Only One To Dislike Tomoe River?

[mkeeley]

Just been trying it today, can't say I'm a fan so far. Reminds me of that nasty shiny toilet paper people used to use, perhaps some still do! It's fine as far as lack of feathering and bleed through goes just don't like the weight or the feel when you pick it up. Perhaps it will grow on me but at the moment glad I only ordered 100 sheets.

 

 

[WaskiSquirrel]

Some people just don't like thin paper. You may well be one of them.

 

I happen to love the way the ink looks on this paper, and the thin is actually kind of nice. But, we're all different. I just can't get into some of the other highly praised papers.

 

Isn't it amazing that we live in a time with so many choices?

[jsolares]

Yeah it's really thin paper and there are people that don't like that or the crinkle-ness of the paper as well. I do like that you get a lot of pages for less thickness and the way it handles ink, but I also have some Black n' Red notebooks that i really like.

[Komitadjie]

I like it and other papers for different reasons. The Tomoe always feels delicate, smooth, and... "pristine" perhaps is the word I'm looking for, to me. It's not a paper I use every day, I tend to reach for my Rhodia pads and a Black-n-Red for that. Notes and the like are almost exclusively on the Rhodia, and for-myself notes when I'm measuring out something or making a list are nearly always in the Black-n-Red. But when I want to sit down and seriously write something, it tends to be the Tomoe that comes out. Both for the great ink-holding, and the feel.

[Cryptos]

I'm on the fence. The paper in the Hobonichi is, I am reliably informed, Tomoe River. And yet it feels different to the loose sheets I occasionally get from penpals.

[pepsiplease69]

I initially didn't get what all the hype was about. That was when I hadn't started using it heavily.

 

I actually bought a B5 sized writing pad from Nanami and it was almost like working on loose sheets.

 

That writing pad sat in my cabinet for about 6 months and I kept hearing all the praise about it on the blogs and forums.

 

Writing on a piece of paper and then having to tear it away to get to the next page really has never worked for me. That format (even for rhodia and other pags) I guess is not my thing.

 

I guess the turning point came when I decided to tear out all of those pages from the B5 pad and made signatures out of them and made myself a B6 sized notebook using the coptic stitch binding technique.

 

The things I love about the paper:

 

- Zero feathering, zero bleedthrough, no matter how vicious the ink, no matter how permissive the nib.

 

- Perfect place for sheen. This paper makes (otherwise mediocre) inks dazzle.

 

- Translucense, I came into it thinking this was a strike against the paper. So many folks don't like any show through and it's normally billed as an undesirable quality. With time, I like everything about it's translucense. I have made guide-sheets with whatever ruling size I want, and whatever size margins I want and put that underneath. I can write perfectly straight lines going up against clean straight margins and then remove the guide sheet to admire the perfectness of it.

 

Additionally, the paper holds ink so perfectly and is itself so light and insignificant. When I write on both sides and I can see the text from the reverse of the page, it's almost like white-noise, it has a certain wabi-sabi quality that, for me aesthetically is quite pleasing. It give my paper a lot more written-in feel. It also helps me with writer's block if I'm writing and I get stuck, staring at a pristinely opaque piece of paper, it doesn't help get the creative juices flowing.

 

- Thin-ness, one other thing I dislike about notebooks that have a reasonable amount of paper sheets in them, say 80-90 sheets, and they are so thick, when you write your hand falls off the edge or your palm rests uncomfortably against a steep cliff. Not the case with Tomoe River. 90 sheets, not very thick at all. I could go even higher before I notice any discomfort while writing.

 

Everyone's usage is different and everyone's likes and dislikes are different. I could totally understand your point, but I'm afraid I'm one of the folks who contributes to the hype, only after using it and liking it so much.

[LuckyKate]

I really love Tomoe River but since it's so thin it works best when it's secured in a block, either in a journal (I like both Nanami and the B5 Paper for Fountain Pens). It's really great for me since I go through a lot of notebooks and these last for several months.

 

For the pads, Tomoe River does seem to get easily rumpled and mussed. I have a cardboard padfolio I got at Target with both a clip and a cover to protect the paper. But I still like Rhodia for pads because it's sturdier.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I don't dislike it so much as I have trouble writing on it due to the dreaded Southpaw Smearage. The cream color TRP I have is beautiful and feels soooo smoooooth. But it's tricky for me.

[cellmatrix]

There is too much widening of the lines compared to less absorbent papers such as clairefontaine or rhodia, which interferes with both of my writing styles. It reduces line variation with my italic writing and it widens the lines on the extra fine nibs I like to use for business cursive. So even though it's nice and smooth, I just can't use it. I agree with the OP it just doesn't work for me.

[jmccarty3]

I love the way inks look on TRP--there is a richness to them that down't show on anything else. Inks seem to sheen quite a bit more on TRP--Montblanc JFK is almost all sheen.

