Why I hate Clairefontaine...

[lurcho]

...Well, it's because I've never had a pen to work even reasonably well on it.

 

I just don't get it.

 

The only pen that works even half-heartedly on this paper is my Binderized Pelikan M800, and even that, with its excellent flow, seems to dry up and skip all over the place, on several different pads. Very good pens, that work magnificently and wetly on other papers, can barely leave a mark, as if the paper repels their ink.

 

How can people wax maniacal about this crummy paper? It doesn't seem designed for FP ink to me.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

This is not really a rant, by the way. I'm more puzzled than anything.

[QM2]

how odd! I don't like Claire Fontaine, but I thought it was supposed to be especially good for FPs!

[PAKMAN]

Goodness Lurcho I just got thru using my binderized 600 (crisp italic) on a Clairfontaine notebook and got excellent results beatiful crisp lines no bleeding no skiping nothing!

 

What ink are you using, maybe that is the issue rather than the pen or paper??

 

I've had good results on the paper with PR Chocolat, MB Love Letter Red, and Parker Penman Sapphire. Those are all that I have tried so far.

[lefty928]

Clairfontaine makes lovely paper, but the notebook stock does sometimes pick up skin oils like crazy toward the bottom of the page, and this can cause skipping. People here have suggested putting an index card or blotting paper under the hand when writing.

 

I like the crisp lines pens leave on it and the smoothness and whiteness very much, but others seem to prefer Miquelrius and Black 'n Red products, which feel more draggy to me.

[Opus104]

I love my Rhodia pads (Clairfontaine) and also have good results with my Binder & non-binder Pelikans and my Pilot Knight. However, my Sonnet and Waterman Charleston skip. I thought it was the pens. Yet the Sonnet does great on a Levenger pad. Maybe I will have to chage up paper more often. Interesting.

[Tricia]

Wow, all my fountain pens love my Clairefontaine. All give me a beautiful flow, it's just a dream to write on... In fact, the only pen I've found that didn't like Clairefontaine is my Monteverde fountain-pen-ink rollerball. The only paper it likes is the stuff in my Moleskine.

 

I should note that all my Clairefontaine is Clairefontaine itself, not Rhodia or Exacompta. I have one of the latter, none of the former, but have used none so I can't speak to their other products.

 

 

[HDoug]

I've never had a skipping problem with Clairefontaine, but I'm not a big fan either. It's nice and smooth, but I don't like the way it seems to absorb the ink into the paper. It doesn't feather, but it pulls the ink in. I like papers that allow the ink to kind of "lie on top" of the paper, like the paper in Lalo cahiers and the sketchpads that I usually use. Those papers tend to have rougher surfaces, though.

 

Also, I've taken the suggestions of many here at FPN and have given HP Premium #32 a try and find it to be a less expensive (though not cheap) substitute for Clairefontaine. I find the fuzzier side friendlier, and I have been using that for my Circa notebooks at work. Sure beats the crappy paper I would otherwise be forced to use here at the office. Which reminds me -- I guess I should get back to work...

 

Doug

[artaddict]

My pens write well on cheap Mead Composition notebooks! I've tried more expensive journals with no luck.

[Ghost Plane]

artaddict, we are as one! I hit the pre school year sales, grab stacks for $1 each and write my nibs dry on 'em all year.

 

For pretty journals that won't bankrupt me, I grab Italian overstocks at Tuesday Morning when they come in.

[Djehuty]

Lurcho, have you cleaned your nibs to clear them of any leftover manufacturing gunk? And have you tried watching your hand and the pen as you write, to see if you keep the pen at a good angle with both tines of the nib in contact with the paper? Both of these can cause skipping. As can the ink; to see if that's the problem, I'd suggest trying a Waterman ink.

 

[elena]

I thought I was the only one. I bought several Clairefontaines after hearing the rave about it, but now they are in my to-give-away drawer. Besides it not getting along with my fountain pens, the white is too white, and the lines are too wide. I stick to Moleskines.

 

note to John: Sorry I didn't respond earlier. I use Namiki VP and Pilot pens, as well as Lamy and Sailor. The inks I use are of the same brands, plus Private Reserve and Noodlers. All worked well in my Moles. Still using them without any issues.

Edited June 22, 2007 by elena

[MicheleB]

Hmmm I have been through two CF spiral notebooks with never a problem with any ink (Noodler's, PR, Waterman, Aurora, R & K, Visconti) or any pen. Only problem ever was with Noodler's Emerald City (Worldlux's special green) which feathered on everything, but has a beautiful color.

[scribbler]

I'll gladly take Clairefontaine paper off anyone who doesn't want it.

 

I've not used the Exacompta or Rhodia papers by Clairefontaine, but I like their Triomphe.

 

 

[coco]

Writing on Clairefontaine (notebook) paper was iffy for me...I sometimes felt as though the paper was too waxy (as odd as that might sound) and the pen would have bouts of sliding and skipping. Maybe it was the oil from my hand on the lower part of the paper (as someone in this thread mentioned). For years I've kept my daily To-Do lists in a Levenger Stanley pocket journal--I love that paper. For journal writing, I've been using Exacompta, mostly because I don't want to use Clairefontaine anymore.

[henri]

Could you be writing too quickly ??

[coco]

Could you be writing too quickly ??

 

Interesting comment because, yes, I was writing very quickly.

[artaddict]

artaddict, we are as one! I hit the pre school year sales, grab stacks for $1 each and write my nibs dry on 'em all year.

 

For pretty journals that won't bankrupt me, I grab Italian overstocks at Tuesday Morning when they come in.

 

I can usually get then at "THE CENTER" for 97 cents apiece. ( I mean WalMart)

 

What is Tuesday Morning?

[HDoug]

What is Tuesday Morning?

 

Find one near you: http://tuesdaymorning.com/

 

(There ain't one near me)

 

Doug

 

[Anne-Sophie]

I only bought one clairefontaine cahier while growing up (too expensive).

 

I think they absorb body oil like crazy and this is why I had a piece of blotting paper under my wrist at all time while writing with it.

[StyloBug33]

Could you be writing too quickly ??

 

Interesting comment because, yes, I was writing very quickly.

 

 

But what good is paper if you can't write quickly on it?

 

I, personally, don't care for Clairefontaine notepads. I find the paper too smooth, so that the pen skates accross the paper while skipping. I think paper needs a tiny bit of absorbancy to it to make it ideal.

 

That being said, I am currently writing exclusively on Stero Enso 4CC paper. It is incredibly smooth, but doesn't have as much as a problem of skipping that I had with Clairefontaine. It is very smooth but not coated. Some papers are coated with clay. (I don't know if Clairefontaine is coated or not.)

 

I also find the writing experience to be very subjective. I wish I could still use Moleskines, but every one I have purchased in the past three or four years has paper that bleeds with everything I try on it. And yet, some people don't have any problem with them.