I've been using Tomoe River lately, but I also like Clairefontaine's Triomphe paper and notebooks as well. It's smoother than their Rhodia paper and handles ink similarly to Tomoe River, although the sheen and shimmer doesn't show up quite as well as on the Tomoe River paper.
This is the second mention of Clairefontaine's Triomphe so I will definitely be purchasing some to try it out, it doesn't seem to be that widely available in Aus, but I guess that's what Amazon is for :)
@@SorrowisKnowledge I'll be looking forward to what you think about it. (I bought mine from Appelboom, but I think that would be a bit spendy for you.) There are also matching envelopes for both the A4 and A5 paper, and I use those envelopes all the time.
Tomoe River paper is really amazing. I have been using my Hobonichi daily notebook for a year now with various fountain pens & inks and it really shows all the properties of the inks (color is vibrant, sheen & shading) and provides a very smooth writing experience. It's disadvantages are the long drying time ⏲️ (it often makes a mess on the page) and the not really white color of the paper that disadvantages dark inks- you need vibrant inks to show up. Rhodia is far more versatile (drying time is OK) but it makes inks look more flat (not much sheen and shading). Clairefontaine paper is in the middle of these two at a price close to Rhodia and smoother when writing, but it is not widely available (I got mine from Belgium). Tomoe River 68gsm is also much better than 52gsm and it has a nice white color (I use Endless notebooks).
Thanks for the video, I agree with the conclusion about which between the two you prefer. If you would ever want to make a "premium" version of this video you should compare Clairefontaine Triomphe paper and Tomoe River 68 g/sm paper, the best both have to offer. Have you ever tried either? I have yet to try the Tomoe River 68 g/sm but I can tell you that the Triomphe is like writing on silk, especially with something very smooth like a Lamy 2000 !
Thanks for the suggestion! I haven't tried either, but I will definitely look into buying them to see how they compare. Paper makes such a big difference to the experience but it often neglected. I also envy your 2000, its on my wish list
I personally use Rhodia as my main notebooks for my study. They might not be the best paper I could get, but they're by far nicer than what I can get from my local non-specialised pen stores and the place I do get them actually allows for bulk discount, which is great for me. Plus: the rapid drying times are decently important to me, as I tend to use A5 notebooks for small lecture hall tables and end up flipping pages often within seconds of writing the last lines. To me, all of these features make Rhodia the clear winner.
I pretty much use Rhodia exclusively for notepads for letters, for the same reason as you in that it dries fast, is fountain pen friendly and no fuss. Notebooks will also be Leuchtturm1917 for me
I’m also usually more into the rhodia for my letters, but currently going through a stack of TR and writing pens and inks on a separate sheet of rhodia (switching pens and inks every page) and I realized that the TR showed off specifically sailor Virginia used with a Lamy 2000 OBB nib so much better - sheen was much less visible on the Rhodia… over all Rhodia still wins for me too. I’m equally fascinated by how well the TR performs even though it’s so thin! Dag (paperdag)
I think we share the same view, while the TR looks amazing, sometimes a paper like Rhodia is just more practical, especially when writing large amounts for letters. I feel like I'm really missing out on the Lamy 2000, might have to prioritize my savings for one!
@@SorrowisKnowledge yes! And I recently purchased the Clairefontaine Triomphe, reading the other comments I’m looking forward to trying that! Yes, the Lamy 2000, …crack the piggy bank! 😜🙌🏻🖋💫
For studies, I use a 100 gsm school paper; all inks look good on it and it’s really inexpensive. But, for my letters to pen pals, I use only the 52 gsm Tomoe River paper. I always use the same vintage pen and mostly Akkerman inks. I have found a couple of Akkerman colours which don’t play well with Tomoe River paper. Otherwise, the inks always show well and the shading is wonderful. I don’t have a problem with drying time but I always use an ink blotter on the last lines so I can turn the page. I am able to easily write on both sides without any bleed-through. This paper is a bit spendy but it is so lightweight that I save money on postage (all my pen pals live outside my country). I don’t think I could be persuaded to change to another brand!
Tomoe River really is an amazing paper, I actually have a blotter also but I haven't used it, that's very old school! I would use it if I wasn't so clumsy and always smudging it. I think Rhodia is a nice no-nonsense paper which still looks great.
@@SorrowisKnowledge It does take some practice to use a rocker blotter without smudging. However, you can always take a sheet of blotter paper and gently lay it down on the writing and gently rub over it. That works perfectly and it's often seen in the old movies. That's what the blotter writing pads for desks was used for. It can be difficult to find proper blotter paper; I know J Herbin used to sell it.
