My Levenger Bomber Jacket Circa Notebook

by Tony Thomas

I decided that it was time for a new everyday carry notebook and picked up a junior-sized Levenger Circa Bomber Jacket.   I love the look and smell of genuine leather and it does not disappoint.

I settled on a disc-based notebook because they are so flexible and I have used them for years. As I have a paper cutter and a punch, I can use all kinds of paper, including sketching and drawing paper, copier paper, cheap notebook paper and really nice paper like Rhodia.

In addition, the disc-based notebook is really a part of a larger system because I can move things around easily and pull out pages that I am no longer using and archive them in other notebooks.  Very useful!

I spruced up the Bomber Jacket with some copper-colored aluminum discs (1") to replace the smaller plastic ones that it came with.   The end result looks great and is the perfect size and weight for my needs. 

Even though it wasn't cheap, I expect to get a lot of use out of it in the coming years.

Inside of the Bomber Jacket with the TWSBI Mini that I carry with it.

Norcom Composition Books from Colombia

 by Tony Thomas

It is Back to School season again and I went to my local Walmart and picked up some composition books from Norcom.   I picked some from Colombia and decided to test them out.  They were on sale for $ .50 each!

The paper is very nice and comparable to the Brazilian paper that I have used in the past.

After some tests with Pilot Blue and Waterman inks and there is no feathering, bleed through or show through. 

Highly recommended !

Quick Cleaning Your Fountain Pen

by Tony Thomas

If you are out and about and would like to change the ink in your fountain pen, here is a tip for cleaning it quickly: First of all, get a glass of water and a paper towel or absorbent tissue.   Empty the pen converter and dispose of the ink or put it in a storage vial.  Then, use the paper towel or absorbent tissue to absorb all the ink in the nib and feed.   It may take awhile for all of the ink to soak into the towel or tissue. After that, soak the nib and feed as well as the converter in the glass of water. Fill the converter and empty it several times until the water is pretty clear. Disassemble the nib and feed if you can and use a tissue to absorb any remaining ink from both and also the section.   If possible, refill the glass of water and repeat the steps.   When you are done, you should have a reasonably clean pen that is ready to fill with a different color of ink.

Ink Mixing

by Tony Thomas

Mixing ink is a lot of fun and is a very economical way of getting the most out of your ink.

My favorite brand to mix is Waterman.  It is a great, cheap everyday ink that is problem-free in just about any fountain pen and mixes well.

I use Serenity Blue, Black and Tender purple as my mixing inks.  I make a "Blurple" (inspired by Richard Binder) by mixing 80% Serenity Blue with 20% Tender Purple.  And a Blue/Black by mixing 80% Serenity Blue with 20% Black.

Both of these mixes are fairly water resistant (see pic below).  Have fun mixing!   Waterman Inks

Scribbles on the top have been soaked in water.
Writing on the bottom after it dried.  Used
really cheap copier paper.

Hand Made Notebooks

by Tony Thomas

I really enjoy making my own notebooks. Not only do I save a lot of money, I can use whatever paper I like.

I have used HP Laser Paper (32#), Staples Laser Paper (28#), Rhodia grid paper, Canson Drawing paper and others. For covers, I either use card stock from my office supply store or fancy paper from the scrapbook section of my local craft store.

I use my ancient Boston paper cutter and my limited sewing skills to put them together. My notebooks are only 24 pages making them easier to trim.

I highly recommend making notebooks if you are a fountain pen user and love fountain pen friendly paper.

iScholar Notebooks

by Tony Thomas

It is "back to school" time again!  That time of year where we scour all of the bins for fountain pen friendly pads and paper.

I have been using composition books, notebooks and notebook paper from a company called iScholar (Englewood, NY) for a while with great results.  You can find them in many discount stores all over the U. S.

The paper is that I use is made in Indonesia and plays nice with fountain pens.  The paper isn't Rhodia smooth, but I haven't had any feathering or bleed through issues with a wide variety of pens and inks.  

I found the 70 sheet notebooks locally for 39 cents and the composition books for two for a buck.  Highly recommended!

http://www.ischolarinc.com/

Staples Perforated Writing Pads

by Tony Thomas

Finding fountain pen friendly paper in office supply stores is a real challenge. Much of it is very absorbent--kind of like writing on a napkin when using a fountain pen.

The biggest problem is that you usually can't try out the paper in the store or even touch it. The legal pads and looseleaf paper are sealed up in plastic wrap. As they say: “You pay your money and you take your chances.”

If you are like me, you can't afford to feed your pens a steady supply of Rhodia A4 pads at $9-10 each plus shipping. As I result, I find myself using legal pads and composition books for a lot of general note taking.

I either use a fountain pen filled with Noodler’s Bulletproof Black or some other non-feathering permanent ink like iron gall for that purpose. I also use various pencils since they are fast and non-fatiguing to write with.

I was in my local Staples store and was checking out their legal pad selection. I typically use the short pads (8.5 x 10.75 inch) since they fit in my padfolio. In my frugality, I decided to go with the cheap ($8 or so a dozen) pads.

When I got home, I decided to test one of the pads with two of my TWSBI 580s filled with Private Reserve inks. I was very pleased to discover that the paper didn’t feather much, it didn’t bleed through and there was only a bit of show through (after all, it is very thin 15# paper). Pretty impressive for really cheap paper!

Disclaimer: Companies like Staples change their paper suppliers all the time depending on their cost. That pads I bought have a black top strip with the Staples name on it. Other pads I purchased previously had red top strips. See the SKU and packaging photo below.

Sample of Staples perforated writing pad (PR inks)

Sample from an older Staples legal pad with same PR ink

Information from the pack I bought