The Best Notebooks for Fountain Pens 

You held up a notepad in the intro and said "terrible paper," and my brain was instantly like "LOL TEARABLE PAPER!" (Sorry, I haven't had my coffee this morning!)

I’ve really loved Midori’s MD notebooks (mostly A5) lately - just an all around pleasant experience writing in them.

My go-to journal is now Leuchtturm. I like the hardcover, the array of colors, the layout, elastic band to keep it closed, the double ribbon, and the envelope pouch in the back. The paper has performed well for most of my pens and inks. I use Clairfontaine for more extensive notetaking, such as for school or things I'm looking up and Black N' Red notebooks for work (gifted to me by a friend) and I will use Rhodia pads for some penmanship practice and testing of inks. I also plan on testing out some other notebooks (Endless, Midori MD) once I finish writing in the ones I'm currently using! I'm also really curious about Colorverse Nebula!

My all time favourite notebook has to be the Rhodia pads. It’s a small thing but the scored cover folding back so neatly is just perfection.

Thanks for laying out what to consider in choosing a paper. Extremely helpful for those of us just setting out in this journey!

I am new to this world. I love the history of the Tomoe River notebook. The idea of working with something that almost disappeared intrigues me. It strikes me as the best one to learn how the ink should behave without any distractions. Almost like a perfect world scenario.

I haven't found my favourite notebook yet, though to be fair, I haven't had the chance to try very many. Funnily enough, I've discovered dollar store notebooks that are far more fountain pen friendly than the more expensive notebooks at Staples 😅

Love the clear, detailed info. New to fountain pens and this helps me make sense of it all.

Rhodia paper notepads have been my preferred brand paper until I experienced Tomoe River paper. TR paper is my daily fountain pen writing paper now! So delightful to write on!!!

My favorite pen and paper combos are my Sailors + Tomoe River. Equally love the Leuchtturm 1917 Hardcover notebooks- it’s heavier 80gsm paper but shows off ink qualities really well. Plus it comes with a selection of pretty colors. Highly recommend it!

Love Clairefontaine Paper. I haven’t heard of the Endless Recorder but would love to try it. You gave tips on paper and the quote you wrote is from one of favorite of movies, Princess Bride.

I enjoy writing with fountain pens, broad edge calligraphy nibs, and pointed copperplate nibs. I prefer Tomoe River Paper when writing with fountains pens. Midori MD is preferred with pointed and broad edge nibs when I write cursive Italic or copperplate. I use Rhodia paper when practicing calligraphy. I have also used Clairefontaine paper on occasion. We are lucky to have so many choices available to use with different writing tools.

My favorite notebooks, without a doubt, are the A5 Hobonichi Plain Notebooks. I especially like the Yamazakura Botanicals version. They’re basically 244 pages of Tomoe River Paper goodness.

I recently started using Rhodia notebooks and it made a huge difference to my fountain pen writing experience. It definitely has taken it to a new level!

Tomoe River is my paper of choice and these days I love it in the unassuming Musubi journal. It's 52gsm, so no good if you dislike ghosting. It doesn't bother me, so this is the perfect product. Thank you for this highly informative video - I know what I want for a journal but am always looking for notebook ideas!

I started out with the Hobonichi Cousin, so that tends to be my go-to comparison for testing new inks, I am just starting to branch out and try other types of paper. I ordered a Hobonichi weeks this year and was surprised at how some inks I didn't like before actually looked better on the ivory/yellowish tomoe river paper! I've settled down a bit on pens, but now jumping down the rabbit hole of inks, so having multiple types of paper to test them out on would be a super fun experiment!!

So far my favorite paper is the Clairefontaine Triomphe letter pads. I write a lot of letters and they really feature my inks beautifully. Thanks for your show!

