Is My Moleskine Just Poor Quality?

[YonathanZ]

Hi,

 

I have an A5 hard-cover moleskine notebook that Ive been using as my diary in the last 3 years or so (I dont write a lot).

 

Ive tried different fountain lens (safari, metropolitan and very recently loom) and none of them a feel smooth, though they are considered good affordable lens. I took an envelope and wrote in it and its way smoother, how is this possible? Is the moleskine I have just garbage or what?

 

Writing in my diary is almost painful because I feel like Im dragging the pen over the paper and theres resistance. Ive always had really bad handwriting but still.

[JulieParadise]

Moleskine notebooks are nice notebooks, just not suited to fountain pens.

 

My favourite is the Rhodia Webnotebook in A5. Fantastic paper for fountain pens and the price should be about the same (here in Berlin I see MSK for ca. 15€ and Webbies for ca. 17€).

[Ghost Plane]

Hi,

 

I have an A5 hard-cover moleskine notebook that Ive been using as my diary in the last 3 years or so (I dont write a lot).

 

Ive tried different fountain lens (safari, metropolitan and very recently loom) and none of them a feel smooth, though they are considered good affordable lens. I took an envelope and wrote in it and its way smoother, how is this possible? Is the moleskine I have just garbage or what?

 

Writing in my diary is almost painful because I feel like Im dragging the pen over the paper and theres resistance. Ive always had really bad handwriting but still.

Their paper is horrible and uneven in quality as they use the cheapest of the cheap. Rhodia, Quo Vadis, Clairefontaine, White Lines, Tomoe, Paperblanks, Leuchteurm (hope I spelled that right), and many of the Japanese brands are good. Drop to the ink review threads and you’ll see what people tend to use in their reviews.

 

Don’t struggle with bad paper. Life is too short.

[AlohaLani787]

Yes, they are poor quality to use with fountain pens. It's great for everything else, rollerball, ball point, or pencil. I would never pay full price for Moleskine notebooks, but I do buy when I find them at a significant discount.

[kerk1v]

The problem with Moleskines is, more than anything else, consistency.

 

I've found out the thicker bound ones are worse in terms of FP compatibiility than the thin, sewn "Cahiers" in terms of fethearing. All will exhibit some degree of bleeding, though, worse with some inks than others, and worse with wetter and broader nibs than thin ones.

 

I haven't tried any of their planners yet.

 

I've made the switch to Leuchtturm1917 first and then to Rhodia, to never regret it. On the cheap and available almost anywhere here in Spain Oxford brand School notebooks, either stapled or spiral (might be available elsewhere in Europe, not sure) have really great paper for Fountain Pens.

[thygreyt]

I have had some luck with Moleskine, but for the most part they arent the best for fountain pens. Rhodia or Black n'red are really good!

[Karmachanic]

I use a pocket Molskine Cahier for EDC notetaking. Inexpensive, robust and slender. It take up little space in a pocket or bag. I also carry a Wing Sung 698 with a Pluminix F nib which will happily write well enough on any paper without issue.

 

For everything else –Tomoe River, because shading and colour variation make me smile

[YonathanZ]

Unfortunately most of the aforementioned companies notebooks are not available for international shipping (that costs less than $20).

 

I do have a Victorias Journals notebook that seems a bit better than my moleskine but not by much.

Edited August 18, 2018 by YonathanZ

[Studio97]

For moleskine, I have good luck with a fine point FP and waterman serenity blue. I have even had some rollerballs that didnt work well in a Moleskine. My Cross rollerball soft gel pen refills seem to work best.

I have a pile of moleskine notebooks but only because I write with everything and then at a steep discount. Never pay full price for a Moleskine.

If you are unhappy over all with your Moleskine in use, I would use the remaining pages for a scrap book and buy a better notebook. You may write in the new one alot more.

Edited August 18, 2018 by Studio97

[YonathanZ]

For moleskine, I have good luck with a fine point FP and waterman serenity blue. I have even had some rollerballs that didnt work well in a Moleskine. My Cross rollerball soft gel pen refills seem to work best.

I have a pile of moleskine notebooks but only because I write with everything and then at a steep discount. Never pay full price for a Moleskine.

If you are unhappy over all with your Moleskine in use, I would use the remaining pages for a scrap book and buy a better notebook. You may write in the new one alot more.

The problem is that the better ones cost $20 to ship to my country, and none are sold locally.

 

Edit: found a Rhodia Webnotebook A5 for a total of $28 ($9.5 shipping) on Amazon. Is it good?

Edited August 18, 2018 by YonathanZ

[Karmachanic]

Rhodia works very well with fountain pens. Also have a look at Clairefontaine Age Bag Clothbound A5, with 192 pages for a lower cost.

[YonathanZ]

Rhodia works very well with fountain pens. Also have a look at Clairefontaine Age Bag Clothbound A5, with 192 pages for a lower cost.

. The Age Bag are $17 without shipping, so pretty much the same as Rhodia. However I did find a Clairefontaine Basic Large Clothbound notebook for just $9 without shipping. Is it the same but with a different cover?

[kerk1v]

The problem is that the better ones cost $20 to ship to my country, and none are sold locally.

 

Edit: found a Rhodia Webnotebook A5 for a total of $28 ($9.5 shipping) on Amazon. Is it good?

