Sep 02, 2026|22 min read

Best Paper for Leather Journals: GSM, Fountain Pens and Bleed-Through

Stay In The Know

Product guides, leather care notes and new arrivals from Bygone Mark.

We ranked six writing papers on one thing above all: how cleanly they hold fountain pen ink inside a leather cover, tested from the wettest nib down. Rhodia 90 gsm finished last on portability because a firm page makes a thick book, and first for anyone who writes with a broad nib.

By BRAND_NAME Editorial · Updated 28 August 2026 · Prices checked 28 August 2026 · 4,230 words · 17 min read

HOW THIS GUIDE IS FUNDED

BRAND_NAME sells leather journal covers. We do not make or sell paper, and we earn nothing when you buy any of the six notebooks below. No paper maker paid for a place in this guide.

We do have an interest in one recommendation: we sell refillable leather journal covers, and this guide argues that a refillable cover is the safer buy for fountain pen users. Read that section knowing where our money comes from, then judge the argument on the evidence given.

Our Picks at a Glance

BEST OVERALL

MD PAPER, in the MD Notebook A5

About $19 at US specialist retailers, checked 28 August 2026

BEST FOR WET AND SHEENING INKS

Sanzen Tomoe River FP, 52 gsm

About $32 for a 400-page A5 book, checked 28 August 2026

BEST FIRM PAGE FOR BROAD NIBS

Rhodia Premium R, 90 gsm, in the A5 Webnotebook

About $32.50, checked 28 August 2026

The Six Papers, Side by Side

Here is every paper in this guide with the numbers that actually change how a page behaves.

Paper	Weight	Surface	Ghosting	Dry time	Suits
MD PAPER (MD Notebook)	Not published	Cream, light feedback	Moderate	Medium	EF to B
Maruman Mnemosyne N195A	80 g/m2	Bright white, smooth	Low to moderate	Medium	EF to M
Yu-Sari	70 gsm as reported	Smooth, slight tooth	Moderate	Fast	EF to B
Sanzen Tomoe River FP	52 gsm	Very smooth, crisp	High	Slow	F to flex
Cosmo Air Light	75 or 83 gsm	Very smooth, glassy	Moderate	Slow	M to flex
Rhodia Premium R	90 gsm	Ivory, smooth	Low	Medium to slow	M to B

Two exceptions are worth naming before you read further. Midori does not publish a GSM figure for MD PAPER on its official paper page, so we print Not published rather than repeat a number from a reseller. The Yu-Sari weight of 70 gsm comes from the research supplied to us, not from an English-language manufacturer sheet, so treat it as reported rather than confirmed.

Which Journal Paper Wins for Fountain Pens?

MD PAPER wins for most people, at about $19 for an A5 MD Notebook. It handles ordinary fountain pen writing cleanly, it keeps a little feedback under the nib, and Midori states plainly that the paper is designed around how ink feathers, dries, smears and bleeds. If you write with wet, sheening or flex nibs, Sanzen Tomoe River FP at 52 gsm is the better answer, and a 400-page A5 book costs about $32. If you press hard, use a broad nib or add ruled layouts and highlighters, take the 90 gsm Rhodia Premium R page in the A5 Webnotebook at about $32.50.

All three prices were checked at US specialist retailers on 28 August 2026 and move with stock and exchange rates.

Most people buy the leather first and discover the paper problem later. The cover looks beautiful on a desk, then the first wet line of ink spreads sideways into the fibres and the back of the page picks up dots, and the whole book becomes a one-sided notebook.

The Spec That Actually Decides It

Surface sizing decides bleed-through, not GSM. Sizing is the treatment that slows how fast liquid soaks into the fibres. A well-sized 52 gsm sheet keeps ink near the surface, so the line stays sharp and very little pigment reaches the back. An untreated 100 gsm sheet can pull the same ink straight in, which produces fuzzy edges and dull colour even though almost nothing shows through.

That is why a thin Japanese specialty paper can beat a heavy office pad with a wet nib. GSM tells you how much the page weighs and roughly how thick the finished book will be. It tells you very little about ink.

