Bloody Bleeding Journals

[tooloose-letrek]

Interesting...I too am looking for a reliable notebook/journal! I am a USA person and, as I already said, I really like the Letts/London. Months ago I checked their website for stores near me and found about 3-4 within driving distance. Each and every one of those stores was out of business.

 

I'm working on a tight budget here and ordering online with S&H is something I'm trying to avoid. (I just inquired at an online store for shipping on a reg. size bottle of ink and was told $5. This all might actually be academic these days since the cost of gas has sky-rocketed, and factoring that in makes me want to vomit. These days, it's not just the gas fumes that are toxic, but also the cost.)

 

Barnes & Noble (at least two stores around me) have a good selection of journals, but none of them bite me in the ass, if you know what I mean.

 

How about some good ideas on how to create a guide lining unlined paper, enough to write on, I mean. Blank paper doesn't really work for me because my mind wanders and I lose that straight line, then I die. SOME papers would be just thin enough to use a trace sheet with dense guide lines drawn. Any other ideas on that?

 

And still another option would be to write on only one side of a page.

[Titivillus]

How about some good ideas on how to create a guide lining unlined paper, enough to write on, I mean. Blank paper doesn't really work for me because my mind wanders and I lose that straight line, then I die. SOME papers would be just thin enough to use a trace sheet with dense guide lines drawn. Any other ideas on that?

 

And still another option would be to write on only one side of a page.

JUst go to any wordprocessor and you can make underlined lines of any spacing that can be printed out and put behind the blank page.

 

Kurt H

[Roger]

Here's an online line generator that works well with good injet computer paper: http://www.incompetech.com/beta/linedGraphPaper/lined.html

[Guest Denis Richard]

We went to Borders after dinner. I got my 2006 Moleskine Daily planner and a Paperchase journal : "The Noto". I got the blue one with multicolored paper, as in the picture on their site, but they come in cream paper too, and in two sizes, comparable to Moleskine. Like Moleskine, there is a bookmark and an elastic accross the cover (though horizontal, instead of vertical). The cover is a faux leather synthetic (I think...). It's a very nice design in my opinion.

 

The paper is definitely thicker than Moleskine, and is sligthly textured. The pic below shows feathering tests with several pens and inks. My scanner is rather bad, and in reality it looks much sharper. I would qualify it as feather-free. In the close up, the line edge is uneven due to the texture of the paper, and not feathering, from what I can tell.

 

Price is Moleskine-like in Borders : $11.99 for the small size, and $14.99 for the large one.

 

Edit : I forgot to mention that there is no bleed-through at all either.

Edited October 8, 2005 by Denis Richard

[Guest Denis Richard]

I checked their website and, believe it or not, there are 2 stores within an hour - in Raleigh . I then checked their website to see if they had Paperchase journals.

I checked the list of stores in Paperchase website. The Raleigh stores are not listed... but neither is the one I just bought my Noto at.

[tooloose-letrek]

Here's an online line generator that works well with good injet computer paper...

Thanks! That is definitely neato.

[freecia]

Sometimes I take 8*14 (legal) paper and fold it in half to make a conveniently sized mini-notebook. Just paperclip the top or take some sewing thread and sew the spine up bookbinding style to keep the pages together.

 

If one happens to see the multi-colored Kokuyo notebooks around, be sure to buy one to try it out. The multi-colored ones are the only Japanese notebooks I've seen sold in campus/indie bookstores. Really just can't rave enough about Japanese notebooks as an affordable choice for good quality paper. As KCat said, the paper doesn't look like anything special but she felt the difference, enough to consider it as a Clairefontaine substitute since they're only $3.30/4 or so each.

 

Order Kokuyo notebooks online

 

I got myself a reporter Moleskine a while ago when Borders had a 30% coupon but haven't opened it yet.

[Chris]

Noto, yes that is the name I was searching for.

 

Well it looks like I might be spending some money on one and I'll let you know how it fares.

 

I tend to use the back page of notebooks to write test lines of different pen and ink combinations to remind myself what looks OK.

 

Cheers,

Chris

[Chris]

Well, I bought a Noto - lined paper and leather (?) covers. It is 5" by 6 3/4" (13 x 17 cm). It has a strong elastic closure and a little ribbon to mark your place.

 

The paper is very thick and slightly creamy coloured. After being opened and closed to take the stiffness off the paper, it developes a certain character with the pages not having machine-planed edge alignment any more.

 

Most importantly, it is lovely to write on (Cross Century broad - Penman Sapphire, Sheaffer Valiant touchdown broad - Pelikan black, Sheaffer Statesman medium - Pelikan violet) and no bleed-through at all. The Valian is a wet writer and was really make or break. With dryer pens and inks there should be no worries at all.

 

So, a nice journal that will fit in the pocket - but at £9.75 quite expensive.

 

Cheers,

Chris

[JimStrutton]

I have three answers to this problem Well maybe?

 

First off I use a reasonable quality Reporters Notebook, ie not the cheapest and not the dearer branded ones, but normally the ones sold by the big chains. Typically I buy one, try it, if it is OK I stock up with the 'Value Packs'

 

I have two on my desk right now, one for a detailed journal and another for taking rough notes.

 

Second offering is that I buy a local brand of A6 notebooks, 120 page ruled with a hard cover, just fits into a pocket and is rugged enough for using 'in the field'. Again I buy these in packs of six for around 3 GBPs. You get three colours in the pack and my wife takes all the Blue ones!!

