Source For Cheap Fp Friendly Journals?

[merrycitrine]

Hello everyone,

 

Any recommendations for cheap fountain pen-friendly journals? (Under 10USD) Just something that is not super soft cover, and will hold up well and doesn't look like a composition book/school notebook.

 

 

Thanks!

[frogbaby]

One possibility is the Staples Sugarcane notebooks. They are fp friendly and are really inexpensive.

 

http://www.staples.ca/en/Sustainable-Earth-by-Staples-Sugarcane-Based-Notebook-11-inch-x-8-1/product_730890_2-CA_1_20001

[InkyWings]

I've found one that's pretty close to your price range at (typically) 12.50USD.* They're actually 256-page refills from Eccolo for their "World Traveller Refillable" journal. The refills have plain white thin-ish cardboard covers but they have gold gilded edges. I really like them for journaling since I can get them lined and the paper is a creamy, buttery color. Being a new FP enthusiast with a penchant for stub nibs (my favorite being Monteverde 1.1 if that gives you a frame of reference) I was hesitant to try them but so far I've only had minor echoing that doesn't get in the way of using both sides of the pages.

 

Being this is my first review of anything I hope this helps and isn't too much or too little info. I'm on my tablet and don't know how to post a link or pictures since I DID finally find a beautiful cover (didn't care for the Eccolo cover). The paper that came with my cover wasn't FP friendly so the Eccolo paper was a match made in heaven (after a LOT of searching) so please forgive me if I'm overselling them!

 

Much Love, Many Blessings...

 

* I get them on Amazon and the reason I mention "typically" is because I've bought them at two vastly different prices at different times. Just do a search for "Eccolo journal refill." Good luck with whatever paper you find!

[jsolares]

Maybe black n' red, the hardcover doesn't exactly look school like.

[Gord K.]

Walmart here in Winnipeg sells journals under the "@theOFFICE" brand that I think will meet your criteria. I bought two sizes to try; the pages on the small one are 100mm x 143mm (approx 4" x 6") and the medium sized one has pages 142mm x 205mm (approx 6" x 8"). There are 80 sheets - 160 pages - of thick cream coloured paper. I have used a Sheaffer 100 and Pilot Metropolitan (both fine nibs) and do not see any feathering or bleed through and only minimal show through. And I fine the fine nibbed Sheaffer to be thicker and wetter than I prefer. I've had them for awhile and don't remember the prices but I am sure the the medium sized one was about $8 CDN and the small one about $5.

[merrycitrine]

Thanks for the great suggestions guys! In fact, I like all of them! I don't unfortunately have cheap access to Red n' Black notebooks, but sugarcane notebooks, Eccolo and @theOFFICE, I can buy!

 

I've found one that's pretty close to your price range at (typically) 12.50USD.* They're actually 256-page refills from Eccolo for their "World Traveller Refillable" journal. The refills have plain white thin-ish cardboard covers but they have gold gilded edges. I really like them for journaling since I can get them lined and the paper is a creamy, buttery color. Being a new FP enthusiast with a penchant for stub nibs (my favorite being Monteverde 1.1 if that gives you a frame of reference) I was hesitant to try them but so far I've only had minor echoing that doesn't get in the way of using both sides of the pages.

Being this is my first review of anything I hope this helps and isn't too much or too little info. I'm on my tablet and don't know how to post a link or pictures since I DID finally find a beautiful cover (didn't care for the Eccolo cover). The paper that came with my cover wasn't FP friendly so the Eccolo paper was a match made in heaven (after a LOT of searching) so please forgive me if I'm overselling them!

Much Love, Many Blessings...

* I get them on Amazon and the reason I mention "typically" is because I've bought them at two vastly different prices at different times. Just do a search for "Eccolo journal refill." Good luck with whatever paper you find!

I would love to know what cover you used for this journal!

 

I want to keep a journal for everyday doodles and thoughts so I didn't want anything too fancy, so all of these are great options!

[headrom]

Is it good for flex nib? Im afraid of feather with these papers.

[InkyWings]

merrycitrine: I'm trying once again to post a couple of pictures so cross your fingers! Lol I had a problem earlier but (as problems often do) it became an opportunity to figure out where I finally found it. Between needing the fp friendly paper and hoping for a dragonfly design I don't doubt that I spent a couple of months putting the two together. It was well worth the time and energy though since, for me anyway, I found the perfect combination!

 

The journal cover (with the too thin paper) is from the UK and is made by a company called "A Little Present" but I found mine on eBay. They have lots of other designs so if you do decide to check them out I'd caution you to confirm the 6 x 8 inch size for the Eccolo refills. (They carry a "mini" as well.) A couple of things to make you aware of: (1) the cover is very hard, sort of a very thin wood that is covered in leather; (2) when I first inserted the Eccolo refill it seemed impossibly thick for the cover to latch but it did stretch with time; (3) before the cover finished stretching, the top and bottom outer corners of the paper popped up. I don't recall weighting it down in any way and now, after four months or so, the cover lies flat on the fp paper. Voilà!

