Is it really as bad as they say?

[rdcalhoon]

I had to see for myself if Moleskine paper was as fountain pen unfriendly as folks claimed.
I used a 40% off coupon to buy a three pack of soft cover, 7-1/2 by 10 inch, 120 page notebooks to test.
I wrote with a Lamy Vista broad nib, with Diamine Lavender ink.

Now I believe the stories. With some care and a good sample of my handwriting you could probably decipher most of the text from the bleed through.

bleedthrough 600x800.jpg

The first page was supposed to be an index page. Now I'll have to relocate the index to the back page.
The only writing on this side of the page is at the top

For the bottom four lines I rolled the pen over and used the top side of the nib which writes more or less as a fine.That worked much better, but there are still the occasional break throughs.

[Tony Rex]

Thank you for sharing your findings. I really do appreciate people who post their own answers rather than relying on statistics. For us Aussies there's no point of buying Moleskine put up with paper inconsistency, while Picadilly notebooks are available at Woolies for a fraction of the price.

[Jon Szanto]

I've never understood the fandom for these products, as well as those from Rhodia. In my experience, they've just been over-priced smear/bleed templates. Such is life, and I've found my own other items.

[erpe]

This is very bad but I use Moleskines all the time, with fountain pens and have no problems. The thing is that you have to limit yourself to certain pen/ink combinations and Diamine fails everytime with any pen I tried. KaWeCo, Waterman and certain Chinese pens with Pelikan or Parker blueblack for example work perfectly which accidentally is one of my favorites anyway. As for the popularity of the brand, they have a well oiled, lifestyle oriented marketing machine and in some regions even their own stores. That makes it widely available to people who are susceptible to this and the majority of those people are not FP users. It's a bit like certain fast-food chains. We all know it's no good but we still go there because they are everywhere. There are better alternatives like the mentioned Rhodia but also Clairefontine or Oxford and the FP user knows where to get those in time.
Why do i use Moleskine then? I wanted a specific Sonnet in a unique finish from an "out of business" sale and that was among other things in a box that also contained 36 Moleskines. The auctioneer told me to buy the box or go away

[ethernautrix]

I use Western EF and Japanese F nibs and Noodler's Black (and other colors, other inks, but I test which inks won't bleed through before I write a page with them), and I can write on both sides of Moleskine paper. I use a variety of notebook brands, so I'm not a Moleskine fangirl. But I like them, and I don't have such problems with the paper -- as long as I don't want to use just any ink with just any pen. Which is not a problem for me.

When people find a tool they like using - whether notebook, pen, or ink - they tend to be enthusiastic about it and stick to using those products. I don't think it's unusual. Me, I prefer to spend less on notebooks, since I fill them up so quickly - and not much of it worth keeping (a lot of minutiae).

An aside: There are websites that show how people have used their Moleskine notebooks, and I've loved seeing the drawings and writing in them, been inspired to be less persnickety about how I write in a notebook (trying to be neat, trying to keep my handwriting uniform). Being messy on the page is great!

[carlos.q]

I tried Moleskine once and was barely able to use it with a fine nib and Noodlers black. For other Moleskine friendly inks you can check out this blog: http://inkyjournal.blogspot.com/

[Sailor Kenshin]

I use Western EF and Japanese F nibs and Noodler's Black (and other colors, other inks, but I test which inks won't bleed through before I write a page with them), and I can write on both sides of Moleskine paper. I use a variety of notebook brands, so I'm not a Moleskine fangirl. But I like them, and I don't have such problems with the paper -- as long as I don't want to use just any ink with just any pen. Which is not a problem for me.

When people find a tool they like using - whether notebook, pen, or ink - they tend to be enthusiastic about it and stick to using those products. I don't think it's unusual. Me, I prefer to spend less on notebooks, since I fill them up so quickly - and not much of it worth keeping (a lot of minutiae).

An aside: There are websites that show how people have used their Moleskine notebooks, and I've loved seeing the drawings and writing in them, been inspired to be less persnickety about how I write in a notebook (trying to be neat, trying to keep my handwriting uniform). Being messy on the page is great!

Where, where? I'd love to see!

I have, like, four Moles. Two are pocket-sized and just fine. The other two are mid-size and haven't come out of their shrink-wrap yet.

I'm a Bagasse and India-paper fan. But I don't hate Moleskine, just don't have many.

[erpe]

I have, like, four Moles. Two are pocket-sized and just fine. The other two are mid-size and haven't come out of their shrink-wrap yet.

Be careful there, the Pockets are 192 pages, these are usable with some pen/ink combinations as I mentioned, the mid-sized might be the so called Large (with 13x21 cm slightly smaller than A5 size) of the 240 page variation. This paper is even thinner and already has difficulties (serious show-through) with regular gel pens like the famous Uniball 207 which is widely regarded as the standard Moleskine pen, only use these with Ballpoint.
In general, for full enjoyment of all fountain pens and inks, maybe Moleskine is not the way to go.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have, like, four Moles. Two are pocket-sized and just fine. The other two are mid-size and haven't come out of their shrink-wrap yet.

Be careful there, the Pockets are 192 pages, these are usable with some pen/ink combinations as I mentioned, the mid-sized might be the so called Large (with 13x21 cm slightly smaller than A5 size) of the 240 page variation. This paper is even thinner and already has difficulties (serious show-through) with regular gel pens like the famous Uniball 207 which is widely regarded as the standard Moleskine pen, only use these with Ballpoint.
In general, for full enjoyment of all fountain pens and inks, maybe Moleskine is not the way to go.

