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Leuchtturm1917 – Writer's Bloc Blog

8 Tips For Using the Leuchtturm1917 Adhesive Pen Loop

Leuchtturm1917 Adhesive Pen Loop
Leuchtturm1917 Adhesive Pen Loop

The Leuchtturm1917 Adhesive Pen Loop is a easy way to add a handy pen holder to a paper notebook or journal that doesn’t have one. Just peel the backing off the small 1.5″ x 1.5″ square piece of vinyl, stick it on to where you want it and voila, your notebook has a new elastic pencil or pen loop! Here are 8 tips for using your Leuchtturm1917 pen loop:

Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop stuck on a Quo Vadis Habana Journal
Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop stuck on a large Quo Vadis Habana Journal
  1. The Leuchtturm1917 pen loop works best with slender writing tools such as regular size wooden pencils, Staedtler triplus pens, cheap Bic or Paper Mate ballpoints, Sakura Gelly Roll pens, you get the idea. I didn’t like using pens with rubberized or highly textured grips with this pen loop because they are too difficult to slide in and out. Maybe you are more patient than I am.
Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop holding a Staedtler Triplus Textsurfer
Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop holding a Staedtler Triplus Textsurfer

2. I was able to use the pen loop to hold pens with a medium size barrel only if they were cigar-shaped (tapered on the ends) and had a smooth barrel. A couple of examples of this are the Platinum Plaisir fountain pen and Pentel Tradio pens.

Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop holding a Platinum Plaisir Fountain Pen
Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop holding a Platinum Plaisir Fountain Pen

3. For pens with a wide barrel and squared ends, the best you can do is attach your pen clip to the elastic pen loop. Check out the photo below to see how you can use it with the clip on your LAMY Safari fountain pen.

4. When I use a fountain pen, most often I prefer to write with it “unposted”, or without the cap placed on the top (non-nib) end of the pen. While I’m writing, I’m always looking for a place to put the cap so I won’t lose it. The pen holder is a handy place to attach the clip of my fountain pen cap until I need the cap again.

Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop holds a LAMY Safari by the clip only
Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop holds a LAMY Safari by the clip only

5. Think before you stick. The Leuchtturm1917 pen loop is only meant to be stuck in one place and not removed and stuck somewhere else. I put mine in the center of the back cover of my large Quo Vadis Habana Journal because I am planning on using the pen loop to grasp the center portion of my pen. If you want to use it to grasp the top part of a pen near the clip, you’re better off sticking the pen holder near the top of your notebook. It’s a good idea to figure out what pen you want to use with the holder, put the pen in the loop, and then put it next to your notebook to figure out where you want to place it before you stick it on the cover.

6. Once my notebook is used up, I will get another pen loop to stick on a fresh new notebook. This makes sense, because even if the Leuchtturm1917 pen loop used the best quality materials in the world, over time they eventually wear out.

Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop
Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop

7. The pen loop is not a fool-proof way to avoid losing your pens and pencils. You still need to exercise care so as to not lose your valuable writing tools. Also, if you want to remove the pen loop, don’t expect it to remove cleanly.

Leuchtturm Pen Loop holding an Apple Pencil
Leuchtturm Pen Loop holding an Apple Pencil

8. Even though the Leuchtturm1917 pen loop is designed to be used with paper notebooks, some people have successfully used it on a tablet or smart phone cover to hold a stylus for their device. It does a great job at holding the Apple Pencil! This is a hack, so try this at your own risk.

How do you use your Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop? Do you have any tips or tricks to share?

Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop
Leuchtturm1917 Pen Loop

 

 

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Dot Grid Paper is Here to Stay

Rhodia dotPad
Rhodia dotPad

2010 is when Rhodia first introduced us to the dotPad: a familiar Rhodia bloc filled with a paper unfamiliar to many, dot grid. What is this dot grid paper you say? Instead of lines or graphs or nothing at all this paper has a grid of tiny dots that guide your writing, notes and sketches. It feels less cluttered than lined or graph paper, but it still provides a subtle way to organize where to place things on the page.

Rhodia Webnotepad with Dot Grid Paper
Rhodia Webnotepad with Dot Grid Paper

The original dot grid paper offered by Rhodia is 80g bright white with a 5 mm x 5 mm grid of pale violet dots. The following year, in 2011, Rhodia brought us Webbies with 90g ivory paper and a 5 mm x 5 mm grid of pale grey dots. Both of these types of paper live up to Rhodia’s high standard of quality and are fountain pen friendly.

Clairefontaine Graf it Dot Grid Sketch Books
Clairefontaine Graf it Dot Grid Sketch Books

For those of you who like to do your drawings and notes with a pencil, Clairefontaine created Graf it Sketch Pads with 90g dot grid sketchbook paper. They have matte textured paper with a bit of tooth to it, making it especially suitable for drawing with pencil. We stock both the large and medium size sketchbooks.

