I'm A Sad, Pathetic Stationery Junkie.

[SLinkster]

@pucipatas See here. The M800 is the juiciest writer of the pens I scribbled with for these scans. Note that the Mohawk Superfine shows the most ghosting and bleed-through of the three.  HP is not Hammermill but it is probably comparable. My Mohawk Superfine is 'cream', the HP 24 is "acceptably white" while the 32 is "very white". Note please my 24# HP is getting up there in years, it's a ream I found in the closet, while the 32# was a 2023 purchase.

 

As for sources: I buy paper from Amazon when I find it by the ream as "used/discounted". The discount is generally substantial enough to make up for sacrificing a few sheets with dinged edges or whatever. Papers I buy from Amazon include HP 24# and 32#, Neenah Capitol Bond 25% cotton, and Kokuyu Office A4.

 

Neenah and Mohawk offer full sheet samples at reasonable prices, though shipping can be steep - order as many laaarge sheets as you can without jumping to the next shipping cost, to make it cost-effective. There's a place called PaperMillStore that offers swatchbooks of different paper collections for reasonable money plus shipping; the only drawback to swatchbooks is that the papers are, literally, swatches, for you to use to select papers rather than use them in projects.

 

Also if you're in a large metro area there may be a supplier of paper to printers that has a showroom you might be able to visit and from which you may be able to buy usable samples.

 

Above all assumes you're in the US. 

[Penguincollector]

On 4/7/2024 at 9:05 PM, pucipatas said:

I’ve gone down another rabbit hole searching for paper. Anyone else have any resources, local or online that they use for paper to play with?  I’ve heard about hammermill 24, 28, and 32 lb being good for fountain pens. But I also learned about Mohawk superfine and vellum paper like is used in Rhodia notebooks.  I’ve also tried out a few sale notebook packs from Amazon in A5 and B5 sizes, and while the paper is fountain pen friendly, they’re both ivory/cream colored. Now I’m on the hunt for white…

  Texas is a biiiiig state, so if you narrowed down the area as much as you are comfortable with. I can direct you to good local paper sources. On Amazon, try looking for Sakae white  paper. JetPens is one of my favorite places to order because the minimum free shipping is $35. $40 will get you the A4 (I have a paper cutter and just halve them) Yamamoto Fountain Pen Friendly Sampler. $11(?) will buy you a smaller sized sampler. Cosmo Air Snow is fantastic if you just want to try one type of paper.

[SLinkster]

35 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

  Texas is a biiiiig state

 

Texas is most assuredly a big state.

When I put in my notice at my old job in Illinois prepatory to relocating to [city A], Texas to get married, my employer offered me a job in [city B], Texas. At the time the two cities were about a 2 hour drive apart. These days I drive two hours to have lunch with friends, because that's how long it takes to get across [city A] sometimes. This is a real-life, practical demonstration of time dilation.

[Penguincollector]

@SLinkster, having grown up in Miami, I can sympathize with the ever expanding metro area. It’s nice to be living somewhere with an urban growth boundary now. 

[ParramattaPaul]

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

@SLinkster, having grown up in Miami, I can sympathize with the ever expanding metro area. It’s nice to be living somewhere with an urban growth boundary now. 

Urban growth is a universal phenomenon. Campbelltown was outside of the Sydney Metropolitan area in the 1980s/90s. Not now.

[SLinkster]

22 minutes ago, ParramattaPaul said:

Urban growth is a universal phenomenon.

 

Truth. The city boundary for my [city A] was, the year we bought the house, literally our back property line, and we were outside the city boundary. That line - the city boundary - is now nearly 15 miles farther out and oozes farther every year.

[inkstainedruth]

3 hours ago, SLinkster said:

 

Texas is most assuredly a big state.

When I put in my notice at my old job in Illinois prepatory to relocating to [city A], Texas to get married, my employer offered me a job in [city B], Texas. At the time the two cities were about a 2 hour drive apart. These days I drive two hours to have lunch with friends, because that's how long it takes to get across [city A] sometimes. This is a real-life, practical demonstration of time dilation.

That is now reminding me of a joke I heard years ago.  There was a guy who played a couple of times at the campus coffee house and then later I saw him play a few times at a folk club about an hour north of my parents' house.  And he had this series of jokes which he called "the Minnesota Existential Series" (basically "Polish" jokes except they were about people who were from Minnesota....

And one of them was about a guy from Minnesota who decided to drive around the US and just learn about stuff from talking to people he met along the way.  Well, he got to Texas and stopped somewhere at a farm stand, and got talking to the guy running it and asked if the guy had grown the fruits and vegetables himself.  And the Texan said he had.  So the first guy asked him about how big a spread he had, and the Texan said "You could drive ALL one day, and all the next day, and into the third day -- and you'd still be on my land!"  

And the guy from Minnesota said, "Yeah, I used to have a car like that, too!"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ron Z]

How To Talk Minnesotan....  has a story that included a description of a rooster that crowed and "sounded like a cross between a clogged sump pump and a TV evangelist with tight underwear."   I still smile when I think about it. 

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit that I probably still talk like "a New Yorker", but have picked up some "Yinzer" slang after all these years in the Pittsburgh area -- while I do NOT "redd" things up, I have caught myself saying that something "needs fixed"/"needs cleaned" on multiple occasions over the years....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[Chimera01]

8 hours ago, SLinkster said:

As for sources: I buy paper from Amazon when I find it by the ream as "used/discounted". The discount is generally substantial enough to make up for sacrificing a few sheets with dinged edges or whatever.

