Keep a journal?? Paper/Binding etc.

Hey guys,

I've got two young girls, and a bad memory. I was thinking about keeping a journal (3 actually, one general things I want to pass to both girls, and then one for each of them with specific memories). I would record things like stories before they fade, family history, lessons, my beliefs.

it's a two reason idea. 1. if something happens to me at some point or my memories fade too much. 2. my dad never did this, and now that he's passed I find it hard to remember certain things. I have beliefs and opinions based on things he said and showed me but cannot always remember the incidents or all the words.

Long explanation to get to the questions.

Do any of you keep a journal?
What is a good pen to use? (I know some of you guys love fountain pens, I've never used one. I don't have great handwriting, but I do still write in cursive, and according to females it's pretty good for a guy. I figured a ballpoint wouldn't bleed through.
What's a good paper? I looked at some that have Amalfi Paper. I'd really like to find a really good one with hemp paper. but can't find anything. I kinda liked the looks of these

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c..._2044_61507649

There is also a lady that does them by hand, moonbindery, her stuff is rustic and interesting.

Etsy :: moonbindery :: Large handbound leather journal or sketchbook. black. 240 pages. medieval stitch binding

thanks for your input gents.

Red

I was just browsing around on a website which had a journal or two. I'd think a lot of places have them
here are two examples of theirs 1 2. All you have to do really is pick something that you like the looks of or otherwise tickles your fancy.

As for a pen, it really varies what people like. Which point-type to use heft or size. It's not a bad idea to go to s a shop and try them out in your hand.

To archive you will need acid free paper and acid free ink or archival ink and acid free tape.

Scrapbooking stores should have what you need.

After that its all up to asthetics.

That's a cool idea Red, I think I might join you. SWMBO says I have a bad memory (I think it's selective), so it'd be nice to jot down some thoughts. I've tried keeping one in the past, but keeping it up daily was a tough thing for me. However, I'm about to make a big change, so it might be a good idea to start forcing myself to do this.

I love that hand bound journal. That is beautiful!

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Originally Posted by Big Red

Hey guys,
I've got ..... bad memory.

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Now that's interesting to know. :w

Any particular reason you want to use pen and paper. Why not start a digital diary and or journal. At least you can backup, not have to worry about paper deterioration, go green like paperless banking statements or getting destroyed and if you have a laptop you can do it anywhere, anytime.

I've kept journals off and on for 30 years. I don't like ballpoints and use either a fountain pen or dip pen. There are many expensive journals that have crap paper for fountain pen inks. The inks feather, bleed through the paper, or both. I like Claire Fontaine and Rhodia papers and journals, available at Pendemonium.com.

Also consider writing letters to your girls. Hand write the letter, put it in an envelope, and mail it to them. Even if the letter just comes back home, they'll get a charge out of it. When you're gone, those letters will tell so much more about you than a neatly typed, or God forbid, electronic, missive. Just imagine your great-great-great grandson admiring your handwritten letters, journals, and your str8s.

Do it! Someone in the 22nd century will be grateful.

I don't keep a journal, but when I recently wrote a book, out of sheer stubborness I wrote the whole thing by hand, in a blank book.

1. use a fountain pen, your hand won't get as tired because you won't have to press like you do with a ballpoint. gold nibs are best.
2. use good ink. i've found Noodler's Bulletproof inks to be the absolute apotheosis of archival inks. they are completely immutable on good paper and remain colorfast even after being in the sun for a few years.
3. use good paper. the best paper i've found that is mass produced is Moleskine. however, if you want a book (journal) there are several options. this guy
... FS : My homemade/handmade journals ... - The Fountain Pen Network
does amazing journals, by hand, at very reasonable prices. specifically designed for foutain pens.

if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

is writing with a fountain pen different than with a regular pen? is it a PITA for storage/maintenance?

Max you'd think I'd do it all on the computer wouldn't you, beings I spend so many hours a day in front of one. BUT I would rather do it on paper. I think later it would mean more. plus books are going the way of the dodo. and especially handwriting. in 20 years my daughters probably won't even know what cursive is.