Leuchtturm1917 Hard Cover Dot Grid Journal
Leuchtturm1917 Hard Cover Dot Grid Journal

When it comes to dot grid paper, another company worth noting is Leuchtturm1917 from Germany. They have many colors of classic hardcover and softcover journals that include 80g off-white dot grid paper. These notebooks have numbered pages and a table of contents to help you find your notes. (We’re expecting more to arrive in July.)

Leuchtturm1917 Whitelines Link Dot Grid Journal
Leuchtturm1917 Whitelines Link Dot Grid Journal

Leuchtturm1917 also has a Whitelines Link journal that contains light grey paper with a subtle 5mm grid of off-white dots to guide you while you are sketching or writing. The dotted background disappears when you copy, scan or fax this paper. Handwritten sketches and notes can be digitalized using a smartphone app with automatic capture and then the dots disappear. Pretty high tech for a notebook!

Dot grid notebooks first arrived in our shop way back in 2010 and they have been best sellers ever since. What’s your favorite dot grid notebook?

Leuchtturm1917 Whitelines Link Notebook
Leuchtturm1917 Whitelines Link Notebook

 

 

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Best Paper Notebooks for Left-Handed Writers

If you are left-handed you know what I’m talking about – the binding style and type of paper in a notebook can really make a difference as to how comfortable and functional your notebook is. Here is a list of five of my favorites:

1) Stitch Bound Notebooks. I love writing in journals or notepads with stitched binding! Many of these notebooks are able to open nice and flat which is great for when you’re reaching over the inside margins of the pages to write on the page on the right. There’s no wire spiral or metal rings to get in the way of your reach. In addition, the stitching keeps the pages from falling out.

Journals with sewn binding that I like to use include the Exacompta Forum Journal, Quo Vadis Habana Journal and Rhodia Webnotebook.

Exacompta Forum Journals with a Club Cover
Exacompta Forum Journals with a Club Cover
Quo Vadis Habana Journal in Black
Quo Vadis Habana Journal in Black
Rhodia Webnotebook with an Orange Cover
Rhodia Webnotebook with an Orange Cover

2) Side Staple Notebooks. This type of notebook is functional for the same reasons as the stitch bound notebook. It may not be as classy, but it is usually less expensive and allows for comfortable writing. A few of examples include the Clairefontaine Crok Book Sketch Notebook, Clairefontaine Side Staple Notebooks and Rhodia Side Stapled Notebooks.

Clairefontaine Crok Book Sketch Notebook
Clairefontaine Crok Book Sketch Notebook
Rhodia A4 Side Stapled Notebook
Rhodia A4 Side Stapled Notebook

3) Top Staple or Top Wire Notebooks. Top staple or top wire notepads work pretty well for a lefty. The only awkwardness occurs when writing near the top of the page where the spiral or staples are. This is the only type of wirebound notebook that I prefer to use for writing. To try: Rhodia Top Staple Notepads, Rhodia Top Wire Notepads, Clairefontaine Top Staple Notepads and Clairefontaine Top Wire Notepads.

Rhodia Ice Top Staple Notepad & LAMY Al-Star Fountain Pen
Rhodia Ice Top Staple Notepad & LAMY Al-Star Fountain Pen
Clairefontaine A4 Top Wire Notepad
Clairefontaine A4 Top Wire Notepad

4) Glue Bound Notepads. Most glue binding provides a nice flat surface for writing without any obstacles to get in the way of your hand. Sometimes, glue bound notepads tend to want to snap shut or their pages break loose and fall out when they aren’t supposed to. Of course, these problems are annoying to both right-handed and left-handed writers. A couple of glue bound notepads with tear-off pages that I like are the Leuchtturm1917 A4 Academy Pad and the Clairefontaine Triomphe Writing Tablet.

Leuchtturm1917 A4 Academy Pad
Leuchtturm1917 A4 Academy Pad
Clairefontaine Triomphe Stationery Tablet
Clairefontaine Triomphe Stationery Tablet

5) Non-Smearing Paper. I’m not sure if there is such a thing as paper that completely prevents ink from smearing as I write, but I do know that depending on what writing instrument I’m using, some paper stops ink from smearing better than others. Sometimes I’ll choose what notebook to use depending on what I’m writing with that day. Leuchtturm1917 notebooks include a nice quality paper that works well for me when I’m using Pentel Energel pens (I’ve found that I can write with Energel pens even though I constantly smear the ink of most other gel pens) or fountain pens.

Leuchtturm1917 Journal in Pink
Leuchtturm1917 Journal in Pink

Are you a lefty? What kind of notebooks do you love to write in?

