why people love, and hate, moleskines

[shoppy]

Thank you for the great advice.

[dapv]

This may be considered blasphemous by some, but I decided I like Moleskines enough to only use MP or BP when the paper is not working as well as I'd like for the FP and ink I'm currently using. In actuallity, I think my Molekines have become more interesting as a result of the variability in writing modalities.

 

 

[Blade Runner]

Haven't read the responses, but for me the reason why I love/hate moleskines is:

the design and fit and finish is nice, but the paper is suboptimal for me.

I get feathering in the form of fine hairs sprouting from my letters when I use some pen/ink combinations. Accccck!

I'd be willing to try them again if and when I hear reports of good paper.

[gigipurple]

Love moleskine notebooks, and the reporter style in particular. When there is some bleed through it doesn't bother me because I use only one side of the page anyway.

But I've found that when I use J. Herbin's Bleu Myosotis with a Lamy Safary with a fine or extra-fine point there is no bleeding at all. This blue ink looks particularly beautiful on the creamy color of the Moleskin pages. So it is a combination that I use frequently. Gigi

 

[playpen]

I love the size and shape of the moleskine notebooks. If they cut the price in half to compensate for the fact that you can only use one side of the paper, it would be perfect.

[Pippin60]

I too love the size and feel of the Moleskines. I actually prefer it over the Clairfontaine paper which is hard starting to all my pens. I also have the RenArt cover for the pocket and the large notebook. LOL I have both because I can't make up my mind which one I like. I think I prefer the large as a journal , but I'm going on a trip in a week and the small one packs better in my back pack and of course I'll need to finish the small one because I can't stop using a journal in the middle of the book.

[tawanda]

I have those Moles with the last 16 pages detachable. I always rip one page out and test, in a variety of FPs and ink combos, to check for feathering and bleed through first. Then I decide which pen/ink combo works best and stick to that throughout the whole journal.

 

This works for me because I HATE, really, I do, to see different colours splattered throughout a book. I know some of you with more artistic bents see it as a form of expression, and I can see where you are coming from, but it just riles me. Once I start any one book the pages have to fill up with the same colour. ALthough, I must confess, when I'm feeling particularly adventurous I may change the hues slightly. EG: I may begin using a Waterman Florida Blue and change to a Diamine Presidential part way through. But never totally differing colours.

 

 

[adair]

I have never found a pocket notebook that is markedly superior to the Moleskine AND so widely available. Overpriced? Somewhat. Perfect paper? No, but I use the pocket Moleskine for quick notes and sketches, not for calligraphy. They are workbooks, first and foremost. And if I run out of them while in Berlin, Istanbul, Paris or Anytown USA, I can go to the nearest bookshop or stationers and buy them. What other notebook is so universally available? There are cheaper clones, it is true---the Piccadilly at Borders is the newest and closest---but isn't that kind of ungrateful? I mean, remember the days BEFORE Moleskine, when there were no such notebooks at all, anywhere? Moleskine has engineered something quite impressive---a veritable rebirth of interest in physical writing in an age of virtual technology. This has surely proved of profit and benefit to bookshops, stationers and fountainpen sellers the world over.

[Donald594]

You know why the difference is like that... they change the paper to make printing lines on them easier. Lower quality = easier print. Higher quality = easier to write. I like them all though.... :clap1:

[dapv]

It's probably been mentioned here, but I just found out last night that the Cahier skine fits Levenger's Pocket Briefcase.

 

I know ... not exactly earth-shattering news, and some will likely say DUH, but for me it's a find.

 

 

[Randal6393]

I use a Moleskin schedule that has minimal bleedthrough and holds up well in my back pocket. Been carrying it for most of a North Carolina summer -- an extreme heat and humidity environment. Shows no real wear. The schedule is set to go from July 2008 to December 2009 so it better be nearly indestructible.

 

With wet writers and inks, I do get some bleedthrough. But not enough to obscure writing on the other side. The paper holds up well and accepts ink so well. An excellent pocket notebook, I am more than satisfied with the performance.

 

I use pocket schedules and notebooks for general notes and daily reminders. Have for over twenty years. While not the absolute best, Moleskins rate pretty high, IMHO.