Pick by Need

If you	Buy	Because
Want one book that does everything	MD PAPER	Clean lines with most nibs and a writing feel people stay loyal to
Use wet, flex or sheening inks	Sanzen Tomoe River FP 52 gsm	Holds ink on the surface, so colour and sheen show
Write left-handed or in a hurry	Yu-Sari	Fastest drying paper in this group, which cuts smudging
Take structured work notes	Maruman Mnemosyne 80 gsm	Bright, ruled, acid-free and easy to scan
Want maximum pages in a slim cover	Sanzen Tomoe River or Cosmo Air Light	Hundreds of sheets without a bulky spine
Press hard or use broad nibs	Rhodia Premium R 90 gsm	Firm page, low ghosting, tolerates heavy strokes

How We Judged These Papers

Bleed resistance under the wettest nib. We judge a paper by the worst pen a normal person owns, not the easiest. A dry extra-fine flatters everything.

Line definition. A fine nib should still look fine. If a paper widens the stroke or fringes the edges, small handwriting stops being readable.

Ghosting and double-sided use. Ghosting is a preference, not a defect. We separate what you can see through the sheet from ink that actually passed through it.

Drying time. A paper that resists bleed perfectly is still a poor journal if every line smears when you close the book.

Evidence: manufacturer specification pages for weight, sizing and acid content, published fountain pen writing tests that show both sides of the sheet, and the pen community research supplied for this article. Prices come from US specialist retailers on 28 August 2026.

What Counts as Fountain Pen Friendly

Sellers use the phrase loosely. Here is the banding we apply.

Band	What you see on the page	What it means for a journal
Excellent	Crisp edges with a wet broad nib, no ink dots on the reverse, shading visible	Safe for both sides of every page, and for ink swatches
Good	Clean lines with fine and medium nibs, isolated bleed only where ink pools	Both sides usable, avoid heavy flex work
Usable	Slight spread, visible ghosting, occasional bleed at stroke ends	One side per page, or stay with drier pens
Poor	Fringed letters, dots through the sheet, colour looks flat	Not a fountain pen journal, whatever the GSM says

The Four Ways Journal Paper Fails

Bleed-through. Ink physically travels through the sheet and appears as marks on the reverse, sometimes on the next page too. Wet nibs, slow strokes and repeated passes trigger it first. Always inspect the back of a test page, not just the front.

Feathering. Ink creeps outward along the fibres and letters grow hairy edges. This is an absorbency problem. A fine nib that suddenly writes like a medium is telling you the surface is too open for that ink.

Ink spread. The line simply gets wider without the branching pattern of feathering. Shading and line variation flatten out, and compact handwriting loses definition. Extra-fine users notice this first.

Cockling. The page ripples as it dries because it absorbed a lot of liquid. Normal writing rarely causes it. Ink swatches, washes and repeated passes do, and once a page has buckled the book never closes flat again.

Group 1: Everyday Journal Papers

These three suit a person who writes most days, uses one or two pens, and wants both sides of every page.

1. MD PAPER, in the MD Notebook A5

BEST OVERALL · EVERYDAY PAPER

The default answer for a leather cover. Cream, quietly textured, and refined by Midori since the 1960s.

Weight	Not published by the manufacturer
Colour	Cream, with a white version also produced
Surface	Smooth with a touch of feedback
Binding	Sewn, opens flat, glassine jacket
Size used here	A5, 176 to 192 pages depending on ruling
Refill friendly	Yes, fits most A5 covers

WHAT WORKS

WHAT TO WEIGH

– No published GSM figure, so you cannot compare it on paper against rivals.

– Cream tone shifts how cool blues and greys look.

– Ghosting is moderate, more than a 90 gsm sheet.

Best for: a daily journal in an A5 or B6 leather cover, with fine to broad nibs.

About $19 at US specialist retailers · price checked 28 August 2026 · Buy the cover first, then match this insert.

Evidence: Midori publishes its paper design criteria on its own product site, including resistance to smearing and bleed-through. In 2026 the brand line was renamed MD PRODUCT while the paper stayed the same.

