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I am nearing the end of a Paperblanks notebook that was a gift. The decorative cover is quite appealing, but for my next journal, I'm hoping to get something that is better on a few functional points. Love these kinds of covers: http://images.utrechtart.com/products/optionLarge/Paperblanks/Paperblanks-Ventaglio-Rosso-64024_lg.jpg http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/97/81/44/13/10/9781441310415_500X500.jpg http://www.lecadeauartistique.com/im/articles/carnet-paperblanks-safavide-ultra-details.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61s9N0-poCL._SY300_.jpg http://images.utrechtart.com/products/optionRegular/Paperblanks/karakusa_X.jpg The notebook I'm finishing up has a magnetic flap closure, which adds a lot of useless weight and bulk—a pain when traveling. The paper is decent, works with some inks and not others, shows no shading, but dries fast. The line spacing is also a bit wide. Some of the Peter Pauper notebooks have beautiful covers, but the lines are absurdly wide for my handwriting. 90% of my writing is with EF western nibs. On the paper, a little ghosting is fine, but bleed-through is not acceptable. If the paper is very thin, I'm good with writing on just one side, but it had better make up the difference with a good page count. Don't like add-ons in notebooks: maps, historical notes, holidays, pockets, weight and measure conversion tables. They just and weight and bulk. Ribbon bookmark are nice, but I'm not going to say "no" to a notebook that doesn't have one but is otherwise good. So, in sum: Ornate, decorative cover—but not cartoony or girlishLined, with a narrow ruling, preferably around 6mm5x7 to 7x9 inches or something in the A5, B6, A6 rangeLays flat or close to flatCream/off-white paperHardcoverNot more than 1 inch thick, preferably less than 3/4Not full of extrasAny suggestions for notebooks that fit these requirements?

Hi FPNers, A few days ago while looking up handmade notebooks I came across this site http://emgielibris.com/ . The notebooks look gorgeous and have a nice rustic appeal to them. Anyone here have any experience buying from them? Also is the paper FP friendly??

