Recomend me a Journal
- Thread starter Pignut
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DavtJT - WOW! I say again WOW! Nice journal style man. It's what I want to do. Sooo want to be able to keep a journal as I do so much walking each year. About 1000 miles I think but since I can't even note the walks I do let alone keep a journal I have no idea for sure. Anyway I struggle to keep a journal for two reasons. One - I can't think what to say. Two - I can't draw at all. You seem to not have even a hint of my two problems. Good on you. How much to become my secretary to write my journal for me?? 
Seriously though I have a number of hardback note books at home. Every time I go for a walking holiday away to somewhere new to me I stop off on the way, even drive around searching for a hardback notebook that would make a half decent journal book. I also get a pencil and cut it in half to fit in with the small notebook. Then about two days into it I remember it is in my pack and when sat in my tarp I get it out and the only thing about the first day I remember is roughly where I went. I do that for the days up to that point then it gets left in my sack for the rest of the trip. This is repeated each trip to somewhere new.
Anyway the moleskins are good. There are the paperchase ones IIRC that tend to have fancy covers but are to some extent meant for journals. Think WHSmith sell them instead of moleskins. They come in a range of sizes and with plain paper, lined and gridded. They even come with watercolour suitable paper too. However I do like the moleskine ones. There are diary ones where they have the week on one side and a plain page on the other for notes. Also so many different styles of books. Also you can get notebooks from stationers which have a leather effect hard cover with an elastic band to hold it shut (and a pen/pencil). They come in a few sizes and orientations. Some open up vertically others horizontally like a normal book. You can also get these sorts of notebooks in weather resistant formats too. Think they are commonly in use by civil engineers when out on site.
Seriously though I have a number of hardback note books at home. Every time I go for a walking holiday away to somewhere new to me I stop off on the way, even drive around searching for a hardback notebook that would make a half decent journal book. I also get a pencil and cut it in half to fit in with the small notebook. Then about two days into it I remember it is in my pack and when sat in my tarp I get it out and the only thing about the first day I remember is roughly where I went. I do that for the days up to that point then it gets left in my sack for the rest of the trip. This is repeated each trip to somewhere new.
Anyway the moleskins are good. There are the paperchase ones IIRC that tend to have fancy covers but are to some extent meant for journals. Think WHSmith sell them instead of moleskins. They come in a range of sizes and with plain paper, lined and gridded. They even come with watercolour suitable paper too. However I do like the moleskine ones. There are diary ones where they have the week on one side and a plain page on the other for notes. Also so many different styles of books. Also you can get notebooks from stationers which have a leather effect hard cover with an elastic band to hold it shut (and a pen/pencil). They come in a few sizes and orientations. Some open up vertically others horizontally like a normal book. You can also get these sorts of notebooks in weather resistant formats too. Think they are commonly in use by civil engineers when out on site.
DavtJT - WOW! I say again WOW! Nice journal style man. It's what I want to do. Sooo want to be able to keep a journal as I do so much walking each year. About 1000 miles I think but since I can't even note the walks I do let alone keep a journal I have no idea for sure. Anyway I struggle to keep a journal for two reasons. One - I can't think what to say. Two - I can't draw at all. You seem to not have even a hint of my two problems. Good on you. How much to become my secretary to write my journal for me??
Seriously though I have a number of hardback note books at home. Every time I go for a walking holiday away to somewhere new to me I stop off on the way, even drive around searching for a hardback notebook that would make a half decent journal book. I also get a pencil and cut it in half to fit in with the small notebook. Then about two days into it I remember it is in my pack and when sat in my tarp I get it out and the only thing about the first day I remember is roughly where I went. I do that for the days up to that point then it gets left in my sack for the rest of the trip. This is repeated each trip to somewhere new.
Anyway the moleskins are good. There are the paperchase ones IIRC that tend to have fancy covers but are to some extent meant for journals. Think WHSmith sell them instead of moleskins. They come in a range of sizes and with plain paper, lined and gridded. They even come with watercolour suitable paper too. However I do like the moleskine ones. There are diary ones where they have the week on one side and a plain page on the other for notes. Also so many different styles of books. Also you can get notebooks from stationers which have a leather effect hard cover with an elastic band to hold it shut (and a pen/pencil). They come in a few sizes and orientations. Some open up vertically others horizontally like a normal book. You can also get these sorts of notebooks in weather resistant formats too. Think they are commonly in use by civil engineers when out on site.