 

Enjoy,

 

Edited for correction of dates.

Edited October 24, 2008 by Randal6393

[tawanda]

I mean, remember the days BEFORE Moleskine, when there were no such notebooks at all, anywhere? Moleskine has engineered something quite impressive---a veritable rebirth of interest in physical writing in an age of virtual technology. This has surely proved of profit and benefit to bookshops, stationers and fountainpen sellers the world over.

 

You Are absolutely right! I hadn't thought about this before but it really was a dark age as far as great notebooks were concerned and it would be churlish to to be unfaithful to such a groundbreaking (re)invention. As for rediscovering the fundamental joy that writing with FPs and paper, I've converted both my husband and my best friend. My best friend, in particular, is havng a ball! She is working hard on improving her handwriting, spelling and presentation. She has just joined this network, is hoovering up knowledge, and building up her collection of fountain pens and molekines nicely.

 

When we meet we get all excited about the latest eye candy for sale on here or e-bay, chattering away in our own little language (Was the trim CT or GT? Do you think the breather tube would be ok? I do like a 9550 in my Estie, How would it behave in my Mole, do you think?) and all our other friends either sit, silent and puzzled, or tut and roll their eyes at us!

 

 

[Jake]

I use a Moleskine ruled pocket notebook because it is as near to perfect as an item gets: it is precisely the right size to be large enough for writing and yet small enough to carry, has a convenient band to prevent one's pockets and pouches from attacking it, and a cover durable enough that I can haul it about for a year without seeing it deteriorate. No other notebook I've seen has such an excellent combination feature combination; if the paper quality were slightly higher it would be perfect, but the trade-off is so tiny I barely notice it.

 

 

 

[limesally]

I mean, remember the days BEFORE Moleskine, when there were no such notebooks at all, anywhere? Moleskine has engineered something quite impressive---a veritable rebirth of interest in physical writing in an age of virtual technology. This has surely proved of profit and benefit to bookshops, stationers and fountainpen sellers the world over.

 

You Are absolutely right! I hadn't thought about this before but it really was a dark age as far as great notebooks were concerned and it would be churlish to to be unfaithful to such a groundbreaking (re)invention.

 

I can't agree. I don't think the moleskine is any way groundbreaking, and the only real impressive feat is in the marketing.

 

Sure, I do use them, but previous to that, I have always carried around some sort of notebook to do the exact same job my current moleskine does. Neither my writing, nor interest in pens and paper begins and ends with moleskine, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

 

Where's the need for faithfulness when they can't be consistent in their paper quality? There's nothing churlish or ungrateful about looking for alternatives. As I've said before, because of their availability, size, hard cover and durability, I use them. But I would not hesitate to try something else with the characteristics I'm looking for, at a similar or lower price point. They do nicely for now, but have hardly done enough to secure my brand loyalty. Still, I may end up continuing to use them just because they're that more easily available to me, compared to the Picaddily, Markings, Cartesio and Habanas reviewed here lately, and that's as practical a reason as anything else.

Edited October 24, 2008 by limesally

[nails]

I mean, remember the days BEFORE Moleskine, when there were no such notebooks at all, anywhere? Moleskine has engineered something quite impressive---a veritable rebirth of interest in physical writing in an age of virtual technology. This has surely proved of profit and benefit to bookshops, stationers and fountainpen sellers the world over.

 

You Are absolutely right! I hadn't thought about this before but it really was a dark age as far as great notebooks were concerned and it would be churlish to to be unfaithful to such a groundbreaking (re)invention.

 

I can't agree. I don't think the moleskine is any way groundbreaking, and the only real impressive feat is in the marketing.

 

Sure, I do use them, but previous to that, I have always carried around some sort of notebook to do the exact same job my current moleskine does. Neither my writing, nor interest in pens and paper begins and ends with moleskine, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

 

Where's the need for faithfulness when they can't be consistent in their paper quality? There's nothing churlish or ungrateful about looking for alternatives. As I've said before, because of their availability, size, hard cover and durability, I use them. But I would not hesitate to try something else with the characteristics I'm looking for, at a similar or lower price point. They do nicely for now, but have hardly done enough to secure my brand loyalty. Still, I may end up continuing to use them just because they're that more easily available to me, compared to the Picaddily, Markings, Cartesio and Habanas reviewed here lately, and that's as practical a reason as anything else.