I've been using Tomoe River lately, but I also like Clairefontaine's Triomphe paper and notebooks as well. It's smoother than their Rhodia paper and handles ink similarly to Tomoe River, although the sheen and shimmer doesn't show up quite as well as on the Tomoe River paper.
This is the second mention of Clairefontaine's Triomphe so I will definitely be purchasing some to try it out, it doesn't seem to be that widely available in Aus, but I guess that's what Amazon is for :)
@@SorrowisKnowledge I'll be looking forward to what you think about it. (I bought mine from Appelboom, but I think that would be a bit spendy for you.) There are also matching envelopes for both the A4 and A5 paper, and I use those envelopes all the time.
The right paper makes a huge difference, specially when using an specialty ink. I use Kokuyo with sheening or shimmering inks.
Tomoe River paper is really amazing.
I have been using my Hobonichi daily notebook for a year now with various fountain pens & inks and it really shows all the properties of the inks (color is vibrant, sheen & shading) and provides a very smooth writing experience.
It's disadvantages are the long drying time ⏲️ (it often makes a mess on the page) and the not really white color of the paper that disadvantages dark inks- you need vibrant inks to show up.
Rhodia is far more versatile (drying time is OK) but it makes inks look more flat (not much sheen and shading).
Clairefontaine paper is in the middle of these two at a price close to Rhodia and smoother when writing, but it is not widely available (I got mine from Belgium).
Tomoe River 68gsm is also much better than 52gsm and it has a nice white color (I use Endless notebooks).
Thanks for the video, I agree with the conclusion about which between the two you prefer. If you would ever want to make a "premium" version of this video you should compare Clairefontaine Triomphe paper and Tomoe River 68 g/sm paper, the best both have to offer. Have you ever tried either? I have yet to try the Tomoe River 68 g/sm but I can tell you that the Triomphe is like writing on silk, especially with something very smooth like a Lamy 2000 !
Thanks for the suggestion! I haven't tried either, but I will definitely look into buying them to see how they compare. Paper makes such a big difference to the experience but it often neglected. I also envy your 2000, its on my wish list
I personally use Rhodia as my main notebooks for my study. They might not be the best paper I could get, but they're by far nicer than what I can get from my local non-specialised pen stores and the place I do get them actually allows for bulk discount, which is great for me. Plus: the rapid drying times are decently important to me, as I tend to use A5 notebooks for small lecture hall tables and end up flipping pages often within seconds of writing the last lines.
To me, all of these features make Rhodia the clear winner.
I pretty much use Rhodia exclusively for notepads for letters, for the same reason as you in that it dries fast, is fountain pen friendly and no fuss. Notebooks will also be Leuchtturm1917 for me
I’m also usually more into the rhodia for my letters, but currently going through a stack of TR and writing pens and inks on a separate sheet of rhodia (switching pens and inks every page) and I realized that the TR showed off specifically sailor Virginia used with a Lamy 2000 OBB nib so much better - sheen was much less visible on the Rhodia… over all Rhodia still wins for me too. I’m equally fascinated by how well the TR performs even though it’s so thin! Dag (paperdag)
I think we share the same view, while the TR looks amazing, sometimes a paper like Rhodia is just more practical, especially when writing large amounts for letters. I feel like I'm really missing out on the Lamy 2000, might have to prioritize my savings for one!
@@SorrowisKnowledge yes! And I recently purchased the Clairefontaine Triomphe, reading the other comments I’m looking forward to trying that! Yes, the Lamy 2000, …crack the piggy bank! 😜🙌🏻🖋💫
I literally *just* switched to Tomoe River after using Rhodia for many years and I was astonished by how much *better* Tomoe River is lol
For studies, I use a 100 gsm school paper; all inks look good on it and it’s really inexpensive. But, for my letters to pen pals, I use only the 52 gsm Tomoe River paper. I always use the same vintage pen and mostly Akkerman inks. I have found a couple of Akkerman colours which don’t play well with Tomoe River paper. Otherwise, the inks always show well and the shading is wonderful. I don’t have a problem with drying time but I always use an ink blotter on the last lines so I can turn the page. I am able to easily write on both sides without any bleed-through. This paper is a bit spendy but it is so lightweight that I save money on postage (all my pen pals live outside my country). I don’t think I could be persuaded to change to another brand!
Tomoe River really is an amazing paper, I actually have a blotter also but I haven't used it, that's very old school! I would use it if I wasn't so clumsy and always smudging it. I think Rhodia is a nice no-nonsense paper which still looks great.
@@SorrowisKnowledge It does take some practice to use a rocker blotter without smudging. However, you can always take a sheet of blotter paper and gently lay it down on the writing and gently rub over it. That works perfectly and it's often seen in the old movies. That's what the blotter writing pads for desks was used for. It can be difficult to find proper blotter paper; I know J Herbin used to sell it.