High res images available on my blog: Vertical Paper When I was recently contacted by Ed Harding and Tom Strickland, the duo behind Monsieur notebook with a question whether I would review their new notebook I was pleasantly surprised and after checking their website I said accepted immediately. A few days later one of the real leather Monsieur notebooks arrived by post. Monsieur notebooks are sold in a variety of colours, sizes and paper types. The one I received is, not surprisingly, the fountain version in brown. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3830/9692479154_840354c839_c.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5511/9692476466_8919fec495_c.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3744/9692477758_fb1e2a2a98_c.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2844/9692483132_2df990b27d_c.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5331/9689241061_632aa437a4_c.jpg First impressions The notebook looks really nice. The leather cover is smooth, but has a kind of ‘rustic’ feel to it. And it smells great too! The binding is quite firm and it takes quite a bit of effort to open the notebook for the first time. Without “breaking” the binding a bit it is not easy to use the notebook comfortably. First two and last two pages are ivory, the rest of the paper is white. Pages are blank and are not numbered, but there are few lines on the third page for your name and a few other details. There is no internal pocket, which is not a big deal in my opinion as I hardly ever use it. You will notice though, that the first and last page are not glued to the leather cover centred i.e. the strip of leather you can see on top is slightly wider than the same strip at the bottom. It’s not something that would bother me too much, but I like when things are symmetrical. The notebook comes with a rubber band, which is well made, strong enough to hold the notebook closed, but not too tight to make putting the band on difficult. On the back of the notebook you can find an embossed Monsieur logo. On top of that, you can customise your notebook in a variety of ways including debossing, foiling, custom bands and wraps etc. as well as custom designs. I think that’s quite unique on the market and it could be a real selling point for people who like to make their notebook really special. Materials and build quality I really wanted to love this product, especially because it comes from a UK-based startup. Unfortunately, I found that Monsieur notebook suffers from a variety of quality issues some of which I consider quite fundamental. First of all the binding and stitching is too tight and too “stiff”. The binding does not provide enough flexibility and, as is visible on the pictures below, this causes various problems like stitches “cutting” into the paper and leather cover breaking away from the paper. What you see below is not a result of any excessive use or unusual handling as I took these pictures after less then ten minutes of use. It is, in my opinion, rather a sign of suboptimal manufacturing standards and/or quality control. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3700/9689242827_79314cc8bf_c.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/9692482226_c323192943_c.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5550/9692484874_76e1f73d36_c.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3761/9692482574_153f672188_c.jpg The paper used in the fountain variant of Monsieur notebooks is unusually thick (100 gsm), smooth and white (but not too bright). I noticed that each pages also has a watermark that reads Royal Executive Bond. The position of the watermark changes from page to page — on some pages it is centred, on other pages it is on the side, at the bottom or at the top and is partly “cut” i.e. only part of of the watermark is visible. Initially, I thought I would not mind it but later I started to noticed the watermark more and more. Overall, I found it rather distracting and would much prefer to have a clean page without any watermarks at all. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3721/9689245103_d3628fcfc7_c.jpg Due to the thickness of the paper, the way it is bound and the stiffness and thickness of the leather the notebook does not lie flat and it tends to be closing itself. That negatively affects the writing comfort as writing near the seams is kind of difficult. And because the notebook does not stay open on its own, you need use the provided yellow bookmark at all times. I also found that there are small colour spots on the paper. They are not on every page, appear to be randomly distributed and are part of the paper material. But they are frequent and prominent enough that you can easily find the spots just buy flipping through the notebook. Now, I don’t know if these spots are “meant” to be there or if they are down to poor quality control. But even though they are quite small (2–3mm) and may possibly be considered a part of the “rustic” and handmade feel, I would much prefer if all pages were perfectly clean and spotless. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3696/9692484228_afbda31028_c.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2854/9689245507_1731fb75f4_c.jpg UsageSince this is a notebook specifically designed for use with fountain pens during my tests I focused predominantly on fountain pens. I used three different pens, three different nibs and three different inks as well as a rollerball and a felt tip pen with pigment ink. Here’s the complete list of tools I tested with: Fountain pens Lamy Vista, 1.5 mm italic nibTWSBI 580, 1.1 mm italic nibJinhao 159, M nibInks Diamine Green-BlackDiamine Red DragonDiamine Onyx BlackOther pens Faber-Castel Ecco Pigment 0.3 black (felt tip)Ohto Graphic Liner black (rollerball)And the results? Well, as with most things on this notebook, it’s a mixed bag. First the good news: the paper is smooth and is pleasant to write on. There is some show-through, but hardly any bleed-through, even with broad nibs. When using the felt-tip or rollerball, I did not observe any major issues. But now to the not so good news. There is a non negligible amount of feathering. Just look at the scans below and compare the feathering between Monsieur and Rhodia. Both tests were done at the same time (within 1 minute of each other) and using same pens and inks. Don’t get me wrong, feathering is a major problem on most papers, and Monsieur performance is not too bad, but for a notebook designedspecifically for use with fountain pens it is just not good enough. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5521/9689236637_bf2a99ab24_c.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2876/9689236057_21f415a278_c.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5323/9689234619_3340d80bc6_c.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3714/9692473686_337dc95c1d_c.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2833/9689235245_5ea31366f1_c.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3783/9692474374_92731911a7_c.jpg More detailed scans: Monsiuer (Lamy Vista 1.5, TWSBI 580 1.1): http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3785/9704990384_ff25f3f06d_c.jpg Rhodia (Lamy Vista 1.5, TWSBI 580 1.1): http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5344/9704990358_8777d5c3a1_c.jpg\ Monsiuer (Jinhao 159 M, Faber-Castel Ecco Pigment 0.3): http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7450/9704990472_281322460b_c.jpg Rhodia (Jinhao 159 M, Faber-Castel Ecco Pigment 0.3): http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5448/9701755939_80e1d85069_c.jpg Monsiuer: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3703/9701751031_d97572e9eb_c.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3731/9701754829_1ca9db7aa2_c.jpg Rhodia: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5480/9704980882_04de3f72e5_c.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7286/9701742625_1b7c449883_c.jpg Wrap-up What I like: Real leather coverGreat rustic, yet clean lookHand-made feelSmells greatHardly any bleed-throughWide choice of colours and options (Monsieur range) What I don’t like: Noticeable featheringBinding and stitching too tightBinding can break rather easilyDoes not lie flatSpots on the paperWatermark on each page I applaud anyone who has the courage, energy and passion to bring a new product focused on fountain pen users to the market. It’s not easy in an age dominated by ballpoint and rollerball. Monsieur notebooks definitely brings new elements and concepts to the market, especially with regards to materials and the huge variety of options on offer. I was pleased with the lovely leather cover and I really like the rustic look. However, the fact that the notebook does not lie flat, that the binding tends to break and that the paper feathers quite a bit is disappointing. Having said that, I would love to try some of the other variants (dot grid and sketch look very interesting indeed) as they may not suffer from the same issues. I really believe Monsieur notebook and the whole concept around it has a great potential. I believe Tom and Ed will be able to address the build quality issues soon, because Monsieur Fountain could be a fantastic notebook. Monsieur Notebook Size: A5Dismensions: 213 x 148 x 20 mmPaper: plain whiteNumber of pages: 192Cover: real leatherBinding: glued and stitchedDesigned in the UK, manufactured in India