Coming from the UK, I'm always looking for reviews on decent paper. I default to clairefontaine and rhodia as Tomoe River is so hard to come by on home turf. For exceptional quality and huge budget we have the Smythson of Bind Street but also limited there to blue paper which limits the ink colour choices. I recently discovered the R Allen notebook which is half the price of the Smythson and yet much more enjoyable to write on. However, the ruling is narrow! Nevertheless it is a well stocked journal and stands up to everything I've used including a very wet feed with heavier inks like Noodlers. I was recently gifted a Tibaldi for my 50th and on the very same day you have released this great review. Nothing to lose here by entering to win this fantastic stack of (mostly) very hard to come by US paper stocks! Fingers crossed and thanks again!! ❤

I have been using the Rhodia lined A6 size pads for most of my everyday writing. My journal for this year is in a Moleskin notebook that I received as a gift. I think I’ll purchase one of the Endless Recorder notebooks after watching this video. Very intriguing to see the interaction with some of the shimmer inks! Enjoyed this video very much. Thanks for taking the time to do this for all of us!😊

Thankyou for your review for I’m wanting to get into fountain pen writing and new at it and so in turn you input has helped me greatly and thankyou 😀

My favorite notebook/ paper thus far has been the old tomoe river paper. It really highlighted the characteristics of the inks brilliantly.

My all time favorite notebook is the 68 GSM Tomoe River paper A5 hard cover Bond Travel Gear (now Lochby) notebook. They don't make them the same binding/size anymore so this video is great! More notebooks to try. Second favorite is CVS Caliber notebooks made in Vietnam this paper takes anything you splat at it .... Including heavy water brushing too ... writing wise is likes wet flowy broad nibs and inks and I use these for extensive note-taking and process journaling. Great video!

Thanks for info. Well done. I like the journal that you showed at the end of the video.

I am very tempted by that Endless Recorder, that sounds really interesting!

My current favorite notebook is the Hobonichi Techo which uses Tomoe River Paper! I'm a bit biased because it's the first fountain pen-friendly paper I used, but I fell in love with it immediately as soon as I started using it. As someone still pretty new to fountain pens, I'm also still new to trying out other kinds of fountain pen-friendly paper like Rhodia, but right now the Hobonichi Techo is my go-to and makes my everyday writing experience a pleasant one that I always look forward to.

Great video. The Midori MD Notebook is my favorite to date.

Love this video! This is my first time watching one of your videos. Thank you RU-vid for the recommendation! My favorite paper is Hobonichi Tomoe River paper, not only their planners but I also own several of their plain notebooks in A6 and A5 sizes. Now excuse me while I go dig into your website

I think my favorite paper would have to be the Kokuyo Perpanep Notebook - Sarasara. It is nice and smooth with a little tooth and shows shading well which is my favorite ink behaivor :) Thanks for this detailed look at different notebooks, so helpful - I am very intriged by the Endless Recorder 🤓

New to fountain pens and have only tried a TomoeRiver 52gsm notebook which I really like. This is a video I will have to watch again. Thank you.

I use the Rhodia pads for a variety of uses since they are so versatile. I haven’t had a chance to use the various other papers available. I enjoyed this video because you covered the characteristics of a variety of paper products. Thanks.

Great video and topic! Paper is so important to our FP hobby, and I am a journal junkie. Love to try new ones and just keep ordering. I use the staple bound Clarefontaine notebooks for the office - meeting notes and to dos. I have a Nebula pad for fountain pen ink swatching and a journal for journaling. I like experimenting with inks on Japanese Bank paper and have a few Mitsubishi Bank Paper notebooks. I have a Tomoe River journal for journaling and a Midori MD notebook for memory keeping. I have notebooks from Archer & Olive and Ferris Wheel Press, but they do not quite do it for me. Now I’m totally intrigued with the Endless Regalia paper… my next must have!

For my daily journalling I use the Maruman Mnemosyne in A4. The paper is clean and bright and shows ink properties very nicely. The lines are subdued, helping to emphasize the writing and the inks, not the writing surface. It’s also well organized and the pages are easily removed if desired. I also use a Clairefontaine journal with Seyès ruling to recalibrate my handwriting. I’m regularly surprised at how small my stub nibs can legibly write. Of course, different journals have different purposes and some makes that aren’t advertised as FP friendly work quite well with all but the wettest writing at a friendly price and beautiful covers. BTW, they’ll blow away Moleskine notebooks in every way.