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Dot Grid Paper: Think Outside the Box and Color Outside the Lines

Have you tried dot grid paper? It’s the new freckled kid on the block! In contrast to traditional wide rule, college rule, narrow rule, French rule, graph, grid, blank or plain paper, dot grid paper has a grid of evenly spaced dots designed to be subtle guides for your writing or sketching. Frequently these dots are spaced at 5mm intervals across the page and could be compared to the intersections of the lines on 5mm graph paper. However, since there are only light colored dots instead of the busy lines on graph paper, the dotted format is a much less intrusive way to guide your pen or pencil across the page.

If you wanted to give dotted paper a try, what options are available to you? This blog post is our shopping guide to some of the dot grid paper we love.

Dot Grid Paper Journals

Rhodia Webnotebook - Medium, Orange, Dot Grid
Rhodia Webnotebook with Dot Grid Paper

The dotted Rhodia Webnotebook has deliciously smooth ivory colored 90g paper that pairs well with fountain pens. The Italian leatherette hard-cover comes in either orange or black, and the journal comes in both medium and pocket sizes.

 

Leuchtturm 1917 Hard Cover Dots Notebook - Gray Cover
Leuchtturm 1917 Hard Cover Dots Notebook – Gray Cover

Leuchtturm1917 makes a classy hard cover journal with quality 80g off-white dot grid paper. A cool feature of these journals is that they have numbered pages and a blank table of contents so that you can easily find your place when you need to.

Dotted Reporter Style Notebooks

Rhodia Webnotepad - 3.5 x 5.5, Black, Dot Grid
Rhodia Reporter Style Webnotepad – 3.5 x 5.5, Black, Dot Grid

When you need to take notes or make sketches on the go a reporter style notepad sure comes in handy. Take some dotted paper on the road with the Rhodia Webnotepad.

Dot Grid Top-Stapled Notepads

Rhodia DotPad No. 18 - 8.25 x 11.75" Black Cover
Rhodia DotPad No. 18 – 8.25 x 11.75″ Black Cover

Rhodia DotPads have bright white paper with a 5mm grid of pale violet dots. These notepads are so versatile you can use them just about anywhere!

Dot Grid Sketch Pads

Clairefontaine Graf it 90g Sketch Pad - 6x8, Dot Grid Paper
Clairefontaine Graf it 90g Sketch Pad – 6×8″, Dot Grid Paper

When you frequently use a pencil for writing or drawing, paper with just the right amount of tooth is much appreciated. The Clairefontaine Graf it Sketch Pad has white 90g acid-free paper with a subtle grid of pale violet dots. These notepads are versatile enough to be used as either a sketchbook or a notebook.

What’s your favorite dot grid paper? What do you like to use it for?

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A Shopping Guide for Choosing the Perfect Appointment Book or Planner

Exacompta Forum Journal Undated Planners

There are currently so many styles of appointment books, diaries and planners to choose from. If you don’t already have a favorite how can you find a format that is just right for you? Here is a shopping guide that groups a bunch of our favorite planners into categories that will help you get just what you need. In each category the planners are listed from the smallest (at the top) to the largest in size.

DAILY PLANNERS

For Detailed Schedules

Exacompta Journal 21

For General Plans

Alice’s Diary – 7321 Design (undated)
Quo Vadis Notor
Exacompta Forum Journal (undated)

With Room For Notes

Alice’s Diary – 7321 Design (undated)
Quo Vadis Notor
Exacompta Forum Journal (undated)
Exacompta Journal 21

WEEKLY PLANNERS

For Detailed Schedules

Exacompta Visual
Quo Vadis Minister
Bob’s Your Uncle 8-Days-A-Week Planner Journal (undated)
Quo Vadis Trinote
Quo Vadis Prenote

For General Plans

Quo Vadis Miniweek
Bob’s Your Uncle 8-Days-A-Week Mini Planner (undated)
Quo Vadis Business
Rhodia Webplanner
Exacompta Space 17
Quo Vadis Biweek
Quo Vadis Executive
Leuchtturm 1917 Weekly Planner & Notebook
Quo Vadis Hebdo
Exacompta Space 24
Quo Vadis IB Traveler Pocket Planner

With Room For Notes

Rhodia Webplanner
Exacompta Space 17
Leuchtturm 1917 Weekly Planner & Notebook
Exacompta Space 24
Quo Vadis IB Traveler Pocket Planner

MONTHLY PLANNERS

For General Plans

Quo Vadis Visoplan
Quo Vadis Monthly 4

With Room For Notes

Quo Vadis Monthly 4

SPECIAL NEEDS

If it is important that your appointment book contains fountain pen friendly paper take a look at this list of suggestions: Fountain Pen Friendly Planners

If you’re looking for a planner that covers a school year (starting the year in July or August) check out this blog post: What is an Academic Planner?

If you would like to know if an “undated” planner is suitable for you can read more about them here: Undated Planners featuring Choo Choo Diary Season V.

What is your favorite planner format?

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