Moleskine "Sketchbook"?

[dfsbrn]

Hi! I recently purchased a Moleskine Sketchbook to use with my medium tipped M800 -- the pages are thick enough that you can write on both sides without seeing the writing on the other side of the page.

 

Unfortunately, fountain pens do not leave a wet line on the page. Rollerballs work great, but my M800 leaves a weak line.

 

Any thoughts?

 

So appreciated...

 

Dustin

[cmenice]

What kind of ink are you using?

 

I find these sketchbooks work ok with Noodler's Walnut and regular Noodler's black. But this is also from wet writers. Sometimes the ink beads up on the page. My overall impression of these sketchbooks is to not use a fountain pen with them.

[dfsbrn]

What kind of ink are you using?

 

I find these sketchbooks work ok with Noodler's Walnut and regular Noodler's black. But this is also from wet writers. Sometimes the ink beads up on the page. My overall impression of these sketchbooks is to not use a fountain pen with them.

 

Thank you! I've tried Noodler's Heart of Darkness and Ottoman Blue...

[BillTheEditor]

They work ok with pencil and with water color or aquarelle. Ink, not so much.

[stevlight]

I use a mixture of aurora black and a few drops of either namiki black or mont blanc black. It stops it from beading up and makes a nice dark line. I use these sketchbooks alot and that is their only draw back. Watercolor will bead up also! A solution for that is a very fine sand paper to the pages before watercoloring, or rub with a white chalk pastel( nupastel works best). Then watercolor where the chalk is. If this is a total pain they do make a watercolor book but it is landscape format(which I do not like). I just love that the paper is like the old oak tag board from grade school. I use them usually with a fountain pen and colored pencils or chalk pastels.

[thibaulthalpern]

Hi! I recently purchased a Moleskine Sketchbook to use with my medium tipped M800 -- the pages are thick enough that you can write on both sides without seeing the writing on the other side of the page.

 

Unfortunately, fountain pens do not leave a wet line on the page. Rollerballs work great, but my M800 leaves a weak line.

 

Any thoughts?

 

So appreciated...

 

Dustin

 

Yes, the sketchbooks are intended for graphite (not even watercolour). I received a good tip from someone who wanted to use the sketchbook for ink. Sand the paper with very, very, very fine sandpaper ;-) Would that work for fountain pen? I guess so, but I don't know what the result would look like.

[limesally]

This must be another example of the variability of moleskine paper, because I've used both fountain pen ink and watercolor in my moleskine sketchbook (yes, the one with the thick paper). Water color doesn't go on the same way or behave as it does on regular watercolor paper, but it still goes on, and can look sort of interesting.

 

Here's a close-up of part of a doodle with a number of different inks - Noodler's Black, PR Blue Suede, and J. Herbin Violette Pensee. (I'm going by memory but I think that's right). They all went on no problem, using EF to M nibs. Again, I have to assume that it's a paper variability issue.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1195/1280034206_57a2bfb266_o.jpg

Edited September 11, 2008 by limesally

[Zoe]

My experience with the Moleskine sketchbooks is similar to yours, limesally--and I've used everything that writes or paints in them over the years.

 

In fact, I just bought a new one several weeks ago.

 

This must be another example of the variability of moleskine paper, because I've used both fountain pen ink and watercolor in my moleskine sketchbook (yes, the one with the thick paper). Water color doesn't go on the same way or behave as it does on regular watercolor paper, but it still goes on, and can look sort of interesting.

 

Here's a close-up of part of a doodle with a number of different inks - Noodler's Black, PR Blue Suede, and J. Herbin Violette Pensee. (I'm going by memory but I think that's right). They all went on no problem, using EF to M nibs. Again, I have to assume that it's a paper variability issue.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1195/1280034206_57a2bfb266_o.jpg

 

[cmenice]

I've successfully used acrylic paint and gouache as well.

[stevlight]

limesally---I think from the pictures that you are using the "watercolor" sketchbook( the pages look white)--which is great for ink and watercolor. The "sketchbook" moleskine has smooth cream colored paper that is like a manila folder.

[limesally]

The "sketchbook" moleskine has smooth cream colored paper that is like a manila folder.

 

Yes, that's exactly the one I am talking about - the smooth cream colored paper, with thick paper the weight of a folder, and comes with the purple label. The scanner doesn't show the cream color up, but that's what it is.

 

I have the watercolor sketchbook as well - the one with actual coldpress watercolor paper in the landscape format. I do use both of them, and as mentioned earlier, watercolor behaves differently in each one. But I can use watercolor - along with fountain pens - in the regular sketchbook as well as the watercolor sketchbook.

Edited September 12, 2008 by limesally

[stevlight]

limesally---I have used fountain pen and watercolor in the "sketchbook" one also. I was just trying to clarify for anyone who may not of known the difference between the two books. From the pics I thought it was the :watercolor" sorry! I love moleskine I think they are a great product and use both and you are right they are just different.

[Titivillus]

They work ok with pencil and with water color or aquarelle. Ink, not so much.

 

second this comment. Bought one on hope. didn't finish the book.

 

Kurt

 

[limesally]

limesally---I have used fountain pen and watercolor in the "sketchbook" one also. I was just trying to clarify for anyone who may not of known the difference between the two books.

 

Yeah, me too

 

FWIW, there are other color things that work very well with the sketchbook - watercolor pencil and water soluble crayon work great, and markers too of course. But watercolor pencil seems to be especially good. I think Russell Stutler actually has an article on this somewhere, comparing watercolor pencil to straight watercolor. And mentioned upthread of course, acrylic and gouache.