Your Moleskine (or other Notebook) of Choice?

[Just]

Just:

You can find Parker Jotters here!

Yup, pricey! Especially given how often they lose themselves/get absconded with...

But thanks

I'm actually looking pretty closely at those 10 packs listed on the site...

[backpack]

I LOVE Parker Jotters, but they are hard to come by in my local brick-and-mortar shops (and expensive unless they're at the PX/NEX etc.)

They aren't too thin for me... If they are too thin for you, I'm having a ball imagining you with one of those tiny Cross pens

Fountain pens... I'm loving the discussion here since my (very few) experiences with any of those have been disastrous!

I saw Parker Jotter at Office Depot, in blister packs so they shouldn't be that expensive.

My husband was given a Cross ballpoint, the thin one. I couldn't even graps it for more than a second, forget writing with it!


However, I love fountains pens but not all of them. That is the really important point.

When starting with fountain pens, I believe new users would be better off choosing a cartridge/converter school fountain pen, one made in Europe or Japan for school students.

Then go from there.

If you like steel fountain pens, try a Cross, Parker or Waterman available at Office (something) and Staples.
They sell the cartridges that fit the pens. Those 3 brands have proprietary cartridges.

Office Depot also has Yaffa fountain pens, really cheap in a blister pack with some international cartridge in various colors.

Pen that take international cartridges can be used with many ink cartridges including Herbin and Pelikan.


Next, you can buy a converter for your pen, essentially a refillable cartridge and use bottled ink made in a dazzling array of colors.

You will eventually buy more fountain pens to contain the ink colors you like the best.


Modern converter/cartridge or c/c pens do not leak unless you take them on a no gravity ride and back in a few second or they have a crack if they fall on concrete.

Plastic school pens or steel pens are very very very strong.

The CEO of Levenger boasted that he drove his big SUV on top of a plastic Lamy Safari and the pen had barely a scratch.


I am not in the habit of driving on top of my pens but... school fountain pens have to be pretty strong and they are mandatory in France if not in the whole E.U.

If they leaked and damaged homework or pen cases, the companies would no longer be in business.

[DQBunny]

I just treated myself to a blue Lamy Safari from Scottsdale Pen. The store is so very nice and I love the pen's feel and writing flow. I told the owner about Tom Bihn, saying the pen and store were recommended from this thread and he was honestly interested. I had my small cafe bag with me and showed him my various pouches and the quality of the product. He was impressed!

[DQBunny]

I've replied before on this thread, but now I am trying out an alternative to the Moleskine. I wanted something I could be "sure" about (on labor issues and such,) so I'm trying out Barnes and Noble's new Ecosystem notebooks.

I'm trying out the Ecosystem as well based on this thread and I'm finding I like them a LOT better than my Moleskine. I grabbed a pack of the essay books and the quality is just phoenomenal. My fountain pen does not bleed through the paper at all and I'm using the standard Lamy refills. They've definitely acquired a permanent customer from me!

[PM4HIRE]

Got my yellow Lamy Safari ballpoint this morning and the pen made a fine addition to my small TB Cafe bag!!!

[Archangelo]

I prefer plain. Especially the Moleskine City Notebooks that have all of those extra features. I highly recommend them for anyone traveling to a major city. I have used the Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Munich editions. The plain pages are for journaling, but it also has maps, tabbed organizer, itinerary pages, and conversion charts. I hope this helps.

[jostber]

I'm trying out the Ecosystem as well based on this thread and I'm finding I like them a LOT better than my Moleskine. I grabbed a pack of the essay books and the quality is just phoenomenal. My fountain pen does not bleed through the paper at all and I'm using the standard Lamy refills. They've definitely acquired a permanent customer from me!

I have come there from Moleskine as well, now love the Ecosystem notebooks. They are wonderful to use regarding quality for writing, and they are very sturdy and durable. It also good to know they're all produced in the US from sustainable sources.