Hey, so I'm going into my senior year of high school, and I'm just about to go school supply shopping. I really only need a three-subject or five-subject notebook that's good with fountain pens, so any advice? I prefer the three or five subject ones because they have the folders in them, so are easiest to use for everything. For context, I live in the US and I use a Lamy Safari XF, but will be getting a pen with a finer nib soon. Thank you!!

I moved the entire review to a different to the review paper forum because I realized it should have been there. Basically, I am warning you that you should use the 100 gsm notebooks because the others are not even Pilot G2 friendly let alone fp friendly.

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?

I picked up a small pocket notebook at a yard sale earlier this month. On the cover is: IMPERIAL NOTE BOOK Efficiency Line No. 655 I have searched and searched, and cannot find anything on this type of notebook or brand. It is 6 3/4″ x 3 3/4″, sturdy, flexible cover, 57 sheets (114 pages) with one or two pages in the front ripped off. The edges of the notebook are rounded–an elegant touch in a utilitarian notebook. The paper is ruled w/margin on top, faint blue lines and pretty heavy. It was a cream or white originally, and has a yellowish-ivory tinge now. The binding is stitched, not stapled. The paper feels good to the touch–I don’t know how old the notebook is but it is certainly ready for use.

Hey FPN'ers, I just completed my new A6 journal covers yesterday and listed them on my etsy store. I have included a couple of photos so you can take a look a them. These covers are designed to hold three journals/cahiers. The open cover does not have a pen loop in it, but it is an option for the cases. I just found with this small case it is just easier to clip it over the spine on the closure. Let me know what you think. Cheers, Phil

Hey Guys, I've written before about the cheap Moleskine notebook clones which are available from Woolworths Supermarkets here in Australia (under the name Picadilly). I was surprised at the time of finding them tht they were relatively cheap but also very fountain pen friendly. Well I have found Notebooks that rivel these! While walking around KMart the other day wasting some time, I wandered into the stationary section. Most of the stuff that they have there is cheap stuff, perfect for ballpoints but useless for Rollerballs or Fountain Pens. But I noticed some notebooks that stood out. The where Moleskine clones. Coloured, leather like covers, elastic strap, and lined pages. They were cheap ($3 each) so I figured I would grab 1 or 2 and see how they performed. They simply come in a plastic slip. No real markings or brand names on it (just Kmart branded) and made in China. Taking off the plastic slip, the cover feels soft and nothing like real leather. My impression of the cover is it is not great quality, but I don't think it matters if the covering get's a little ripped and shagged (just adds character). It doesn't feel like it will fall apart, but it's not up to Moleskine standards. The elastic is nice and tight and keeps the covers firmly shut. Covers seem to come in Black, Red and Purple. Might be more colours at other stores. The cover opens fairly flat. Very surprising how flat it opens. The spin stitching seems to be fairly good quality too. There is no back pocket in the book, so the price is a bit of a sacrafice there. The paper is a yellow / ivory sort of colour, and it has dark grey lines. No page/leaf count is marked anywhere, but I estimate it to be around 80 leafs / 160 pages. Paper size is the same height as A5, but slightly skinnier. Is bigger than a standard Moleskine. Now we get to the pointy end of the stick. Writting on the paper. At this stage I was pleasently surprised. The paper was fairmly smooth, but does offer a bit of fedback. The ink goes onto the page easily and is NOT sucked right in! The lines stay fairly crisp (with little feathering) and drying time is average. Checking the other side of the paper, there is a little bit of show through (only slight and no where near enough to make the opposite page un-useable) but no bleeding (even where i had a huge burp of ink on the page). I tested with different inks and nibs, and none would really heavily show through and 0 bleeding. All up, for $3 these notebooks are great. Buy 10 for the same priec as 1 Moleskine or Rhodia Webby in Aus. I really recommend these. Grab a few for a cheap notebook for quick notes, or for journalling. They are great bits of work!

