this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
15 points (100.0% liked)

Fountain Pens

7 readers
2 users here now

Inspired by /r/fountainpens, a place to discuss pens, writing, ink, paper, and whatever else makes your pen flourish.

Related

Banner: @[email protected] (Nakaya Decapod) | Icon: @[email protected]

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I currently have a Life writing pad for letter writing. I like it, but I would like to try some other loose leaf paper. Does anyone have recommendations? I would prefer lined, but unlined is ok if the paper is thin enough to use a guide sheet underneath.

top 17 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Clairefontaine Triomphe - it comes in lined, but for 90g paper it's surprisingly translucent - enough so that the guide sheet they include is clearly visible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wow, I will have to add this one to the list. I didn't expect Clairefontaine to ever work with a guide sheet!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Me neither! I bought some, printed a guide, then opened the pack and found an included guide sheet. It works great though, still my choice

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm a big fan of Tamoe River. It's a light weight paper that plays great with fountain pens. It should be sheer enough for a guide sheet.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I use TR68 regularly, but I've been hesitant to use TR52 for letters because of the ghosting as I'm a fan of wet nibs, dark inks, and conserving paper by using both sides. I guess I should just buy a few sheets and try it at the very least. I just wish I could find a good source of 68gsm loose leaf in Canada.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yes, ghosting can be an issue with TR. Have you looked at Rhodia or Clairefontaine? Both have a good feel and play nice with fountain pens, but I don't know if they sell lined loose leaf.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Rhodia only sells in pads and small notebooks unfortunately. It's a shame because I like their paper as a jack of all trades paper. Clairefontaine does looseleaf. I have used their notebook paper and liked it a lot. I put an order in for their Triomphe paper yesterday. I'm not sure if it's the same paper that they use in the notebooks. I will find out soon! I finally found some CAL looseleaf and ordered that too. I've used it in notebook format and loved it. I'm waiting to put in an order for Midori pads and will probably toss the TR52gsm in the cart while I'm at it now that you've given me the nudge. Have you used G. Lalo? It is a bit pricy, so I'm not sure if it's worth trying.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I have not tried G. Lalo. Once I found tomoe river planners, I stopped experimenting with paper. I mostly integrated fountain pens into my day-to-day workflow and don't do anything particularly special with them anymore.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

If you’re in the UK, John Lewis sells some great own-brand loose sheets and envelopes. I used them a few years ago for a calligraphy commission. They were slightly textured but not enough to disrupt the strokes of a dip pen so they should be fine with a foundation pen. No bleeding, see through enough for a bold guide sheet. I’ll see if I can find a link.

EDIT. I think it was this one.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, I'm not in the UK, but I night be willing to see if they ship if I can find enough to make a big order. The slight texture sounds interesting.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I’m not sure it’s special enough for that. But if you can’t find anything better I could buy it for you and send it personally if you like? You wouldn’t need to order too much that way. Send me a DM if you’d like me to help 🙂

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I purchased a ream of HP Premium32 printer paper in 2020 and found a couple of sites that offer ruled paper templates. I use the templates to print my own writing paper on a black and white laser printer.

It isn't Clairefontaine, but it is very nice to write on. I highly recommend it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Oh that's a great idea. I have a ream of coated paper designed for ink jets I could try!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've got one of Midori's MD letter pads (and matching envelopes) and I love it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I've used Midori MD notebooks before and liked the paper. I had no idea they came in writing pads. Definitely getting added to my paper order!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It seems like the only company I can reliably find lined paper from is Rhodia. That said their paper is very good, and though it comes in tablets, the pages tear out easily and cleanly so you can pull them out and use them as loose leaf. I'm really surprised how difficult it is to find lined paper from companies like Tomoe River, Clair Fontaine, etc over here where I am. (SE US.) I have to basically import everything, so I'm at the whims of what I can get from places like Goulet, Jet Pens, and Amazon.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Oh that's a good idea. Rhodia is pretty cheap around here. I completely forgot it comes in anything but dot grid! Something new to add to my cart, thanks.