[Fat Crip]

I too have had a couple of Lamy Safaris, and they are great. I use them for different colours, but my main, everyday pen is a Montblanc Meisterstuck - the big chunky one with a double broad nib. One pen, used everyday, becomes part of you, so I really only use the one with Montblanc Blue/Black ink. One of the Lamy's has red ink.

I also have the ball pen and pencil to match.

I've used these for over 20 years and in that time I managed to, one, stop losing them, and, two, stop people pinching them! When you have a £10 pen you don't worry much about losing it or someone pocketing it. However, when you have a £300 pen ($450), you tend to keep an eye on it, and always make sure you get it back. The ball point is worse because I often hand it to a client to sign a contract, and frequently it goes straight in their pocket. If its just a £5-10 pen and you're charging a £1,000 fee you just let it go, but a £150 ball pen you've had for 20+ years? You ask for it back!

Eric

[Maria]

Oh pens and papers - and bags (of course!) - my favourites!

I used to use the Moleskin pocket lined book, but switched to Leuchtturm1917 - much better paper, fountain pen friendly, and they are cheaper than Moleskin too! They have a wonderful selection of products, and you can buy a matching pen loop for the side of the notebooks. Plus they come in a variety of fun colours.

http://www.leuchtturm1917.com/

Rhodia is dreamy - lovely silky smooth paper. But I found the paper in their "Moleskin style" book is a little different from their writing pads - not as nice. I find myself buying the Rhodia pads and leaving them all over the house, and to give away to people - they must try this paper!

Yesterday, I was in my favourite pen and paper store (Laywine's in Toronto - they are so professional and know their stuff!), carrying my black Co Pilot. The owner of the store recognized the Tom Bihn label and we were chatting Tom Bihn quality. I was all set to dump out the contents on the counter to show the staff and other customers what I could hold in it - but I don't know if they would have all appreciated such...especially as the counter had a selection of pens, inks, and papers and I didn't want to take over.

Anyway, I was at the fountain pen counter. I am in the market for a new pen, and was debating between a particular Caran D'Ach (I do like their ball point pens), and a Graf von Faber-Castell...until I tried a Sailor Professional Gear pen. Well, that did it. I will be getting one...now to decide what style casing. (Gosh, it's like trying to decide what colour Tom Bign to choose!)

The Sailor nib was so smooth, and made such a difference for my small tight hand writing. I would have been perfectly happy with the plain black style - just had to decide gold or rhodium details. But on the Sailor website - they show a MOSAIC in black / grey, and an EBONITE MARBLE. Okay, I think these are the same pens - at least technically - and there is a large price difference, but I don't want to shell out this kind of money for something and yet fear I will say over time "I wish I had waited and saved up and bought the casing I preferred..."

Any advice would be appreciated!

In case anyone is interested in Sailor pens - here is a link:

http://www.sailor.co.jp/EXPORT/profe...l_g/index.html

[blackfungi]

I use the Moleskine Volant Pocket size, lined for my journal. Cheapest place for me to buy them for delivery to Australia is through <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/">The Book Depository</a>.

I came across Guildhall notebooks via <a href="http://blackcover.net/?p=36#more-36">Black Cover</a> and purchased them on the <a href="http://www.ukge.co.uk/UK/guildhall.asp">UK Geologists Equipment</a> website. Ink takes a little longer to dry on the paper compared to Moleskine, but the notebook itself is lovely.

O-Check Design Graphics is another brand that has lovely paper. It's Korean and I get through <a href="http://notemaker.com.au/">Notemaker</a> in Australia.

Finally, I use Uniball Signo 207 pens, but with the 5mm refills. The ink flows nicely and the thin tip makes my poor handwriting look a little neater!



[Yes, I have thought about my carbon footprint. I've also thought about the many jobs my international purchases help support across the globe.]

it's in fact free worldwide shipping on everything over at the book depository.

http://www.bookdepository.com/search...&search=search

[eWalker]

Squared Evernote Moleskine and Green Post its!