I will write them letters later when they're older. they're 3 and 18mo right now. neither can read let alone get excited about mail. :-)

Red

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Originally Posted by Big Red

is writing with a fountain pen different than with a regular pen? is it a PITA for storage/maintenance?
Red

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yes, it's very different. it's kind of like writing with a ballpoint, in the same way that driving a ferrari is kind of like driving a buick.

maintenance is higher than a ballpoint, but mostly consists of filling it with ink when it runs out. pretty minimal. certainly less work than a razor.

I would encourage using a fountain pen. Start economical (lamy) if you like it go to a more expensive gold nib pen. I have found that a fountain pen improves my penmanship. I write slower and am more particular. It also gives you the ability to use different inks.

BTW what do you want to journal? I would love to keep one but other than the weather not much happens to me that I could document. I would be interested to see what people log. I might get some ideas on what to put in one.

Don

A good pen however does nothing for spelling

That's a good idea, I have a terrible memory. I recently posted about keeping a Journal on razor honing, you know, what I did to what blade, what worked, and what didn't simply because I don't remember. You want paper and pen that will stand the test of time. At first I thought maybe putting it into the computer and backing up it to disk, but that's impersonal.
A handwritten journal would be much more valuable to your children, I'm sure. Thanks for sharing you idea...
Rich

Good idea Red,I know your girls will appreciate it!

I picked up a journal about 4 or 5 years ago on ebay, unfortunately I haven't kept at it and only infrequently add to it with major events. My journal has a suede leather cover and string leather binding (holes in the pad for the binding to pass). It's roughly 3x6 (roughly, don't have it at hand to measure).

I also use a fountain pen, a good pen to learn with is a Hero 616, it's a chinese imitation of the Parker 51. I have a vintage Parker 51 demi (vacumatic) as well as the Hero and switch between the two.

I do this for my daughters. On computer. When they are 18 I plan to have it printed, and bound in leather.
I make regular backups of course. :)

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Originally Posted by Bruno

I do this for my daughters. On computer. When they are 18 I plan to have it printed, and bound in leather.
I make regular backups of course. :)

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You should make a font of your handwriting:D

Thats a great idea, for many reasons! +1 for the Lamy idea. Its a great way to start with fountain pens, I suggest a Safari in your favourite colour, and something in a medium or fine nib. A good thing to add is a converter, so you can use any bottled ink instead of cartridges. Lamy USA - Lamy Pens, Lamy Pencils, and Lamy Refills

Another benefit of this company is they are great with customer service, you can order spare parts should it break, and they are very durable, especially if you get one in aluminum.

You will notice that your hand-writing may become neater as fountain pens tend to slow down the hand a little.

As far as up-keep goes, with a quality pen it shouldn't leak. Just be sure if you fly to have it either completely filled or completely empty, as the change in air pressure will adversly affect the ink, causing a leak. Routine maintenance is pretty basic. Rinse in cool water, flush the nib and cap. As with your razor, you want it dry. I just use wadded up tissue-paper to blot out the excess water, or let it dry overnight. I also flush cool water through the converter, to keep it clean. I like to let the nib rest against a tissue and let it naturally blot out the remaining ink. Then when all is dry, re-assmble, fill with your ink of choice, and you're off and writing.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck with it all! I started with fountain pens in highschool because I hated using scratchy, cheap disposables. I was given a nice Waterman Philieas to start with. Then I bought a Lamy, and have been very happy with it. That was about 9 years ago.

I started a shave journal, just for interest sake. To try and keep track of which razor or technique I did well, what needed to be worked on, and any thoughts or ideas that spring up while shaving. Plus, its a nice relaxing way to finish up a weekend shave especially. The quiet solitude of shaving tends to free the mind and thoughts abound. Sorry if this is a hi-jack.

Forgot to add that pen collecting can be just as addicting as RAD and the others. :tu

Thanks all, I'm finding more and more journals out there. some specifically say that they work with fountain pens. I checked out the bulletproof inks. I need to find a site that has all their bulletproof series in one list. I don't know what color I'll go with, I'm thinking a deep blue or the black.

