Favourite pens and notebooks?

[Tangled Metal]

I suspect there could be inveterate journal keepers and pen collectors in here. If so what type of journal or notebook do you prefer and what is your pen of choice?

I love fountain pens but don't find them good for writing. I like gel ink and wish the Parker jotter was a fatter pen as that would make it perfect for me. The Lamy Safari is a cheap pen that I find it's comfortable to write with but I don't use it s much as a jotter.

I like the Leuchtturm notebooks and journals. I don't think they're as good as say moleskin ones but I still prefer them. Like the look of Rhodia notebooks too.

So what's your preferences?

[Audax67]

I got hooked on the FP lark about 10 years ago. Took me about 4 years to realize that I was spending money on stuff I didn't need. What really knocked it on the head was the statement, on Fountain Pen Network, that you couldn't buy an expensive pen and expect it to write straight out of the box; you should send it away to a specialist for "nib work" first. Funny, that: when I was at school we used cheap fountain pens and they always wrote straight out of the box. Assuming they came in a box, that is.

Nowadays I use anything that's to hand. Still got a bunch of fancy ones in a drawer somewhere, all dried out.

[Hobbs1951]

I make a lot of notes in my work and use Silverline (A4) spiral bound notebooks (or sometimes similiar Office Depot hardbound ones). Pens ? I prefer Parker fountain pens (have two: one in rolled gold and one in black lacquer, I also use a propelling pencil - a Parker in black lacquer - or a good old HB pencil).

My work notebooks double up as journals (journals - bit pretentious).

John.

[Bonefishblues]

Uni-ball eye fine for my writing. The expensive stuff is languishing in drawers these days.

[Mick F]

Week to view diaries. I have a collection going back to 1990 on the shelf in the livingroom. Notes of what I've done where I've been etc rather than daily essays. Often record the weather highlights. I can tell you when I cut the grass, where I've been on the bike, where I've walked the dog, which pub I've been to, where I've been shopping, and general appointment stuff.

Good Parker ballpen. Usually black ink, though sometimes I'll swap to blue/black.

[Psamathe]

Pens: I love fountain pens and have a couple of really nice Lamy ones that I never use. These days (with computers, smartphones & tablets) most of my writing is brief notes, sentence or two or adding an item to a list or temporarily noting a few numbers/arithmetic- something fountain pens are rather unsuited to.

As as Audax67 said, I too have some really nice fountain pens dried out in a cupboard somewhere and I mostly use the Bic biros or pencils lying around the house.

Notebooks: Most of my notes are temporary so I keep a pile of A5 used envelopes and make my notes/lists on those. But where I do want a notebook I use the Rhodia ones (probably more familiar to those living in France but available in the UK.

Ian

[Tangled Metal]

Rhodia ones are simple stapled notebooks (with hidden rear part of the staple) but I like the look of them.

I used to see Lamy pens in whsmith and wrote them off as cheap like the old Platignum brand we used at primary school to learn joined up writing with back in the dark ages near the end of the 70s.

Then I found a little stationers down a passageway in Kendal. Run by enthusiasts who turned interest in stationery into a business. They stocked cheap to mid price Lamy pens. Got a cheap one at £17 because it was the first fp of tried since adulthood that fitted my hand and writing motion.

With normal pens this isn't as important but because of the nib fp needs to fit you IMHO. I have scatty writing at the best of times and as my parents used to say is too small.

They got me an expensive gold nibbled schaeffer that was very chunky with the idea bigger pen = bigger writing. Never found it nice to write. I kind of liked Parker vector and the thinner metal parkers. However I am now an adult and they're a little too thin for a comfortable grip.

I tried the Lamy safari which is a little bigger than Parker vectors but and little thinner (bit closer to) the schaeffer. There's also something about the nib that works better for me. I think I write at more of an angle than most people. Most FPs write too scratchy at that angle. The Lamy simply works for me. I just don't write as much and when I do it's whatever pen or pencil is nearest.

I'm thinking of getting a decent pen (probably ballpen) and a nice notebook as a present for someone. A keen list maker and note taker. Currently using old, unused diaries so a decent notebook would be welcomed. Don't we all like the old fashioned systems for recording information despite our modern age? It's just our likings no longer matches modern ways of working.

