Ask HN: What's your favourite notebook and pen? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What's your favourite notebook and pen?

6 pointsjbrooksuk15 comments

I've been forcing myself to write down more ideas, thoughts and processes whilst working. My job requires me to work on more than one codebase at a time, frequently switching projects and languages. Previously I would hold all of this context in my head and I'd go home feeling awful and not wanting to build or do anything more productive. From writing constants, to expected outputs and build times. It's freed up so much more brain-power.

Switching to pen and paper has really helped me manage of these contexts.

So my question is, what's your favourite notebook/paper and pen to write, doodle or think with?

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I bought a nice refillable journal on etsy that I absolutely love. This one: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/145265531

I love it for two reasons: 1) It's refillable with 8.5x11" paper cut in half. I print my own lined and music staff paper and hole punch it myself. 2) Because it's a ring binder, I can reorganize the pages at any time. This is nice because I don't have to worry about keeping like content together as you would in a typical journal.

I use a TWSBI Diamond 540 fountain pen. My inner nerd is confirmed by my love of the clear barrel (called a "demo" style pen) that lets me see all of the inner-engineering of it. The current version is the 580, available here: http://www.gouletpens.com/TWSBI_580_Fountain_Pens_s/1120.htm If you only jot down the occasional sentence, a fountain pen is probably not worth the bother of manually refilling or the risk of a leak if you don't know how to use it properly. If you write a lot, I think it's a good investment, as it's much easier on the wrist.

I am a huge advocate of pen and paper journaling. I've written in longer form about how it can be a tool for self-improvement and self-awareness here: http://wistia.com/blog/non-sequitur-fridays-journaling

Uniball Jetstreams (http://www.amazon.com/uni-ball-Jetstream-Retractable-Roller-...) is the smoothest pen ever. Itoya Xenons (http://www.amazon.com/Xenon-Retractable-Rollerball-Pen--Lava...) has the best grip I've used. Not picky about paper but I tend to use index cards a lot.

For notebook there's no rival in my mind for the Arc line of stuff from Staples. I absolutely love it because (like the much more expensive Levenger Circa system) I can punch any kind of paper and mix it into the notebook, reposition pages, and yet I don't have to deal with the awful rings of a traditional three hole binder. Seriously, you owe it to yourself to go look at their binders and buy one plus a punch. The punch is expensive, but you'll never look back.

I have a variety of pens I like for different purposes. My favorite when I'm just dumping thoughts onto paper is my Visconti Rembrandt Eco Roller, but that's crazy expensive. I would very much recommend the Retro 51 Tornado Rollerball line of pens. They put down a big dark line with their regular refill and just glide across the page.

When I want precise lines there's the the Pilot Coleto line. They're like the four color Bic pens you can switch between colors with just a click but the refills aren't Bic garbage, they're Pilot Hi-Tec-C line of refills, dozens of colors are available, and they come in 0.4 and 0.3mm sizes so you get a thin line for design or doodling.

For general use, black Sharpie Ultra-fine, but it bleeds through most paper so it doesn't really work in notebooks, but is great on scratch paper. For journaling, I like TUL medium Gel pens in blue, and the ruled moleskin pocket size notebooks. For notetaking, the TUL in blue or black and a cheap spiral bound notebook work for me.

I'm a fan of graph paper for note taking myself.

Also, I'm a much bigger fan of mechanical pencils over pens. My favorite mechanical pencil is the Pentel Side FX. It has extra eraser compared to others and the button for extending the lead is on the side, which is more convenient.

Been there, doing that. I find using a fountain pen helps set the ambiance for these sort of processes.

I bought a couple of nice ones (Sailor), but a $35 Lamy is perfect. Cheap, industrial, easy and safe to cart around, fun to use.

I carry two Bic biros (one black, one blue) everywhere. I can lose them and there's no problem. They write consistently and state that I'm not all prissy about accessories.

Napkins are my notebook of choice.

Lamy Safari medium, and either a Moleskine or Leuchtturm1917

Nice to see some fountain pen love! I'm partial to the TWSBI Diamond 540, though if I were buying today I'd spring for the Vac700.

I buy all my pens at Muji's based on their feeling, you can try them out on the stationary island. I'm not picky about paper, but need lines, preferably grid.

You might want to wall your office with smart boards though.

> You might want to wall your office with smart boards though.

This is something we've wanted to do for ages, however we don't have enough space at the moment. We've got a whiteboard but it's not very big and it's awkward to use because of the size and not being mounted.

I second this — love the simplicity of their products.

Favourite notebook - leuchtturm1917 Pen - Uniball eye

Rhodia pads and Lamy pens.

Moleskine Squared Soft Cover Extra Large Notebook & Zebra F-701 Pen

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