Notebook/Journal

[tandaina]

I'm looking for a suggestion. I've been using the Leuchtturm1917 Large Notebook with the Dot grid.

I love it, except... There are areas on the page (usually sort of a patch down the page near the spine and usually on the right hand sheet) that are just FUNNY it is like they are coated with something and hte ink doesn't sit properly there at all. Three notebooks have ALL had the same behavior. Maybe it was the batch but I'm frustrated by it. I adore them otherwise, but that weird patch that keeps showing up on pages and breaks up the writing is driving me nuts.

It is time to order more journals... Could anyone suggest something similar that has more consistent paper (or I suppose tell me if this is a known issue that has been fixed)? I prefer a notebook in the large size, dot ruled, must lay flat. I like a book, don't really want something stapled like some of hte Rhodia options.

Anything out there I should know about?

[AndyT]

I'm afraid what you describe really does sound like a Rhodia A5 Web notebook - it's the dots which limit your options. As far as I know the latest version does lay flat now. It's a shame that Clairefontaine haven't introduced dot paper (although understandable as Rhodia is another part of the Exacompta Clairefontaine Group) - their A5 cloth bound exercise book is a superb product and very economical. It comes in plain, lined, grid, and Séyès ... but no dots.

[tandaina]

Yeah the dots are sadly hard to find. But they suit my writing and my crazy nib selection (from vintage full flex to big OBB to italics) because I can use one or two or three of them for a line and it doesn't look odd. The Rhodia books are EXPENSIVE. Whew. Ten dollars more than the same size 1917. Hopefully the paper is a LOT better for that price!

[AndyT]

Well, not having tried a Leuchtürm book yet I shouldn't comment, but one hears stories!

Rhodia is utterly consistent and very, very good in my opinion: it will stand up to wet full flex unless the ink is of the mischievous variety. I do like Clairefontaine even better though.

[KrazyIvan]

Someone introduced me to Fabriano EcoQua notebooks. Dot paper for everyday use. Not as bleed resistant as Rhodia but I would rate it pretty close to 1917 but I have only used the small size. They are not as nice looking and the binding is not as nice either. For the price, (A5 size is around $5) they are good. I reviewed a notebook on my blog back in May. http://inktronics.wordpress.com/2013...tebook-review/

[cwent2]

How about the TWSBI Notebook?

[KrazyIvan]

Oh, and I forgot to add that I can send you some sample sheets if you want.

[tandaina]

The TWSBI notebook I have... Couple issues: No dot option (I have the blank sheet one which is OK but really not ideal). And... it doesn't work worth BEANS to my flex pens. Which frankly makes me very sad, as I otherwise really like it. The paper is thin enough everything shows through, doesn't bleed, but shows.

And the real kicker? My vintage flex puts down a LOT of ink and on the TWSBI paper that ink NEVER dries. I wrote a whole page, went off and made dinner, came back and while writing the next page SMEARED the first page, covering my hand with ink. That, yes, after sitting for at least 30 or 40 minutes. The ink was STILL moveable on the page. That's just not gonna work. It is fine with regular nibs, and even OK with semi-flex. But the real flex stuff apparently puts out too much ink, I was really disappointed.

90% of my nibs have some flex. Most are wide and wet. Antique OBBs, stubbs, flex, etc. So paper must be able to handle LOTS of ink and the TWSBI just doesn't.

[tandaina]

Thanks KrazyIvan, Re: Fabriano EcoQua. Given the amount of bleed through shown in your review I'm guessing it wouldn't work well for me. Most of my nibs are way wetter than a TWSBI 1.1 stub (that's actually my well behaved note taking pen!).

[cwent2]

Wow, I guess that is some volume of ink then, I do not use true flex nibs and do not have any bleed through or ghosting for regular writing.

Well just trying to assist.


c

[tandaina]

Thanks all. Have ordered a Rhodia hard cover with dots to try. Expensive, but if it works it works!

[AndyT]

90% of my nibs have some flex. Most are wide and wet. Antique OBBs, stubbs, flex, etc. So paper must be able to handle LOTS of ink ...

That sounds familiar: you need a sized paper to stop the bleedthrough but the lack of absorbency multiplies the drying time. The only ink I have which is intractably problematic in this respect is Diamine's Majestic Blue (such a shame, but it's a well known issue), but it sounds highly likely that you'll have the same trouble with Rhodia, unfortunately. Is the big Leuchtürm Master notebook with the heavier paper out of the question?

[tandaina]

This is for my daily journal, which sort of goes most places iwth me so the Master size really wouldn't work, unfortunately. We'll see, the 1917 stuff works beautifully EXCEPT that sometimes there are those patches that seem coated in something. The Rhodia may solve that. It is the TWSBI where the paper is too light for my heavy ink flow nibs.

[KrazyIvan]

I am just curious if it may not be oils from your hand? Do you use a paper shield while writing? I stick a piece of blotter paper under my hand because I had similar issues even with Rhodia. Since then, it has been a non-issue.

[tandaina]

Yeah I initially thought that as well. And I have used a shield, but it doesn't change the behavior. Sometime it'll happen on a blank sheet I'm sketching or doing flex practice on where my hand hasn't TOUCHED the page yet. It is also ALWAYS the same shape, a long strip of paper just about an inch from the binding. So not over the whole page, just a section. Makes me wonder if glue or something else from the binding process is leaking onto pages, I don't know.

[Tracy Lee]

I am just curious if it may not be oils from your hand? Do you use a paper shield while writing? I stick a piece of blotter paper under my hand because I had similar issues even with Rhodia. Since then, it has been a non-issue.

I have to do this with my higher end papers, the Butten and the Amalfi. Really takes care of the issue!

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