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I've got a spare A5 Clairefontaine notebook that I currently have no use for. What should I do with it?

Brian Goulet just made an awesome video on "Back to School", a guide for using fountain pens in school. It's something that I've been looking for and this summer I just got into fountain pens. The video is very informative. http://www.inknouveau.com/2014/08/fp101-back-to-school-shopping.html One thing I want to point out, everyone says that if you write in cursive it will improve your memory because you have to concentrate more on what you're writing, I disagree with this. I write everything in cursive and I have done so for years now, so writing in cursive is effortless for me, no it's not gorgeous, but I do not concentrate very hard on this. The concept is that you have to be concentrating harder, the study was also conducted with people who don't normally write in cursive. So if you're like me and write in cursive all the time, switch to writing in print, I find I concentrate harder when doing so and I remember things better when I switch to print because I'm not used to forming the letters in print. I could be entirely wrong here so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong I don't mind. =) Also, today I picked up four cheap Composition notebooks from Wal-Mart. Three were made in Brazil, the other was made in Vietnam.....Holy....Cow. I am shocked at the differences. The one from Vietnam threhad more tooth and wasn't smooth, it was more absorbent and feathered badly. The three from Brazil feathered VERY little, and there was hardly any bleed through. Like none. A few spots here and there from where I started the stroke or ended it. The paper was very smooth, more tooth than Rhodia, but still very smooth. The pens stayed truer to their marked size. I wrote with three pens. 1. Monteverde Impressa with Fine nib, the ink was Diamine Ancient Copper 2. Noodler's Ahab with flex nib, the ink was Diamine Ancient Copper 3. Pilot Metropolitan with M nib, the ink was Diamine Grey The Grey had the overall least amount of bleed through. These notebooks were on sale for $.50! I did find several ones made in Brazil that had more tooth to them, I didn't purchase them so I don't know how they perform, the three from Brazil that I bought had very smooth paper. So be aware, it seems as if even the ones from Brazil aren't made as consistently as one might think.

Hey, folks from Maine and the surrounding area! I am posting about a "new" shop that has opened recently in Portland, Maine's Old Port that is very fountain pen friendly, and getting better all the time. The shop is Sherman's Books & Stationary. It's their fifth shop in Maine's coastal region (local chain), and of the five this one has the strongest focus on the stationary side of the business. So far as pens are concerned their current stock is extremely limited. They have some Pilot Varsities in various colors, some Sheaffer calligraphy pen sets and they have a J. Herbin calligraphy dip-pen set, but beyond that it's ballpoints and Le Pen. However, they're a new store and they genuinely try to order what the customers want, so if they get requests to start carrying pens and inks then Maine could very quickly see the birth of its first such shop! Contact info will be listed at the end so that anyone interested can let the powers that be know you would be interested in shopping for these things at this place at some point in time. So far as non-pens are concerned, this place is an ever-expandning treasure trove of journals and stationary sets! Every time I've been in there's been more to choose from, and it's all good quality! Of course there's the rack of Moleskines, but they also carry some of the smaller Clairefontaine and Rhodia notebooks. They have Paper Blanks. But they also have a variety of leather bound journals, datebooks and address books. They have some Smudge Ink stationary sets that are a constant temptation to me. These are actually printed in Maine, as I understand it. They also carry cards and postcards, many of which were printed in Maine or Mass. They are the only shop in town that I have seen to carry the Clairefontaine Triomphe tablets. They also have a brand of stationary that looks a bit similar to the Crane & Co called CR Gibson. I hadn't seen that brand before, but I like their stuff. It's not as thick as Crane but it's a laid paper, so there are sort of guidelines set into the grain itself. I really liked it and found it did very well with my fountain pens. Anyway, I've been in there bugging them to get some Metropolitans or some Lamy stuff at the very least just to give some folks in this area options and a good local source to get started. But I'm just one voice. I know there's a few others, but the more the merrier. So if you're in the area and would like to see a shop starting to carry fountain pens and inks (especially inks! What I wouldn't give to not have to drive to Boston or order online for my inks!) Email at Portland@Shermans.com http: //facebook.com/shermansbooks or you can send your hand-written-in-founatin-pen letters to: Sherman's Books & Stationary 49 Exchange Street Portland, ME 04101

A while ago, I posted a pretty scathing review of Private Reserve Blue Suede, complaining about pretty severe feathering. Well, I want to revise that somewhat because I think those results were very pen-dependent. I just tried writing something with my new Waterman frankenpen, and the ink performed very well on the cheapest "99¢ for 200 sheets" American filler paper ever made. I bought this stuff ages ago. It's thin, uncoated, and everything but see-through, and the ink performed spectacularly. Of course, I had to try it on my best Clairefontaine, and the results…took my breath away.That's a money shot, people.

Would A5 or semi-B5 paper be better for note taking? I checked out the Kokuyo Systemic refillable notebook cover and they seem really great. But they only come in 2 sizes. I feel like it would be good to get the A5 size because there are more notebooks in that size available, whereas the semi-B5 notebooks are a bit more difficult to find. But, I feel like I would go through A5 notebooks really fast. I want the Systemic because I would be able to fit 3 notebooks in it and I wouldn't have to really worry about anything getting torn up too bad, but if there is a similar product, please share!

Has anybody tried either the Clairefontaine or Rhodia 3 hole punch notebooks? I want to get some good loose leaf paper - not the stuff that you can practically see through whatever you are looking at. I have some from last year and it bleeds through like it's nobody's business. Or would I be better off getting a notepad and using a three hole punch?

Hi Everyone! I began bookbinding not very long ago, because I want my journals to look the same from year to year, something you can't always do when relying on commercial products... plus, I can get a better quality item for far less $$, and instead of "close enough", I get exactly what I want. I've been looking for Clairefontaine loose paper (like you'd buy a package of printer paper; big block of loose sheets), but all I've been able to find are finished products like notebooks, journals, pads, etc. Is anyone aware of a source of loose, bulk Clairefontaine paper? Or, failing that, of an available 'loose' paper that's closely comparable to Clairfontaine? Thanks... I usually have little trouble sniffing out what I'm looking for, but this time no such luck. Karl

Hi Everyone! I began bookbinding not very long ago, because I want my journals to look the same from year to year, something you can't always do when relying on commercial products... plus, I can get a better quality item for far less $$, and instead of "close enough", I get exactly what I want. I've been looking for Clairefontaine loose paper (like you'd buy a package of printer paper; big block of loose sheets), but all I've been able to find are finished products like notebooks, journals, pads, etc. Is anyone aware of a source of loose, bulk Clairefontaine paper? Or, failing that, of an available 'loose' paper that's closely comparable to Clairfontaine? Thanks... I usually have little trouble sniffing out what I'm looking for, but this time no such luck. Karl