Composition Notebooks

[Paganini]

So here's a recurring topic that hasn't come around the bend for a while. Years ago I bought a whole case of those Oxford "made in Brazil" composition notebooks because (I think) a Reddit thread said they were great for fountain pens. They aren't. At least, my box isn't. My finest nibs and my most bestest-behaved inks ghost and bleed enough that I can't use both sides of a sheet. I'm about ready to finally give up on these notebooks and find something else to fill my nice leather cover with. They're roughly 7x10 inches, so I guess anything about B5 sized would fit in my cover. 

 

What I'm wondering is, what is the thinnest paper that you can reliably use both sides of? I don't really like, e.g., the paper in Leuchtturm notebooks because it's almost like writing on cardstock. It'd be nice if there were a kind of middle-ground where the paper is thin enough to get a reasonable number of sheets (say, 80 - 120) into a B5 sized notebook but thick enough to use both sides. It'd also be nice if it was more or less affordable. I know Rhoda makes a composition notebook similar to what I'm describing, but they cost $12 or so for 80 sheets. I suffer from a psychological impediment where I don't like scribbling in expensive notebooks - I feel like a nice notebook should have nice writing in it! Is this pie in the sky, or are there some decently affordable composition books out there for fountain pen users right now ("now" being Spring of 2025). 

[finzi]

Where are you? Sorry, I don’t recognise the flag. I’m in the UK, I used to use the Rhino books, but I can’t seem to find any online retailers outside of the UK, perhaps you’ll have more luck. 

[finzi]

P.S. I used to have the same hesitation about “scribbling” in my Rhodia books, but now… to heck with it. 😂 Some pages are tidier than others, life is a beautiful mess. Lean into it. 😁

Edited May 10 by finzi
Rhodia had been autocorrected to Rhodes

[Paganini]

12 minutes ago, finzi said:

Where are you? Sorry, I don’t recognise the flag. I’m in the UK, I used to use the Rhino books, but I can’t seem to find any online retailers outside of the UK, perhaps you’ll have more luck. 

 

Oh, that's the California state flag; but I don't actually live there any more. I'm in the Dallas Fort Worth Metropolitan Area (AKA the "Metroplex" AKA the "Sprawl") now. 

 

10 minutes ago, finzi said:

P.S. I used to have the same hesitation about “scribbling” in my Rhodia books, but now… to heck with it. 😂 Some pages are tidier than others, life is a beautiful mess. Lean into it. 😁

[Penguincollector]

   I highly recommend checking out Daiso for notebooks if you have one close by. They have  B5 notebooks for $1.75 and there are several different kinds with some having thinner paper, and others a bit thicker. The Premium Notepads come in different sizes and styles of notebook/notepads and are thick enough not to ghost on the back side but not card stock like. They also carry Somnium, Kokuyo, and Logical Prime notebook brands.
 

  Another option would be looking for composition books at places like Kroger, Walmart, Dollar Tree, etc that are made in Japan, Vietnam or India. Kids use fountain pens for school work there, so paper quality is usually pretty good. Brands are: Top Flight, Pen & Gear, and Jot. Some are only suitable for EF, others can take wider nibs. I have also found inexpensive notebooks at Asian markets that have a little school supplies section. 
 

  The tried and true are Tomoe River 68gsm, Clairefontaine 90gsm, and similar. There’s an outlet for Clairefontaine/Rhodia/Hamelin called  PaperBistro outlet  that you can find bargains on here and there, and I have found good sales on Amazon at times. 

 

 

[finzi]

1 minute ago, Penguincollector said:

 

 Another option would be looking for composition books […] that are made in Japan, Vietnam or India. Kids use fountain pens for school work there, so paper quality is usually pretty good.

 

 

This is a great tip, thank you!

[Paganini]

4 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

 I highly recommend checking out Daiso for notebooks if you have one close by.

Oh, neato! There's actually one of these next to Sprouts (grocery store) less than 10 miles from me. I had no idea what it was before now. Thanks! 

[Penguincollector]

  Yay! Let me know what you find!

[putteringpenman]

If you go to Daiso in DFW, also check out Kinokuniya in the same shopping center. They have a good stationary section and you might find a notebook you like in their store.

[Penguincollector]

5 minutes ago, finzi said:

This is a great tip, thank you!

   You’re so welcome! You have excellent stationery across the pond, so I bet you’ll come across some good stuff!

[Eoghan2009]

I bought packs of ten "red n black" Oxford hardback notebooks (A4) for Bible study.  My daughter found them and scribbled in every notebook!

 

I had to find the 90g notebooks again - and keep them under lock and key!

