Best (and worst) notebooks for fountain pens

I've tried a lot of notebooks over the years, and here are the best notebooks to use with fountain pens that I've tried. I havent had the pleasure to try the really fancy stuff like tomoe river paper and hobonichi but here are my thoughts on some of my favourite notebooks :
- Rhodia
- Leuchtturm
- Clairefontaine
and the worst : Moleskins...

[@evspec3]

You’ve such beautiful hands. Absolutely lovely. Thank for the thorough notebook/paper review.

[@michaelking1579]

Couldn't agree more about Moleskine.

[@dalem7742]

i love a good a5 ish sized canson mixed media sketchbook. i doodle a lot so i used kokoyu campus or muji 20 ring binders instead of notebooks so that i can rip out pages. i will have 2 or 3 paper choices in one binder since i have a hole punch for it. the soft small binders fit well in any a5 notebook or folio cover

[@SweetLittleCarrot]

Ouh! That's such a good idea! Might have to try it.

[@emmaythegray]

This was fun. I really don’t have trouble with ghosting on Leuchtturm on they are my favorite notebooks. If Claire Fontaine journals would open flat, I would like them more. Enjoyed your notebook collection!

[@underwheel]

I’ve been using Rhodia dotPads forever. It’s what works for me. And yeah, I also had terrible experiences with Noodler’s not drying. Which is sad because I love the colors (navajo turquoise! APACHE SUNSET!!!).

[@SweetLittleCarrot]

Why won’t it dry?! Apache sunset is so beautiful!

[@fyfesandy3491]

Paker Quink and Platinum black & blue-black work perfectly with Moleskine. I've used Moleskines since the brand restarted to the cheapest ones from TKMaxx and they've been fine with these inks Wetter inks, such as Waterman don't work so well. My notebooks are for drafting ideas - so I don't really care if there's much feathering or ghosting. it's the first stage of prep - the redrafting is going to happen on a computer anyway. The most important thing about moleskine and leuchtteurm1917 for me is that they lay-falt, which is essential for a left handed writer,. Books that don't lay-flat just get in my way and irritate me.

[@SweetLittleCarrot]

Ouh! I'll have to try the platinum black (I have it) but I'm such a fan of pretty colours, and shading etc. ;)

[@geslinam9703]

You have never tried Tomoe River?? The little black A5 size, soft cover, are my favorite. I like Leuchtturm too. And the brand that the Traveler’s Company uses..begins with an M. And grid. Has to be grid.

[@SweetLittleCarrot]

I’ll have to try and find some tomoe river soon!

[@donaldbray2147]

Moleskin has same books with thicker paper. J. Herbin and Monteverde inks do not bleed through or ghost. Writing feels OK, but the paper surface is waxy and any thick ink pools and stays wet for a long time, I have too many examples of writing transfer printing to opposite page. I have 2 new virgin books, Leuchtherm and Talens. The Leuchtherm is a reprieve as I've had previous bad experience, the description was thicker paper meant for fountain pen ink, and 200 pages. The Talens also is thick paper and describes ink and watercolour.

[@SweetLittleCarrot]

There can be such variation from a same brand!

[@SuperPhotoDave]

You could easily be a hand model. Plus belle.

[@cameronditchfield]

I had a Clairefontaine journal that I liked, but its one fatal flaw was that ink would not dry completely even after being left overnight. This might be a product of my choice of inks and my preference for broader nibs, but it made long-form journaling difficult as I had to leave it open and could only use one spread per day. Have you experienced something like this with your Clairefontaine journals, and did you find that some inks worked better than others?

[@SweetLittleCarrot]

Ah! That’s so annoying. I don’t remember having that problem, most inks are fine I’d say, except a few noodler’s that take hours to dry. Pilot iroshizuku, j herbin, Lamy and monteverde have all been working good with the clairefontaine. Now that I think about it, emerald de chivor in a broad twisbi eco did take a while to dry.