a RELATIVELY inexpensive paper that's very suitable for fountain pens and is a known quantity. There are many other makers that range in price and availability.

[vjones]

As Inkling13 pointed out, the Rhodia webnotebook is a notebook in a similar format that is much better for fountain pens, due to the paper used.

Edited February 6, 2018 by vjones

[JakobS]

It sounds as if they were showing you their sketchbook notebooks, which are made for artists who draw, and paint. I am not sure how good they are with fountain pens, but it could be possible they may not feather as much.

 

The best Moleskine notebooks I have found with the least amount of feathering are the soft cover cahier notebooks in any size, there are definitely better notebooks for the same price out there, but if you need a notebook in a pinch, and are limited to Moleskine, that is the one I go for.

[Amory]

It sounds as if they were showing you their sketchbook notebooks, which are made for artists who draw, and paint

 

Think you are spot on. I have used these in days of yore. Fine for most media including watercolour.

 

For writing with fountain pen Rhodia or Clairefontaine would be my first journaling choice with Leuchtturm 1917 as a very close second for writing or first choice for pencil, I find the papers light tooth works very well for me. Amory

Edited February 6, 2018 by Amory

[sodiumnitrate]

Think you are spot on. I have used these in days of yore. Fine for most media including watercolour.

 

For writing with fountain pen Rhodia or Clairefontaine would be my first journaling choice with Leuchtturm 1917 as a very close second for writing or first choice for pencil, I find the papers light tooth works very well for me. Amory

 

 

I would say the sketchbooks are not really good for watercolor. Their watercolor notebooks are obviously good for watercolor, but regular sketchbooks have a layer of waxy substance covering the pages, preventing water from being absorbed by the paper. And if the water gets absorbed (the wax isn't very even), it bleeds through almost immediately.

[Inkling13]

Think you are spot on. I have used these in days of yore. Fine for most media including watercolour.

 

For writing with fountain pen Rhodia or Clairefontaine would be my first journaling choice with Leuchtturm 1917 as a very close second for writing or first choice for pencil, I find the papers light tooth works very well for me. Amory

I am suprised to know that you use water colors in Rhodias, as I've known them to bleed through with gushers of BBBB+ nibs that just drown pages in ink, but if it works with your technique, A+. I'm sure we'd all love to see pictures.

[Amory]

I am suprised to know that you use water colors in Rhodias, as I've known them to bleed through with gushers of BBBB+ nibs that just drown pages in ink, but if it works with your technique, A+. I'm sure we'd all love to see pictures.

 

Thank you for pointing out that part of my post had been separated from the quote that it related to.

My original comment regarding water colour use was made in relation to my (historic) use of moleskine art journals rather than the writing ones.

 

My goto journal has been Rhodia webby as they are very cost effective when purchasing in France. Coating on webbys I find makes the paper unsuitable for watercolour.

 

My historical experience with the 1917s however have shown the paper to handle wet media very well but the paper does stretch or crinkle which some may find a positive feature.

Current journal is a (gifted) 1917, a hundred pages in and Im in love again withe the way its paper handles ink and pencil.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Amory

[max dog]

After using Moleskines for nearly 10 years, I've yet to find a truly fountain pen friendly journal that can match the utility of a Moleskine. They are usually way to bulky, don't lay flat, have too few pages, and ruling is too wide. The Rhodia webjournal only has 96 pages! The Leuchtturm 1917 is better, but is much bulkier than a Moleskine

 

The best alternative if you want to maintain the perfect form factor and utility of a 5 X 8 Moleskine is the Markings journal available at Walmart and Target.

http://www.crgibson.com/journals/bound-journals/markingsr-by-c-r-gibson-black-leatherette-journal-ruled-5-x-8.html#.WnqfdyXwbIU

http://www.crgibson.com/journals/bound-journals/markingsr-by-c-r-gibson-black-bonded-leather-journal-ruled-6-x-8.html#.WnqbyyXwbIU

Comes in same dimensions as a Moleskine, 240 pages, pocket in the back, elastic enclosure, page ribbon, similar fine ruling width etc, and the paper is more fountain pen friendly than Moleskine paper. It can handle most well behaved fountain pen inks like Montblanc, Pelikan, Waterman, Parker etc. It is half the cost too.

Edited February 7, 2018 by max dog

[Studio97]

Hahnemuhle DiaryFlex 100 gm paper.

18.2 x 10.4 cm 160 pages. Make your own back cover pocket if you must have one. Wonderful with fountain pens. But now I have used Moleskines for years and still have a stack of unused ones. Dont know what to do with them. I dont sell on line.

[bogiesan]

You can spend hours reading the hundreds of Moleskine threads here on fpn. It’s a fun time. You will find many alternative recommendations.

Molie doesn’t care about fountain pens because we’re not a significant niche. Don’t take it personally.

I like molies, they’re perfect for my needs. I only use the recto side os each leaf so bleed and other defects do not matter to me at all. The pocket form factor is perfect for me, I like the construction, the cover, the pocket, ribbon, and elastic. I wait for deep discounts and buy in bulk, 10-20 at a time.

[AmandaW]

I use a Moleskine daily diary and get around the paper problem by using a fine or extra fine nib.

 

For the past few years my diary pen has been a Platinum Carbon Desk Pen with an EF nib and Platinum Carbon ink. That changed at Christmas after I received a Sailor with a fine nib. It's still loaded with the ordinary Sailor ink cartridge that came with it, but I'm intending to use Sailor nano ink when that runs out.

Edited February 8, 2018 by AmandaW

[Brandywine]

For those with connections to Germany:

Currently Aldi Süd is selling Moleskine-like notebooks (A5 and A6 size) in Germany that can take fountain pens!

 

I don't use notebooks, so there are still some left ....

[IndigoBOB]

Moleskine is cr@p.

 

If you can make it happen, I recommend Tomoe River Paper. Nanami Notebooks, Paperforfountainpens, Hippo Noto, Taroko.

 

Nothing beats Tomoe River Paper

[senzen]

Along with skinny jeans, fake wayfarers and beards, Moleskine is part of the hipster uniform: no substance, in this case terrible for fountain pens, all posture. For the real deal, Clairefontaine, Rhodia (same company), Tomoe River, Fabriano... Even HP laserJet 32 lbs.

[Amory]

Hipster uniform - is that good or bad ?

 

The best journal by far is

[dogpoet]

Hipster uniform - is that good or bad ?

 

The best journal by far is

 

Apparently parts of the hipster uniform are bad when they're manufactured by Moleskine, despite overpriced tat which is less functional and more expensive being acceptable when it's churned out by Noodler's or Field Notes instead.

Strange, eh?

[Aysedasi]

As I tend to use broad nibs, I generally avoid Moleskine like the plague - the bleed through and feathering has always been horrendous for me.

[alanshutko]

 

Apparently parts of the hipster uniform are bad when they're manufactured by Moleskine, despite overpriced tat which is less functional and more expensive being acceptable when it's churned out by Noodler's or Field Notes instead.

Strange, eh?

 

 

Hipster uniform seems to change as things become more mainstream. Moleskine hit that level of ubiquity, because it's really a decent product unless you're using a fountain pen. Even with fountain pen, it's often acceptable, but you're never going to be quite sure since their paper manufacturers are subject to change.