 

My apologies for being so long winded about my beloved journal! I'm just (obviously) very happy to finally have a refillable journal instead of dozens of mismatched tablets and notebooks. (I can now also label and date the inserts once they're full and keep them in date order.) If the pics I attached won't open or aren't clear, here's a link to the one I have:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dragonfly-Pendant-Refillable-Leather-Journal-Diary-Lock-Notebook-Pad-/151578191762?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item234ac3a792

 

headrom: I really couldn't say how this paper would do with flex nibs since I have minimal experience with them. My guess though is that a flex would probably push the limits of the Eccolo. The Black n' Red's have much heavier (24 lb) paper and I know mine were much less expensive since I got them as an Amazon "Add On" special. You may want to give those a try first.

 

Best of luck to you both from a fellow journaler! MLMB...

[carlos.q]

Well you can always buy cheap Brazilian made composition notebooks (usually under a dollar) and then splurge $50.00 on a nice custom made leather cover to hide them in.

Edited July 23, 2015 by carlos.q

[Buzz_130]

Another vote for the Black N Red brand. Affordable, good paper, and good range of sizes and bindings.

 

Buzz

[amberleadavis]

I am a HUGE fan of the Miquel Ruis notebooks at Barnes and Noble. They come in Red or Black and are $9.95. If you buy them on Amazon they are more than $20. The paper is wonderful and FP friendly.

 

[DrDebG]

I am doing the same research - trying to find less expensive, fountain pen friendly journals, preferable in the A5 size range.

 

I am currently using a Clairefontaine "composition-type" notebook which cost about $9.50 at Goulet Pens ( While I like it, I was hoping to find something a bit less expensive. I've just ordered the Ecoqua Dot Notebook which has Fabriano paper, on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008VSMLPA/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1JLS1XU3CI9F8) for $6.17, but some of the reviewers say the pages fall out after a while. I am going to give it a try, though.

 

I go through notebooks about every two months, so I would like to find something that is fp friendly and will last.

[amberleadavis]

Seriously, try the MR notebooks, you will be thrilled. I carry mine around and didn't destroy it.

[DrDebG]

Well, I think I spoke before I should have.

 

I just "discovered" Papers for Fountain Pens (paperforfountainpens.com), and decided to get the Tomoe River Journal - yes, it is a bit spendy, but with 320 pages of Tomoe River paper, I could not resist.

[amberleadavis]

Oh, yeah!!! I have a leather bound journal handmade by GatzBCN with TR paper - and a few of the smaller journals from JustWrite.com.au. They make me happy.

[mooshi]

Well you can always buy cheap Brazilian made composition notebooks (usually under a dollar) and then splurge $50.00 on a nice custom made leather cover to hide them in.

+1 for this!

[Bookman]

You might consider one of these, a Watson-Guptill Sketchbook.

 

 

 

They come in three sizes: 4 x 6, 5½ x 8¼, and 8¼ x 11. At Amazon, even the 8¼ x 11 can be had for under $10USD. The paper is unlined, so, not to change the subject, if you need lines I recommend you wean yourself of that need regardless of which journal you buy. An addiction to ruled paper limits one's choices too much. Take this sketchbook, for instance. It is hardcover, nicely bound, with 176 pages of thick, smooth paper. I bought one of these recently, a 4 x 6, at a little bookshop in Willits, California, on my way home from two weeks in the redwoods. (Shout out to The Book Juggler.) I've already pressed it into service as a common-place book. But before I did, as is my wont, I test-wrote on the back page with all the pens I had inked at the time, including a Pilot Metropolitan filled with Noodler's Baystate Blue.

 

 

 

 

 

Not one pen-ink combo feathered, and there was no bleed-through and no show-through whatsoever.

 

The pens I used were as follows:

• Waterman Exclusive/F: Platinum Pigment Blue
• Waterman Phileas/F: J Herbin 1670 Bleu Ocean
• Edison Collier/F: Visconti Blue
• Pilot Metropolitan/F: 50-50 mix of Omas Blue and Waterman Serenity Blue
• Nemosine Singularity/Goulet EF: Diamine Sapphire Blue
• Pelikan M215/.5 cursive: Platinum Blue-Black
• Nemosine Singularity/F: Sailor Sei Boku
• Pilot Metropolitan/F: Noodler's Baystate Blue
• Esterbrook Dollar/2556: J Herbin Bleu Nuit
• Esterbrook Dollar/2556: Pilot Blue-Black
• Sheaffer Skripsert/F: Sailor Jentle Blue

Edited August 9, 2015 by Bookman

[C-town]

If you don't mind using a composition book, the ones from target that are made in Vietnam are very nice for fountain pens. Only 50 cents but only available with a wide ruling.

[thetraveler]

Seriously, try the MR notebooks, you will be thrilled. I carry mine around and didn't destroy it.

 

Is that the red one you posted a picture of?

[amberleadavis]

 

Is that the red one you posted a picture of?

 

 

Yes, these are mine. I've carried the black one around for about 6 months before it was full. The stickers have all been added. The Ghost sticker was from a fellow FPNer.