Long overdue talk about paper, thank you! I’m glad I have generously stocked up on Tomoe River notebooks, loving A5 with grid, 52 g. I’ll be crying when I run out at some point…

I started using the Hobonichi Cousin this year and have truly fallen in love with the Tomoe River paper. I use various notebooks to transcribe books, just to practice neat handwriting and as an excuse to use my pens and inks 😊

Hi. I’m partial to Rhodia and Clairefontaine notebooks because they’re readily available and are fountain pen friendly as well as rollerball friendly. They also fit in my leather portfolio. I think I’ll look into the endless notes & colorverse products too.

All time fave journal - the Springback 400 Page GatzBCN Journal I had made for me last year. 400 pages (800 sides) of 52GSM TR Paper. leather bound and hand made. It is beautiful. I am filling it with thoughts, interesting articles, book summaries, life advice, all sorts of wonderful things and it will be a precious hand-me-down in years to come :)

Thanks for the info, I have not used many different papers but I'm interested in trying TR and that endless notebook you sold at the end looks like a type of notebook I would be happy with.

My current favorite is the Midori MD notebook in A5. My previous favorite was the Leuchtturm 1917 also in A5. However, the ghosting became more pronounced with newer notebooks forcing the switch to Midori. I recently tried the Endless and enjoy that as well.

I’ve can’t thank you enough for this introducing me to the Endless Recorder!! 😊I’ve been using Leuchtturm1917 notebooks for many years. They handle ink well, but it’s disappointing to see with how they dull coloured inks. After watching this video 6 months ago, I ordered an Endless notebook, and was blown away with how beautiful all my inks look on their crisp white paper. Gorgeous shading as well. It’s absolutely the best notebook I’ve ever used.

My all time favorite notebook is the Seven Seas Microdot A5 450 page notebook by Nanami Paper. It has Tomoe River paper (52 gsm). I love the size and TR paper is my favorite paper for journaling. I like the soft cover better than a hard bound journal. It's easier to travel with and opens flat. I use cheaper journals for my work notebook. Right now I'm using a Leuchtturm 1917 softcover notebook for work and I'm really liking it. The paper is FP friendly but not as nice as TR which is fine for work! Thanks for the great video. I especially like the quote you used from "The Princess Bride" which is one of my favorite movies!!!

This is the first video of yours that I watch, and that gigantic Lamy LX is hilarious!! 😂 Thoroughly enjoyed this video! Thanks for the great tips. 🙌

The Oxford notebooks with Optik paper stands up to fountain pens very well and it's nice and smooth to write on. Some of my wetter stubs do tend to cause a tiny amount of bleed through, but not much. It's more affordable than most of the fountain pen friendly paper I've seen.

Great video! My favorite is anything with Tomoe River paper…. There’s just nothing else like it 😍

I used to use fountain pens when in high school but living in a very small town far from anything it was hard for me to obtain supplies. Now, I'm returning to my first "love" in pens. I enjoy journaling and writing letters. That's what I usually do with my fountain pens.

I've actually gotten into binding my own journals, but I do use the clairefontaine french ruled notebooks for handwriting and calligraphy practice! I also use a hobonichi as my planner and nothing can beat TR.

I've enjoyed my Rhodia pads! Thanks for information!

While I love many different notebooks, my favorite is actually the multiple books I personally print/bind using HP's 32lb Premium paper. Unbelievable paper that checks all the fountain pen boxes!

I have not found a favorite type of paper that does not show !through on the backside…but will keep looking! I love trying different pads of paper-I like to use them for notes, to do lists, for thinking about ideas or problems. I find that if I write out my thoughts on any subject, it helps to clarify whatever decisions need to be made or simply to understand it better!

I've struggled finding a truly useful fountain pen friendly notebook, and will have to look into these suggestions.

My favorite notebooks are the Clairefontaine spiral notebooks - I've used the French ruled and regular and both are great. Regardless of the lines, the paper is wonderful.

I love the Tomoe River paper in my Hobonichi Cousin and in the various other brands of notebooks I’ve tried that use that paper. I really love the crinkle sound you get after the page is full of writing.

