Paperblanks notebooks journals etc

[scratchy]

I've had a quick look but I haven't found a review of Paperblanks notebooks which seem to be widely available in the UK, competing with Moleskine. I don't know where Paperblanks are made.

 

Does anyone use Paperblanks and if so how good is the paper? (thinking about buying over internet). Also, the covers seem to look nice but do the notebooks fold out flat? I don't want to be trying to hold a notebook open in order to write in it.

 

scratchy

[limesally]

There should be some Paperblank threads - I know I've read and posted in them previously

 

But to answer your question here - I've found the paper inconsistent for fountain pen use. The first Paperblank I had was pretty good - I could use my pen in it no problem, but the second one would either cause the ink to bead where my hand had rested on the paper (and that doesn't usually happen to me) and/or soak through to the other side. The bleed is much worse than I've had in Moleskine, at least for the particular one I had.

 

They are really beautiful, so I keep getting suckered into buying them. But the most recent one I bought won't take ANY fountain pen ink whatsoever except India ink in a rapidograph. I know other posters have had much better luck and there is a thread here attempting to identify which series are more FP friendly.

 

They do lay flat, though not as nicely as moleskine. They also have a nice back pocket, and the ones I've used have the magnetic closure. They're reasonably robust for carrying around.

 

I'll probably keep buying them and trying them, because they they have such beautiful covers, and just accept that some of them will have to be relegated to pencil or gel pen or whatever.

Edited February 20, 2008 by limesally

[misterh]

 

I haven't used them myself, but they do look rather splendid. I want to get a journal for a friend's birthday and they look just the job.

 

Adrian

Edited February 21, 2008 by misterh

[Lloyd]

My wife uses an 8"x5" Paperblanks journal. It works great with Noodlers El Lawrence from her Lamy with a 1.1mm italic nib. Also, it lies flat.

[lefty928]

There are some threads in here on Paperblanks, as many have had trouble with the paper. (Some don't, however.) I don't remember if a pocket one I bought years ago laid flat, but there are some with special stitching on the side that do lie really flat. I was one of the people who hated the paper, though. I think it really sucked up ink and spread the line very wide, if I recall correctly. I was disappointed, but I do occasionally (especially in years past) get suckered into buying a "pretty" notebook. It's just my own inner Puritan, a personal inclination, but I'm a lot more comfortable writing in more utilitarian notebooks, so perhaps the Paperblank I bought for a special "keepers" use wouldn't have worked out anyway, even without the unsatisfactory paper. The covers are very pretty, though.

 

I had no paper problems with the Moleskine-sized perfectbound Paperblank I think I used for a travel journal, but back then I was using gel pens and ballpoints and didn't have my ultra, ultra flat requirement. Peter Pauper also has pretty notebooks, but I haven't tried one.

Edited February 21, 2008 by lefty928

[girlieg33k]

I bought one at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on a stopover to Lisbon last November. I haven't used it the journal yet though -- but the paper quality looked to be fountain pen friendly. I bought it as a backup journal in case I filled the Moleskine I had with me for the trip. I'd forgotten all about it, until this thread!

[Dr.Grace]

The pocket-sized Paperblanks notebook I bought in Barnes and Noble was, except for the cover, essentially identical (with respect to the size, back pocket, elastic band, and paper) to a Moleskine I have, and I suspect it was made in the same factory. A great design but lousy paper.

[succubus]

I've never had any trouble with any of the Paperblanks I've bought (I think I have 5 now - mostly from Powell's). The Smythe sewn ones do open flat and I use fountain pens (mostly Noodler's inks) in them exclusively.

[Matt]

I used them for years with good success with a variety of inks. I went through 6 or 7 journals. However, one day I bought one and it was terrible, bad feathering. Upon closer examination, all my old journals were made in Hong Kong, and the new one was made in China. I'm not saying that the Chinese don't make good products, but the paper quality is noticably different between the HK and China made journals.

 

It is too bad because I really liked just about everything about the journals. Maybe I got a bad batch, but it's too expensive to buy one hoping that it will be a good one.

 

Matt C.

[scratchy]

I think I will avoid buying Paperblanks but I might still look at them.

I'm thinking about getting a journal/notebook from www.scaramangadirect.co.uk as they say the paper is cotton rag and that is good, right?

Edited February 22, 2008 by scratchy

[shookfoil]

I have several Paperblanks journals and like the covers, but have a problem using them with fountain pens. I found that one side of each sheet is fine, the other sides feathers like crazy. The way they are put together this means sometimes you get 4 feathery pages, before you get a good one. I have 2 really dry fountain pens which are reasonable (they are normally scratchy, but put a nice fine line on the 'feather pages'). It's disappointing, but I probably won't buy any more - mine came from Amazon.

[coco]

I have one Paperblanks journal, which I bought because of the gorgeous cover. But the paper itself isn't (for me) a happy fountain pen-paper union. Lots of feathering, basically.

[Goodwhiskers]

I gave my girlfriend a Paperblanks journal between Christmas and the new year. She is writing in it with a Lamy Safari Fine and new Sheaffer Skrip Blue. She uses even less pressure than I use (I've used her pen occasionally). She hasn't complained about the paper. I'm sorry to hear about the experiences of inconsistent quality.