[inkstainedruth]

I tend to buy composition books at dollar stores and at places like Target and office supplies places such as Staples when they have back to school sales.  The one that got started when I was doing NaPoWrimo this year is from Office Depot (so not sure how old it is, since there aren't really any stores around here after they merged with Office Max).  It's 200 pages, college ruled, and apparently made in Egypt.  There is a bit of bleed through with some inks (notably Noodler's Prairie Flax and Robert Oster Bishop to King, but given that it's for rough drafts as much as anything, the paper is decent enough.  But when I can buy 3-5 composition books for a buck during the back to school sales, I'm not all that worried about the quality of the paper. 

I have bought mini composition books at places like Dollar Tree that are made in India, and in the past have bought them in three packs.  Those are 3-1/4" x 4-1/2" and I like them because they're small enough to carry around in my purse for when I'm shopping (to keep track of what I've seen where, and also for keeping track of expenses; and for general note-taking -- although they don't hold up as well if you rip the pages out for notes).  The current "expenses" one doesn't have a country of origin, but the company listed on the front cover is something called "American Scholar".  The cover also says the pages are sewn in, rather than glued in.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Paganini]

So I went to Daiso this morning. What a cool place! Thanks for cluing me in to it. I got a nice haul of interesting notebooks for like $20! 

 

I also went to WalMart to get groceries and stopped by the office supplies area to pick up some over-the-counter notebooks. 

 

I thought I'd do a little notebook shootout and see how they stack up. The testing pen is a fairly wet Wing Sung 699 loaded with Wearingeul Call of C'thulhu. I want this to be a pretty tough test. I know my Wing Sung 601 with Platinum Blue Black would do fine on most of these, it can write on paper towels. 

 

First the bad. In worst place is this Pen + Gear Composition Book from WalMart. It was Made In The USA Factory Certifed! Oh well. It's the only one that bled through so badly that the following page was marked. 

 

In next to last place is this Mead Five Star notebook from WalMart. It was made in Vietnam. It has kind of interesting paper, designed to interface with an app. Unfortunately it didn't fare so well in the test. 

 

Next (third worst) is this Notebook from Daiso. I got this sort of salmon colored one, but it comes in a bunch of colors. It was also made in Vietnam. 

 

And finally, the least bad of the failures was this fancier (and more expensive!) one from Wal Mart, also made in Vietnam. It's a shame this one failed; I really like the look and feel of it. In fact, even though it failed, I still like it and will probably use it with pencils (or with that WS601 that can write on paper towels!)  

 

And now the good! First, the sort of special winners. These Made in India Pen+Gear Poly Composition Books are spectacular! It comes in a 5 x 5 Graph Paper version and also a dot grid notebook that's just as good. I've never seen a dot grid composition notebook before. It's super cool! However, sadly, these don't come in a ruled version. 

 

In second place, just barely edged out of first place because of a slight bleeding where I crossed a t, is this Poly Heavyweight Composition Book from Pen + Gear. It was made in the USA. 

 

And the winner is (dun dun dun), this BAZIC Composition book from Daiso. It was made in Vietnam. This paper behaves somewhat better than the Tomoe River paper in my Naname 7 Seas notebook, and it cost $2! This is the one I'll be using going forward, I think. But I'm definitely going to try and buy a case or two of those Indian-made dot and grid composition books. 

[Penguincollector]

  Oh nice! I’m glad you found something that works for you at Daiso and Walmart. I haven’t seen that Bazic notebook at the Daiso here yet, but I will keep an eye out for it. Is your Seven Seas old or new Tomoe River? I love mine, but it’s very old.

[inkypete]

As a general rule if I find something I love at Daiso I go straight back and stock up as Daiso has a habit of being here today, gone tomorrow. I must say I have a lot of luck with Daiso notebooks, notepads, looseleaf and note cards.

[AmandaW]

I have become a fan of the Daiso Premium notebooks and notepads you have there.

[Paganini]

10 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

Is your Seven Seas old or new Tomoe River? I love mine, but it’s very old.

I have an older crossfield, and a newer dot grid. TBH, I didn't notice a huge difference between the paper, in spite of the internet kerfuffle over the changes. 

[Paganini]

5 hours ago, AmandaW said:

I have become a fan of the Daiso Premium notebooks and notepads you have there.

To me they seem just like those Life Noble Notebooks that the product dressing seems to be referencing. I can't help but wonder if they're made in the same factory from the same materials.

[Paganini]

6 hours ago, inkypete said:

As a general rule if I find something I love at Daiso I go straight back and stock up as Daiso has a habit of being here today, gone tomorrow. I must say I have a lot of luck with Daiso notebooks, notepads, looseleaf and note cards.

I think that's generally true for this whole project. I mean, WalMart has all kinds of Pen + Gear notebooks made in all sorts of places. Who knows how long those specific made-in-india notebooks will keep being made with that specific paper? 

[Sailor Kenshin]

Composition notebooks with paper made in India usually bring good results. Try dollar stores.

 

And I'm sooo envious of those who have Daiso stores!