 

Have you checked out any local stationery stores? If you´re not all about the looks of a notebook, for that kind of money you may be able to buy half a dozen of decent notebooks. Look out for paper that is not rough and fibrous but soft to the touch, now I don´t know which brands you get in your country (Shalom!?), but if you get any european ones, look for Oxford, Unipapel (Papyrus line), Miquelrius.... Many german brands should also be OK as the use of fountain pens is still compulsory in many primary schools in germany, so the school notebooks / Exercise books made there normally have fountain-pen-friendly paper. Maybe also the parent brand of Rhodia is available, look for Clairefontaine brand. Also look out for Brunnen, Herlitz brands.

 

 

That said, everybody loves writing in a nice, bound Rhodia, but I thinks this should not be at any price. I can source the dotpads in A5 for 3,15 € and the A5 Notebooks for around 12-13 € NOW, and have noticed them being much more expensive on Amazon. Makes sense, they´re good for fountain pens, they assume fountain pens are a luxury item nowadays (which is untrue, as there are a lot of affordable good quality pens available) so they also assume that the users of these notebooks will have plenty of cash to spend. I started journaling and writing in said A5 Excercise books, and they made me very happy until Leuchtturm1917s and Rhodias became more widely available in specialized online stores and even in some local shops.

 

Full disclosure: I live exactly halfway between Málaga city (with the excellent Sanatorio estilográfico store) and fpnibs.com. I know, I am extremely lucky in this respect.

Edited August 18, 2018 by kerk1v

[Chrissy]

Their paper is horrible and uneven in quality as they use the cheapest of the cheap. Rhodia, Quo Vadis, Clairefontaine, White Lines, Tomoe, Paperblanks, Leuchteurm (hope I spelled that right), and many of the Japanese brands are good. Drop to the ink review threads and you’ll see what people tend to use in their reviews.

 

Don’t struggle with bad paper. Life is too short.

 

+1 for this. Especially the last sentence.

 

If you can get one I would recommend you try a Tomoe River notebook in the form of a Seven Seas Writer Journal. That's a really nice paper feel with all of your pens.

[nibtip]

Hello,

concerning japanese midori and tomoe notebooks and tomoe loose leaf, from amazon.jp at unbeatable prices and fast express delivery:

 

https://www.amazon.co.jp/ミドリ-ノート-MDノート-方眼罫-15003006/dp/B0091GBD00/ref=sr_1_1_m?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1534584451&sr=1-1&keywords=Midori+md

 

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B06W51XTTX/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B06W9DVN8J/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B079XXYWMZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

shipping and import swiss taxes included about 10$ for a midori md a5, 30$ for a 368 page a5 tomoe including sturdy cover and 5$ for 200 pages of a5 tomoe river loose leaves.

Best

David.

[Karmachanic]

. The Age Bag are $17 without shipping, so pretty much the same as Rhodia. However I did find a Clairefontaine Basic Large Clothbound notebook for just $9 without shipping. Is it the same but with a different cover?

 

I haven't used this notebook. The paper will be the same good quality and the page count is the same. Go for it!

 

To add: Which Amazon are you using? You mention $ so US? Shipping costs might be less with Amazon.de or Amazon.co.uk

Edited August 18, 2018 by Karmachanic

[YonathanZ]

Shipping costs from European amazon websites are higher than from the US. $9 is not too bad, Ill just wait for my next order on amazon so that itd be more economical. Thanks everyone.

Edited August 18, 2018 by YonathanZ

[ISW_Kaputnik]

The first diary I kept in fountain pen was in a Moleskine. I don't recall it being that bad, really, although at that time I had less idea what to expect. My main problem was that it was ruled too narrowly, which made my writing feel cramped. I've kept later journals with a variety of other papers, and have moved to using unlined paper, which I much prefer. But Moleskine has blank paper as well.

 

I have one other Moleskine journal, which contains a large portion of a writing project. Again, the quality of the paper was not an issue; the narrow ruling was. And I have a pocket size one with alphabet tabs along the margin which still gets used. It's a personal glossary. When I learn a new word that I want to remember, it goes it there.

 

There are enough complaints about Moleskine paper from other people that I have to take them seriously. If the issue is lack of consistency rather than consistently poor quality, then I suppose I just got lucky with some of their "good" paper. But I have enough reason to prefer other papers by now, that I just don't worry about it. My current journal is a blank paper "Life Noble", and I have some Clairefontaine, Tomoe River, Kokuyo, and others to use up. When I get down to one unfilled journal sized notebook, I'll think about restocking on something, and Moleskine won't be in the mix.

Edited August 19, 2018 by ISW_Kaputnik

[sciumbasci]

I bought my first Moleskine around 2007: it was a good product then.

Bought another every year, up until I believe 2013: a blank one, inspired by some photographs I saw in a Moleskine community site which I sadly forgot, where people used to share their creativity much like Instagram. Except they photographed Moleskines.

 

I remember that mine was horrible: very thin paper, it didn't like gel pens which was everything I used back then; yet the paper was so smooth that ballpoints had problems with it.

I asked the community what was wrong with it, and the answer prompted me to switch to another product: "you are supposed to write with a pencil on your moleskine"

[ftnpenfan]

I remember that mine was horrible: very thin paper, it didn't like gel pens which was everything I used back then; yet the paper was so smooth that ballpoints had problems with it.

I asked the community what was wrong with it, and the answer prompted me to switch to another product: "you are supposed to write with a pencil on your moleskine"

 

I use a vintage Sheaffer mechanical pencil to jot notes in mine, just to be different...