[da vinci]

Just been trying it today, can't say I'm a fan so far. Reminds me of that nasty shiny toilet paper people used to use, perhaps some still do! It's fine as far as lack of feathering and bleed through goes just don't like the weight or the feel when you pick it up. Perhaps it will grow on me but at the moment glad I only ordered 100 sheets.

 

I like TR paper, but I appreciate there are other papers out there.

 

What paper/notebooks do you like?

[mkeeley]

I bought loose sheets as it was the cheapest way to try it out but perhaps I should have gone for a pad to make it feel more substantial whilst writing. An obvious plus is that it's easy to see any guide sheet behind it.

 

Da Vinci, normally I just use Rhodia paper or Oxford pads but liked the sound of the Tomoe partly because of the thickness, which isn't a problem, it's more the feeling when you handle it.

 

Anyway I've a plenty of sheets to get through, will see if I still feel the same way by the end.

[ink-syringe]

I LOVE Tomoe River paper but can't get it here. I also, however like MD paper and LIFE paper quite a lot and those are available here, LIFE is actually quite affordable and MD is expensive but cheaper than Leuchtturm1917 and Rhodia (books, not pads).

 

I feel LIFE paper is overlooked. I like that it has a little texture. If you are like me and are not that keen on Rhodia/CF glassy/chalky smoothness and like paper with a little tooth then you may like LIFE. Leuchtturm1917 has nice surface as well and will make you pens run wet and will pool the ink and look nice but the show through and ghosting mean it isn't up to the standards of CF/LIFE/MD, etc.

 

If you hated TR then I suggest MD (which is a little like TR in ink resistance but closer to standard paper in texture and thickness) or Life which is really an outstanding paper overall.

 

I sorely wish I could get TR paper here. I love that it is so light and that inks just pop and sheen like crazy on it but Life and MD are more practical in some ways. Trying to hold lecture notes on TR paper is pretty funny. The sheets just flop around.

[DaveBj]

I'm a big fan. TR is my go-to paper for letter writing. In fact, I'm soon going to have to order another couple pads. I don't write on loose sheets; I secure a single sheet on a clipboard and write on that; this prevents mussage and wrinklage.

 

Anyone who genuinely doesn't like TR and wants to get rid of his/her stock, PM me and I'll send you my address

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

There is nothing wrong with not liking certain types of paper, any more than not liking certain types or models of pens or ink brands/colors.

Me, I like Tomoe River paper. But it does have it's quirks, including the thinness -- I don't think I could use it for all applications, such as writing on both sides of a page. I'm not sure I'd want a whole journal made out of it, though (and not just because of the price). But I have other brands of paper/notebooks/journals (mostly Rhodia and Miquelrius) so it's okay. And I'm the queen of saving and re-using crappy copy paper that has stuff printed on one side already, for stuff like shopping lists. Oh, and any that is leftover from sending stuff to DaveBj can go to me.....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[MKB]

I didn't like it as much as others when I tried it out. Unfortunately, I had tried a few inks that had unusually long dry times with this specific paper and assumed it was like this for all inks. It did remind me of recycled hard tissue. So, I would blot the page and used it in a few letters, just because it was something different and kind of fun for the recipient. Then I tried a new ink on it and it dried quickly. Then a higher percentage of letters. Then other papers were starting to loose favor. Now I love it.

[pepsiplease69]

I didn't like it as much as others when I tried it out. Unfortunately, I had tried a few inks that had unusually long dry times with this specific paper and assumed it was like this for all inks. It did remind me of recycled hard tissue. So, I would blot the page and used it in a few letters, just because it was something different and kind of fun for the recipient. Then I tried a new ink on it and it dried quickly. Then a higher percentage of letters. Then other papers were starting to loose favor. Now I love it.

 

 

Tomoe River paper has a way of "breaching your defenses" that way..

 

It's like a virus.

 

My story is not very dissimilar.

Edited August 13, 2015 by pepsiplease69

[MKB]

As I mentioned in another thread, Tomoe River is like "The One" ring. The more you use it, the more you must use it.

 

"We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious Tomoe River."

[Newjelan]

I adore TR paper. I love the texture and use the Nanami Seven Seas (A5) books for work. Yes, they're expensive, but they mean I enjoy my meetings and work activities so much more than otherwise. I have a rapidly reducing pile of loose sheets and I lay them on a lined pad to write on. I have no problem using both sides even with dark saturated inks.

 

I still like Rhodia "Dots" pads and use them regularly as they serve a useful purpose and I love thickness and the bright white colour. I'm also enjoying Chinese Calligraphy Paper for play, which is only ~31gsm, but I can't use both sides as the show through is too great.

[DaveBj]

BTW, I have had success in printing lines on TR paper, using my Lexmark inkjet. I did it only a couple times, but I did not have a problem with paper jams. Mainly, however, I went with using a guide sheet, and more recently I have crossed over into the wilderness of going commando -- no lines at all.