Does anyone own or has anyone owned these hole punchers. I just bought the Staples Arc punch. I have heard that the Levenger Circa punch punches a bigger hole, so it is easier to turn the pages when installed. Is it true that it punches a bigger hole than the Staples brand Arc puncher, or is the hole the same size? Price is not an issue. I will get whichever one functions better. Will the Levenger last a long time, or is it just an expensive piece of junk? With the Levenger Circa Leverage punch, I estimate I can fit about 10 pages to punch at once (I will use 32 lb bond / 120 gsm). With the Staples Arc punch, I can only fit about 7 pages to punch at once, and most of the pages have come out slanted. I may have gotten a defective one. The slanted-ness may have been affecting the ease of page-turning and making it tougher, maybe even more so than the small holes. Should I be exchanging or returning?

Leuchtturm1917 Major notebook. Love the features and design. The paper is a complete disaster. A4-size notebooks with plain paper are few and far between. Clairefontaine apparently made/makes a good one but I can't find one for sale. I've ruled out the A4 Rhodia Webbie. I'm in love with Tomoe River paper and would like to put together a notebook from it. The perfect-bound A4 pads with the binding on top are in the right direction. Anybody want to make any suggestions? A custom notebook would be OK if it didn't cost and arm and a leg for fancy leather work. Has anybody had any experience with perfect binding at Kinko's, Sir Speedy or other copy shops that will do one-offs for cheap?

I'm new to fountain pens, but looking to start journaling to my kids (they are young now, but to give to them when they are older). I have five kids so I need these notebooks to be reasonably priced (Around $30 each). I'm hoping the kids enjoy them enough to keep them around for a while so I'd like acid free paper, a reasonably attractive cover and binding that will hold up over time. This is probably asking a lot for my price range, but hoping to get some recommendations from you experts before I just buy the best reviewed notebook on amazon in my price range. Thanks for any/all recommendations.

Hey FPN'ers, I made this case last night. It is a A5 sized case that is capable of holding up to 3 different journals, I currently have two Rhodia and a slim Leuchtturm, by holding them in place with a strip of material that you adjust with a cord lock. I also used magnets to close the front so you dont' have to worry about elastics going or slowly pulling out of the material. I am really happy with how it turned out and I think I might start selling them on my Etsy. I would love to have everyone's feedback about what you think and if you would be interested in seeing it in a A6 or A4 size. Cheers, Phil