Moleskine now do notebooks designed for use with phones and cloud storage. Evernote through to any other cloud storage that uses phone cameras to record paper notes. Their Evernote pad is sized to suit that apps camera scanner. Little squares on the corners for lining he notes up in the app plus lining out our gridding out to match Evernote layouts. They even offer pens that record what pen strokes you make and then you swipe it into the app. It'll record writing or sketches. There's even pads designed to work with this pen better. They have oversized paper for the cover to make it look like a tablet bevel too.

[Psamathe]

Rhodia ones are simple stapled notebooks (with hidden rear part of the staple) but I like the look of them.
....

Reason I use them is that they are moderately robust but mainly because you have a wide choice of rules, grid, dotted or plain paper (I tend to go for the grid or dotted). Plus a good range of sizes and with an elastic band, the cover and backing card keep make it all moderately robust.

Ian

[Cyril Haearn]

I make lots of notes privately and at work, use school excersize books. Using a pencil feels good
Processing info into writing helps one remember it I think

[Tangled Metal]

Writing things down has been proven to increase absorption I believe. I like to write things down like to do lists but I have an obsessiveness about having these things ordered right. However being very disorganised I can't remember things to do that. Two options come to mind, one not write anything down or accept a disorganised list.

Both solutions never worked completely for me until this year I did some research into getting organised and read a fair bit about bullet journals. Basically I took it on board and turned out layers of important information. 6 monthly, monthly and daily layers of information. The first two are high level lists of tasks and lists. The daily lists are chaos. Basically the high level task titles are broken down into actual actions to be completed. Chaos and organisation if that makes sense. If only I could keep it up!

[iandriver]

The papermate comfortmate got me through an OU degree. Never looked back. I still like to write on graph paper to this day for reasons I can't rationalise (did maths and computing) .

[Cyril Haearn]

I hate writing on graph paper, I buy lined excersize books to use at work

Havnae received a handwritten letter for a while (since my birthday?)

Buying a paper calendar for 2020 soon, week to view, vertical. No need to spend cash on biros, plenty are given away free, by politrickians for instance

[francovendee]

I had to use a fountain pen at school but I've never used one since. I prefer writing in pencil, my writing is much neater.
I came from a poor family and back in the late 50's I had to have a fountain pen for school. I bought one from the newsagent for two shillings (10 pence today) and this lasted all my schooldays. I never bought ink and used to fill up in the post office which still supplied dip in pens and inkwells.
I think this started me off as a skinflint

[Tangled Metal]

In my day it was cartridges. Platignum pen was a common cartridge since there were a few cheapo brands that used the same one iirc. Then we got given a proper brand one Xmas, me and my sister. She got la cross or something (only the cheap model) and I think I got a brightly coloured, plastic shaeffer. A long time later we both got better fountain pens for Xmas, with gold nibs (possibly gold plated).

As mentioned, in my case they used pen choice to try and re-engineer my small handwriting style. Didn't work. I go from small, barely readable to tiny, indescipherable (bad spelling) scrawl. I go especially small and unreadable when writing near people such as in meetings. Don't want anyone to read what I deem important enough to jot down.

As a result I think I need fine pens. Bought myself a bullet journal, filofax and pack of Parker pens and pencil (all click top mechanism and one pen was a lovely gel ink. I think I could put a gel infil into both pens. The only trouble is they're very thin. For some reason the gel pen feels bigger, then the pencil but the other ink pen is tiny cross section. I feel it when I write.

Anyone know of good diameter pens? I think zebra pens with the rubber grip are about the right diameter for me but I don't like the rubber grip on them. The ikon pen I have at work is a better feeling rubber grip but I prefer without, clean look.

Used to use pentel ink pens at uni and later years at school. The one that tried to emulate the fountain pen nib effect. Later the ink and gel pens I think from pentel with the defined width metal nibs. 0.7mm or 0.5mm versions available iirc. Although I now find these too scratchy, like a lot of cheaper fountain pens IMHO.

Anyway, to level here, I'm very much interested in pens and notebooks especially hearing about other people's preferences. Ulterior motive time. I need to buy a present quickly. Notebook (a nice looking one) and non fountain pen too. Can't decide what's good, especially pens. Leuchtturm 1917 or moleskine will probably be the notebook fall back option. Can't find a nice pen though. I'm thinking a click top ballpen. A pack of 10 zebra clones from Tesco doesn't sound a good present though!

[Oldjohnw]

At my primary school we had ink wells and scratchy dip in pens. Used a fountain pen at Grammar school - they slowed you down compared to biros, thus, theoretically, improving your writing.

I still use that pen, a Conway Stewart with a gold plated nib. I've had it for almost 60 years and it was my uncle's before me.