If anybody's interested, Perfectly Penned are closing (?) and selling off their stock for £7.99 for an A5 notebook, stitched not glued, 150 gm paper, etc. through their website as well as Amazon UK. Lovely notebooks, even more so at the price.

[Runnin_Ute]

A local (to me) Barnes & Noble that closed shop in I believe late 2022, and had a Marshall's open in time for the 2023 Christmas holidays is showing a new nearby location opening on May 22. The location of the space?  Maybe a half mile south on the east side of the street.  The old location had an Old Navy and a Target in the same shopping center. The new location includes DSW, Burlington, (but not limited to) and some restaurants. (Carl's Jr, Five Guys, others)

 

Any time a book/stationary store reopens should be cause for celebration. Especially when it appeared to be closed for good. The nearest store is 6 or so miles away.

 

We used to have a Staples (in this same shopping center, but farther north) which is now a Petsmart, a OfficeMax a few blocks or so south (now Harbor Freight) and a Office Depot in Draper about 15 blocks south of where the Staples was. Which is where I have to go for local office supplies. (about 3 miles)

[Misfit]

@Runnin_Ute so true to celebrate when a book/stationery store reopens. I can relate. The closest to me B&N closed. It was 12-15 miles away. A new one is a bit further and smaller, but I’m glad it’s there. 
 

Unfortunately Barnes & Noble changed their membership program. It used to be $25, and now is $39.99. I was a member at $25, got 10% off and free shipping. But I’m not a member at basically $40.  

[Gloucesterman]

17 hours ago, Misfit said:

@Runnin_Ute so true to celebrate when a book/stationery store reopens. I can relate. The closest to me B&N closed. It was 12-15 miles away. A new one is a bit further and smaller, but I’m glad it’s there. 
 

Unfortunately Barnes & Noble changed their membership program. It used to be $25, and now is $39.99. I was a member at $25, got 10% off and free shipping. But I’m not a member at basically $40.  

The minimum expenditure to make a $40.00 annual membership fee worthwhile is $400.00, if you save 10%.

Other other than to 10% discount are there other benefits?

Just curious. Nearest one to me is about 20 miles.

For books, I am a BIG fan of the local public library..

[Misfit]

@Gloucesterman the benefits include 10% off purchases including at the cafe, free shipping, a free tote bag each year, 10% off at Paper Source on most products, a birthday offer, upgrade beverage to the next size for free. 
 

I always included what the shipping fee would have been in my calculations of making back the $25 membership fee. 

[pucipatas]

I’m still sad Hastings went out of business. Thanks for the paper recommendations. I found a few different tablets and loose paper packs on Amazon and jetpens to try out. Can’t wait to do some ink samples.

Edited April 12 by pucipatas
Hit submit too soon

[PJohnP]

18 hours ago, pucipatas said:

I’m still sad Hastings went out of business.

 

 

I was disappointed but not at all astonished. 

 

The local Hastings here was prone to telling people who asked for a newly issued book "You can get it online" dismissively.  The local Borders had a cadre of staff who were far more interested in private conversations than helping customers, and would tell them, "Go to Amazon".

 

People took that advice.

[Runnin_Ute]

3 hours ago, PJohnP said:

 

 

I was disappointed but not at all astonished. 

 

The local Hastings here was prone to telling people who asked for a newly issued book "You can get it online" dismissively.  The local Borders had a cadre of staff who were far more interested in private conversations than helping customers, and would tell them, "Go to Amazon".

 

People took that advice.

Guess they didn't understand the ramifications of such a practice. Another lost job (or 10)

[inkstainedruth]

3 hours ago, PJohnP said:

 

 

I was disappointed but not at all astonished. 

 

The local Hastings here was prone to telling people who asked for a newly issued book "You can get it online" dismissively.  The local Borders had a cadre of staff who were far more interested in private conversations than helping customers, and would tell them, "Go to Amazon".

 

People took that advice.

Yikes!

I'm glad that the B&N that we normally go to isn't like that....  We were in it a while back and one of the employees was recommending books to my husband and then pointed out to me that the newest Peter Beagle novel was on the table of new issues....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PJohnP]

2 hours ago, Runnin_Ute said:

Guess they didn't understand the ramifications of such a practice. Another lost job (or 10)

 

This became a meme before internet memes were a thing.  I ran into the same answer several times.

 

I actually engaged with the manager and asked them, "If I order every new book I want online, I won't be coming to the store."

 

They blinked and couldn't muster an answer.

 

By that time, I believe that the two chains were respectively sliding into failure, so perhaps I am unkind to that manager's response.  They could likely see the end times coming for their store. 

 

We haven't had a larger bookstore since those closures, although we have a few small independent stores.

 

 

 

John P.

[PJohnP]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Yikes!

I'm glad that the B&N that we normally go to isn't like that....  We were in it a while back and one of the employees was recommending books to my husband and then pointed out to me that the newest Peter Beagle novel was on the table of new issues....

 

Funny that you mention B&N...  The chain recently announced that they are opening a store here.  We haven't had one of the larger booksellers here in thirteen years.

 

 

 

John P.