It’s the same, the difference is the starting “0” size. For the A-series, the area is 1 m^2. For the B-series, the shorter side length is 1 m. The C-series is the geometric mean of the areas of the A- and B-series.
B6 has become my go-to size notebook for journaling. Used to be a committed A5 guy but the slightly smaller B6 is just handier for most situations, while still being more generous than a “pocket” size.
For the life of me I don’t understand the weirdly proportioned “B6 Slim” and its popularity.
I think b6 slim love comes purely from the traveler’s notebook. And even then that’s a format most were putting up with rather than enjoying. But you know how things go when things get popular. People just start doing the popular thing, including for capturing that same aesthetic, and the b6 slim travelers notebook has a very particular aesthetic thanks to how long and tall it is
Tomoe river in my bullet journal, which I got from a pen show.
Another notebook I use is an Apica, and it’s probably my favorite paper. It won’t show off shimmer and sheen like tomoe river, but it’s very smooth and has a fast dry time. For a lot of my inks, I find the long dry time of tomoe river to be inconvenient at times.
Anything but Moleskine because that bleeds and feathers heavily. Leuchtturm1917 adnd Clairefontaine daily, and a Cornell A5 weekly diary that seems to take virtually any ink despite being ‘only’ 70gsm. I veer towards 90gsm usually.
Clairefontaine Triomphe - it comes in lined, but for 90g paper it’s surprisingly translucent - enough so that the guide sheet they include is clearly visible.
If you’re in the UK, John Lewis sells some great own-brand loose sheets and envelopes. I used them a few years ago for a calligraphy commission. They were slightly textured but not enough to disrupt the strokes of a dip pen so they should be fine with a foundation pen. No bleeding, see through enough for a bold guide sheet. I’ll see if I can find a link.
Unfortunately, I’m not in the UK, but I night be willing to see if they ship if I can find enough to make a big order. The slight texture sounds interesting.
I’m not sure it’s special enough for that. But if you can’t find anything better I could buy it for you and send it personally if you like? You wouldn’t need to order too much that way. Send me a DM if you’d like me to help 🙂
My go to is TR 68gsm. I really love CAL too. I have no idea what I will replace them with yet since they both are discontinued. I enjoy Midori MD, but I wish it came in ivory. For notepads I use as scratch pads, I use Rhodia since it’s relatively cheap and FP friendly.
That being said, I am in the middle of trying out new paper to replace my go to paper. So far I like Maruman Nmemesoine, but the lack of non-spiral bound notebook variety is a big sticking point. Kokuyo Perpernap is up next. I have high hopes.
I’m told the latest iteration of TR is very close to old TR classic 52gsm. I guess that will be my fallback.
I have a hybrid system. I use a combination of both depending on context. In the end though, it all gets loaded into Obsidian unless it is work related. It makes it easier to decide what is important enough to keep and archive in a searchable format.
Usually something very information heavy like lectures will go directly to digital. I have a hard time keeping up in a legible way if I try to do it by hand.
Fast notes and anything that I can take my time with will go onto pen and paper. Same with when I’m away from my desk. I hate taking notes with my phone in general. The only exception is if the note contains a URL beyond the basic name.domain type deals. I do this stuff by hand because scribbling a note when I’m out is faster than getting the phone out and opening a notes app. When I’m at the desk, it is just nice to slow down and think about what I’m writing some times. Other times it’s just easier to grab a writing utensil and scribble down contact information in a full screen application or on the phone.
Unlined A5 Clairefontaine for journals, Kokuyo B5 Campus Notebooks for study, and whatever is available for loose-leaf or temporary notes (I do have a lined A4 Rhodia pad in case I need to write something good on a single sheet, but I never do).
Perhaps if I got into letter-writing I might be more interested in exotic papers, but I'm quite content with using things that are pretty easy to find and shouldn't be disappearing from sale anytime soon. I also don't use anything larger than a western M, so I don't need super amazing paper for a lot of my general notes.
Mostly Clairefontaine and sometimes Leuchtturm1917. I recently bought Rhodia dotpads and dotbooks. I also have an Itoya Oasis light notebook and two Apica notebooks, just for trying them.
Mostly Leuchtturm, mainly because I really like their notebooks and the variety of them that are available. The paper is fine, but not like tomoe or anything like that. I mostly write at work during meetings etc., so the notebook is equally important to me. Open to other suggestions though!
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