Okay, first things first ... I like writing on high-quality, fountain-pen-friendly paper as much as the next guy. I am not posting this in support of the crappy "paper" that is standard issue everywhere nowadays.
... but ...
... well ...
I want to speak out against the "standard recommendations" to guys starting out with fountain pens that they need to get a fancy/special journal (or whatever you want to call it) along with pen and ink. Yeah, keeping a journal is a cool idea, and some guys want to do that, but ... that's not essential for fountain pens, now is it?
I mean, for fountain pens to "make sense" in the modern world, they have to be actually "useful" and "useable" in the modern world. Maybe the guy wants a pen for filling out forms at work, for writing shopping lists on the back of envelopes, for addressing envelopes, for writing cheques and ... well, whatever comes his way.
I don't think you need a special journal.
If you really want to spend $20 for a special place to write, over and over, about foxes jumping over dogs, go for it. But it's just as easy to practice your penmanship on any old piece of scrap paper. Go to your local stationary store (or online) and buy a 500-sheet pack of photocopy paper for $5-$10, and go to town. Grab every envelope and piece of junk mail that comes through your door and coat them in ink.
And look, using everyday paper will give you a really good idea of how particular inks perform in the "real world". (Hint: a lot of them suck when conditions are not perfect ... others continue to perform well.)
Okay ...
... so ...
... some guys will look at their own personal desires, and see the need for a journal-type bound book of high-end paper. That's cool; if you need one, get one and ask us for recommendations. But lots of guys will not have a specific need for such a journal.
So I'm making a suggestion that "... and a journal" be taken out of the standard "you need this to even start with fountain pens" recommendations to beginners. Without a fountain pen, you will not be able to experience the wonderful world of fountain pens. Without a bottle (or cartridges) of fountain pen ink, ditto. But please, let's not mislead our poor (in more than one sense of the word) brethren into thinking that without the fancy notebook they cannot experience fountain pens.
... but ...
... well ...
I want to speak out against the "standard recommendations" to guys starting out with fountain pens that they need to get a fancy/special journal (or whatever you want to call it) along with pen and ink. Yeah, keeping a journal is a cool idea, and some guys want to do that, but ... that's not essential for fountain pens, now is it?
I mean, for fountain pens to "make sense" in the modern world, they have to be actually "useful" and "useable" in the modern world. Maybe the guy wants a pen for filling out forms at work, for writing shopping lists on the back of envelopes, for addressing envelopes, for writing cheques and ... well, whatever comes his way.
I don't think you need a special journal.
If you really want to spend $20 for a special place to write, over and over, about foxes jumping over dogs, go for it. But it's just as easy to practice your penmanship on any old piece of scrap paper. Go to your local stationary store (or online) and buy a 500-sheet pack of photocopy paper for $5-$10, and go to town. Grab every envelope and piece of junk mail that comes through your door and coat them in ink.
And look, using everyday paper will give you a really good idea of how particular inks perform in the "real world". (Hint: a lot of them suck when conditions are not perfect ... others continue to perform well.)
Okay ...
... so ...
... some guys will look at their own personal desires, and see the need for a journal-type bound book of high-end paper. That's cool; if you need one, get one and ask us for recommendations. But lots of guys will not have a specific need for such a journal.
So I'm making a suggestion that "... and a journal" be taken out of the standard "you need this to even start with fountain pens" recommendations to beginners. Without a fountain pen, you will not be able to experience the wonderful world of fountain pens. Without a bottle (or cartridges) of fountain pen ink, ditto. But please, let's not mislead our poor (in more than one sense of the word) brethren into thinking that without the fancy notebook they cannot experience fountain pens.
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