Tomoe River 52gsm A3 Fountain Pen Doodle

A3 Doodle Project – March 2026

John BosleyMiscellaneous 10 Comments

Earlier this year I was gifted a pack of original A3-sized Tomoe River 52gsm paper. While I was very happy to receive such a wonderful gift, it immediately presented a problem for me. More than one, actually. First, what the heck am I going to do with A3 paper? It’s way too big for most practical uses and I hate …

Hemlock and Oak Planner with Kaweco AL Sport Fountain pen

Hemlock & Oak 70gsm Planners and Notebooks

John BosleyPaper 8 Comments

When I was first contacted over a year ago by Tia with Hemlock & Oak, I was surprised and flattered that they wanted me to give some feedback on a new paper that they were developing. According to their email, they were “interested in developing an alternative to Tomoe River that is uncoated and FSC-certified”. Of course, I said I’d …

Paper Sample Pack Updates

John BosleyMiscellaneous 3 Comments

It seems like towards the end of every year I need to make small updates to the different paper sample packs that I offer. This year is no different. While there won’t be very many changes, there will be a few. Big Paper Sample Pack The Big Sample Pack is the first paper sample pack I ever made and has …

Colorado pen show paper sample table

2025 Colorado Pen Show and Other Upcoming Education Opportunities

John BosleyFountain Pen Education 4 Comments

Can you believe it’s already time for the Colorado Pen Show again? This year the show takes place on October 17-19 in Denver. Once again, I’ll have a table at the show and will also be teaching a few classes. At my table, I’ll be selling a variety of paper sample packs, and some fountain-pen-friendly notebooks. While I don’t sell …

Apica Paper Type Comparison cover image

Comparing Different Apica Paper Weights

John BosleyPaper 7 Comments

Recently I was contacted by Kenji, a representative from Apica. They had found my Figurare Notebook Review and wanted to let me know that that product has been discontinued. I never knew it was an Apica product, so that was interesting to hear. Kenji went on to let me know that the same paper used in Figurare notebooks was still …

Plotter Notebook cover image

Plotter Review

John BosleyReviews 4 Comments

Plotter came onto the stationery scene in 2017 and introduced a new ring-binder system for people to use. Born in Japan, it’s no surprise that the paper used by Plotter works works with fountain pens. How well does it handle fountain pens? That’s what I’m here to find out. I’m not going to review or comment on the actual Plotter …

iroful paper sailor pro gear

Iroful Notebook Review

John BosleyReviews 13 Comments

The world of fountain pens has been mourning the loss of Cosmo Air Light for the past few years. While it was never as popular as Tomoe River, it was beloved by many sheen enthusiasts. A little over a year ago, Iroful made its way onto the paper scene. I may be a little late to the party, but I’ve …

2025 Featured Image

Updates For A New Year

John BosleyMiscellaneous 5 Comments

With a new year come new updates. Here’s what 2025 is looking like so far… YouTube Back in 2020 I started making videos for my YouTube channel. While I enjoyed it, the time just wasn’t right for me to keep on creating videos. Fast forward to 2025 and it’s time to revive the channel! Picking up where I left off …