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Paper.

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Dali

Member
It's both.



There's plenty I didn't go into. It really is a huge rabbit hole. That stuff really is fascinating.

I've never actually been close enough to a papermill to enjoy the aroma. I hear it is awful.



Thanks for the feedback! Love you!
Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Thread isn't so bad. Your references to his balls are obscure to the point it makes you come across as pretentious though.
 
My take away from this thread is you're the worst thread creationist and punster to ever exist. Nobody knows or cares that Cai lun was a eunuch so your jokes suck and just make you come across as pretentious.

Dude has the 'mole-eh-skee-na' to back it up, plus I took 5 minutes of a China studies class in college so I'm very interested in the OP's research and historical puns on such matters.
 
This is my first experience in a Bagels thread and this is amazing.

Can I ask you what it's like for you to have such an appreciation for paper but have to use the keyboard and mouse to make threads like this?
 

Bagels

You got Moxie, kid!
Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Thread isn't so bad. Your references to his balls are obscure to the point it makes you come across as pretentious though.

I don't get how a terrible joke about a guy's (lack of) balls is pretentious. That's some serious lowbrow shit. I also explained the joke - he's a eunuch. How is that obscure? All the information you need to get the joke is right there.

Those jokes are terrible, sure. I think we can agree on that.

The Silk Road joke is solid, though! I'm proud of that one.


This is my first experience in a Bagels thread and this is amazing.

Can I ask you what it's like for you to have such an appreciation for paper but have to use the keyboard and mouse to make threads like this?

It's a trial, let me tell you.

I'm like 50% okay with people thinking I am a crazy person obsessed with paper and 50% not okay with this. I do calligraphy and like writing stuff by hand, so I like having good paper. I also like writing jokey essays. Put those together, you do a little research, and suddenly you are insane... :(
 

- J - D -

Member
First time I've had the pleasure of experiencing a Bagels thread. It's like a Coursera class in writing necessities.

I enjoyed the history lesson on Cai Lun, but I have to say, ya can't try to preemptively avert impropriety by making a joke yourself! That's against the TOS. I think it breaks some laws of humor written somewhere. Probably in a moleskin, even.
 
It's a trial, let me tell you.

I'm like 50% okay with people thinking I am a crazy person obsessed with paper and 50% not okay with this. I do calligraphy and like writing stuff by hand, so I like having good paper. I also like writing jokey essays. Put those together, you do a little research, and suddenly you are insane... :(
I don't think you're crazy. Your jokes were funny too.
I'm mainly wondering if you feel a certain emptiness while typing your posts or essays that you wouldn't feel if you were writing on paper.
 

Bagels

You got Moxie, kid!
I don't think you're crazy. Your jokes were funny too.
I'm mainly wondering if you feel a certain emptiness while typing your posts or essays that you wouldn't feel if you were writing on paper.

I really do like writing stuff by hand, yeah. I'm 33, so all my formative school years kind of set up a link between writing things by hand and storing them in my brain.

Some things, like writing the OP, I like doing on a computer. I think if I know a bunch of images are going in it's easier to organize on the computer directly. I dunno. Any serious writing I do, I go back and forth between writing by hand and writing in Word.
 

Dali

Member
I don't get how a terrible joke about a guy's (lack of) balls is pretentious. That's some serious lowbrow shit. I also explained the joke - he's a eunuch. How is that obscure? All the information you need to get the joke is right there.

Those jokes are terrible, sure. I think we can agree on that.

The Silk Road joke is solid, though! I'm proud of that one.




It's a trial, let me tell you.

I'm like 50% okay with people thinking I am a crazy person obsessed with paper and 50% not okay with this. I do calligraphy and like writing stuff by hand, so I like having good paper. I also like writing jokey essays. Put those together, you do a little research, and suddenly you are insane... :(
Guess I glossed over you saying he was a eunuch. It's lowbrow if it was common knowledge, but if you stated he was a eunuch in the OP then I apologize. Don't know how I missed it.
 
Awesome thread!

I never go anywhere without my moleskin.