2. Maruman Mnemosyne N195A, 80 g/m2

BEST FOR WORK NOTES · EVERYDAY PAPER

The office notebook that fountain pen users kept buying. Bright white, ruled with intent, and cheap enough to run in parallel with a journal.

Weight	80 g/m2 writing paper, stated by Maruman
Sheets	80, micro-perforated
Body size	210 x 161 x 10 mm
Binding	Twin wire, lies completely flat
Paper	Acid-free, bright white
Refill friendly	Limited, the wire spine resists most covers

WHAT WORKS

WHAT TO WEIGH

– Twin wire binding will not slide into a standard refillable cover.

– Published user reports note feathering with wide and stub nibs.

– Perforated pages tear out easily, which is a risk in a keepsake journal.

Best for: meetings, study notes and daily task pages with fine or medium nibs.

Maruman lists 792 yen in Japan. US sellers ask about $10 to $13 depending on size · both prices checked 28 August 2026 · Pair with a strap-style cover, not a slip-in cover.

Evidence: the Mnemosyne N195A specification lists 80 g/m2 writing paper, 80 sheets and a 210 x 161 x 10 mm body.

3. Yu-Sari, 70 gsm as reported

BEST FAST-DRYING PAPER · EVERYDAY PAPER

A newer Japanese paper built around one problem the premium papers ignore: how long the ink stays wet.

Weight	70 gsm, as reported in the supplied research
Maker	Nakabayashi, Japan
Surface	Smooth with a small amount of tooth
Binding	Traditional Japanese sewn binding, sits flat
Cover	Soft cardstock with gold embossing
Refill friendly	Yes, in A5 and B5 covers

WHAT WORKS

WHAT TO WEIGH

– Less dramatic ink expression than the two papers in Group 2.

– Thinner stock than 80 or 90 gsm sheets, so ghosting is visible.

– Harder to find outside specialist stationery sellers.

Best for: left-handed writers, fast note-takers and anyone who closes a journal the moment they stop writing.

From about $17, and $18.50 for a B5 lined book · prices checked 28 August 2026 · Buy one book before committing to a cover size.

Evidence: drying performance and the 70 gsm figure come from the fountain pen review research supplied for this article. Nakabayashi does not publish an English specification sheet we could verify, so we have not printed one.

VERDICT

Buy MD PAPER unless you have a specific reason not to. Take Mnemosyne if the notebook lives on a desk rather than inside leather, and take Yu-Sari if smudging is your daily complaint. All three handle normal fountain pen writing cleanly, which is not true of most leather journals sold with unnamed paper inside.

Group 2: Papers for Ink Expression and Page Count

Both papers here are thin, which sounds like a weakness and is actually the point. Thin plus well sized means hundreds of pages inside a cover that still closes.

4. Sanzen Tomoe River FP, 52 gsm

BEST FOR WET AND SHEENING INKS · INK EXPRESSION

The paper the fountain pen world panicked about losing. Tomoegawa stopped production in 2021 and Sanzen, based in Kanazawa, took it over and re-engineered the formula.

Weight	52 gsm
Producer	Sanzen Paper, distributed by Sakae Technical Paper
Paper	Acid-free and pH neutral per US retailer listings
Surface	Very smooth, holds ink on top of the sheet
Typical book	A5 with 368 to 400 pages, around 5 mm thick
Refill friendly	Yes, and the page count is the reason to use it

WHAT WORKS

WHAT TO WEIGH

– Heavy ghosting. You will see every line through the sheet.

– Slow drying compared with ordinary writing paper.

– Generations differ, so an old review may not describe the book you buy.

Best for: ink collectors, sheen chasers and anyone who wants a year of daily pages in one slim insert.

About $32 for a 400-page A5 notebook, and about $11.45 for 100 loose A5 sheets · prices checked 28 August 2026 · Try loose sheets before buying a full book.

Evidence: retailer and paper-maker listings confirm the 52 gsm weight, the 2021 handover from Tomoegawa to Sanzen, and the acid-free, pH neutral description used on US listings.

5. Cosmo Air Light, 75 or 83 gsm

BEST FOR COLOUR · INK EXPRESSION

The paper the community reached for when Tomoe River supply looked shaky. It is not a copy. It behaves differently and it makes ink look vivid.

