The Clairefontaine wirebound notebook.

Back when I got my free samples of J. Herbin Ink from Karen over at the Quo Vadis Blog, she also sent me over two very nice notebooks.  One of them was this Clairefontaine wirebound one subject, 90 page notebook.  This was my first time using the Clairefontaine paper, and I was very pleased with its performance.

You can usually find these notebooks for about $5.00 – $6.00 at your favorite stationary stores such as The Daily Planner.  The notebook measures in at 4 3/4″ by 6 3/4″ and has 90 sheets of 24lb., pH neutral, extra white vellum paper.  The sample I have here is black, but they come in various color combinations.

Writing sample in the Clairefontaine wirebound notebook with various pens and inks.

Usually I am not the biggest fan of wirebound notebooks, however this Clairefontaine notebook has a very sturdy laminated cover, and a double ring wire bound binding system.  These two features give the notebook a very sturdy feel as compared to some of the more inexpensive single coil bound notebooks with more flimsy covers.  In addition to the great cover and more sturdy binding system, this notebook has some of the best paper that I’ve ever written on.

The writing sample above were done with:

As  you can see, the drying time for these inks on the Clairefontaine paper is not incredibly quick, so if you are a lefty, this may not be the best paper for you.  I do however think that the incredible smoothness, almost complete lack of feathering or bleed through that you get with this paper totally outweighs the small issue of the slower drying time.  I also really like the bright white of this paper because it really works for showing off the different color inks, although with lighter or more subtle inks, they dont show up quite as well.

Clairefontaine wirebound notebook with J. Herbin Vert Empire writing sample

Summary of the Clairefontaine Wirebound Notebook

All of the pen and ink combinations I have tried on this paper have worked out really well.  The paper is honestly one of the nicest papers I’ve ever written on, the pens (rollerball, gel, and fountain) glide over the paper effortlessly and lay down super smooth lines.  If you are looking for a notebook that you can count on to not bleed or feather with your fountain pens, you really have no excuse not to try one of these.

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