Thank you for the list of papers to try. I'm looking forward to trying your suggestions. I've only used the Rhodia pad.

Hello!! Thanks for your work on this channel. My favorite of all time is Tomoe River 52 gsm. I also love Onion Skin paper, I use it to play with transparency. Such an incredible feeling 😍

Thanks Tom for another informative video. Paper is one of those elusive things I am trying to find because I have so many requirements for different projects. I use Rhodia notepads at work because I can quickly tear off a sheet to hand someone or throw away. I love Tomoe River paper for all the reasons you mentioned which are important for me when writing people actual letters 😂. But since many of the “awesome” papers are being discontinued (Tomoe 52gsm, Cosmo AirLight) I’m voting for the Oasis notebooks for its versatility.

Rhodia notepads have been the only true fountain pen paper I have tried. Sounds like I need to step up on my game! Thanks for a great video, Tom!

Paper is almost its own "journey" I have managed to settle on three Clarifontaine / Rhodia, Mnemosyn and Life notebooks. Thanks for this overview much appreciated.

I like Midori for "best", which for me is sketching, calligraphy and ink comparisons. For everyday notes, lists and noodling I buy loose leaf Tomoe River and bind my own notebooks with a long armed stapler. I adore both MD and TR papers and this allows me to work with the latter in an affordable way.

Thank you for the informative paper lesson! I am new to this, but am enjoying the journey down the rabbit hole😅

Excellent lesson on paper. Thanks a million!!!🎉

I am generally a Rhodia guy, but here's the "secret": it is great fun to try them all and to switch occasionally. Just like using a variety of pens, a variety of papers makes the experience great!

All time favorite is hard to pick, but my Clairefontaine staplebound lined notebook is always in my backpack. I agree that the Clairefontaine paper does a beautiful job highlighting the beauty of the inks that you use, and the larger size of the notebook is great for larger sketches/brainstorming sessions! Really makes the fountainpen experience that much more enjoyable :)

Always been a big Rhodia and Clairefontaine fan. Especially the premium pads and wire notebooks!

My all time favorite notebook (currently, anyway) is the Kokuyo Campus in B5. It's technically kind of a binder, but the rings are so small that it passes for a notebook. For paper, I use Maruman Easy to Write, which is close to or the same as in the Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks, where I first fell for that paper. The big selling point for the binder for me is that I can rearrange pages or remove them cleanly (mostly for archiving). I do, however, have a set of A5 TR 68gsm notebooks from Goulet Pens that I currently use for daily journaling - where the ability to remove and reorder pages is not that important. The larger B5 size works better for writing prose, at least for me, because it gives me a little bit more space on the page, and allows for a slightly larger ruling to not feel too big. I have gone through a Rhodia Goalbook, a Rhodia A4 spiralbound notebook, an Endless Recorder with TR 68gsm, several Leuchtturm A5s, and a bunch of other paper types, and what I've landed on right now just kinda works. Bound notebooks are nice for journaling because I can just stick that on the shelf when it's full. In writing fiction, I usually juggle multiple stories at a time, never know how long any one thing is going to be or when I'm going to feel inspired to write what, so the binder gives me all the flexibility I need there.

I've enjoyed Rhodia Dot Pads to date, but am very much looking forward to trying those several suggestions of yours that will be new to me.

I haven't tried any of the notebooks you reviewed, but I'm eager to try them. My favorite notebook to date is the Leuchtturm 1917. Ghosting is the biggest problem, but from time to time, I've had bleed through.

Being persnickety is all part of the fountain pen hobby.

My favorite paper is Oasis Profolio! I love the texture and how they’re lined. Good value too!

Thanks for the list. I will try them.

Nice video! If only my beginner-self could have seen it earlier, I would be way more knowledgeable now haha. The most versatile and my favorite notepad would be the Rhodia one for sure! I have exactly the same dot n°16 one. Very convenient to test inks out with and so handy when you want to take quick notes or take it anywhere with you. I wrote a big part of one of my stories on it! Though it's a shame that Rhodia paper doesn't show off the sheening properties of inks so much. I'd love to try out Tomoe River paper. Usually I keep a notebook for my "fountain pen journaling" where I write about thoughts about my pens, inks and next purchases!

