A This Cute Life Post

updated 05.03.18
currently working on a second update! stay tuned!

Much like Hugo from A Heart For A Tin Man, I’m all about that analog life. And to that end, it’s been an endeavor trying to find the perfect writing instrument, the perfect writing paper, and the perfect ink. And I’m not sure I’ve found it yet. I’ll find something that works for awhile, but then I find something that works even better, so I move on. This list categorizes the different notebooks I’ve tried in my search for my “forever” brand.

Moleskine Notebooks

These are so ubiquitous now and feature so many collaborations with pop culture icons that I feel like when someone wants to step up their notebook game, this is the first notebook they’re going to try. I used Moleskines for many, many, years. They have changed since I started using them back in the early 2000s, the paper feels worse in many ways. But since I primarily used gel pens, it worked fine for my needs.

Then I fell down the rabbit hole and got into fountain pens. Moleskines aren’t very fountain pen friendly, so I stopped using them. I have several that are unused that I may giveaway just to finally get rid of them!

Price: At around $20 normally, it’s about average for a “premium” notebook.
Looks: Depending on what kind you get, you can have anything from a basic black to a themed/licensed cover. The main draw of these notebooks now are probably the licensed properties.
Durability: They stand up pretty well to normal use. The corners would start peeling back and the elastic would lose some of its elasticity, but that’s normal.
Paper quality: Stay far away if you’re using fountain pens.
Ghosting: Depending on the type of pen, atrocious to normal.
Feathering: Yeaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Bleedthrough: Haven’t had that problem, but I am an EF/F nib user, so I rarely have that problem in any general sense.
Grade: D

Midori A5 Grid

The next notebook I tried in my quest for fountain pen friendly notebooks was the Midori A5 Grid. I’m not sure what prompted the grid versus the lined because I had been a prominent “I AM USED TO LINES AND THIS LINE WIDTH SPECIFICALLY” person, but trying these changed everything.

They work beautifully with fountain pens. I like the grid and its ease in keeping my handwriting neat. The cream paper is easy on the eyes and looks more luxurious. And lastly, it’s just a plain beautiful notebook in its simplicity.

I consider the Midori my “workhorse”. When I need a new notebook, I get one of these. And I love using them.

Price: Commonly found on Amazon for around $10, making these an absolute steal.
Looks: Beautiful and elegant. Have stickers to label volumes or series.
Durability: These won’t survive by themselves very long if you’re a writer who loves to bring their notebooks with them everywhere. You’re going to need a cover, and the paper cover that’s available is not going to help.
Paper quality: Nice for the price.
Ghosting: Slight.
Feathering: I haven’t had that problem unless I keep the nib on the page too long (accidentally while thinking). I’ve thrown B and stub nibs at it successfully!
Bleedthrough: Haven’t had that problem, even with B or stub nibs
Watercolors: I’ve used them successfully!
Grade: B+

Rhodia Webnotebook

These notebooks are popular in the FP community. Apparently, there are different batches, and I got a bad one. I know the Rhodia paper is lovely, the pad I use to make shopping lists is Rhodia and it is wonderful to work with. This notebook was nothing like the pad I have. The spotty quality of this notebook keeps me from making it a regular in my lineup.

Price: Commonly found from $20-25
Looks: Simple eye-catching colors with a contrasting strap
Durability: I got a softcover, which my cats promptly decided to scratch up. It took that beating rather well. I also have a hardcover and it feels like it’s going to last about as long as a Moleskine, which is pretty dang good considering I take my current novelling notebook everywhere I go
Paper Quality: I hear Rhodia mentioned a lot when reading about FP but frankly I was not impressed by this notebook.
Ghosting: Major
Feathering: My EF TWSBI feathered! I am dumbfounded!
Bleedthrough: On my pen test, I used a B TWSBI Eco nib filled with Diamine Enchanted Ocean. It bled through.
Watercolors: After that failure of a pen test, I wasn’t going to bother testing watercolors.
Grade: C

Stalogy Planner

I heard the Stalogy uses a very similar paper to the Hobonichi Techo. The grid and date tags are so light you can barely see them, so I decided to see how it holds up as an everyday use notebook.

