Testing Pens on Moleskine

Moleskine

First off? I know, I really do. Moleskines are expensive, trendy, and ridiculous to admit to actually buying. Except for those few who actually NEED the quality paper and binding, they’re … they’re like the  Northface jackets folks up here wear in the wintertime. It’s overkill for like 90% of the population, but it’s popular.

So before you mock me about using a moleskine notebook … I already know.

That being said, I use the HECKFIRE out of my moleskine. I use it for random notes, story ideas, brainstorming, planning sketches, and most importantly? It’s my weekly planner. Every week, I use a new page and block out a place to record what I do every day as well as what I EXPECT to do every day as well as grocery lists and reminder to-do lists for that week.

I use the Pocket Reporter Graph, for the curious. It’s got an elastic closer band that I tuck my pen into so they’re always together. The grid paper is perfect for my needs, and the reporter style flip-top is much easier for me to use than a normal book style opening.

Pens

Right, so this post is actually about pens.

So, I may not be an intentional notebook snob, but I AM a lover of pens. I’ve tried several kinds of pens on the moleskine paper and I have found the following:

Normal cheapy pens tend to spit ink after they’ve aged just a little, plus they have a weak ink line, don’t feel nice in my hand, and don’t look very nice.
Inexpensive fountain pens leave a line that tends to feather. I cannot afford expensive fountain pens to test with.
Rollerball or gel pens usually have a thick line — too think for me to be happy with in my tiny notebook. I did manage to find a superfine gel ink pen in gorgeous colors made by Tul and I was pretty sure it was love forever. One by one, the pens broke on me though, and apparently that’s a THING with Tul pens, so I shall never ever go back to their lying liar ways, no matter how pretty they are.

I was just about resigned to go back to the cheapy pens when I came across something different.

Sharpie pens.

At first, I wasn’t even going to try it, but they hand a sampler out so I gave it a shot. I was afraid the tip was too wide, or that the ink would seep through the paper or it’d feather …

… none of the above, I’m happy to report. I can FORCE the ink to seep through the page, but normal writing doesn’t cause any problems.

Check them out here (good handwriting examples in the extra images)

Your Turn

I know some of you are office supply-aholics. Don’t even try to deny it. I am pretty sure it comes with the territory of being a writer or a reader. The smell of the paper, the unmarred expanse of a new notebook, the perfect fit of your favorite pen in your hand …

What are your favorite pens/paper/notebooks/office shinies?

Related posts:

A Tale of Two Notebooks
The Slippery Slope of Pen Pals
A Call to Arms…err…Pens!