 

I could not agree more. Although I think Moleskines have no end of elegance with simplicity they are not perfect. The paper is too thin for my taste and while the paper seems made for the gel ink in my ballpoints, they are only marginally better than anything else out there with my fountain pens. The large size notebook is perfect and I love the binding and elastic strap.

 

The advertising scheme worked well on me originally- I am a fan of Ernest Hemmingway and his lifestyle of travel to exotic locations. Now, three years later, it seems a little silly. Their product line continues to grow while in turn prices rise. While I like them immensely and use at least two different styles daily, I fear they will eventually disappear as quickly as they appeared. Such is the way with all fads. I hope I am wrong because I would miss them, but once i find something similiar with heavier, better paper I will not look back.

[adair]

I remember the first Moleskines that came out in the very late 90's. Only the sketchbooks were available. I was mesmerized by them. I held them in my hands like sacred objects. I had searched for such notebooks in vain. It really did feel a bit like a rebirth of the creative spirit of early 20th Century Modernism, when an artist's and poet's notes in a pocket notebook could change the way we see and think. Forgive me, but there wasn't a notebook even remotely like it available in the USA at that time, with the possible exception of the Colored-Edge books. I do believe that Moleskine filled a void and that it did revive the art of the notebook and journaling and interest in related things like fountain pens. Maybe you and I in particular were already interested in these things, but for many it was their first introduction to such delights. The proof is that it spread from being available only in small select stationery shops to becoming ubiquitous, world-wide, and inspiring a host of imitators. Does Moleskine need to return to its original quality, when it was entirely Italian-made? Absolutely. But we owe it some thanks nevertheless. I for one like knowing that I can pop into a bookstore anywhere in the world and find it. I would hate to see it disappear, and I fear that if that were to happen, all the imitators would cease, too, and we'd be once again without useful pocket notebooks.

[limesally]

....well, I guess you have a different relationship to your notebooks than I do. Only the content - what I've actually written or drawn in it - could make them anything close to sacred for me. When I saw my first moleskine in 2007 (that's how long it took them to show up here) I thought "huh, could be handy. Will try it". And so it takes its place in the long sequence of notebooks I've used. But that's about it, for me. I still don't feel I owe them any thanks. I'm already giving them my money, and that's plenty! It's a practical transaction. I get the utility - but I really still fail to get the mystique.

[adair]

The mystique IS the utility! That's my point. Moleskine introduced to the USA one of the finest tools a writer can have, a simple pocket notebook. It just didn't exist in this country. Perhaps in Canada there were more choices. I owe Moleskine thanks for introducing precisely this practical tool for daily writing. I would hate for it, and the concept itself, to disappear. When I think back to the time before it, I shudder. Who remembers those awful, stiff, diary-like blank books from Waldenbooks, the ones with the fake burgundy leather with fake gold tracery? No, the Moleskine really has changed the landscape for practicing writers in this country. Europe always had interesting notebooks, but here, it was slim pickins. I completely agree with you, Limesally, on the need for better quality and/or lower prices for these products. And I like your no-nonsense approach to writing tools---preciousness leads to procrastination and blank pages. I am no longer so reverent about the Moleskine---or should I say, my reverence is expressed by filling every page and wearing out the binding with daily use.

Edited November 1, 2008 by adair

[limesally]

Perhaps in Canada there were more choices.

 

heck, no. There's *never* more choices in Canada! I just wrote on whatever was available. Who was it here at FPN that said he'd write on anything that didn't move, and sometimes, things that did? :roflmho:

Anyway, that's almost me.

Edited November 1, 2008 by limesally

[adair]

Perhaps in Canada there were more choices.

 

heck, no. I just wrote on whatever was available. Who was it here at FPN that said he'd write on anything that didn't move, and sometimes, things that did? :roflmho:

Anyway, that's almost me.

 

I respect and admire that, for sure, Limesally. And I won't stop writing if Moleskines vanish. But gosh, they're so handy and compact!