I doubt I'd get addicted to pens too. first time I have to disassemble and clean one I'll get irritated and pull out a bic. :)

I make up stories for my older daughter (the younger one isn't at the bed time story stage yet) and want to write them down as well.

Red

I keep journals since 2004 - I call them Notebooks (Cadernos, in my native portuguese), number and date them. I'm currently reaching the end of my "Caderno VII". And the funny thing is... I recently decided to (In good humour...) to write some notes to my grandchlidren... the unborn kids of my unborn (and to be so for yet a long time...) kids... "Grandpa is crazy!" But the serious thing is that these document a lot of my personal and, more importantly, my intelectual life. These can be of great value for family members, I guess, and if I turn out to be a great composer, it may turn out to be important to historians and musicologists!

I think tha keeping a journal is a very important thing. You see an intimate side of the person who wrote the said journals. That way, Big Red, you can take note of a number of things for yourself, but leave a legacy - in fact, a great part of you - to your girls. What you'll put in paper will be more than memory. It will be the time you spent writing those with the love of a father that wishes to leave more of himself to his loved baby girls. I think that is absolutely beatifull... Good for you, Red! :bow

Now... technicalities: I don't use Moleskine notebooks myself but I know that the paper is very good and they will last a long time. The paper is soft and deals very well with good quality ink. They are well made, though a bit expensive. Plus, they are the ultimate "no fuss" journals. Black, hard cover, elastic band to keep them closed and an envelope glued to the back cover (inside...) to keep things. They are expensive though... that's mainly because I don't use them. But again... I am picky and a bit OCD so, because my first "Caderno" was of a different sort, I cannot continue my journals in a radically different book... so I'm stuck with lower quality paper, but with the same level of bright intelectual activity! ;)

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Originally Posted by Big Red

I need to find a site that has all their bulletproof series in one list. I don't know what color I'll go with, I'm thinking a deep blue or the black.

Red

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there isn't one. they do special colors for different vendors. (for instance, fountainpennetwork.com (the SRP of fountain pens) commissioned a trio of special inks last fall) pendemonium.com has dibs on iraqi indigo (or whatever it's called now) and legal lapis (which is very nice blue-black and is utterly permanent.) fountainpenhospital.com has some exclusives, etc, etc.

I keep a journal of sorts, a professional journal and a private one. While I don't have the fancy fountain pen set up (I'm a very messy person, the ink from a fountain pen would eventually go everywhere), I was able to combine my love for gadgets with the need to take and archive hand written journal entires.

I use a Livescribe Pulse pen religiously and it certainly makes my journal keeping easy and enjoyable.

Here's a link you can check it out:"http://www.livescribe.com/"

All of my handwritten notes, journal and logbook entries can be converted into a document to be stored on my computer in handwritten form or converted to text using a pretty accurate OCR (optical character recognition) software.

I don't even use all of the features. I am definetly giving one of these to my daughter for college.

My job requires me to take a lot of notes and keeping a journal just comes natural. This device really helps me out.

Work notes are kept in big spiral binders and personal journal entires are kept in a moleskine.

Thanks again everybody, this time I actually went in and made it official ;)

fpessanha you said that you are particular about what you use for your writing. what kind of journals do you use?

Man this is more involved than I thought! I also need to take a look at some simple illustration tutorials, so I can horrible illustrate the stories I write the girls.

Red

I don't keep a journal but I do make alot of notes and sketches. The best book I've come across with the best paper is Moleskine History, MoleskineUS

I've decided to do it digitally. I carry a flash drive with me and have two documents, both are password protected.
I'll make regular backups and may or may not have it printed. It's very personal. I want my Children to have it when I'm gone. One Document is like a brief history of me from Childhood to present. It's amazing as I type what I remember. The other wlll be day to day, Whatever's on my mind, Things that are going on, very free form. This works for me because I have terrible handwriting and can type very fast. Spellcheck is a plus, and I'm no longer married, so it keeps it private....