They're NOT my journals, but wish I could do that.
I came across a stationary shop in my village Chapeltown, Sheffield and at the back I found a large department of Geological stuff, I am told they are well known if your in that field. They sell a huge range of waterproof note books of many different sizes and shapes, and configurations, I have one with a blank page and a lined page facing it, so I can draw a bad image some wildlife then make notes about it on the other. The chap in the shop also said they can make a book up how ever you want it.
http://www.geosupplies.co.uk/field_notebooks.php
http://www.geosupplies.co.uk/field_notebooks.php
to be honest I think the paper quality in moleskins stink. I prefer clairefontaines line of journals, or apica.
There is a shop in Lancaster on the road up to the station called the Paperchase I think. It is a card shop that also sells pictures does framing and some stationary. They have a whole set of racking of journals in plain and fancy covers. A few styles too. Also those paperchase ones you can get in a few other retailers like WHSMITH I think.
Well I have opted for one of G4GHB's leather covers to house an A5 moleskine. I know these are not cheap but as Graham pointed out, it is likely I will always be able to get these to go inside my nice bespoke cover....
I will post a pic or 2 when I get my hands on it
I will post a pic or 2 when I get my hands on it
you won't be disappointed mate!
mine has given me faithful service since i got it made.(and it has a slight grail diary feel to it too
)
something like this?
I have a few notebooks that are variations on a theme similar to this, but a bit more rustic. They were made by Tibetan women and I picked them up in Mcleodganj in India. They're made from camel leather and hand-made paper (I'll post a pic when I'm not at work
). I wouldn't be surprised if you could buy them off a website somewhere in this country! The rustic paper is a bit uneven and lumpy bumpy, but they are really beautiful and full of nostalgia for me!
I have a few notepads I got in Mcleodganj in India last year. Made by Tibetan women from camel leather and hand-made paper. They're quite rustic, but very beautiful and tactile and bring back all kinds of wonderful memories! I'll post a pic when I'm not at work
EDIT: Oops... not sure how this post got doubled up!
EDIT: Oops... not sure how this post got doubled up!
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I used to use moleskines, but I found in the last few years the consistency of the paper quality has decreased. I use mine with a B nib fountain pen and get a lot of bleedthrough. I also dislike their binding and find after a few years of normal use, or if you are of the habit of tearing pages it starts to disintergrate.
I use CIAK journals. I prefer the horizontal elastic closure (means you can hold a pen or pencil to the side of it with it), the paper is thicker I believe, or atleast handles a fp better, the outer material is nicer IMO (softer to touch but softer, rounded over the spine rather than squared and fits nicer in the pocket), but best of all I like the binding - it's bound in groups of leaves, with expoxy. One of my CIAKs has loads of pages ripped from it and the remaining pages are still nice and tight.
Theyre about the same price as moleskines, same as most of the 'premium' notebooks.
I use CIAK journals. I prefer the horizontal elastic closure (means you can hold a pen or pencil to the side of it with it), the paper is thicker I believe, or atleast handles a fp better, the outer material is nicer IMO (softer to touch but softer, rounded over the spine rather than squared and fits nicer in the pocket), but best of all I like the binding - it's bound in groups of leaves, with expoxy. One of my CIAKs has loads of pages ripped from it and the remaining pages are still nice and tight.
Theyre about the same price as moleskines, same as most of the 'premium' notebooks.
Can anyone show us picures of the inside of their journals? Especially scetches etc, I realise these are often private but I would love a peek!
"Sent from the back of beyond using new fangled technology"
"Sent from the back of beyond using new fangled technology"
I use Asda A5 notebooks for all my work survey notes and they're great but I carry a moleskine for personal notes, chosen mostly for the pocket size and squared paper. I'm not loving the yellowy paper in the moleskine that much though.
Following a recommendation from Dougster I now use Asda plain-leaf notebooks. I've just filled an A5 book with course notes. I found the size a bit restricting as I tend to use mindmaps for note taking, so will be using an A4 one for my next course. The A4 ones are £4.00 and the A5 ones £2.50. They do an A6 one as well, but don't I have a price for those. I'll be an A6 one as my everyday jotter once my current freebie notepad has been filled up. I prefer plain paper to lined, and found it really hard to find any at a reasonable price, but the Asda ones fit the bill nicely.
Graham
Graham
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