journaling ii: a new start!

Four little journals, all in a row

I started my fourth A5 journal* on June 6th, 2021, and I finished it just a few days ago. 

My next journal is yet another Kanso Noto, one that I pillaged from our stock at the office because it has a dented corner. It uses new Tomoe River paper (or Tomoe River 2.0, which has already been replaced by Tomoe River Sanzen, or Tomoe River 3.0... confusing, I know). It's definitely not as perfect as original TRP, and I can tell that it feels different. To me, Tomoe River 2.0 feels denser than its predecessor, and pens don't want to glide across it in the same way. I still think it's one of the better fountain pen friendly papers out there. In my experience, Sanzen is pretty darn close to original Tomoe River, so if it stays on the market (fingers crossed!) then that's the paper I'll be moving on to next.

So what's changed since I started this journal a year and change ago? The thing that sticks out most is that I feel like I've only gotten more particular about paper. Nowadays, I can't stand typical fountain pen friendly papers like Rhodia, Clairefontaine, and Midori MD. They feel too textured, even under my broad nibs. Midori MD in particular is my enemy, because everything about it seems perfect for me, and then something happens when my nib touches paper that makes me say "augh!" out loud.

Strangely enough, my "holy grail" paper is Kobeha Graphilo, a cushy ~80 gsm paper that either has occasional manufacturing issues or simply faints at the sight of hand oil, because it acts like an entirely fountain pen unfriendly paper on rare occasions. I've personally never had this happen, though I've heard other people have had unpleasant experiences with inks blooming into feathery splotches. Despite this flaw, if you have the opportunity to try it out, I couldn't recommend it enough. I would say it feels like a pillowy Cosmo Air or Iroful with none of the nib "squeaking." However, there are two reasons why I don't journal with Graphilo: 1. it's expensive, and 2. Kobeha doesn't offer standard A5 notebooks with 80-100 sheets.

I suppose the second thing that has changed is that I feel more dedicated than ever to use my frankly horrifying collection of stickers and washi tapes. It's no longer an albatross around my neck, but has become another larger and more noticeable bird. Like a flamingo. The good (?) news is that I feel like I'm making a dent here and there, which is great. The bad news is that I can feel myself slipping back into that mode of feeling like every sticker and strip of washi tape is precious. It's "difficult" in the sense that Mind Wave items, which make up the bulk of my collection, typically cycle out of production pretty quickly. They feel like limited edition items, which means I don't want to use them... a truly uphill battle.

My new Kanso Noto in all of its leathery glory.

I am not the lord's strongest soldier, but I am doing my best. My goal that I am putting right here in front of all of your eyeballs is to write two pages (or one sheet, front and back) a day until my hand falls off. Will I achieve this? No. But I've been having a lot of fun with my journaling habit over the past few months, and with any luck that won't stop soon.

*It's the fifth journal overall if you count the pocket Webnotebook I was writing in for a bit during college, but it didn't hold much.