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I came across this Muji product while I was browsing in my local store the other day: I cannot vouch for what the Japanese or the French words on the product label actually mean, but the Chinese words promise that the notebook is "show-through resistant". For the asking price, I was willing to give it a go and test its marketing claim, even though every set of five notebooks was wrapped in cellophane and I could not inspect or feel the paper therein. This is how the reverse side of the page looked, after I've written quite densely on two-thirds of the front, using a variety of fountain pens and inks (of which the details are shown in the image at the bottom): I then used the same pens and inks to write on the reverse side, so that there is a significant area of overlap in which there is writing on both sides, with the same pen and ink for each four-line panel: in order to see how noticeable or distracting the level of show-through is: My conclusion is that the resistance to show-through and/or bleed-through is less effective than what I think one could reasonably expect, in the face of the product's marketing claim. For the price I suppose these notebooks aren't that bad for use with fountain pens, although I know Muji could do better, because a different notebook (made in Japan) I bought on the same visit proved to be incredibly fountain pen friendly, and very resistant to feathering, show-through and bleed-through. With these made-in-Indonesia notebooks, there is some woolliness observed when writing with certain inks, but no significant feathering. People who don't like the feel of the coating on bright white Clairefontaine paper (such as in the 'Age Bag' notebooks) probably won't like this paper either.

N.B. This is neither intended nor written as a review of the paper product. I remember reading somewhere that Daiso's 'Complete' range of notebooks made in Indonesia is sufficiently fountain pen friendly. From what I've seen, my conclusion is no, it isn't — in spite of exhibiting good resistance to feathering — and thus a proper review (by me anyway) is not warranted.

Before Thanksgiving, I googled Daiso paper and Fountain Pen reviews - there are no Daisos in Portland, and I was going to the land of the many Daisos (4 within easy driving distance of relatives). This led me to an unexpected hobby, thanks to TMLee's very detailed review and a lurking bombshell of a link that led me to his "355 Mini" journals. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/314318-the-355-mini An hour later, I emerged from the rabbit hole, hooked! I hauled as many notebooks home as I could (note: there were witnesses, some restraint was displayed). Combined with an old Thomas Guide (detailed map of Portland) and various found items in the house - off I went! Youtube was my friend for single coptic stitch demos. There were (and still are) lots of mistakes, but you learn by doing, and these are perfect for rapid prototyping! There's uneven tension, missed stitches, but I ADORE them! (you can probably guess which one was book #1) I'm now adding flyleaves (limited success - need better paper and to not yank thread in directions that tear the fragile paper). I want to experiment with a pocket, elastic... those are coming soon. I have pockets cut out, elastic purchased. More pix later, but I want to get this posted before I accidentally zap this again (first official thread! first photos! Note to self, find out where things are autosaved). (fingers crossed, gonna hit post now)

I'm looking for a FP-friendly ruled B5 notebook/pad (spiral or not) that has perforated pages so I can easily remove them and file them. I'm currently using loose, ruled Kokuyo Campus paper, which is great except for it being 20-hole paper. I liked the look of the Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks I saw online but I can't tell from the pics whether the side-spiral pages are perforated (like top-spiral Rhodia pads are). Does anyone know? If not, can anyone point to any other ruled perforated B5 pads I might want to look at? I'm looking for something without insane dry times (so Tomoe River is out of the running).

I'm looking for non-feathering FP-friendly lined paper in the B5 size. (If I have to I'd take American 8.5"x11".) Over at Jetpens they have two types of Kokuyo 6mm lined loose leaf paper: the Sarasara and the Shikkari. They're both 26-hole papers and therefore use weird binders, but I'm okay with that if the paper is good. Is it? I couldn't find any information about the differences between Sarasara & Shikkari, but reviewers on the site seem to like them both with fountain pens. Does anyone know what the different types for this brand mean? And finally, what other lined loose leaf paper should I also be considering? I want to buy 50-100 pages at a time. (And I don't want to run blank paper through my printer to make my own lines.) 6mm or 7mm lined would be ideal.

Hello lovely paper people, I've been a long term lover of Rhodia. I particularly love the Rhodiarma XL soft cover notebooks, which is (to me) a better version of the Moleskine B5 soft cover book. BUT... they have become very, very expensive. I thought they were dear when I first paid £17 for them, but now (and probably due to weak Sterling etc) they are around £25. The thing is that there seem to be very few options at this size - and it is a size I really love. Soft or hard cover, the only people making this size seem to be Rhodia and Moleskine. Any thoughts?

Hi All, First time posting on here. I have recently become fascinated with the fountain pen and paper realm. Curious if anyone has seen my dream notebook? !!WANTED!! B5 Threadbound Hardcover 90+ sheets FP Friendly paper (obvious no?) Dot Grid Multiple ribbons Numbered pages 81 - 100 gsm 10-20 perforated pages If not? How do I find a manufacturer to create this unicorn notebook? I appreciate all your advice in advance. Best, Oscar

Rhodia notebooks don't need an introduction anymore. But still. We noticed a new notebook in their vast assortiment : a souple cover with velvet touch, rounded corners, ribbon bookmark, elastic closure. Size B5, larger than A5 but smaller than A4, excellent 90gr vellum paper and DOT GRID marking. It is a kind of notebook you fall in love with ! Enjoy. http://www.sakurafountainpengallery.com/en/boutique/rhodia-notaboekjes-amp-papier

Hi, I really want to jump on the Tomoe River band-wagon, however I can't find a notebook of the size I'd like. I like B5-sized notebooks. I went to SevenSeas, and the only notebook they offer is A5, which is too small for me. Are there any notebooks available that use Tomoe River paper and are close in size to B5? Thanks.

I recently ditched my A4 Notebooks (Black n Red) not because of their quality (quality is amazing!) but I found the size a little unpractical. I also found the various A5 notebooks were sometimes a little too small and I couldn't get all my notes on as I wanted One day by chance, I stumbled across the NU Elite B5 notebooks, great paper, size and price. I found I was the only person using this size and often get asked where I got it from. I then wanted something a little more premium, but only really found the Apica CD, but at £15, pretty steep So does anyone know of any B5 notebook comparable to say Rhodia webnotebooks in paper and quality but in B5 and cheaper than the Apica? Seems in the UK, B5 is quite uncommon, how about the rest of the world, is it a common size?

Would A5 or semi-B5 paper be better for note taking? I checked out the Kokuyo Systemic refillable notebook cover and they seem really great. But they only come in 2 sizes. I feel like it would be good to get the A5 size because there are more notebooks in that size available, whereas the semi-B5 notebooks are a bit more difficult to find. But, I feel like I would go through A5 notebooks really fast. I want the Systemic because I would be able to fit 3 notebooks in it and I wouldn't have to really worry about anything getting torn up too bad, but if there is a similar product, please share!