Paper comparisons: Rhodia, Moleskine, Tomoe River, Clairefontaine, Mr Big

Apologies. The sound in the first few minutes is just horrible - the result of roadworks scraping off the top of the tarmac and replacing it, then running a roller over it. BUT - at least there are some brilliant bits of paper in here. Look out for the Brian Goulet cahier and the Mr Big notebook!
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Cheers for now!
Mike

[@SevenDeMagnus]

So important, it's like car tires.

[@writerlywitterings]

Not sure how!

[@SevenDeMagnus]

@@writerlywitterings (I mean no matter how supercar or hypercar the car is that's the fountain pen analogy, if the tire, analogous to the paper, the one that makes contact to the ground is a bad unknown brand from china, the supercar or hypercar will perform bad. Advanced merry Christmas, btw :-)

[@MorganScorpion]

Tomoe River is perfect for fountain and dip pens, inks shade and sheen better on this paper than on any other.

[@writerlywitterings]

I agree.

[@jeffroberts532]

I loved the Mr. Big notebook story! I've recently discovered your channel and have been extremely entertained as I learn more about fountain pens & inks. I also really like catching glimpses of your dogs. Now I'm off to check out your books on Amazon and purchase one. Thank you for sharing your witterings!

[@writerlywitterings]

Welcome aboard - and thanks so much for checking out my books too! Really appreciate it, Jeff - happy reading, and I hope you enjoy more of the videos!

[@simonmichaeltanner]

Loved the anecdote about the Mr Big notebook!

[@writerlywitterings]

Cheers, Simon! I had to throw it in!

[@nauci]

Baystate Blue is, to me, one of the most gorgeous inks I have ever seen, and I have been on such an enormous quest to find a notebook to actually be able to use it in. Thank you so much for specifically testing this devil of an ink on SO many papers!

[@writerlywitterings]

No problem - but I would say one thing: apparently it is designed to be watered down a little - they didn't intend it to be used neat all the time. It might be a good idea to ask the company whether that is the case, because watered it may well be a lot less... violent?!

[@JBFire97]

The Goulet pen company have great fountain pen products. Thanks for taking the time to post the review.

[@writerlywitterings]

I am really impressed with their cahiers, I have to admit, and it's always good to support a firm which is run by "real" people. Brian seems a really lovely guy, and it's great to see him doing so well.

[@martinmcconigley5583]

Great video. Noticed Martin Edward’s name on the MrBig. I bought Gallows Court on your recommendation. Thank You. A cracking read. Keep up the good work.

[@writerlywitterings]

Really glad you liked Martin's book, Martin (had to look at that twice to make sure I had the right names!) - it is a very good read, isn't it? He kept me busy and thinking on several dog walks with that one!

[@SilkeRiesle]

Loved the story!

[@writerlywitterings]

Many thanks!

[@charlesjacques750]

This is perfect just what I was looking for! I need inserts for medical protocols not crafting. Crescent Render paper is bullet proof.

[@writerlywitterings]

Cheers, Charles - very glad it helped!

[@amandabernsen9174]

I love the Mr Big story. Nice : )

[@writerlywitterings]

Thanks, Amanda!

[@kinslowrainer3982]

Loved the Mr. Big story. If you find that Baystate Blue feathers easily, you can try diluting a sample with 15-20% distilled water. That should make it behave better. And, since you love Tomoe River so much, you can get Tomoe River inserts for your Traveler's Notebook. Keep on with the videos. They're quite enjoyable and useful.

[@writerlywitterings]

Ah, the Midori TN. I have so much more paper to talk about with that!

[@kinslowrainer3982]

@@writerlywitterings They've dropped the name Midori and just go by Traveler's Company now. I think it was from your channel that I first heard about them. I plan on buying one next year sometime.

[@jamesaritchie1]

Apparently, Nathan makes several of the Noodler's inks with the hope that people will water them down. With these highly saturated inks, you can often add thirty percent distilled water without changing the hue. I've heard you can add more with some, but I haven't tried. Anyway, more ink for your money. Some Diamine inks are the same way. I had to add thirty-five percent distilled water to their Imperial Purple befoe it really changed hue. Which is perfect for me. I got the exact shade I'd been searching for, and had more of it.