No, these are the size of Field Notes. They fit in your pocket. No way do they contain 192 pages.

The others, I can't reach them now but they're in the vicinity of 5 x 7 inches, and I don't recall how many pages. If I break them out of the wrapping I'll see how they work with my fps. Thanks.

[erpe]

These are the so called cahiers with 96 pages, they have the same paper as the Pockets, will be ok with the mentioned limitations.

[ethernautrix]

Hey, Sailor K.

I didn't have any sites bookmarked, so I asked Google and here are some results you might find interesting, including a couple from flickr:

Moleskinerie
Sketching With A Moleskine
The Official Moleskine Website
75 Exceptional Moleskine Notebook Artworks
Me and My Moleskine
Flickr Moleskinerie Group
Flickr, The NEW Moleskine Group

Interesting that there are discussions about the quality of Moleskine paper in the flickr groups. Maybe not "interesting"; more like "inevitable."

This post has reminded me to check out other people's Moleskines. Hahaha. I believe there are similar groups for other notebook brands.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Many thanks! I love looking at other people's notebooks, too. Very inspirational!

[rdcalhoon]

I appreciate all your thoughts. It is interesting to see the different ways people approach the interaction of ink and paper.

I may be branded as inconsistent, but I've been happily using Field Notes for a while. The same combo bleeds through there also, but I always use fine nibs in my Field Notes since the pages are small and I am mostly making quick notes. I did just purchase some Scout Books, which are reputed to handle fountain pens better.

The bigger journal has two purposes for me. I recently started a project of writing 1000 words a day, so I need a larger format. I also use a different pen/nib/ink combo each day. This way I can get to know the combos better and see the effect of a full page written out.

For these purposes I need a book that can handle anything I choose to try, rather than restricting myself to a few inks and fine nibs only.

My first notebook was a Black n' Red, which never bled through with the combinations I used. There the problem is slow drying. If I get on a rip and am burning through the pages I can get the page turned before it is dry, so some will tranfer to the opposite page.

I'll find some other use for the other two Moleskines and cast around for another brand to try next. I'll go back to Black n' Red happily enough. I'll entertain other suggestions, but remember that they should be moderately priced: for this purpose I need working journals, not showpieces of art. I am writing sentences, not letter by letter, if you get the distinction.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Hey, Sailor K.

I didn't have any sites bookmarked, so I asked Google and here are some results you might find interesting, including a couple from flickr:

Moleskinerie
Sketching With A Moleskine
The Official Moleskine Website
75 Exceptional Moleskine Notebook Artworks
Me and My Moleskine
Flickr Moleskinerie Group
Flickr, The NEW Moleskine Group

Interesting that there are discussions about the quality of Moleskine paper in the flickr groups. Maybe not "interesting"; more like "inevitable."

This post has reminded me to check out other people's Moleskines. Hahaha. I believe there are similar groups for other notebook brands.

Okay, it's official: I want a watercolor-type Moleskine!

[Robert]

Thanks so much for the post and pics, rdcalhoon. In this case seeing is believing, and if I ever had any ideas about trying Moleskin . . . . not any longer.

[VertOlive]

The heppest cat I know swears by Moleskines. But he wouldn't know a fountain pen from the Trevi Fountain. He uses anything that comes to hand when he feels the need to write...

[Cookies]

I use Western EF and Japanese F nibs and Noodler's Black (and other colors, other inks, but I test which inks won't bleed through before I write a page with them), and I can write on both sides of Moleskine paper. I use a variety of notebook brands, so I'm not a Moleskine fangirl. But I like them, and I don't have such problems with the paper -- as long as I don't want to use just any ink with just any pen. Which is not a problem for me.

When people find a tool they like using - whether notebook, pen, or ink - they tend to be enthusiastic about it and stick to using those products. I don't think it's unusual. Me, I prefer to spend less on notebooks, since I fill them up so quickly - and not much of it worth keeping (a lot of minutiae).

An aside: There are websites that show how people have used their Moleskine notebooks, and I've loved seeing the drawings and writing in them, been inspired to be less persnickety about how I write in a notebook (trying to be neat, trying to keep my handwriting uniform). Being messy on the page is great!

Where, where? I'd love to see!

I have, like, four Moles. Two are pocket-sized and just fine. The other two are mid-size and haven't come out of their shrink-wrap yet.

I'm a Bagasse and India-paper fan. But I don't hate Moleskine, just don't have many.

There are a couple good ones on tumblr as well

Moleskine tag
FYeahMoleskine (nsfw title) blog
MoleskineLovers blog

[Dreck]

The heppest cat I know swears by Moleskines. But he wouldn't know a fountain pen from the Trevi Fountain. He uses anything that comes to hand when he feels the need to write...

Is he a hoopy frood who really knows where his towel is?

[velo]

The cahiers work fine with my fountain pens. The more expensive notebook however I have to be careful with pen/ink.

[drgoretex]

I have several Moleskines on the go, as well as a few others (Rhodia, Clairefontaine etc), and while it is clear and obvious that the risk of showthrough is higher, I have found that certain pen and ink combos (drier pens, 'better behaved' inks) work better on my Moleskines than on my higher grade paper. Nice just to have a good variety.

Ken