Do You Actually Use Your Blotters? I Mean, Regularly.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

These three rocker blotters sit in my main writing area at home, next to each other. If I'm traveling, I generally put a small loose sheet of blotter paper in my travel notebook.

 

 

They don't get used much, although you can see some ink spots on the top one, here. Most of the time, there really seems to be no point, as the ink tends to dry quickly. But this morning, I made a short entry in my journal, walked away from it for about half an hour, came back and noticed it still open, and shut the book. When I opened it again, some of the brown Noodler's ink with which I'd made the date header had transferred itself to the facing page, while the purple Iroshizuku ink that I'd used for the actual entry had not.

 

The rule seems to be that if I do remember to blot something, it will probably turn out that I didn't need to. But if I forget, sometimes it turns out that I really should have.

 

The still wet brown ink, by the way, was being used with a semi-dip pen, an Esterbrook Dip-Less. I say semi, because although you dip the pen, it uses a regular fountain pen nib and feed unit, and should act just like a fountain pen for writing. I don't actually put Noodlers in regular fountain pens any more, but I use it in a couple of these wells.

[richila]

I use my blotter sheets all the time; I bullet journal with my fountain pen and have a blotter cut to fit my journal. I also keep one in my stationery bag for letter writing.

 

 

I have to ask; Where did you find the elephant blotter?

[CraigR]

 

[LizEF]

I keep one in my Leuchtturm and one in my Hippo Noto, so that I don't have to worry - if the ink is still wet when I close the book, the blotter sheet takes care of it. It also makes a good bookmark.

[Chrissy]

I don't have nice looking rocker blotters like yours. Just sheets of blotting paper. I used them while I was writing my Christmas cards and their envelopes.

 

I also have a blotter sheet inside my Seven Seas Writer Journal that I regularly use, plus some J.Herbin blotter sheets somewhere that I've never used so far.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I use my blotter sheets all the time; I bullet journal with my fountain pen and have a blotter cut to fit my journal. I also keep one in my stationery bag for letter writing.

 

 

I have to ask; Where did you find the elephant blotter?

 

I got the elephant blotter, another one just like it, and the dog blotter on eBay, each for around $10, but I've seen pretty wide variance on the prices and condition of these, and was patient until I could get them in good shape for not too much. I gave the other elephant blotter to a goddaughter who has collected elephants since she was a little girl.

[Mr. Pink]

I have two on my desk - a rocker like the one above, and a roll of toilet paper. I keep a strip of blotter paper in my check book. It beats waiting for my checks to dry out and anger those in line behind me.

Edited December 14, 2017 by Charles Rice

[senzen]

I don't but I'd like to try; might be more practical than carrying a rocket blower.

[tmenyc]

all the time: one in my pocket folio, one on my office desk, several at home on the desk...

 

Tim

[Noihvo]

[katerchen]

I have the J Herbin one on my desk and use it fairly regularly on checks to make sure they don't smear.

 

For my Seven Seas notebooks with their slow drying times, the included blotter sheet is an absolute must.

 

-k

[LizEF]

I don't but I'd like to try; might be more practical than carrying a rocket blower.

 

Well, more practical maybe, but let's face it, a rocket blower is much more dramatic.

[richila]

 

I got the elephant blotter, another one just like it, and the dog blotter on eBay, each for around $10, but I've seen pretty wide variance on the prices and condition of these, and was patient until I could get them in good shape for not too much. I gave the other elephant blotter to a goddaughter who has collected elephants since she was a little girl.

Thank you!

[inkypete]

I have a stash of good quality blotter in A5 sheets and tend to use them as bookmarks in my notebooks so I use blower every day. I have a few rocker blotters too but don't use them as much. Blotter is a tool of my trade every day.

[LizEF]

For those who use rocker blotters, which do you think are better?

1. Shallow curve vs practically a half circle (most these days seem to have quite an arc, but the older ones seem to have much less of an arc)
2. Large vs smaller (I'm thinking this may depend on whether you normally write on large sheets or small, loose leaf or notebook)

Thinking maybe I'll make one, for fun, and figured the above would be good to know. Maybe the handle will be shaped like a rocket...

[Tasmith]

Keep a couple of J. Herbin blotter sheets in my Hobonichi Cousin Techo planner as book marks and guard sheets. They do come in handy when needing to make sure the ink is dry before I close the planner or turn the page.

[praxim]

I have a J Herbin rocker blotter which gets only occasional use. Mostly I use sheets which fit my notebooks which are A6 and A5, each blotter cut from ~A2 sheets I buy. It serves also as a (possibly additional) page marker.

 

I preferred the longer, wider and shallower rocker blotters we once had, over the little J Herbin, and would dislike anything of even tighter radius. Given its lower frequency of use and the fact it is likely to be in a drawer, perhaps the J Herbin is a suitable size today.

[Bronze]

I don't use an actual blotter, but have always kept a sheet of blotting paper in my journals, so that I can snap that thing shut quickly, and not worry about ink smearing the opposite page.

[inotrym]

I haven't tried a blotter, but I would like to buy one, if anything for the (opposite of) novelty.

 

All the rocker blotter I see online though seem a little too large. I would like to have something small, like a big eraser stick or something.

Does anyone know of a smaller model?

[Runnin_Ute]

I have some blotting paper, but no actual blotters. I don't use it as frequently as I probably should. I have a tendency to forget.