Not for me.

Price: Commonly found from $20-35, depending on paper size
Looks: Plain black notebook, nothing special or Insta-worthy
Durability: Didn’t use it long enough to get a true test, however, doesn’t seem very durable because the cover is thin.
Paper Quality: Not like Hobonichi at all, don’t be fooled by those who claim it to be.
Ghosting: Can’t use the next page at all, it’s so bad.
Bleedthrough: I can’t believe I actually had bleedthrough, but I did.
Watercolors: I didn’t bother trying because it fared horribly with pen ink.
Grade: F

Hippo Noto

Next on my list was a little Kickstarter for a new notebook, the Hippo Noto. Promising a ton of Tomoe River pages, I hoped this was the possible “dream” notebook.

It almost is my dream notebook. The book is mammoth (should I say Hippo?) and you will take a long time to fill it up before needing another. It has Tomoe River paper inside, which is one of the best papers, if not the best, for fountain pens.

Two things keep it from being my forever notebook. One, the pocket A5 just doesn’t click with me. Over the years from using the Moleskine and then Midori, I’ve become accustomed to the A5 size and any other size feels off. Two, the binding is atrocious. My first notebook lost the binding completely. The times I e-mailed the company to ask about it have gone unanswered. There’s the matter of price as well. I’m aware there are a ton of pages to make up for it, but dropping $40 on a notebook at the rate that I go through notebooks is not feasible.

Price: $40
Looks: Simple eye-catching colors with a contrasting strap. Comes with an optional pen loop you can place anywhere and a pencil board with the Hippo Noto logo.
Durability: I’ve been carrying mine everywhere and it holds up. However, the glue holding the spine to the cover completly came off. Mine is currently held inside the cover by the back page that’s glued to the back cover. I used another notebook to prop up the other side and make up for the height difference from one side to another and the spine still separated. And you will need some sort of system to balance out the book to make it friendly for writing because of its thickness.
Paper Quality: Perfection. Everything I want in an FP friendly notebook paper.
Ghosting: Not too bad. Minimal with fine nibs.
Bleedthrough: Didn’t have that problem.
Watercolors: You can use them!
Grade: C+ (Would upgrade to B if they fix the spine issue)

Nanami Seven Seas “Crossfield”

After the Hippo Noto, I knew two things would make me eternally happy. One, I need it to be A5 size. Two, I want Tomoe River paper inside. That leaves two options — The Nanami Seven Seas company and Taroko.

I bought the Crossfield because the Writer was sold out. When the Writer comes back in stock, I will get that one.

The fact that it wasn’t a full grid bothered me. I don’t have a use for the boxes up top or bottom, which means the writing space is reduced.

However, I do think it is a perfect companion for studying. Put the topics in the top boxes. Add special notes or highlight sections in the bottom box. I got the Cafe Note B6 slim edition of Crossfields for the specific purpose of using for language studies.

There is a new Crossfield out now, that has light colored crosses, similar to a dot grid on the full page. I’m debating trying it or waiting for the new Writer. I haven’t fallen for dot grid notebooks because uneven writing drives me insane and I stuggle with keeping lines straight on dot grids.

Price: $24
Looks: Clean and elegant. Will require a cover for protection.
Durability: Without a cover, I can’t see this lasting very long. In a cover, it will be fine, much like the Midori. (Guess it’s good I stock up on covers for that notebook, eh?)
Paper Quality: Can’t get any better than Tomoe River. However, I think I do prefer the thicker weight of the Hippo Noto. This is exactly like the paper in my Hobonichi Techo, which is also fine.
Paper color: White with gray lines
Ghosting: About what you would expect with the thin sheets, which is you will see everything.
Bleedthrough: Didn’t have that problem.
Watercolors: Good to go!
Grade: C for the version I bought, which is not available anymore
Note: The Writer will be back in June; I plan on getting one to try.

Taroko Select “Breeze”

I got the Taroko Breeze the same time as the Crossfield. Both have TR paper inside. Taroko uses the thicker 68g of TR paper.