Love the review. I have all of these and have gravitated toward endless for the sheen. Like you said the oils on my hand tend to ruin the sheet keep up the great content!

I absolutely love Tomoe River Paper. Always wanted to try out Rhodia paper, but never had the opportunity to!

My all time favourite notebook is Rhodiarama with its soft cover, in A5. Otherwise, I like very much Picasso and Paperblank notebooks.

More than finding *the* notebook that does it for me, the far bigger problem has been availvabiity and consistency. My hands-down favorite notebook for journaling has been Apica's Figurare in A5 size. The paper in these notebooks consistently hit the sweet-spot for me in terms of tooth, low feathering, minimal bleedthough, and cost (I'd generally buy five or so at a time). Unfortunately, I recently discovered Apica discontinued Figurare over a year ago, putting me on the lookout for at least a passable alternative, and up to a few months ago, the search had been a bust. (Among other things: yes, Moleskine is hideously overrated.) But then, along came Clairefontaine's Triomphe Notebooks. I was already a fan-for-life regarding their Triomphe staionery notepads and envelopes, so my hopes were pretty damned high that they'd pull off the same FP-friendly goodness in the new notebooks, and I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they've done it: paper quality is roughly 90-95% of my beloved Figurare, while the cost is negligibly higher. The only minor quibble is that while the Figurare books were double-wire-bound, and thus drop-dead easy to lay flat anywhere, the Triomphe features a sewn binding, which *does* lay fairly flat for its type, but not completely. (And, of course, unlike any wire-bound notebook, you can't fold the cover back on itself to write with only your knees for support.) Nonetheless, this is my official replacement for the MIA Figurare. (Yes, I did buy this from ahem, a competing specialist e-tailer…maybe y'all might pick this up so I can get 'em from you instead?) 🙂

Clairefontaine paper is a classic, so I'm a fan of any of their notebooks. I would use all of these for journaling!

My favorite notebook as of now is the Tomoe River notebook from Galen leather. It has blank pages and is fantastic ❤

✨👍 lovin’ this content!! My favourite ink notebook would have to be the Ferris Wheel Press sketchbook, it’s large, it’s bright white and incredibly smooth and strong paper!! Thanks so much!

My favorite is the Hobonichi Tomoe River paper plain notebooks. I like the A5 size, but I'm beginning to find that an A6 size is easier to carry in my purse. For daily notes I use the Rhodia notepads. The Rhodia notepads come in different sizes. I think I most of the sizes. I use an extra fine/fine nib so I don't have much bleed through or ghosting. 😊

My favourite journal is the Leuchtturm 1917 in A5 size with dot grid paper because the paper is fountain pen friendly, and still thin enough to pack 250 pages in the compact Moleskine type form factor. I think it is good value for the money and very practical. It's a workhorse journal. I use it exclusively as my work journal/notebook. Second would be Rhodia pads and Rhodia web journal, enjoy the smooth quality of the Rhodia paper for letters and home journaling.

I'm new to writing & finding your video very helpful, thanx.

Thank you for the informative video! Paper plays such an important role in the satisfaction we seek with our fountain pens and inks. My top paper is Tomoe River. I have loose sheets and make my own notebooks. My next pick is Rhodia paper - great paper and affordable.

Thanks for this video--very helpful!

Hobonichi Techno Cousin Spring Ed for my planning; MD A5 notebook for meetings, and Travellers Company notebook for when I am journaling on the go these are my go tos! Great videos and detailed information! Btw Clairefontaine acquired Rhodia ... Don't know when that happened. Keep up the great reveiws 👍👏

Tomoe River is my hands-down favorite paper, in either weight. I also love Clairefontaine.

An interesting choice of notebooks. I favor Clairefontaine but have found that Red and Black notebooks in the A4 size lay flat and haven't a shred of bleeding, ghosting, etc. BTW, hundreds of pangrams to practice handwriting can be found in Dr Millard Port's "Wit 'n Wisdom," cheap and easy to carry around. At the standard on-line bookstore. EX: "Quizzically and for exaltation, kangaroos jump with bold vigor."