Weight	75 gsm or 83 gsm depending on the run
Surface	Almost glassy, very little feedback
Ink behaviour	Strong colour, shading and sheen
Typical book	A5 with around 288 pages
Drying	Slow, similar to Tomoe River
Refill friendly	Yes, common in A5 and B6 inserts

WHAT WORKS

WHAT TO WEIGH

– Almost no feedback, which some writers find slippery.

– Slow drying makes it a poor match for left-handed writers.

– More expensive per page than the everyday papers.

Best for: journalers who care how the ink looks more than how fast it dries.

About $35 for a 288-page A5 notebook · price checked 28 August 2026 · Buy the same size as your cover, not the same brand as your cover.

Evidence: weight range and ink behaviour come from stationery retailer specifications and the supplied fountain pen review research.

VERDICT

Both papers reward wet nibs and punish impatience. Choose Sanzen Tomoe River if page count and sheen matter most, and Cosmo Air Light if you want vivid colour with slightly less show-through. Neither is a sensible first journal for a left-handed writer.

Group 3: The Firm Page

6. Rhodia Premium R, 90 gsm, in the A5 Webnotebook

BEST FIRM PAGE FOR BROAD NIBS · HEAVY STOCK

The one page here that feels substantial under the hand. It is also the reason your journal gets thicker.

Weight	90 gsm
Paper	Rhodia Premium R, ivory, acid-free and pH neutral
Sheets	96 in the A5 Webnotebook
Cover	Leatherette hardcover with elastic closure
Surface	Smooth, low friction
Refill friendly	No, this is a bound book, not an insert

WHAT WORKS

WHAT TO WEIGH

– Heavy. Ninety-six sheets take the space that 300 Tomoe River sheets would.

– Very smooth ink-resistant surface means slower drying with saturated inks.

– Sold as a finished book, so you cannot move the paper into a leather cover.

Best for: bullet journalers, planners and anyone who writes with a broad, stub or flex nib at a desk.

About $32.50 at US specialist retailers · price checked 28 August 2026 · Choose this when page feel beats page count.

Evidence: US retailer specifications list 96 sheets of ivory 90 gsm acid-free, pH neutral Premium R paper in the A5 Webnotebook.

VERDICT

Take the 90 gsm page when your pen is wide, your hand is heavy or your layouts involve more than writing. Accept that a firm page means a thicker book, and that this one cannot be moved into a leather cover later.

TIP

Test with the wettest pen you actually own, then wait. Write four normal lines, one slow line, and one small block of solid ink. Check the edges immediately, close the book after ten seconds to test smudging, and inspect the reverse once dry. That single page tells you more than any product description.

WATCH OUT

Premium leather does not mean premium paper. A full-grain cover can be wrapped around an unnamed absorbent sheet, and no listing is obliged to tell you the paper maker. If the seller cannot name the paper, treat the inside of the journal as unknown and budget for a refill.

Fit Check: Will Your Paper Fit the Cover?

Nominal sizes do not guarantee a fit. Two A5 notebooks can differ by several millimetres once you count the cover overhang and the spine.

Measure the insert height at the spine, not the page. Cover overhang adds to the number that matters.
Measure the width from spine edge to fore edge with the book closed.
Measure spine thickness with the book shut and flat under light pressure.
Add 2 to 3 mm to the thickness for a book you will fill with writing, tape or pasted items.
Check the closure. Elastic and strap covers tolerate growth, snap and slip-in covers do not.
For multiple inserts, add every spine together, then compare against the cover capacity.

Standard sizes, for reference, are set by ISO 216. A5 is 148 x 210 mm and A6 is 105 x 148 mm, which is half the area of A5.

Measurement	What to record	Typical A5 insert	Why it matters
Height	Spine edge, closed	210 mm	Too tall and the insert lifts the cover open
Width	Spine to fore edge	148 mm	Excess width pushes the closure off centre
Spine thickness	Closed and flat	5 to 12 mm	Decides how many inserts a cover can hold
Growth allowance	Add to thickness	2 to 3 mm	Written pages are thicker than blank ones
Cover capacity	Total spine space	Varies by cover	The number that decides one insert or three

If you carry the journal everywhere and write in short bursts, measure for A6 pocket journal covers instead and accept fewer words per page.

