Maybe I'm Too Cheap For This Hobby? Journal Costs!

[sirgilbert357]

 

Of course you are correct, it is expensive. In fact the whole business, pen, paper and ink is ridiculously expensive. And no question about it, journaling is a luxury, NOT a necessity. My sister once gave me a load of S-it about how extravagant this part of my life is. She brought it up several times. She smokes. I only had to ask her once what a carton of cigarettes cost and she no longer beats me up about it. We all have our guilty pleasures.

 

I have been journaling since the 1960's; I was a callow youth then, now I'm a crusty curmudgeon. I use high quality paper journals, a collection of very nice writing pens, and mainly Diamine inks. Why the 'extravagance'? I like to be comfortable when journaling, I could do it with a #2 pencil and loose-leaf school paper (I've done a fair amount of that during my down and out days) and I find that having a comfortable place to write, on decent paper, with one of my fave pens contributes greatly to the satisfaction which journaling provides me, I also think it may add to the quality of my thinking/writing.

 

I have no problem with you looking for a low cost way to do this, cost is obviously important to you. In fact I can almost chart my fiscal ups and downs just looking a the quality of the journals I wrote in. But if spending a little more to get better quality paper adds to the satisfaction then consider it. Believe me, time goes by faster than you think and life is too short to spend time dithering over the cost of paper!

 

In time you will be struggling with the challenge "Where do I put all these old POS journals?"

 

All really good points. I've decided to make my own instead of buying nicer ones. I've found a paper I love that works quite well and I get to design whatever I want. This, too, contributes greatly to satisfaction with journaling, I'm finding. Its still expensive, but for the same cost of a decent 20 dollar journal, I can make my own look however I want, in almost any material I want short of real leather. Funny thing is, just before all this began, I bought quite a few of those Eccolo World Traveler journals in the 4x6 size! Doh! Well, if I find myself not using them, then I'll post them up for sale on the cheap so others can enjoy them. They are nice, but I think I'll prefer my own pretty soon...

[sirgilbert357]

There's far more interesting stuff in my notebooks than what one might consider he wiriting of one who journals. That's what fills up the pages and makes smaller, less dense notebooks appropriate for me and my fountain pens.

 

In your quest for the ideal journal, you included the possibiity that your would create your own. Included in that process, of course, you must add the cost of your labor. I am expensive. That's one reason I am happy to buy notebooks.

 

Heh, my labor is free right now. I decided to consider it an un-paid apprenticeship of sorts, LOL. I wouldn't charge myself for writing in them, so not gonna bill the hourly rate to make em either...haha.

[DrCodfish]

 

Heh, my labor is free right now. I decided to consider it an un-paid apprenticeship of sorts, LOL. I wouldn't charge myself for writing in them, so not gonna bill the hourly rate to make em either...haha.

 

I think I wold have to agree here. Sort of like billing for your time spent roller skating, going to the movies, or doing whatever else you love to do.

[sirgilbert357]

 

I think I wold have to agree here. Sort of like billing for your time spent roller skating, going to the movies, or doing whatever else you love to do.

 

Yes, exactly! I actually enjoy this immensely. I'm going to try to work up to making two a week. There are stages where glue is drying and you can't do much, but if I have a second one going too, then BAM! something to do! I'm already flooded with ideas; gonna get a little fancy...I need to get into a Hobby Lobby for materials BAD...lol.

[wallylynn]

so what are your thoughts and feelings of the process? Quick and easy, long and hard? are you binding full books with covers?

[siopaopei]

So, I've never really kept a journal, but I thought it'd be fun to start up since I have a lot more going on in my crazy life, what with kids and trying to finish my degree while working full time...anyway, I've finally got a decent pen (Pelikan M205 in med nib) and have had really wet lines from it no matter what ink I run through it. I've been testing ink samples from Goulet and have many more to go through but all are too wet for basic notebooks and basic "composition" journals so far. I don't want this pen to be a "journal only" pen, so I will continue the search for a good "all around" ink that will allow me to use it on as many kinds of paper as possible, but until then, I'd like to start up a journal with FP friendly paper so I can truly enjoy writing (and write something worth keeping -- cause right now, grocery lists and practicing my cursive on throwaway paper is all I'm using the pen for!).

 

Here's the thing: journals of FP friendly paper are STOOPID expensive! I mean, 30 bucks for a Tomoe River paper journal? 20 bucks for Rhodia? And they're not even full size sheets (8.5 x 11)! Haven't been reading the most impressive stuff about Moleskine, and haven't priced Clairefontaine, but uh...is there such a thing as a "Poor Man's Journal" for fountain pens? Like at least 150 sheets of full size paper for less than 10 bucks? I'm about to grab a ream of that Staples paper I see people talking about and make my own journal!! LOL. Oh, but I want it with lines on it, cause I can't write a straight paragraph without them!

 

Help?