[@kinslowrainer3982]

@@jamesaritchie1 That's good to know. His business model laughs in the face of certain luxury inks.

[@criscavi19]

Funny discovery!

[@writerlywitterings]

Certainly was!

[@rrcaniglia]

What a character! However, I thought the assessments were very practical and useful. Thank you.

[@writerlywitterings]

Glad it was helpful, Richard. Thanks for the comment!

[@cesspresso]

That Mr. Big story actually had me laughing out loud. I do wonder if they come spiral bound rather than spiral?

[@writerlywitterings]

Sadly, they don't come at all any more. I think it was a notebook fanatic who designed them, and I suspect he is no longer with us - the phone number has ceased to function and I can't find the company on the internet, sadly. Marvellous notebooks, though!

[@janturner1475]

Since you like the Japanese Tomoe River paper, check out Hobonichi and Nanami paper companies- awesomeness both. Cheers.

[@writerlywitterings]

Many thanks for that, Jan. You'll be glad to know I have Nanami paper notebooks which I'll review next week!

[@sdovas]

Well it's just a shame that I didn't know that you were going to be in New York because I would have been very pleased to have been able to shake your hand, sir.

[@writerlywitterings]

It was many years ago now - before KZbin, in fact, I think! From vague memory, I think it was in 2002 or 2004 - I know I was one of only a few Brit writers who came over because so many were worried after 9/11 - which was childish and potty, to be honest. We endured years of massive bombs in London and it didn't stop us going to work then!

[@LazyStory]

Sadly it looks like Right Note is no more (2024). Is there another British sketchbook-maker... british paper mill?

[@writerlywitterings]

So sad, this. I have to admit, for my taste, the main notebook and diary I use is the William Hannah, which is a glorious system using rings that allow you to insert and remove pages - you can reorder them, for example. I love mine, especially since the paper used is wonderful for all fountain pens. However, although I haven't used them much, there are plenty of new notebook makers. For the lower end, there are the Silvine and Oxford companies. The ones I have tried have been uniformly good, but I haven't given them long-term, serious testing. If looking at them, I'd probably trust Oxford a little more. When it comes to hard-back notebooks, I tend to rely on Leuchtturm still, but there are new companies such as Stamford, which are building a reputation. Again, I haven't tested their products, so cannot vouch for them myself, but you've given me the incentive to contact them and ask whether I could have some paper samples to test.

[@writerlywitterings]

Damn - I just thought: there is also Seawhite of Brighton, of course. They make a number of different notebooks as well as sketchbooks, I think.

[@richardt.rogers2730]

Does anyone know where or how to find the Mr. Big notebook? Trying to find it but can't seem to.

[@writerlywitterings]

I'm really sorry, but it looks as though the Mr Big is no more. It was a brand made by a guy in Chagford, and I cannot contact him any more. I suspect he may well have died (he wasn't young when I spoke to him 20 years ago) and I think he's taken his wonderful notebooks with him!

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Thank you for the prompt to get on with some work... I'm busy avoiding that here watching your video! Other papers to consider are Oxford Campus / Oxford My Notebook / Oxford Business and 'Black n Red'. All of these use Optik paper which to my mind leaves Rhodia and Clarefontaine in the shade for performance and writing experience. I stopped using Rhodia as I found that the colour of my inks showed badly with it compared to Clair-f. and other good papers. By badly I mean they were dull and the tone was often a step or two away from what it should have been. Do I have the one duff pad ever made? Time to do some work... My mug of Kemun has been drained. Cheers

[@writerlywitterings]

Just before I go to make a cup of Earl Grey ... I've not tried Black n Red for a while, but it always used to be dreadful. If it's changed back to quality paper, I'll have to give that a try. As to Rhodia, I find it really variable. Some pads are superb, but the bound books are appalling ( so bad I have one I'm keeping unopened because it's unusable with fountain pens ). I do like the Oxford paper, though. Next up for me is looking at a load of alternative papers, which will keep me busy for a while, trying to find something to replace my favourite, which is Tomoe River 62gsm.

