Moleskine Improvement

[Margana]

Moleskine has great form, but the paper has left much to be desired. While it still has a bleed-through problem with some inks, the spidery feathering is absent in the squared notebook I purchased last week.

 

To avoid a cross-posting violation, I will only put up the one image, but there are a few more at my blog if this comparison isn't enough to convince you that Moleskine is a little better than it used to be.

 

New Moleskine on the upper left, Rhodia on the upper right. The two Moleskine journals in the lower row were purchased several years ago. Original version of the image is here.

 

[Studio97]

I am a Moleskine user on sale prices. It is still hit or miss on their paper. I'm disappointed that my TUL pens skip a lot on the M paper but work well on everything else. I just don't understand it.

[Margana]

The notebook I bought was on sale so we think alike in that regard.

 

Moleskine paper has been unreliable for so long that I sometimes forget how consistent it was fifteen years ago. I purchased a pack of cahiers rather than the hard-bound journals and was shocked at how awful they were. My next batch of journals produced those feathery marks and I gave up on Moleskine. The company should have insisted the paper was top grade, but did not.

 

It still bleeds way too much, but at least the one I bought recently has paper that can be used on the front side. No consolation really when you pay top dollar, but at least it won't go in the trash bin. Sometimes I use the worst ones for lists and write with a mechanical pencil. I know that's a degraded writing experience, but especially with the reporter style, it doesn't feel like a total waste. How do you use your bad ones?

[wintercriss]

I really wish I could like my A5 Moleskine grid notebook more, but it allows for way too much ghosting and bled through that I end up only writing on one side of the notebook...

[Studio97]

I keep experimenting with different pens, fountain pens and inks until I find a working combination. I try them out on the last two pages of each notebook. On my latest Moleskine I found my sarasa gel pen and Waterman FP fine with serenity blue ink worked in it with minimal shadow. I have a huge pen inventory to choose from. If pencils I use blackwing, Mitsubishi, tombow and Staedtler norica.

[Margana]

  On 8/6/2016 at 2:27 AM, wintercriss said:

I really wish I could like my A5 Moleskine grid notebook more, but it allows for way too much ghosting and bled through that I end up only writing on one side of the notebook...

Unfortunately, that is still the case with some inks. At least the feathering has improved.

[Studio97]

Wet writing fountain pens have been terrible in my moleskines. I'm glad I have a large supply of .7 Sarasa gel pens as I recently invested money in a final clearance sale at a local gift shop of these notebooks. I bought about 15 pocket notebooks and several A5 size notebooks so at least I have one gel pen that works great in them. I don't buy cahiers anymore as I don't like perforated pages.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Studio97

[Margana]

I've gone through tons of the Sarasas, but have been playing with a variety of pens this summer. At this point, whatever works gets used. Wet FPs get used on the best of my journal paper which tends to be Clairefontaine. If I'm using a brush or very wide nib, Stillman & Birn is the best. There is a Pilot Elite Isaac Newton F with Noodler's that works well in the Moleskine so all of my journals have someone to play with and that makes all of us happy.

[setriode]

Some 10 years ago I bought ten notebooks. The paper is mediocre but useable if one uses Pelikan 4001 black, blue black or green ink. Equally Salix and ESSR are fine.

[Jordan N]

I'm looking for predictable results. If I can't be sure that a notebook is fountain pen friendly - I'm not buying it.

[Pravda]

I bought one today, lined. To be honest I'm even more disappointed with it than I was with the Cahiers. If that's even possible :/

 

The Cahiers with me gave true colors and my pens liked it generally. Didn't feel it feather as much but my problem was the show-through.

 

The new classic journal I got today totally changed my ink colors and despite being pleasant to write on, the reverse side of the paper was virtually unusable.

 

I so want them to get It right, as they're the most readily available out there

[Margana]

  On 8/6/2016 at 10:32 PM, Pravda said:

I bought one today, lined. To be honest I'm even more disappointed with it than I was with the Cahiers. If that's even possible :/

 

The Cahiers with me gave true colors and my pens liked it generally. Didn't feel it feather as much but my problem was the show-through.

 

The new classic journal I got today totally changed my ink colors and despite being pleasant to write on, the reverse side of the paper was virtually unusable.

 

I so want them to get It right, as they're the most readily available out there

How frustrating! If I may ask one question, is the paper in your new journal more white than in previous ones? The grid version I bought has paper that is closer to white than in the past.

[inkypete]

Problem has always been consistency. Good today, rubbish tomorrow. Sometimes variations within the one notebook. Love what Moleskin are doing to promote good notebooks but as far as FP friendliness goes - cannot trust them.

[Orpilorp]

In my mind Moleskine + fountain pen ink = a waste of material. That combination is usually troublesome. I'll use Derwent Graphik pens or Sakura Pigma Micron pens in a Moleskine, but that's it.

 

If I want to use a fountain pen it will be with a Quo Vadis or Leuchtturm1917. That combination is usually perfect.

[Margana]

  On 8/7/2016 at 12:13 AM, Orpilorp said:

In my mind Moleskine + fountain pen ink = a waste of material. That combination is usually troublesome. I'll use Derwent Graphik pens or Sakura Pigma Micron pens in a Moleskine, but that's it.

 

If I want to use a fountain pen it will be with a Quo Vadis or Leuchtturm1917. That combination is usually perfect.

Agreed on Quo Vadis, but Leuchtturm1917 feathered in my ink tests. The large version of the image shows it well. I did find it very good with a light application of watercolor.

[Orpilorp]

Leuchtturm1917 handles watercolor? I didn't know that, so thank you for opening my own Pandora's box. Now I'll have to buy more notebooks and more paints.

[Margana]

  On 8/7/2016 at 1:48 AM, Orpilorp said:

Leuchtturm1917 handles watercolor? I didn't know that, so thank you for opening my own Pandora's box. Now I'll have to buy more notebooks and more paints.

It will handle a light wash as you can see in the image. I wouldn't buy it for painting, but it takes modest watercolor decorations and doodles added to a page of writing. Depending on how much water you use, buckling might happen. I don't mind that effect since it makes the journal look well loved. Do you have a Leuchtturm1917 in which you could see if you like watercolor in it?

[Pravda]

  On 8/6/2016 at 10:44 PM, Margana said:

How frustrating! If I may ask one question, is the paper in your new journal more white than in previous ones? The grid version I bought has paper that is closer to white than in the past.

 

 

Although I haven't tried previous ones (classic version) I'm comparing it now to the Cahiers and it appears much less white, i.e. the Cahiers are more white toned than them. I wonder if the Volant is even a different grade/quality paper. But I am not willing to spend any more on that.

[Studio97]

I have the 5x8 volant. It's not a bright white paper but a wet writing fountain pen will ghost and strike through it so I use a Waterman fine FP with serenity blue ink or Sarasa gel .7. ghosting is very faint. I won't buy any more Volant as the perforated pages are not to my liking. If I need to leave someone a note I keep a few sheets of large post it notes inside the back cover.

[Margana]

  On 8/7/2016 at 2:24 PM, Pravda said:

 

 

Although I haven't tried previous ones (classic version) I'm comparing it now to the Cahiers and it appears much less white, i.e. the Cahiers are more white toned than them. I wonder if the Volant is even a different grade/quality paper. But I am not willing to spend any more on that.

Given the performance difference, the whiter paper might be more ink friendly. Certainly the grid version I tested showed improvement over the Moleskine I've purchased in recent years though the bleed through makes it's uses limited. However, I no longer find it to be a waste of money at least for the single grid journal I purchased. Rhodia is more reliable for a journal of the same size.