All time favorite is hard, but my favorite daily notebook is a Leuchtturm 1917 B5; my favorite out-and-about notebook is the Rhodia A5 Web notebook lined; and I use a Clairfontaine French rule composition to practice my handwriting. Interested in trying the Endless Recorder and the Portfolio Oasis. Also, for long-writing sessions I do use the Rhodia Composition notebook and in recent years lean more and more to the Premium version. Always enjoy your videos -- thanks very much for putting them together.

Leuchtturm 1917 bullet journals ... well, I really dig the little extras in this journal (instructions, page numbers, table of contents, future log, etc.). For daily scribbles, yeah, the Rhodia journals are great.

Thanks for the info. I am new to journaling and I have been using a Galen Leather 5A Tomoe River notebook. I also us a Rhodia pad for letter writing. I like them both equally.

This was a great video!

I’ve used a lot of notebooks. Rhodia, Moleskine, Leuchtturm, etc. But my favorite notebooks for fountain pens are actually from Baron Fig. Really nice 90gsm paper with just a bit of texture, which I prefer. Their Confidant notebook has the simple but beautiful cloth covers and the signature yellow ribbon book mark. The only thing missing is an elastic closure which would be nice to see.

I can't say I've found a favorite yet, but since I still had a bunch of 5 star notebooks when I first got into fountain pens, and they actually seem to hold up to my fountain pens pretty well, I've stuck with them for now. I'd love to try these out though! Especially that tomoe river 52gsm! I've heard so much about those!

Rhodia A4 wirebound notebook. The endless recorder notebook is next on my list; lots of pages and lay-flat-ish book style bindings makes it very appealing.

I use the Rhodia goal book. I use it for a bullet journal, which it is layer out nicely for that specific use. It handles fountain pen ink well with virtually no ghosting. The pages are a soft crème color which is easier on the eyes than bright white, in my opinion.

My favorite journal is the Itoya Profolio Oasis journal. It does lay wonderfully flat once the binding has been flexed enough.

I have only been journaling for a couple of years and my favorite notebook to date was made by poppin. It was a branded, marketing-item notebook I picked up at a conference. The paper quality is excellent and I never had an issue with feathering, ghosting, or bleed-through, regardless of the pen or ink used. I’m currently using Moleskine cahiers as that was on the approved purchase list at work. Like you mentioned, I’m not impressed with the amount of ghosting and bleed-through.

I'm ever so hopeful that one of these will work for my two new hobbies - fountain pens and large format photography! I suddenly need to take notes on every shot I take, so I need a small notebook that will work with ANY kind of pen - including fountain when I'm carrying.

I've tried a number of papers and Tomoe River would always have a special place in my heart, the ink shows beautifully and the writing experience is super smooth. I'm intrigued to try the Endless Recorder and compare results with the Tomoe River paper. Also my work go-to paper is Rhodia, any size pad with dot grid. And I also teach myself cursive and Spencerian using the Clairefontaine french rule notebook, so that one is special too. 🖋📓📒🤩

I love the Leuchtturm1917 and Clairefontaine notebooks. They both hold ink really well.

Great video…Tomoe River paper definitely a favorite.

Those who are artists, know how important paper is. Actually, for drawing with pencils or painting with watercolors, paper is the most important art supply. So, when you use a fountain pen, and you don't like how it writes, try to use it on other papers. It doesn't have to be the most expensive paper, just the paper that works for that pen, or for your needs or both!

Excellent summary of the 'premie' paper types. Wish I'd seen this before diving headlong into building a testing inventory! My favorite so far is the Tomoe River A5 Blank, which I wish I could find in loose leaf sheets, but as noted, looks like the old, 'good' TR is going the way of the dinosaurs. I bought one notepad from 'The Big A' that came in packs of 10, to use for my Daily Carry Notepad. Very cheap, too. Problem was, you write on the top sheet, & 4 sheets down you could still read what was written! Removed to the ballpoint & pencil desk. [[Subscribed; in for the drawing.]]