New Fountain Pen User. Help With Finding Affordable Fp Friendly Notebooks.

[TitoThePencilPimp]

Greetings fellow members. I am new to fountain pens. I own a Pelikan m200 and a Sailor 1911 Standard. I am not new to fine writing instruments. I have a collection of quality wooden pencils and mechanical pencils. I used Rhodia paper with my pencils. However, I did not like the feel or color of the paper. It made my writing experience unpleasant. I am ok with Moleskines, the paper is not the best, and I am sure my fountain pens will feather.

 

I am student majoring in physics, and would like decent quality notebooks, that are not to expensive and are fountain pen friendly.

[max dog]

Greetings fellow members. I am new to fountain pens. I own a Pelikan m200 and a Sailor 1911 Standard. I am not new to fine writing instruments. I have a collection of quality wooden pencils and mechanical pencils. I used Rhodia paper with my pencils. However, I did not like the feel or color of the paper. It made my writing experience unpleasant. I am ok with Moleskines, the paper is not the best, and I am sure my fountain pens will feather.

 

I am student majoring in physics, and would like decent quality notebooks, that are not to expensive and are fountain pen friendly.

One approach is, with the right ink, almost any notebook, including Moleskine, can be fountain pen friendly.

Montblanc Permanent Blue is one. Super well behaved on all papers with no feathering or bleed through with my wet medium nibs. I use it for work all the time, and I only use Moleskine. It is a permanent ink so you just need to flush your pen regularly every 2nd or 3rd fill. Some have reported it can stain some converters, but I haven't had any issues with it in my converters or piston fillers.

Edited August 8, 2016 by max dog

[eliweisz]

Any Clairefontaine notebook I tried - AgeBag, Europa Notemaker, 1951 series - is super FP-friendly, allowing you to use the wettest inks and leaving the other side of the page fully usable.

[carlos.q]

Take a look at Black N Red notebooks at places like OfficeMax, Office Depot and WalMart. These are an economical alternative to Rhodia and have white paper, not ivory.

[Arkanabar]

While Back to School is still on, head to Wal-Mart and see if you can identify where the composition and/or spiral notebooks originated. Most of them are too thin to write on both sides of the paper, but if they're made in e.g. Brazil, India, Columbia, or Vietnam, there's a much better shot at getting something not too featherocious. Take a pen with your most feathery ink and make tiny marks on the back of the last page. I bought a half-dozen 50cent composition books from Vietnam (broad rule; college rule is too small for me these days) and consider myself well-served.

 

Another option is to buy some good letter-sized laser paper, 3 ring binders, and a 3-hole punch. Hewlett-Packard 32lb laser paper is very highly regarded. Avoid inkjet paper and (if you can) all purpose laser/inkjet paper.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Arkanabar

[sandy101]

Oxford and Black'n'Red use opik paper which works well with fountain pen ink.

 

Fabriano's Aqua also works well. You don't get shading with that paper, but a good, consistent line.

[eliweisz]

Oxford and Black'n'Red use opik paper which works well with fountain pen ink.

 

Fabriano's Aqua also works well. You don't get shading with that paper, but a good, consistent line.

 

I second Oxford. Got their legal pad, most of my pens and inks love it.

[Ergative]

Take a pen with your most feathery ink and make tiny marks on the back of the last page.

 

Don't do this. Please don't do this. Don't damage goods that you haven't bought. I'd be annoyed to find someone had made marks on a notebook that I bought. Don't do that.

[TitoThePencilPimp]

While Back to School is still on, head to Wal-Mart and see if you can identify where the composition and/or spiral notebooks originated. Most of them are too thin to write on both sides of the paper, but if they're made in e.g. Brazil, India, Columbia, or Vietnam, there's a much better shot at getting something not too featherocious. Take a pen with your most feathery ink and make tiny marks on the back of the last page. I bought a half-dozen 50cent composition books from Vietnam (broad rule; college rule is too small for me these days) and consider myself well-served.

 

Another option is to buy some good letter-sized laser paper, 3 ring binders, and a 3-hole punch. Hewlett-Packard 32lb laser paper is very highly regarded. Avoid inkjet paper and (if you can) all purpose laser/inkjet paper.

