So, I neglected to mention at the time, but last week, I finally set aside a Moleskine. This was the very first Moleskine I bought, way back in August 2006; ruled, large. I used it as a journal, with varying levels of success, for just over two years.
I wrote in it with a variety of pens. I started with a Parker Jotter ballpen, then lost it and switched to a Parker Vector medium point fountain pen with blue Quink. After that ran out, I switched to Noodler’s Polar Black. Unsatisfied with how the paper handled so much liquid ink, I changed to a Pilot Knight with a Montblanc fine point black rollerball refill. I switched to an Ohto Tasche medium point compact fountain pen with Noodler’s Polar Black when I got it, then back to the Knight/Montblanc. Keren got me a fine point Pilot Knight fountain pen, which I used with the same polar black ink until it was full.
It’s sad to see it go, but it’s a record of a very different place and time of my life, and I’m happy to have the memories preserved. It saw me through two homes in two cities and states, four cars, three jobs, my marriage and the birth of my daughter. Godspeed, Moleskine.
It’s replaced by a new Moleskine, same size and type. I’ve had it since the end of last year, but I have a strict rule about finishing the previous book before using the new one. While it’s the same size and kind, the Moleskine manufacturing process has changed. The oilcloth cover is much softer on the new journal, the elastic band is narrower and thinner, and the paper is better. I was surprised at the paper. The old one was quite scratchy for a fountain pen, while the new one is much smoother and doesn’t seem to feather as bad. With all of the bad noise about decreasing Moleskine quality, it’s nice to see that their paper is improving.
I would post some pictures of old vs. new, but my camera is currently unavailable. My old Moleskine had a defend Capitol Hill sticker on the back and a Logic Probe (a Seattle noise band) button on the band. The new one is currently unadorned.
I also failed to mention when I got them, but I got a set of the new Volants. They’re straight from Italy; they should be going into U.S. shops any day now. They’re better than I thought. I expected them to have the mushy-soft texture of the soft-cover notebooks/planners, but they feel very much like the old Volants. While there are two new sizes (large and extra small, in addition to the normal pocket size), they are only available with ruled paper. The old Volants came in squared, ruled, and plain.
