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Thread: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

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    Member bec11mort's Avatar
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    Default Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    I've had relatively good luck so far using fountain pens in Moleskine notebooks, particularly the XL grid notebooks (as long as I use an extra fine or fine nib). When I saw they were coming out with dot grid notebooks I absolutely had to have one. I dropped $20 and picked one up so I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone else was tempted by these notebooks.

    I got the notebook in ocean blue, and the color is beautiful. I don't have any photos of the cover because I've already torn it off the notebook to use as the cover for a different notebook (if that tells you anything about my opinion of the paper). The paper is the usual smooth off white paper that Moleskine is known for with a grid dark grey dots. The dots are faint and I love the look of them.



    The paper took ink quite well with minimal feathering (even with Noodler's Rome Burning which feathers on everything I've tried except for tomoe river paper).



    I tried to stick to finer nibs, but the bleedthrough was still terrible. Several of the inks even bled through the back of the page onto the next sheet. I wouldn't recommend these notebooks for fountain pens. Even the pencil and ballpoint pen ink was visible on the back of the page.



    Has anyone else tried the dot grid notebooks, or was the name Moleskine enough to keep you away from them? Incidentally, if anyone is interested in trying the paper, I'd be happy to mail you a few sheets before I recycle the rest of this.

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    Senior Member Silverbreeze's Avatar
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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    I love Moleskine for none liquid ink. I avoid them for Fountain Pen. Even Field Notes are more consistent with fountain pens and I think they cost less
    Tom
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    Senior Member jacksterp's Avatar
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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Not a very good showing, once again, for Moleskine. What kind of paper are they using???

    Thanks for taking the time to review and save others from making a mistake.

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Quote Originally Posted by jacksterp View Post
    Not a very good showing, once again, for Moleskine. What kind of paper are they using???

    Thanks for taking the time to review and save others from making a mistake.
    From the looks of it, the same tissue paper I put in gift bags during the holidays when I'm too lazy to wrap.

    I do love some of the collaborations that Moleskine takes on (Star Wars, Lego, The Hobbit) as well as some of their special notebooks like the wine tasting etc, but the paper is a deal breaker. If I'm paying $20 for a notebook, it better work well for my intended use. Thankfully, there are a fair amount of good alternatives at similar or better price points. I just wish they were as easily available to me locally as the Moleskines I can pick up at B&N or Staples.

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Sadly I was suckered into buying a new dot grid Moleskine, in a moment of office supply weakness, solely because of its glorious orchid color. And faced the same realization about the sheer sucktitude of its paper. So I essentially wasted my money, since I'll never use it for anything as I always use fountain pens.

    But really, it's a fantastic color:


    But ugh the showthrough drives me NUTS.


    Sigh, Moleskine.

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    On the plus side, I loved seeing all your ink samples though! Diamine Marine is on my next sample list now!

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    That's what made me abandon Moleskine many years ago, the terrible paper!!
    Have to say, though, that I have the impression that their paper used to be better - when I check some of my notebooks from about 10 years ago the bleed through is way less bad as it is now. A shame, really.

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    Senior Member The Good Captain's Avatar
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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    I like Moleskines and just tailor my ink and nib combination to suit. Mainly F or EF/XF and Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black. However, other of my favourite inks are pretty good too - Aurora Blue-Black (mix of 2:1); R&K Salix; R&K Verdigris and a few others.
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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Everything but Iroshizuku inks bleed through on my Moleskine. I thought it was just me, as I am a new user and have a history of using a heavy hand. So naturally I thought I was putting down too much ink, even with my TWSBI EF nib!

    Thanks for the review!

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    I don't know why Moleskine won't make a fountain pen friendly paper. People would certainly buy it. Just their name alone would ensure sales. Moleskine is a cool sounding name and if I found out it was FP friendly I'd snatch it up.
    The Moleskine sketch note book will not bleed. It's a much thicker paper. I have several different notebooks. Some I have to use a roller ball on. The Black n Red notebook I found at michaels is fountain pen friendly. All the rest of my paper that's fountain pen friendly but I had to get them off line.
    I have so much paper, I won't run out. Back to the subject. I'm sure Moleskine will give us an FP friendly note book sooner or later
    Last edited by Special K; June 1st, 2015 at 11:15 PM.

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    Senior Member naimitsu's Avatar
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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Quote Originally Posted by Special K View Post
    I don't know why Moleskine won't make a fountain pen friendly paper. People would certainly buy it. Just their name alone would ensure sales. Moleskine is a cool sounding name and if I found out it was FP friendly I'd snatch it up
    That's the most disappointing part of it all. They brag that Hemingway used a moleskine, but he wrote with a (Montblanc?) fountain pen. It's pretty obvious that he didn't write in Moleskine's moleskines...
    From Wikipedia:
    Notebooks with features similar to the present Moleskine notebooks were popular in Paris during the 19th and 20th centuries, handmade by small French bookbinders who supplied the stationery shops of Paris. In the late 19th to early 20th centuries similar black notebooks were used by Oscar Wilde, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Henri Matisse. However, none of them used the present Moleskine-brand notebook since the brand was founded much later.

    The present Moleskine notebook is fashioned after Bruce Chatwin's descriptions of the notebooks he used in his travels. The name itself, "Moleskine", is a nickname that Chatwin uses in one of his most celebrated writings, The Songlines (1986).
    So there you go. The company completely missed it mark.

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Quote Originally Posted by bec11mort View Post

    Has anyone else tried the dot grid notebooks, or was the name Moleskine enough to keep you away from them? Incidentally, if anyone is interested in trying the paper, I'd be happy to mail you a few sheets before I recycle the rest of this.
    Yes, the name Moleskine was sufficient for me to eschew these, in favour of Rhodia.

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    The only Moleskine I've used that takes fountain pen ink are the cahiers. The good thing is they are probably the cheapest.

    Last edited by velo; March 12th, 2015 at 09:15 PM.

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Quote Originally Posted by velo View Post
    The only Moleskine I've used that takes fountain pen ink are the cahiers. The good thing is they are probably the cheapest.

    these have better paper than their usual?

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Meh about FieldNotes level in my experience
    YMMV
    Tom
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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Quote Originally Posted by TSherbs View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by velo View Post
    The only Moleskine I've used that takes fountain pen ink are the cahiers. The good thing is they are probably the cheapest.
    these have better paper than their usual?
    It's not better the paper is just thicker.
    Last edited by velo; March 13th, 2015 at 05:04 PM.

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    Senior Member Bisquitlips's Avatar
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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    I use Moleskine and have for years with no issues. Fast drying inks are the key.

    I also use the Leuchtturm1917 notebooks which are a bit more forgiving of wetter inks.

    Some good reviews here for any who are interested.


    http://www.amazon.com/Leuchtturm-Med...leuchtturm1917

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Leuchsturm 1917 makes a pen friendly dot notebook.

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    I have two Moleskine notebooks. I think one is for sketching a and the other for writing. I wonder which one is is fountain pen pen friendly. I really like their looks. I guess I'll just have to find out for my self

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    Default Re: Moleskine Dot Grid Notebook

    Quote Originally Posted by Bisquitlips View Post
    I use Moleskine and have for years with no issues. Fast drying inks are the key.
    Same here. I prefer Moleskine actually. White paper is hard on my eyes so I prefer their off white.

    I prefer Japanese fine nibs and that definitely helps.
    I can tell where I'm not wanted.

    Someday that'll be on my tombstone.

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