 

The Hewlett-Packard suggestion is intriguing. I use white paper, or engineering paper (this paper does not work well with FP) to set up my problems.

 

 

I will also try Oxford and Black/Red.

 

I was sad that my favorite cheap notebook, Cambridge (mead) with ivory paper and grid pattern feathered with my noodler's ink.

 

I ordered some Sailor: Black/Blue Gentle, Pelican 400? in Red, and Apache Sunset. Hopefully, the Sailor ink is friendlier on paper.

[TitoThePencilPimp]

Has any member tried Campus, or even Muji Notebooks with their fountain pens? I have some older notebooks archived somewhere. However, I won't be able to physically test them myself until next month. I am away from home.

[AndyYNWA]

Oxford and Black'n'Red use opik paper which works well with fountain pen ink.

 

Fabriano's Aqua also works well. You don't get shading with that paper, but a good, consistent line.

I only use Oxford Optik at work. Very fountain pen friendly.

The 'My Colours'-series in quite decently priced, A5 from 65 SEK (6,85 €) A4 from 80 SEK (8,45 €).

Edited August 9, 2016 by AndyYNWA

[SpecTP]

I use Nanami Seven Seas and they are fantastic for FP.

[Brioche]

Here's a name that doesn't come up frequently. Miquel Ruis, made in Spain.

 

Today I was writing in this notebook:

 

http://www.shopmiquelrius.com/diplomat-4-subject-notebook/

 

with a very wet pen and a very wet ink. Zero show-thru. 90 lb. opaque paper. Reasonably priced.

[mmg122]

+1 for Black 'n' Red

Lamy Blue-Black ink also behaves well in Moleskines.

 

Mary

[Runnin_Ute]

Black n Red is good, but is lined only. Comes in either hardback or spiral though. The spiral is lighter and lays flatter.

 

How about HP 24 or 32 lb laser, print the graph (or dots) in the size/spacing you want/need......

 

I don't recall having used the HP 32 laserjet paper, but a ream will be about $20, slightly less for HP24.

 

Made in Brazil paper in composition books. I use them at work all the time and use wet inks and fat nibs and can easily use both sides. I paid I think $0.99 or less EACH the last batch I bought a few weeks ago. I had to hunt a bit as Egypt and Vietnam were more prevalent in the store I went to.

[PaganArcher]

On the budget end of the spectrum, I really enjoy Maruman Mnemosyne and Apica notebooks.

[UDog]

Take a look at Black N Red notebooks at places like OfficeMax, Office Depot and WalMart. These are an economical alternative to Rhodia and have white paper, not ivory.

 

+1

[Mech-for-i]

I enjoy all kind of artist specialty paper, typically those watercolor paper and cartridge paper ( which are specifically tailored to be used with drawing with dip pen, manga, etc ) Sketching paper can be good too. Go for the smooth finish type. ironically I can buy these artist paper pad with price actually cheaper than like of Rhodia. Of course the heavier grade artist paper can be rather expensive. One of my favorite is the A3 size 100g 50 sheet Cartridge Sketch pad designed for brush, pencil, and dip pen ( aka ink ) from Microland ( a specialty artist paper Mfr ). Only cost me US$5.00, and like that cream color too.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Staples office supply store have their "Sustainable Earth" papers, made from sugarcane waste. I tried one of their notebooks on the recommendation of someone else, and found it pretty good for fountain pens. After I filled it up, I went back to my Clairefontaine and other papers which are even better, but I wouldn't be unhappy if all I had for a while was the Sustainable Earth stuff.

 

Printer paper is variable, but some can be good for fountain pens. At work, we print out some local forms for our own records. I've found that the 8½ x 14 inch paper, which is 20 lb weight, feathers terribly, but the 8½ x 11, which is 22 lb weight, is quite acceptable.

[fphilipp]

 

I second Oxford. Got their legal pad, most of my pens and inks love it.

Oxford (optik paper) is very good imo. Underrated on these pages.

And cheaper than a lot of sexier brands.

Edited August 9, 2016 by fphilipp