Cover and Binding Features That Protect Paper

Feature	What to look for	Why it matters for paper
Binding style	Sewn sections that open flat	You can write across the gutter without cracking the spine
Closure	Elastic or wrap strap	Tolerates a book that thickens as you fill it
Cover stiffness	Firm but not rigid	Supports the page block without pressing the pages
Internal pockets	Flat, not bulky	Bulky pockets bow the paper and cause corner wear
Refill system	Elastic bands or slip pockets	Lets you change paper without changing leather
Edge finish	Burnished, stitched edges	Rough edges abrade paper corners over months

Leather, Labels and Archival Claims

Two separate claims get made about leather journals, and both are regulated or defined somewhere you can check.

The first is the leather itself. In the United States, the FTC Leather Guides at 16 CFR Part 24 treat it as deceptive to misrepresent what a product is made from, and they say that non-leather content should be disclosed when a material looks like leather but is not. Ground, shredded or bonded leather should not simply be called leather, and terms such as waterproof and scratchproof have their own rules. If a listing avoids naming the leather at all, that silence is information.

The second is the paper. The Library of Congress defines acid-free as a pH of 7 or higher, notes that lignin turns acidic as it ages, and points out that archival is not a legally defined term. Its guidance also describes red rot, the powdery breakdown seen on many nineteenth and early twentieth century leather bindings, which is a reminder that leather ages on its own schedule regardless of the paper inside it.

Judge the two separately. A cover from a collection of full-grain leather journals tells you nothing about whether the pages will hold ink, and an acid-free sheet tells you nothing about how the cover will wear.

Price Tiers for Journal Paper

Tier	Typical price	What you get	Watch out for
Entry	$6 to $13	Named Japanese writing paper, 70 to 80 gsm, simple covers	Wire bindings that will not fit a leather cover
Middle	$17 to $22	MD PAPER, Yu-Sari, LIFE Noble, sewn and flat-opening	Sizes that are close to A5 but not exactly A5
Upper	$30 to $40	Tomoe River and Cosmo Air Light books, 288 to 400 pages	Slow drying and heavy ghosting
Bound premium	$32 to $55	Finished hardcover books with 90 gsm stock	Paper cannot be replaced when it runs out

Prices are US street prices at specialist retailers, checked 28 August 2026.

Bound, Refillable or Ring Bound

Format	Paper choice	Best for	Main limitation
Bound leather journal	Fixed for life	People who already know the paper suits them	Bad paper cannot be replaced
Refillable leather cover	Change any time	Fountain pen users and long-term journalers	Insert must fit the cover exactly
Ring or disc binder	Any punched sheet	Planners and mixed layouts	Rings interrupt the writing surface

A refillable cover separates two decisions that a bound journal forces together. You choose leather for how it wears and paper for how it writes. When a favourite paper is discontinued, and Tomoe River shows this happens, the cover survives the change. That is the argument for A5 leather journal covers over a sealed book, and it is also where we make our money, so weigh it accordingly.

How to Choose in Seven Steps

Name your wettest regular pen. That pen sets the standard, not your driest one.
Decide whether you write on both sides. If you do, ghosting tolerance becomes a real specification.
Choose a weight band. 52 to 70 gsm for page count, 80 to 90 gsm for a firm page.
Check the paper is named. An unnamed paper cannot be researched, compared or replaced.
Buy one small notebook or a sample pack and write in it for several days.
Inspect both sides of a page after drying, then test how fast you can close the book.
Only then buy the leather cover, sized to the insert you have already chosen.

Carrying a Journal Without Wrecking the Paper

Keep the journal flat inside a bag, not spine down in a side pocket where the page block sags.
Do not store a pen inside the closed book. It presses a permanent ridge into the paper.
In humid weather, let the book breathe at the end of the day rather than sealing it in a plastic sleeve.
Use a lighter paper for travel. Four hundred thin pages weigh less than 96 heavy ones.
Carry one spare insert on long trips instead of a second journal.

