Leuchtturm1917 Edition 120.

I use a lot of notebooks—I won't number them here. Central to my notebook usage is the A5. I use them for specific projects and/or as my "daily driver," which sits to the left of my keyboard all day.

I have all sorts of lovely writing implements, from swish graphite to stylish rollerballs and ballpoints, but my preference is for a fountain pen. And what's the point of owning glorious pens if not to write with them?

I was excited then when German Notebook maker Leuchtturm1917 launched the Edition 120. The 120 is the gsm, i.e. the weight of the paper. Standard LT1917 notebooks contain 80 gsm paper, while sketchbooks contain 150 gsm. A hardback 120 has pages numbered to 203, while a standard 80 has 251. Even so, the 120 is approximately 10% thicker. Other features are identical. Two page markers, an envelope inside the back cover, a table of contents and sticky labels.

Summary? 120 is thicker, heavier and has fewer pages.

First up, an aside on papers used by the more prominent notebook manufacturers. They won't trumpet it. For a long while now, these big firms have invited manufacturers to tender for the contract to produce for them. Those manufacturers are in multiple countries and use different processes and papers. It's fair to say that once in a while, this has gone wrong. Moleskine became notorious for feathering and bleed-through, and many fountain pen users have steered clear ever since. Similarly, different sizes or rulings from one manufacturer could display different characteristics. My experience of LT1917 this year is that the 80 and 120 are both excellent.

I tend to use broader nibs, and I'm currently using a Pelikan Medium. Pelikan nibs are generous, so this behaves like a broad Japanese nib. It works fine on the standard 80 gsm. I find this iteration quite thirsty, by which I mean the paper is slightly absorbent, particularly when I compare it with the 120. The ink sits more on top of the 120.

I'm no photographer, but I think the difference is discernible. On the 80, the ink shows a little darker and broader. I wouldn't have known that before comparing the two samples side by side.

On LT's Euro sites, the 120 goes for a couple of Euro more than the 80, and that's a price I'd pay for the luxurious feel of the heavier paper.

Leuchtturm1917 has websites for most regions, and their notebooks come in a wide range of covers, colours and rulings. As long as they haven't changed the manufacturer recently, you can't go wrong.

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