 

Third solution, heavy quality Ink Jet paper. I must confess that I bought a bundle of this when I had an ink jet and noticed that when writing notes on a page with a FP, it was a good experience. So now I take the remainder of the stock, which is in the European A4 size, cut in half and put into an A5 binder. I also use it as a convenient writing paper for those small personal notes. You can also make it up into pads, you just need to clamp the sheets between two pieces of wood and the cover the exposed edge with the glue. In the UK it is called Cow Gum as one brand, but any good Art Shop will stock the correct stuff. Can be a bit messy so don't do it on the dining room table if you like living

 

OK so that is my .02 worth.

 

Jim

[Velma]

Second offering is that I buy a local brand of A6 notebooks, 120 page ruled with a hard cover, just fits into a pocket and is rugged enough for using 'in the field'.  Again I buy these in packs of six for around 3 GBPs.  You get three colours in the pack and my wife takes all the Blue ones!!

This tempts me to talk to some of my contacts in the UK, and ask them to ship some notebooks over for me to try. And I just did a friend there a favor by writing her a letter using multiple colors of ink and every extra fine nib I owned (she has tiny handwriting, and is dithering about which pen to buy next).

 

Hmmmm.... this could work!

[tooloose-letrek]

Last night I finished my Letts of London journal...sigh. Now I'm on to a fancier one I picked up at Borders, a Toscana journal, made in Italy for Cavallini & Co. of San Francisco. It's nicely tooled leather cover (hard to believe I was once a vegan, huh? What caused the shift? Sushi, of course! I'm sure 'they' didn't kill this cow just to make the journal cover; it was no doubt slaughtered for burger meat at MacDonalds.)

 

It's smaller, 4-1/2 x 6-1/2 inch pages and has a nice, creamy colored paper. The guide lines are wider than the Letts. The first thing I noticed when I took pen to it was that there was just a wee bit of feathering from my Sailor MF nib. I'd expect better paper from a $23 journal. My handwriting looked odd, so I switched to some cheap, F nib (Lamy) pens and it works fine.

 

I guess I equated more money with better quality. I like the size but would replace the paper with something heftier, something without that feathering. I'd also reduce the guideline spacing.

 

I think I'm suffering from Letts/London withdrawl.

[cecirdr]

Your toscana journal sounds similar to mine. I love the cream color paper. It makes some inks look really good...but you're right, there can be a bit of feather. Gulfstream blue looks marvelous on this paper, but with an italic nib, the crisp lines spread just enough due to feather to be a dissappointment.

 

I recently tried a meade cambridge notebook that was from Staples store. This paper didn't bleed or feather and was quite smooth to the touch. But...it lacked that creamy white color. It was the usual stark blueish white. But meade now sells refillable notebooks with this paper.

 

Oh btw, has anyone tried the renaissance art journals and can speak to paper color, feathering, bleedthrough, and texture? http://www.renaissance-art.com/ They also have refillable journals and you can buy lined pages if you like.

 

Ceci

[Centurion]

Last night I finished my Letts of London journal...sigh. Now I'm on to a fancier one I picked up at Borders, a Toscana journal, made in Italy for Cavallini & Co. of San Francisco. It's nicely tooled leather cover (hard to believe I was once a vegan, huh? What caused the shift? Sushi, of course! I'm sure 'they' didn't kill this cow just to make the journal cover; it was no doubt slaughtered for burger meat at MacDonalds.)

 

It's smaller, 4-1/2 x 6-1/2 inch pages and has a nice, creamy colored paper. The guide lines are wider than the Letts. The first thing I noticed when I took pen to it was that there was just a wee bit of feathering from my Sailor MF nib. I'd expect better paper from a $23 journal. My handwriting looked odd, so I switched to some cheap, F nib (Lamy) pens and it works fine.

 

I guess I equated more money with better quality. I like the size but would replace the paper with something heftier, something without that feathering. I'd also reduce the guideline spacing.

 

I think I'm suffering from Letts/London withdrawl.

I have got a Cavallini small journal too. Very nice leather cover and has a great smell to it, but expensive. I think it was $38 not around $23. Anyone ever try Levenger's leather cover? You buy paperback journals slip them over the Levenger leather cover, more cost effective than the Cavallini. The leather is different but I would say similar in quality. Levenger is smooth refined leather, while the Cavallini one I bought is a bit thicker, although both thick, with a more rustic feel and smell to it. Levenger journals will have no bleed through if you keep your FP moving. The Cavallini is more forgiving, won't bleed through if you pause, but will if you re-write over a word.

 

I suppose that's the best test, a journal that wouldn't bleed through even if you re-write over something!!

[smudgy]

Oh btw, has anyone tried the renaissance art journals and can speak to paper color, feathering, bleedthrough, and texture? http://www.renaissance-art.com/ They also have refillable journals and you can buy lined pages if you like.

I emailed Arthur a request for some paper samples - I love the look of these journals - but haven't gotten anything yet. He's says he's been pretty busy... this seems like a great way to go, though, because you can test out the paper first. If I buy one from him I'll try to remember to post what paper I chose, etc. I got lucky with the journal I am using now, made by a company called paperblanks, because the paper is very FP friendly. But I'm afraid if I buy a pretty one from Barnes and Noble, I'll write on the first page and find that I don't like the paper... and by then it would be too late to return.