Care for Paper and Leather

Paper and leather want different things, which is why they are easier to manage when they are separate objects.

Store finished inserts flat, dry and out of direct sunlight. Light causes fading and yellowing that cannot be reversed.
Aim for stable humidity. The Library of Congress recommends keeping books at no higher than 55 percent relative humidity, since above 60 percent invites warping and mould and below about 30 percent causes contraction.
Date each finished insert on the inside cover before you shelve it.
Wipe the leather cover with a dry cloth, and keep conditioners away from the paper.
Do not force a fourth insert into a three-insert cover. The spine stretches and the closure stops working.
If a page cockles after an ink swatch, let it dry fully open before closing the book.

Six Mistakes People Make

Buying by GSM alone. The number describes weight, not ink resistance.
Buying the leather first, then hunting for paper that fits it.
Testing with a dry fine nib and assuming a wet broad nib will behave.
Judging paper from the front of a writing sample only.
Treating ghosting as a defect when it is a preference.
Trusting the word premium in a product listing. It has no technical meaning.

Glossary

Term	What it means
GSM	Grams per square metre, the mass of one square metre of the paper
Sizing	Treatment that slows how fast liquid soaks into the fibres
Bleed-through	Ink physically passing through the sheet to the reverse
Ghosting	Writing visible through the sheet although no ink has passed through
Feathering	Fuzzy branching edges as ink travels along the fibres
Cockling	Rippling of the page after it absorbs a lot of liquid
Sheen	Reflective secondary colour where dye concentrates on the surface
Acid-free	Paper with a pH of 7 or higher, per Library of Congress usage
Insert	A separate notebook held inside a refillable cover

Key Takeaways

Surface sizing decides bleed-through. GSM decides thickness and page feel.
A 52 gsm specialty sheet can beat a 100 gsm office sheet with a wet nib.
Test with your wettest pen, then check the back of the page.
Ghosting and bleed-through are different problems with different fixes.
A named paper can be researched and replaced. An unnamed paper cannot.
A refillable cover lets the leather age while the paper keeps changing.

Final Word

Buy the paper first. Write in it with the pen you actually use, check both sides of the page, then choose leather that fits the insert you have proved works. MD PAPER at about $19 is the safe default, Sanzen Tomoe River at about $32 for 400 pages is the answer for wet and sheening inks, and Rhodia 90 gsm at about $32.50 is the firm page for broad nibs. All three prices were checked on 28 August 2026. When you know your size, browse shop all leather journals and match the cover to the insert rather than the other way round.

FAQs

What type of paper is fountain pen friendly?

Paper that controls liquid ink well enough to keep letter edges crisp and to stop ink reaching the reverse side. It does not need to be thick, and no single GSM guarantees it.

Surface treatment and absorbency do most of the work, because a fountain pen lays liquid directly on the sheet. Midori, for example, states that MD PAPER is designed around ink behaviour, including feathering, drying, smearing and bleed-through, rather than around a weight figure. Less absorbent surfaces also preserve shading and sheen, though they usually dry more slowly.

Practical tip: write four lines with your wettest regular pen, let them dry, then inspect both sides before buying a full journal.

How do you know if a notebook is fountain pen friendly?

You test it. Look for crisp edges, little or no bleed-through, ghosting you can live with, and a drying time that matches how fast you write.

The reverse of the page matters as much as the front. A sample can look perfect from above and still show dots of ink or heavy show-through when you turn it over. Nib width and ink flow change the result too, which is why two people can report opposite experiences with the same notebook.

Practical tip: buy the cheapest notebook that uses the paper you are considering, and test that before spending on leather.

What are some good fountain pen friendly journals?

Journals built around named Japanese writing papers. MD PAPER, Sanzen Tomoe River, Cosmo Air Light, Maruman Mnemosyne, Yu-Sari and LIFE Noble all have a track record with fountain pen users.

Which one suits you depends on writing feel more than on quality. MD PAPER gives feedback under the nib, Tomoe River gives ink expression and page count, Mnemosyne gives a bright, structured work page. A refillable leather cover lets you try several without buying new leather each time, which is why refillable leather journal covers tend to suit fountain pen users better than sealed books.

