How Do You Test Fp-Friendliness Of A Journal/notebook?

[GreenVelvet]

So I have a bunch of smaller journals and notebooks that people have given me. I don't know anything about the brand, or the paper, or in some cases where they even came from.

 

I'd like to test the FP-friendliness of them without being too obvious on the first page. I doubt I am alone in this... how do you make your "first mark" and test the FP-friendliness of a new, unknown journal or blank book?

[farseer911]

So I have a bunch of smaller journals and notebooks that people have given me. I don't know anything about the brand, or the paper, or in some cases where they even came from.

 

I'd like to test the FP-friendliness of them without being too obvious on the first page. I doubt I am alone in this... how do you make your "first mark" and test the FP-friendliness of a new, unknown journal or blank book?

 

Back page.... start there...

[Philosophy Student]

Hey there,

 

I have a problem with not being able to use journals or notebooks unless I have a project that can fill them up and put them to use. I could not jot random stuff on the first page without driving myself nuts. I test journals by writing on the back page or by carefully removing the last page of the journal. Then I can do a test to see what inks and pens work well with the journal. I know my dad just uses the journal as sees how it goes, as it goes.

[GreenVelvet]

Oooh, thanks! I love the removing the back page idea.

 

(...shuffles off to play with journals now...)

[GreenVelvet]

I have a problem with not being able to use journals or notebooks unless I have a project that can fill them up and put them to use. I could not jot random stuff on the first page without driving myself nuts.

 

Exactly my problem.

 

I knew I wasn't the only one!

[Scribesquill]

I've experienced the same issue many times, even though I have a mild case of OCD (fellow OCDers understand), I just begin writing as I would any entry. If I don't like the way it writes, I change the ink or pen and continue writing in that journal with the one that works best. It adds to the variety in my writing and allows me to use multiple pens, inks.

[PacificCoastPen]

I just jump in on the first page and whatever happens happens. I also, before I even buy a notebook or test a new paper, just run my hand over it to judge the smoothness. That method has never proved me wrong.

[Defacto]

I make an ink testing page and use the last page of the journal or notebook for that.

I can see which inks are perfect and which are less perfect for that journal or notebook.

[Wolverine1]

If the journal/notebook was a gift or somehow ended up inmy home, I ink up a selection of 3 or 4 pens, ranging from wet writers to dry writers, and use the last page to test out how the paper reacts to the different pen and ink combinations.

 

At Walmart, I have used a wet writing Pelikan M1000 fp with a medium nib, and made a few discreet marks on the last page of a couple of Norcom Comp books, to test out the quality of the paper.

[QuantumMisa]

This is the same thought I was going through today. The suggestions to use the back page sound good. Why not go further and make a decorative page out of it? Instead of testing out only a bit at the corner, you could make a rainbow of ink tests or a whole entry chronicling your selection process or who gave you the book for what occasion. Sort of like a "making of" entry.

 

It reminds me of the "how to make your first manuscript book" section of classic calligraphy instruction books. Near the end of the book is a page for the colophon, where the scribe can comment on the meta aspects of the book. I remember seeing one where the professional calligrapher complained of how bad the pen-paper combination was, but it still made a pretty page!

[ethernautrix]

I go to the middle of one of the segments (where I can see the threads) and rip the two facing pages (or one sheet) out and use that.

[sidheblessed]

I make an ink testing page and use the last page of the journal or notebook for that.

I can see which inks are perfect and which are less perfect for that journal or notebook.

 

This is how I do it too. If the journal doesn't pass the test, I give it to my husband who doesn't use FPs (all the more for me! ).

[StyloBug33]

I have a bible verse that I like (Romans 8:28) that I write on the last page of every new journal to test out the paper. I sometimes write it in different inks, etc. Then if I don't like it I can give it away and it doesn't look like I have used it.