Perfect to color coordinate with my black Dyneema/Wasabi Co-Pilot!

[scribe]

Ooh, a thread on pens and paper!

I use a selection of Moleskines (standard, pocket, Evernote, and the tiny ones that fit in a SE inner pocket) but also Paperblanks - and of course now my FJN

I much prefer fountain pens, and I don't get any significant bleed-through* on Moleskine paper - it's nowhere near as bad as the Day-Timer paper than I bought for my FJN (the TB paper doesn't bleed either, but is expensive). Maybe it's the ink? I generally use Parker pens with their own brand of cartridges - I love the idea of bottled ink, but a fill-up never lasts as long as a cartridge and I'm always worried I'll run out in the middle of writing something and lose the flow.

* As in, I can see that there's writing on the other side of the page, but there are no actual spots of ink coming through

@eWalker - if there was an aubergine/wasabi Co-Pilot, it would be in my shopping cart faster than you can say "Jack Robinson"! As it is, I shall wait for my Steel/UV Pilot (on backorder), though it won't coordinate so nicely with my Evernote notebooks. I knew there was a reason I was thinking of getting the black/wasabi one instead... *sigh*

[Vecturist]

I discovered muji notebooks a few years ago - nice and simple, although they don't have as hard a cover as moleskin do and I have to remember which specific ones I like best since they come in a huge variety of sizes and qualities of paper.

[eWalker]

Ooh, a thread on pens and paper!

I use a selection of Moleskines (standard, pocket, Evernote, and the tiny ones that fit in a SE inner pocket) but also Paperblanks - and of course now my FJN

I much prefer fountain pens, and I don't get any significant bleed-through* on Moleskine paper - it's nowhere near as bad as the Day-Timer paper than I bought for my FJN (the TB paper doesn't bleed either, but is expensive). Maybe it's the ink? I generally use Parker pens with their own brand of cartridges - I love the idea of bottled ink, but a fill-up never lasts as long as a cartridge and I'm always worried I'll run out in the middle of writing something and lose the flow.

* As in, I can see that there's writing on the other side of the page, but there are no actual spots of ink coming through

@eWalker - if there was an aubergine/wasabi Co-Pilot, it would be in my shopping cart faster than you can say "Jack Robinson"! As it is, I shall wait for my Steel/UV Pilot (on backorder), though it won't coordinate so nicely with my Evernote notebooks. I knew there was a reason I was thinking of getting the black/wasabi one instead... *sigh*

I am trying very hard to use as less paper as I can, but I just love books and take great pleasure in writing old style.

To be able to let go my library and my fathers library I kept my old journals. Those are hand made using traditional book binding techniques by a very talented artisan. The last I had made is big as medieval book and I use it to register my life milestones.

When I receive my first order bought directly from TB, it is going to be registered on it as the first step of a new journey.

I agree 100% with you that aubergine/wasabi Co-Pilot would be stunning! I keep looking at Forums pictures and I keep thinking how great looking they are on their various color combos!

I choose my basic color combo as Black/steel for my travel set because that was the easiest to coordinate. And Wasabi was the only color available for all the accessories I wanted (at the time I ordered)!

Besides that looking every day at Evernote logo, Android interface, and others, made that color combo very familiar!

Over time I plan to add more color diversity to the bags Itself starting with the Aeronaut 30!

[scribe]

I am trying very hard to use as less paper as I can, but I just love books and take great pleasure in writing old style.

An author friend of mine calls pens "thinking sticks", because it's much easier to "think aloud" in longhand than on a computer - at least for my generation, who learnt to write with a pen long, long before they got anywhere near a keyboard. As with the French cited earlier in this thread, when I was at school we had to do all our homework with a fountain pen - ballpoints were strictly for rough notes.

The way I look at it, I may have a whole heap of notebooks but that's peanuts compared to all the magazines and newspapers that most people still consume. Now, if only I could stop the flow of junk mail that still comes through my letter-box...