The Leuchtturm1917 Finds A Few Mates

The Leuchtturm1917 paper is so nice to write on that finding compatible inks and pens has become a quest. Every duo on hand whether for personal use or testing purposes gets a page to itself in the search for suitable matches. With a few exceptions, wide and flex nibs have caused dots of bleed through. There is some show through, but it isn’t a deterrent for me. At least in my journal, neither is the tiny degree of Moleskine-like feathering. How the pen moves across the paper is more important for private musings and the sheer joy of writing.

Best duos

• Lamy AL-Star EF with Noodler’s Black
• Conklin Duragraph Stub with Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu
• Levenger True Write F with Pelikan Violet
• Noodler’s Naponset with Iroshizuku yu-yake
• TWSBI 580 1.1 with Diamine Violet
• Platinum #3776 music nib with J. Herbin Terre de Feu or Cafe des Iles
• Vintage Platinum Karakusa 18k EF with Noodler’s El Lawrence
• Pilot Kakuno M with Diamine Mediterranean Blue

Most disappointing duos

• Platinum Nice M with Diamine Wild Strawberry
• Platinum Yamanaka SM with Diamine Merlot
• Pelikan M200 italic with Iroshizuku tsuki-yo
• Noodler’s 1820 Essex Konrad Flex with Noodler’s Dostoyevsky

The paper is absorbent so free-flowing inks produced the most bleed through. After testing more than twenty, this is now a predictable characteristic eliminating some inks from use in the Leuchtturm. No hardship since other inks work just fine.

However, the tendency to feather along a few of the fibers will be off-putting to some users.

A Pentel Pocket Brush Pen with J. Herbin Lie de The or Noodler’s Kiowa Pecan showed no feathering or bleed through. Good mates for this journal are to be found.

What continues to surprise is the way in which the paper handles light watercolor washes. There is very little buckling though with some colors I had to work at getting enough paint down. The paper held up well considering the abuse. No bleed through, but watercolor is more dense than ink. With more coarsely grained pigment particles and less water than ink, paint dries on the surface. It isn’t as translucent as ink, but for a hit of color or some doodles in margins, watercolor will do the trick.

This might seem like heresy, but the Leuchtturm1917 journal provides a wonderfully soft surface for my Autopoint mechanical pencil with HB lead. Should the need arise, a FACTIS extra soft eraser will leave the paper’s surface intact. It can even be used gently on art paper.

The deal here is that I love the paper and needed to persist to find good mates for it. Hey, persistence is a positive trait, isn’t it?