 

I'm not sure if you have MUJI where you are, but that's where I usually get my journals. Yes, I found that a lot of journals are expensive (especially in the Philippines, what with import taxes, shipping costs etcetera) but I've also discovered that there are locally-available alternatives that won't break the bank. It helps to familiarize yourself with the kinds of textures and weight (gsm) that will hold up well to fountain pen ink. I had to go through a trial and error phase before I got to the point where touching a notebook's paper can more or less tell me whether it'll be fountain pen friendly or not. BTW, my experience with the Moleskine journals I bought here in our country...not good at all.

[sirgilbert357]

so what are your thoughts and feelings of the process? Quick and easy, long and hard? are you binding full books with covers?

 

Oh, its most certainly not quick and easy, LOL. I mean, I guess it could be quicker once I got faster at it, but there are steps that simply cannot be rushed because you are letting glue dry. For my first journal I let each thing I glued sit overnight before I did anything else. But I am also working on this in my free time at night only. I spent about 30 mins to an hour each night on the first journal and it took 4 days I think? Maybe 5? Its not really hard, per se, but the steps are meticulous. Just cutting the red cardstock for the flyleaves was frustrating because I don't have a guillotine to make perfect straight cuts with...so I slow way down on steps like that to get it as close to perfect as I can knowing that I am doing something entirely by hand and it won't actually be *perfect*.

 

Anyway, if I had a whole weekend, I could feasibly knock out one whole journal assuming glue dries fast enough...my goal for December is two journals per week. While one has glue drying I can be sewing on another, etc...

[sirgilbert357]

Oh, and yes, doing full covers...

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/277659-my-first-homemade-journal/

[robertChiefsFan]

I'm a little late to the party here, and wanted to add my $0.02 to the cost of journaling on a nice, FP friendly journal / paper. I use the following (purchased from Barnes and Nobel) in a refillable leather journal cover: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/home-gift-kraft-refill-journal-5x7/28335266?ean=9780765534798

 

The refillable cover I use is brown leather and has two pen slots that hold fountain pens real well. I spent $35.00 on the cover a year ago, so my costs now are just the refill, which with one entry per day (sometimes two), I'm buying two / year. I'm satisfied with two refills / year for under $10.00 total. And it's very FP friendly paper - even with very wet ink.

[Art]

I'm a little late to the party here, and wanted to add my $0.02 to the cost of journaling on a nice, FP friendly journal / paper. I use the following (purchased from Barnes and Nobel) in a refillable leather journal cover: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/home-gift-kraft-refill-journal-5x7/28335266?ean=9780765534798

 

The refillable cover I use is brown leather and has two pen slots that hold fountain pens real well. I spent $35.00 on the cover a year ago, so my costs now are just the refill, which with one entry per day (sometimes two), I'm buying two / year. I'm satisfied with two refills / year for under $10.00 total. And it's very FP friendly paper - even with very wet ink.

 

Nice looking option. I'll take a look the next time I'm in the store.

[Kuhataparunks]

You are very right that such papers are stupidly expensive. For some reason, my university bookstore sells Roaring Spring sugarcane spiral bound notebooks, and loose leaf lines paper, for $5 and $3 each, respectively. They are very FP friendly papers and I use them every day for school, memo jotting, and letter writing. Not the best out there, but comparable to and a tithe of the exorbitant journals

[sirgilbert357]

I'm a little late to the party here, and wanted to add my $0.02 to the cost of journaling on a nice, FP friendly journal / paper. I use the following (purchased from Barnes and Nobel) in a refillable leather journal cover: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/home-gift-kraft-refill-journal-5x7/28335266?ean=9780765534798

 

The refillable cover I use is brown leather and has two pen slots that hold fountain pens real well. I spent $35.00 on the cover a year ago, so my costs now are just the refill, which with one entry per day (sometimes two), I'm buying two / year. I'm satisfied with two refills / year for under $10.00 total. And it's very FP friendly paper - even with very wet ink.

 

Sorry, just now seeing this post. That's actually pretty cheap for that many pages in 5 x 7 format. Not bad. I don't know when I'll ever get to go to a B&N, but once I finally do, I'll be on the lookout for these. Thanks for the tip!

[Sachsen]

I'm a little late to the party here, and wanted to add my $0.02 to the cost of journaling on a nice, FP friendly journal / paper. I use the following (purchased from Barnes and Nobel) in a refillable leather journal cover: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/home-gift-kraft-refill-journal-5x7/28335266?ean=9780765534798

 

The refillable cover I use is brown leather and has two pen slots that hold fountain pens real well. I spent $35.00 on the cover a year ago, so my costs now are just the refill, which with one entry per day (sometimes two), I'm buying two / year. I'm satisfied with two refills / year for under $10.00 total. And it's very FP friendly paper - even with very wet ink.

 

I can vouch for these as well. I have the 4x6 version and it is a pleasure to write in. I use a fine nib Pilot Metropolitan (currently using the stock Pilot black cartridge) and it is smooth as silk with excellent performance on the paper - no feathering, bleeding, ghosting, etc.