[@frenchleadholdersouth7283]

Hi, Passionate about writing, ink and collector I really enjoyed all your videos. Could you tell me the brand name of the block of paper that you tested and presented and that you found wonderful (the one with a brown cover). Thank you. Be well. François * I hope to find it in France?

[@writerlywitterings]

The notepad is called Mr Big and the company was "Right Note", but I'm afraid I can't see them anywhere on the internet, and I suspect the company has ceased trading. Really sorry!

[@invaderzim1964]

I use Goulet Tomoe River pocket notebook in a OneStarLeatherGoods Parker sloper senior leather cover. The Sloper has a fountain pen sleeve that I currently have a DeLike brass fp with an EF nib. Even with the EF nib, I still need a sheet of blotting paper or it will get smudged to the point of not being able to read. Do you find that you need blotting paper with your Tomoe River paper notebooks?

[@writerlywitterings]

I have to admit, I'm always nervous with pen loops or sleeves. I've had too many pens and pencils fall out of neat looking holders! I tend to make sure that I always have blotting paper with me, no matter which notepad I'm using. It's just impossible to guarantee that you won't get smudging or Rorshach-quality pictures otherwise. But I get massive sheets of paper which I cut to fit my notebooks.

[@invaderzim1964]

These covers have a very nice/unique incorporated pen holder. onestarleathergoods.com/theparksloper my fear is that the holder won't protect the sides of the pen. This one is excellent. I still use a cheap Delike brass pen (NOT the alpha - Kaweco Sport clone) Fits snugly and completely protected. I carry it in my jacket's inside breast pocket. Blotting paper is definitely needed when using Tomoe River paper, cut to the notebook size.

[@MladenMijatov]

Hm, it's very important how paper was stored. I've been using Clairefontaine for a while now and my nibs are gushers. Not a single bleedthrough. However I did have one notebook which was stored by the seller improperly and it started falling apart and had terrible ink performance. Since then I have changed my supplier and everything went back to normal. Notebooks I am still using are Clothbound 1951. I really suggest getting the notebook from a different supplier as the behavior you showed on video is not really the behavior I come to expect from Clairefontaine.

[@writerlywitterings]

Thanks for that, Mladen. I have to admit, I was surprised by the way the paper reacted, but I know the suppliers, and they are very reliable and careful in the way they store their papers. Another aspect is, many suppliers are changing the way their papers are made. Some, I have no doubt, are going for cheaper, less pen-friendly papers; others are going the other way (the Moleskine professional ranges, for example are exceptional). I will try the Clairefontaine again, but just now I have so much excellent William Hannah and Leuchtturm (not their cahiers, which seem to have awful paper!) that I don't need to worry for a while!

[@MladenMijatov]

@@writerlywitterings Some suppliers, sure. Not Clairefontaine I think. They've been rigorously testing every batch of paper and its ink properties before it leaves the factory. That's right, they actually test fountain pen ink in their QA process. There's a video on KZbin which shows their manufacturing. I just got another batch of their 1951 notebooks the other day and it's the same old quality I've come to expect. Am not trying to point any fingers, but I've never seen Clairefontaine paper behave that bad. That one notebook of mine that had issues only had mild feathering and pages were falling apart. Nothing this serious. If it's of any use I order mine from CultPens.

[@writerlywitterings]

@@MladenMijatov Thanks for that - and the thing that made me laugh is, I get my notebooks from Cult too! They're not far from me, and I know the guys who run it. I can only assume, as I said, that there was a bad batch. But I think I'll go back and look again. The real issue is, I think, that Noodlers is not a fair ink to test on anything. I had similar problems when I tried a dip pen on various papers - it was terrible! But the nib I used was one designed for pen and ink drawing, and I think was not representative. It is designed for heavier weight paper that is designed to take a lot of liquid for watercolour washes. Using that nib on ordinary paper wasn't fair. Thanks for the thoughts - I think I may have to do an update video using more "real world" situations and inks!

