Suggestions for 2021

I use Rhodia pads and Tomoe River sheet paper, for "desktop" use. My "carry-scribble" is a Midori Traveller's passport notebook, for which I have the Midori refills, Japanese paper small notebooks from MUJI to insert with the bands, and a dwindling supply of the small Tomoe River notebook inserts which used to be available from the defunct and much-missed Bureau Direct.

My recent notebook purchases have been a Japanese Penco ruled foolscap, and an Italian Ciak B6 notebook with black ribbon bookmark and elastic closure. Both are excellent for fountain pens. As @Scoobs says, the Oxford notebook "Black n' Red" (not sure I like that) with Optik paper is also very good, comes from Red Lodge in Suffolk (county loyalty) and has useful information front and back.

For suppliers, I mainly use The Journal Shop (who keep sending me emails about rewards earned for being in their loyalty programme-resist!). However, CultPens and The Writing Desk, inter alia, have much more in the way of stationery and so forth these days.

I find that it really does make a big difference, when writing with fountain pens, to use quality paper, and I rate the Japanese papers first, and Rhodia next, although the latter doesn't work too well with a few nib/ink configurations. I've found that "expensive" doesn't always mean "good". I ended up with a Calepino No. 5 notebook (currently £23.99, but I paid a bit less some time ago), which I intended to, and began to use for my "Inking" book, updated with each pen refill, ink name and date, written with said pen and ink. The bleed-through is simply dreadful, and though I plough on under the "I've started, so I'll finish" flag, I won't be buying any more of that.
 
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