This notebook, sadly, is made for Bullet Journalists. Not that it’s a bad thing, on the contrary, if you fountain pen and bullet journal go buy the Breeze or larger Enigma immediately.

For my purposes, which is writing novels, it is not compatible.

The paper performs as Tomoe River should, which means it’s gorgeous!

Price: $17
Looks: Clean and elegant. Will require a cover for protection.
Durability: Without a cover, I can’t see this lasting very long.
Paper Quality: Tomoe River, thicker weight to reduce ghosting = perfection
Paper color: White with gray dots
Ghosting: About what you would expect, which is you will see everything from the previous page.
Bleedthrough: Didn’t have that problem.
Watercolors: You can paint!
Grade: B

So for now, I suppose, my setup will remain with the Hippo Noto and the Midori Grid. When the Writer comes out (they say spring or summer, I do hope it’s spring) I will try it and maybe then I will finally achieve notebook peace.

Updates!

We know I can’t leave a notebook addiction cold turkey, can we?

Studio Oh

While writing with a friend, she showed me her notebook. It was beautiful, it laid flat, and when she tested a fountain pen inside, it didn’t look horrible! So, before that session was even over, I impulse bought one of my own.

Price: $15
Looks: Utterly gorgeous with a variety of beautiful illustrations to choose from
Durability: Hardback means this will last a long time
Paper Quality: It handles dry inks and fine nibs okay.
Paper color: Cream with sepia lines
Ghosting: Not bad at all! The thicker paper means minimal ghosting.
Bleedthrough: Two inks bled through. One was a M Jinhao in Diamine Magical Forest. The other was a EF Wing Sung in Diamine Turquoise. Both are pretty juicy writers so I wouldn’t use those with this notebook.
Feathering: Wet inks and juicy nibs will have feathering. Dry inks are good.
Watercolors: I wouldn’t recommend it.
Grade: C+

Black n’ Red

Black n’ Red is amazing. By that, I mean, it’s available in Staples, so no waiting for shipping and it’s absolutely wonderful with fountain pens! I use these notebooks all the time now, for every little thing,  but especially writing letters to my pen pals.

Price: Ranges from 10-15 depending on which notebook you are buying
Looks: Standard black with red accents GEE I WONDER WHY
Durability: Hardcover will last a long time
Paper Quality: This paper, THIS PAPER, is comparable to Tomoe River. It takes fountain pens like a champ. In fact, it’s now my second favorite paper for fountain pens.
Paper Color: White with gray lines
Ghosting: Some of the darker inks
Bleedthrough: Didn’t have that problem
Feathering: None
Watercolors: Not the best idea, but it handles it okay.
Grade: B+

Mnemosyne

Besides having an impossibly difficult spelling for me to remember (Yes, I am aware it is named after a Greek god; that doesn’t make it any easier) it is a beautiful, no, gorgeous paper. Feels silky smooth, handles inks beautifully, there is only one downside — these notebooks are made for businessmen (or should I say, salarymen?) and the layout means I waste about 2 inches of each page. Such a sad state of affairs. There is a grid available that I may get in the future.

Price: Ranges from 10-25, depending on size
Looks: Standard black
Durability: It has a flexible cover which will last longer than a paper one. Think those old Mead notebooks for schooling.
Paper Quality: Wonderful. Handles FP well. A thicker paper.
Paper Color: Cream with sepia lines
Ghosting: None
Bleedthrough: None
Feathering: None
Watercolors: You can use them!
Grade: C+

Nanami Seven Seas “Writer”

The Writer finally came back in stock! After using the Hippo Noto, the thinner pages of the Writer take some getting used to, but, thanks to the thinner pages, that distinct crinkle of the Tomoe River paper when a page is turned is back in my life! Ah, two things just bring me peace – the scratch of a pen and the crinkle of a page.

Price: $24
Looks: Clean and elegant.
Durability: Requires a cover if you’re going to take it places.
Paper Quality: You’ve heard me gush about Tomoe River enough, it’s perfect for fountain pens, the end.
Paper Color: Cream with sepia lines
Ghosting: You’ll see everything on the previous page
Bleedthrough: Not a problem
Watercolors: Go for it!
Grade: