Reddit mentions of Rhodia Head Stapled Pad, No16 A5, Dot - Black

At the bottom left, stuff I have on my person more or less all the time:

2nd gen Moto 360 with [Skymaster face]
(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.smartwatchface.watch.face.aviator.android.wear&hl=en)

OnePlus Two with a tempered glass screen protector

Coleman knife with glass breaker

Pilot G2

Wallet which is actually a business card case since I mostly carry cards

Car keys




And contents of my backpack:

XPS 13

Jaybird X2 great for biking but not so great for using for 8 hours in an office

Bose QC35 great for using for 8 hours in an office but not so great for biking

Primula cold brew bottle pictured here brewing tomorrow's coffee

Rhodia Dotpad

KMASHI 15,000 mAh powerbank with USBC and micro cables

Disposable Earplugs that I keep a pair of everywhere since they come in a pack of 20

Knockoff Aviator Sunglasses that I bought in high school for $10 and somehow still haven't broken

The TWSBI Diamond 580AL is a great pen, piston filler and demonstrator for £58.99. That would also give you about £11 free for some ink and maybe a Rhodia dot pad staplebound or wirebound.

If you wanted to get a couple of inks and writing pad then you could go for the slightly cheaper TWSBI Diamond 580RB £46.99 leaving you £23 to spend on ink and paper.

If you wanted to push the £70 to the limit and just get a classy pen with a solid 18kt gold nib for £72.72. It wouldn't leave you anything over for ink or writing pads but it would be a classy pen.

The other option would be to go the cheap fountain route and buy 2 or 3 Jinhao X450's off Amazon or eBay, they typically sell for around £6-10 each, then you have a lot more to spend on ink and writing pads. If you go the Jinhao route then I would avoid the 250 range, they are fine nibs as opposed to the 450 medium nibs, and my experience are the fine nibs tend to be quite scratchy and I had one where the nib just wouldn't friction fit into the pen. I have 5x Jinhao X450's and not had a single problem with any of them.

Glad you are coming to the hobby too!


Feathering can be caused by a multitude of issues:

Pen laying down too much ink - if the pen is a very wet writer, it will sometimes leave too much ink on the page, and it will be absorbed by the paper.

Bad paper - a lot of paper is not ideal for fountain pens. There are definitely some expensive papers that will work absolute wonders for making the ink look great, but some hp 32lb paper is really the way to go, especially for a beginner. After that, Rhodia is a very good choice.

Bad ink - different inks from different fountain pens react differently on paper. Noodler's specifically has an ink that is designed to not feather at all. (Noodler's X-Feather). Also, the Pilot Iroshizuku line is very well behaved from this aspect. I made a post about this just the other day. Give that a read, and see if it helps!

I don't know of any starter packs on Amazon, although you can get them from Goulet, so you'd probably have to do it piece by piece. Amazon also doesn't tend to have the best prices on fountian pens and accessories and isn't known for packaging inks super securely, so that's worth considering as well. From Amazon I would recommend a Pilot Metropolitan (too many Safaris on amazon are fake), a bottle of either Pelikan 4001 or Pilot Iroshizuku ink, and a Rhodia pad

Is that the Rhodia paper with the 5mm dots?

Edit: Like this? It's been on my wish list, considering buying some.

Ah it's spelled a little differently here's a direct Amazon link.

Rhodia Staplebound Notepads - Dots 80 sheets - 6 x 8 1/4 in. - Black cover https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UCL77U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aJPTCb786NNRV

I think this is the smaller size ones you can get the larger ones if you look for them. They also are sold at a Michael's artscraft retail store if you have one near you.

Yeah, it's a type of notepaper with dots instead of lines.

Specifically, this Rhodia paper

These guys are my go-to for fountain pen use, but there's loads of other paper that'll hold up. For cruddy recycled paper, inks like Noodler's X-Feather or modern iron gall inks are typically recommended, but I've not had personal experience with them.

How about a couple Pilot Varsitys and a Rhodia pad of some sort? You won't be able to choose your ink, but it's a nice way to dip your toe into it.

[Pilot Varsity] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00G0QZUXK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1451368011&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=pilot+varsity&dpPl=1&dpID=41-fIs4PfyL&ref=plSrch)

[Rhodia Dotpad] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003UCL77U/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1451368069&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=rhodia+dot+pad&dpPl=1&dpID=41AFRoTGpcL&ref=plSrch)

No problem! This is my favorite. I should add that while they’re a bit more expensive than your regular notebook/notepad, they’re totally worth it. The paper is really good quality... and of course there’s the delightful dot grid! If you try them out, I hope you like them as much as I do 😊

I'll second the recommendation for getting better paper. I didn't think it'd make that much of a difference either, and than I picked some up and it really made the nib feel smoother and the ink behave better. A Rhodia dot pad can be had for less than 8 bucks. Yes, it might seem like you're "throwing money away", but if that's really how you feel, then why use a fountain pen anyway?

So with my Leuchtturm notebooks, I've had ghosting occur with some of my pens (G2, specifically) or it doesn't dry fast enough and smudges (with my Pentel hybrid technica 04). With my Sakura Micron pens, the Leuchtturm seems to dry quickly enough that I don't smudge it, but there is still some ghosting.

I did a small corner test in my Leuchtturm notebook I use for work and regular sharpies definitely bleed through. Sharpie pens have some ghosting. I have to say, I'm not thrilled with my Leuchtturm. I bought it because my mokeskine was driving me insane with how bad the paper is.

Edit- I've used the Rhodia dot pad to practice my handwriting, and I'm obsessed with it. But I haven't had the chance to try the web notebooks they have. I promised my significant other that I wouldn't buy more notebooks until I use up the ones I have.

Sure.

Rhodia pads: Most people will mention these. Extremely smooth, very fountain pen friendly. So smooth, however, that inks like Noodler's Black that are formulated for crappy paper take forever to dry on it. They also come in books. Most people get used to the dots and never go back.

Clairefontaine: I'm not familiar but people mention them a lot and they seem like a very economical choice. I think they're more popular in Europe as school notebooks.

Midori: The Japanese don't mess around when it comes to writing. While basically naked compared to Leuchtturm or Moleskine, these have buttery smooth paper that while thin, feels fantastic to write on and doesn't bleed. There's a coveted cotton version (important because cotton is archival and good for watercolor) but I've never been able to track one down. It doesn't help that the online american outlets are poorly translated and usually don't know what they're packing since they look the same. See also: Apica

Leuchtturm 1917: A great journal or idea book, basically a Moleskine with better paper and perks. I used this as a daily journal. The pages are thin enough that you get ghosting especially with darker black inks but I write on both sides anyway.

If you're looking for a sketchbook I've spent a little too much time researching them and I think Stillman & Birn are really the one and only choice. Not only are they cheap by a price/sheet ratio but the quality is outstanding - extremely durable binding that tolerates being turned inside-out, thick paper with a variety of finishes so you can make a decision of what suits your medium. Epsilon or Gamma are the way to go for pure line ink work, though I've gotten away with light washes.

Hope this helps, enjoy your pen.

I'm in the same situation. The Rhodia Dot and Muji notebooks.

For me it was finding a type of notebook that worked for me. I tried a Leuchtturm type notebook and didn't like it (unpopular opinion, it seems) because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and not being able to remove pages cleanly bothered me. Also as a lefty it wasn't the most comfortable.

Then I tried a spiral-bound notebook from Muji and the paper was great and I enjoyed it for awhile but it still wasn't quite flexible enough for me.

Eventually I found out about the discbound system and fell in love with it. Super customizable and flexible. Pages can be easily removed and reordered. You can also take the pages out if you want to write without the discs getting in the way. I love it. I also am able to put in dividers to make different sections for even more organization which is a huge plus for me. I use the cover from the Martha Stewart collection and then have a discbound punch that I use to punch sheets out of this notepad from Rhodia. It works perfectly for me and keeps me motivated because it fits all of my preferences.

After your suggestions my current amazon cart for her is:

Calligraphy: A Beginner's Guide to Pointed Pen and Brush Pen Lettering

Hand Lettering for Relaxation: An Inspirational Workbook for Creating Beautiful Lettered Art

Strathmore 300 Series Drawing Pad, Medium Surface, 9"x12" Glue Bound, 50 Sheets

Rhodia No.16 A5 6 x 8 1/4 80 Sheet, Dot Pad.

Tombow 56191 Advanced Lettering Set.

Pilot Parallel Pen 2-Color Calligraphy Pen Set, with Black and Red Ink Cartridges in 2.4mm Nib size and 3.8mm Nib size with extra 12 assorted colors cartridges and 12 black cartridges. I assume the cartridges are not dependent on nib size as that would be infuriatingly stupid. Only dependent on the brands pen circumference? Correct me if I am wrong on that.

Hopefully that's pretty comprehensive but as far as speedball goes these are the texts I've found:

Speedball Textbook 24th Edition for $8.67.

Speedball Textbook: For Pen and Brush Lettering, 20th Edition for $113.35.

The Speedball Textbook, a comprehensive Guide to Pen and Brush Lettering, 23rd, Twenth-Third Edition for $51.01 new.

Did you have a specific edition in mind? A lot of the ones I'm seeing on amazon vary greatly as shown above.