If I feel like making more of a serious drawing I'll get some Bristol. It's good to buy some expensive paper sometimes so you don't go goofing off too much.

Here's the one I'm on right now, hopefully this photo shows the texture. Strathmore Bristol Vellum.

dude, awesome drawing
 

Curiocity

Member
Alright! So many papers, so little time. Since I work in a weird niche art company my own paper knowledge tends toward obscure coated art papers, so I was pleased and unsurprised to learn about Clairefontaine's other papers, as their pastel surface is mysteriously smooth-yet-toothy and nobody knows how they do it (the secret is cellulose fibers, which grab the pigment like Velcro).
Love the info on paper weights and sizes. I had no idea how ridiculous American measurements are compared to the A-B-etc system. 500/2k sheets? Are you kidding me?

Another interesting topic to get into is the archival-ness of paper - it has to do with the acids used in manufacture, so the base line is that Ph neutral is primo, but as I understand there's more to it than that when it comes to true longevity.

Here's the one I'm on right now, hopefully this photo shows the texture. Strathmore Bristol Vellum.
This drawing is wondermazing.
 

Bagels

You got Moxie, kid!
Another interesting topic to get into is the archival-ness of paper - it has to do with the acids used in manufacture, so the base line is that Ph neutral is primo, but as I understand there's more to it than that when it comes to true longevity.

Wikipedia talks about this:

"Furthermore, tests sponsored by the Library of Congress prove that all paper is at risk of acid decay, because cellulose itself produces formic, acetic, lactic and oxalic acids."
 

Curiocity

Member
Wikipedia talks about this:

"Furthermore, tests sponsored by the Library of Congress prove that all paper is at risk of acid decay, because cellulose itself produces formic, acetic, lactic and oxalic acids."
On further study there are tons of issues - some related to the paper itself, as you diligently quote, and including things like the amount of lignen present (the same organic binder that causes those dark shadows of leaves tattooed on the pavement in fall) as well as environmental factors. Are you storing your paper next to non-ph neutral materials, such as a stained bookcase? Are your books wedged tight and your comics shrined in plastic? Then they're effectively stewing in their own slow brew of acids.
No paper is safe. :(

Also this site breaks it down (sorry) on an alarmingly sub-atomic level: http://www.conservationresources.com/Main/S CATALOG/Archival Papers.htm
 

Shiv47

Member
Excellent thread. Coincidentally I just picked up the book <i>On Paper: The Everything of Its 2000 Year History</i>, by Nicholas Basbanes. Well worth looking at for anyone interested in the topic.
 
Awesome thread. I'm always interested in learning about the origins of the mundane things we may take for granted in our lives.

Like once I noticed that paper doesn't exist in the Star Wars universe. It really sold me on how alien everything was. Weirdly, more than the actually alien/creatures etc.
 

Timo

Member
I mainly buy bristol board, but i love me some hot press arches water color paper. Or some rives bfk. Lawd.
 

CheesecakeRecipe

Stormy Grey
Been a huge fan of Rhodia ever since I got my little pad in, especially so with the Rhodia R your bagelgram! So smooth!

Lately I got the chance to pick up a Midori GRAIN pad, which contains two types of MD paper. A light cream blank paper with an interesting texture to it, and a more slick-finished lined white paper section. The paper quality is amazing for how thin it is! It can soak up some serious ink and not have much ghosting or any bleedthrough. I've been interested in checking out the Tomoe River paper since I hear it performs very similarly, JetPens has packs of 3 or 5 sheets for pretty cheap. Might add some of the A5 sheets in my next order from there.
 

Pinewood

Member
Yesterday when I glossed over this thread I cut off the history part and went straight to the notebooks. (sorry)

Very amusing and cool stuff.

I second the question about lefthanded paper.
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Love my clairefontaines, but style-wise I love midori notebooks the most.

Also Rollbhan notebooks are amazing utility wise for what I do.
 

Nikodemos

Member
Man, those moleskines have some nasty seeping. But then again, the highly microfibrial nature is probably what makes them so great for pencil. So many little strands for graphite to latch onto.
 