This is a page from the most recently filled pocket journal. I'll go through the pro's and con's with it after the pictures. And too acknowledge that another member from a year or so ago gave me the idea of making the Aquiline Font an 'everyday hand' and that I practiced it in the journal, I would like like to post a link to that thread https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/215433-aquiline-two-font-identification/ This is the pocket journal wrapped closed with the tie. Despite that being a theme over the last two journals, I actually prefer them to not have any. And the brand, quite literally on the back of the journal. "Rustico, Made in USA" EDITED TO ADD: This photo is of an entry made with a dip pen quill using Speedball ink. Both the right and left page, and should show the writing on the opposite side of either page, to demonstrate the level of transparency/bleedthrough the paper has. So this handy little guy has served as my handy "pocket journal" over the last three months. I kept it in the right back pocket, as it is a hardy journal/notebook. The cover is pure, thick leather. It not only stood up to the, um, large seat, that was pressed down on in during that time, it also softened it up a bit and added some character to it in my opinion. The paper, is good...I'm not an expert on the subject, so I can't give much more of an analysis than that. I used a Pilot G7 gel pen, because frankly it was too small to use with an italic nib. Minimal feathering and a little bleedthrough, not significant. I personally like being able to see a little bit of the writing on the other side, but that's just me. The pro's with this journal were: Tough, durable, archive quality paper (so it says, ivory too, again: Not an expert) and the smell of leather. Cons: Expensive: I'm a big proponent of that you get what you pay for, that being said, almost twenty bucks for a 3x5 inch journal seemed a bit much. That may have been just the store I bought it from, however. Glued Spine: Unlike nearly every other Rustico product, the pages are glued into place with this journal, so it does not lay flat. In fact, you have to struggle with it just to keep it open. You get used to it, I suppose, as I did manage to continue in it for three months. Final Thoughts: Overall, I would recommend this for people who do lot's of outdoorsy style stuff. It took a lickin, and still looks good. It would make a good fishing/hunting/camping journal in my opinion. I also used my Crow/Hawk Speedball quill on it when I was at home, and it took it just as well as the Pilot Ballpoint. You get that great feeling when a dip pen is writing smoothly over the paper with that scratch. I'm not sure what it's called exactly, I just love the feel and sound. A couple of guys at my work loved the look of it too, and I get them each one as a present for being upstanding dudes. A couple of weeks later, I saw them actually making use of it, and they said they loved it. These guys were not into journaling or penmanship at all, just as regular notebooks. It also comes in three different colors from where I got it from. Brown (pictured), Saddle, and Black.

Hi guys, I'm looking for paper that is lined and could be classified as "school use". My only complain with my current composition books is that they bleed and feather the heck out of me. It didn't originally bother me, but eventually it got so bad that I went back to ballpoints for a while. Another major concern is that I'm not a fancy person, I go through paper very quickly so I don't want to get the expensive paper like Rhodia or some other fancy brand. So any suggestions?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281089063455?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 I read some good reviews of Muji notebooks being fountain pen friendly so I ordered a couple different Muji notebooks. The spiral bound Muji notebooks will be coming in soon. Details: selling price is about $7, $3 shipping (you can haggle for a slightly cheaper price)about 5.8" by 4.1"144 sheets, not pages, of cream colored paperPro's: very smooth creamy colored paperbeautiful minimalist appearanceresists bleedthroughcould probably withstand very wet and broad nibs, but the feathering might make writing with wide nibs unbearableCons: Some inks will feather on this paper, the feathering I noticed was bearable but slightly noticeable.Showthrough occurs, but isn't noticable if you write on both sides of the page. Recommended? It's not a terrible notebook. I'm looking forward to finding a use for it (I misjudged the size of the book upon ordering, I was looking for a slightly larger book for class notes. ). It's competitively priced against Black n Red, Rhodia, and Clairefontaine notebooks which have amazing reviews and quality control (I haven't tried those brands yet). To be honest I'd recommend notebooks from the previously mentioned brands, the pictures of ink performance on those papers show much better fp friendliness than this paper. http://24.media.tumblr.com/bd576b69df00613736e2390777c6bc5a/tumblr_mnmta3AbRP1r4c920o1_500.jpg http://25.media.tumblr.com/22ef75b0155f601c3aa1205bdbc8077f/tumblr_mnmta3AbRP1r4c920o2_1280.jpg http://25.media.tumblr.com/de3c75e9c6da34d111df0e00966071a9/tumblr_mnmta3AbRP1r4c920o3_1280.jpg http://24.media.tumblr.com/7aa118a191952dafec0854dd439aa712/tumblr_mnmta3AbRP1r4c920o4_1280.jpg http://24.media.tumblr.com/033164c46627b340742d7dd7bf68307b/tumblr_mnmta3AbRP1r4c920o5_1280.jpg

Hello, I just started using fountain pens last year about halfway through my most recent school semester. I use a Lamy safari with a fine nib inked with Parker Blue/Black and I am not happy with the performance of the cheap notebooks I have been using ( feathering, bleed through, etc). I am looking for a better notebook to use for taking notes in school and I usually go through about 12-15 80-100 page notebooks a year so I would like them to be somewhere in the 5 dollar or lower range. I have been searching the forums and online for a while already trying to find a quality notebook at a decent price but no real luck yet. I live in Canada so many online retailers make it impractical to order from them even with lower prices, example: Goulet pens wants 35 dollars just for shipping on 5 notebooks. Any advice would be welcome.