The Clairefontaine wirebound notebook.
Back when I got my free samples of J. Herbin Ink from Karen over at the Quo Vadis Blog, she also sent me over two very nice notebooks. One of them was this Clairefontaine wirebound one subject, 90 page notebook. This was my first time using the Clairefontaine paper, and I was very pleased with its performance.
You can usually find these notebooks for about $5.00 – $6.00 at your favorite stationary stores such as The Daily Planner. The notebook measures in at 4 3/4″ by 6 3/4″ and has 90 sheets of 24lb., pH neutral, extra white vellum paper. The sample I have here is black, but they come in various color combinations.
Writing sample in the Clairefontaine wirebound notebook with various pens and inks.
Usually I am not the biggest fan of wirebound notebooks, however this Clairefontaine notebook has a very sturdy laminated cover, and a double ring wire bound binding system. These two features give the notebook a very sturdy feel as compared to some of the more inexpensive single coil bound notebooks with more flimsy covers. In addition to the great cover and more sturdy binding system, this notebook has some of the best paper that I’ve ever written on.
The writing sample above were done with:
- Private Reserve Velvet Black in a Pelikan M205 with a Fine nib.
- Noodler’s Blue Black ink in a Pelikan M215 with a Fine nib.
- J. Herbin Vert Empire in a Lamy Studio with an Extra Fine nib.
- Pilot Hi-Tec-C .4m Gel Pen with Clear Blue ink.
As you can see, the drying time for these inks on the Clairefontaine paper is not incredibly quick, so if you are a lefty, this may not be the best paper for you. I do however think that the incredible smoothness, almost complete lack of feathering or bleed through that you get with this paper totally outweighs the small issue of the slower drying time. I also really like the bright white of this paper because it really works for showing off the different color inks, although with lighter or more subtle inks, they dont show up quite as well.
Clairefontaine wirebound notebook with J. Herbin Vert Empire writing sample
Summary of the Clairefontaine Wirebound Notebook
All of the pen and ink combinations I have tried on this paper have worked out really well. The paper is honestly one of the nicest papers I’ve ever written on, the pens (rollerball, gel, and fountain) glide over the paper effortlessly and lay down super smooth lines. If you are looking for a notebook that you can count on to not bleed or feather with your fountain pens, you really have no excuse not to try one of these.
I picked up one of these at the stationery store – the folks told me it was the “same” paper as Rhodia (same manufacturer?) It’s a great FP paper with no bleed-through and smooth enough that I can write quite quickly with a F or MF nib.
Because of the price point (and that I couldn’t get Rhodia in spiral bound + lined) I think these will be the notebooks I hand out to clients that I’m teaching FP Penmanship as contemplative practice. It’s a good “starter” scratch paper to get a pen going, and then roll over to a larger format if one is journaling, etc.
I also use the paper in one of my other contemplative practices in the office in which I need small, disposable sheets to be written on and burned later.
No news yet on how well or how quickly the paper burns. I have to wait for the rain to stop here in NC. 🙂
I agree with you, though: ClaireFontaine is definitely a winner for me, particularly at the price compared to Rhodia.
Rev.Doc. J.
I love Clairefontaine paper, and though I’ve used a few of the spiral ones, I tended to prefer the ones with a glued binding. But I like to use notebooks with plain or graph paper, and Clairefontaine never seemed to offer these options in the pocket sized books, only in the larger formats. That’s one big reason I started using Moleskines instead.
@RedPiano1 – I have a Rhodia pad, and they are products from the same manufacturer…although the manufacturing processes themselves are probably different. I agree though, it really is hard to find a better writing paper.
@Notebook Stories – Interesting point, I never realized that but now that I look at their product line I see what you mean. Do you like the Molkeskine paper better? Ive had problems with it bleeding and feathering way too much for my likes.
I think you kind of need Clairefontaine for your Herbin ink. Herbin inks feather pretty badly on most paper. Lovely colour though.
@adidas – Ive used the J. Herbin in on Rhodia, Levenger, and Doane papers with limited to no feathering, the following images have some high resolution scans so you can see it really well:
http://officesupplygeek.com/officesupplygeek-ink-comparison-log/orange-ink-comparison/
http://officesupplygeek.com/ink-review/j-herbin-vert-empire-fountain-pen-ink-review/
http://officesupplygeek.com/ink-review/j-herbin-orange-indien-fountain-pen-ink-review/
http://officesupplygeek.com/doane-paper/doane-paper-fountain-pen-test/
I am looking to by a new notebook for work and I was wondering how well this notebook has held up. I am not normally a fan of the spiral as I feel like they get bent easily. I was just wondering if it stood the test of time.
Thanks!
@LeAnn – Unfortunately I didn’t end up using this on a regular basis in and out of a bag or anything like that. It got very light usage that wouldn’t have put the spiral binding to a true durability test.