Acrylic7

Member
Both my Copic and Prismacolor markers bleed through my Moleskin pocket sketchbook. Kind of irritating. Glad it was on clearance for $5.
 
Ah yes, paper. The everlasting quest for great paper to draw on. I love paper.some paper is so nice that i'm afraid to ruin it with a failed drawing.
 

Derwind

Member
I have to correct you on one thing, paper was invented as a tool for warfare & coercive torture device.

Where do you think the paper cut originated from.

It was only later realized how useful it was to relay messages between cities in times of war.
 

Bagels

You got Moxie, kid!
Man, those moleskines have some nasty seeping. But then again, the highly microfibrial nature is probably what makes them so great for pencil. So many little strands for graphite to latch onto.

Yeah - for all of my Moleskine shit-talking, the paper feels nice with pencil (or ballpoint pen). You have that surface roughness to work with. I still object to the whole Moleskine faux-premium mythos (they aren't particularly well made, they're about as Italian as I am, and I don't think you're getting your money's worth), but calling the paper "garbage" was maybe a bit harsh.

For the lefties among us, Moleskine may actually be a good choice. You're sort of stuck if you want to use a fountain pen, as the glossy papers like Rhodia dry a little too slowly. You want something that will soak up the ink, but that tends to make things feathery and blotchy. But writing with a pencil, ballpoint, or rollerball, that slightly rough Moleskine surface may hold on to graphite or ink and keep it from smearing as much. A really fine fountain pen nib may be okay, but you're going to lose a lot of the fountain pen smoothness, so what's the point?


I've had requests for threads on erasers and on brushes. I know nothing about brushes, so that won't happen any time soon. We've talked about erasers in the two pencil threads. I don't know if there is enough there for an entire new thread. I really like putting together threads on unexpected topics, but the next one probably won't be related to writing utensils or stationary.


I haven't tried stone paper, but I'd like to! I'm pretty sure MR4001 wrote about it in a previous thread.


Complaining about hipsters denuding the planet with their out of control Moleskine use is a moronic criticism.
 
Great OP as usual, Bagels.
Another french notebook suggestion, the Calepino brand. By lack of comparizon, I guess that's the closest equivalent to your Field Note. Similarly priced as well (say 9€ for 3xA5 notebooks). Nice texture, no ink spill, haven't tried their bigger models.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
So this is the deal now, huh?

So far nearly every thread by Bagels leads towards me buying new writing utensils. It doesn't help that I have a dedicated pen store down the street where I can gawk at the gorgeous Rotring 800's and Mont Blanc's all day.

Now i'm probably going out to buy new notebooks so I can up my handwriting game even more. My wallet hates you.
 

Forsete

Gold Member
Rhodia and Leuchtturm fanboy here.

I got two leather-covered notebooks from Leuchtturm, one A5 and the other is pocket size. Love them! :D
 

cajunator

Banned
On a slightly different paper craft topic I love to fold origami, however the really complex designs require a much thinner type of paper than is normally used. Do any paper experts know which type is best for that sort of craft? It needs to take folding multiple layers without tearing and must hold a crease well.
here is a butterfly as thanks for any suggestions
IJQTqHr.jpg
 

Stat!

Member
Indeed, learning and being fascinated about things I never thought of before.

I love Bagel threads

Agreed.

I want a damn good notebook for work. Just something small but works well. I'll have to get something in the OP that I can carry around and use and won't bleed.
 
rPVxHCl.jpg


Got one of those Semikolon notebooks in their smallest size (4x6) for something like 3.50$ the other day ; really cheap, I simply love it. There's even some pockets to put notes in it!
 
welp im a dumbass i went to the hobonichi site started clicking around really liking some of the stuff and got to the checkout and realized i was buying some 300 dollar leather case thing
 

Tashi

343i Lead Esports Producer
I'm in love with the Leuchtturm notebook I recently acquired. While I wasn't too thrilled about the size when I first got it, I've come to appreciate how easy it is to carry it everywhere.
 
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