[@MladenMijatov]

@@writerlywitterings Lucky you. I don't even live in the same country. But they have been providing good service with decent prices. Can't really complain. Especially since other supplier messed up my notebooks few times and I can't find Clairefontaine in my country.

[@RovexHD]

Clairefontaine are great. But I think Oxford’s optik paper holds up better. Try Oxford’s notebooks if you haven’t.

[@swirlyimp]

Came across this video doing a search on Google. You are a delight to listen to. Thank you for sharing all of this. Do you happen to have a link to the Right Note company. I wasn't very successful trying to find it on the net myself, and instead found a Right Note music company in the UK. I did come across your story about the notebook on The Fountain Pen Network, but the link does not work.

[@writerlywitterings]

Thanks for your comments. I'm really sorry - I have been trying to get in touch with the Right Note company myself, and I think they have stopped trading. Last time I spoke with them, the owner was an elderly gentleman, and I suspect that he has gone the way of all of us! I'm really sorry about that.

[@swirlyimp]

Oh please don’t be sorry. It’s a fact of life. Thank you for taking the time to respond though. 😊

[@SevenDeMagnus]

New subscriber here.

[@writerlywitterings]

Welcome aboard! Merry Christmas!

[@BossPenguin]

Great story! Are those Mr Big notebooks still available, do you know? Thank you for the video, as always. Cheers, Chris

[@writerlywitterings]

HI, Chris. I don't think so. I tracked them down to Chagford, but I haven't seen anything from them for a while (about 10 years). I would give his number, but in case he has stopped making them (and it's his private telephone number), I'm not sure that it would be right to give it out on the internet. I'll try his number and let you know.

[@BossPenguin]

writerlywitterings Of course, I understand! Thank you very much, this is very nice of you. It would be a shame if such good notebooks vanished from the market.

[@Richard_Barnes]

Any update on these? I can’t even find anything about them.

[@evybrowning]

Wonderful - loved the story about Mr Big, especially since it's what happens in REAL life - yet if you wrote that in a story nobody would believe you. Thanks for not editing the hound out - she does add a certain something doesn't she?? I love the idea of the Tomoe River & will have to keep an eye out...….

[@writerlywitterings]

I can't recommend the Tomoe River highly enough. Lovely paper - just as you'd expect from the Japanese!

[@hemantkothari909]

Mike,I think there is no specs,what happened ?

[@writerlywitterings]

I was trying to read some things close up, and the glasses get in the way! Still wearing the specs, don't worry!

[@mckonal]

I think Rhodia has been the winner, in terms of writing on both sides of the paper.

[@writerlywitterings]

The thing that surprised me is the variation. My large size A5 Rhodia is terrible for anything other than pencil. I cannot use my fountain pens on it. But the small notepads have some of the very best paper I've used! It really is surprising how much variation there is between different papers from the same firm!

[@mckonal]

@@writerlywitterings that variation is not necessarily a good thing. consistency is much more preferable. :) bought my rhodia, coming tomorrow. going to experience firsthand.

[@READComment1]

writerlywitterings I have a similar experience with my A4 Rhodia notepad, it’s a bit scratchy with my fountain pens and the writing appears wooly... 🤔 I expected better from Rhodia as this was my first and read a lot of good things about the brand

[@sachakahn2052]

Having road works in the background is a sign you're recording this in your office, in your home, not in a sterile studio. As long as it doesn't dominate the recording, which it doesn't, it adds colour to the whole thing. I wouldn't be too upset.

[@writerlywitterings]

Many thanks, Sacha! I think you can tell that this is a channel where I am definitely not in a sterile studio! Thanks as always for the comments, it really helps to hear from people!

[@sachakahn2052]

Your daughter not being present to direct or film you doesn't seem to do too much damage either. I think you'll be fine as long as there's no Rhodesian Ridgeback operating the camera.