Practical tip: shortlist by paper name first, then filter by the size your cover takes.

Are Moleskine journals good for fountain pens?

Sometimes, but the Classic Notebook should not be treated as reliably fountain pen friendly. Moleskine states that most of its notebooks and planners use 70 g/m2 acid-free paper, and that specification alone does not predict performance with every nib and ink.

User reports split sharply, especially with wetter pens. Some writers get acceptable results with dry fine nibs, others see feathering and bleed. That spread is exactly why brand reputation is a poor substitute for a writing test.

Practical tip: if you already own one, test a back page with your normal pen before deciding whether to keep journaling in it.

What is the best brand of notebooks for fountain pens?

There is no single best brand. The right answer depends on nib width, ink flow, how much ghosting you tolerate and whether you want sheen or fast drying.

Midori is the common recommendation for controlled ink with some feedback. Maruman states 80 g/m2 writing paper for Mnemosyne, which suits work notes. Yu-Sari leads on drying, and Tomoe River and Cosmo Air Light lead on ink expression. Community recommendations spread across all of them, which tells you the question is personal rather than technical.

Practical tip: buy one small notebook from two different brands and compare them side by side with the same pen and ink.

Is A5 or A6 better for journaling?

A5 is better when you want writing room, and A6 is better when portability wins. Under ISO 216, A5 measures 148 x 210 mm and A6 measures 105 x 148 mm, so A6 gives you about half the page area.

A5 suits longer entries, larger handwriting and layouts. A6 slips into a jacket pocket and suits short entries and lists. Paper weight interacts with this: a heavy 90 gsm A5 book becomes noticeably weightier than a thin specialty paper of the same page count.

Practical tip: if you write more than two paragraphs at a sitting, choose A5. If the journal lives in your pocket, choose A6.

What type of leather is best for journals?

Full-grain is the strongest choice when you want the natural surface and an exterior that changes with handling. Vegetable-tanned leather is popular for refillable covers because it develops visible patina.

Best still depends on what you value, whether that is ageing, softness, stain resistance, price or an even appearance. The leather grade tells you nothing about the paper inside, and the Library of Congress notes that older leather bindings can develop red rot regardless of how good the book was when new. Check tanning method, stitching, edge finish and refill system, and read our leather care guide before choosing a finish.

Practical tip: judge cover and paper as two separate purchases, even when they arrive as one object.

What are some good alternatives to leather journals?

Cloth-bound and hardcover notebooks, softcover books, canvas or synthetic covers, ring binders and reusable notebook covers in other materials all work. They can be lighter, cheaper and easier to clean.

You can also pair a high-quality notebook with a removable non-leather cover, which gives you the same practical benefit as a refillable leather system: the paper changes and the cover stays. Fountain pen users often reach that conclusion independently, choosing the notebook first and treating the cover as a comfort and protection decision.

Practical tip: if fountain pen performance is your priority, choose the paper first and let the cover material be the second decision.

Sources

MIDORI. Original paper used in MIDORI product. Design Phil Inc., page updated August 2026. Supports the statements that MD PAPER is designed around feathering, drying, smearing and bleed-through, and that the paper balances smoothness with a small amount of feedback.
Maruman Corporation. Mnemosyne 7 mm ruled A5, N195A. Product specification page, current listing. Supports the 80 g/m2 writing paper figure, the 80-sheet count and the 210 x 161 x 10 mm body size used in the Mnemosyne card.
Moleskine. What are the features of Moleskine paper. Moleskine Srl help centre, current page. Supports the statement that most Moleskine notebooks and planners use 70 g/m2 acid-free paper.
Library of Congress. Preserving Your Books. Research guide, Preservation Directorate. Supports the definitions of acid-free, lignin-free and archival, and the description of red rot in older leather bindings.
International Organization for Standardization. ISO 216:2007, Writing paper and certain classes of printed matter. ISO Technical Committee 6, confirmed 2021. Supports the A5 and A6 trimmed size figures used in the fit check and the size FAQ.
Federal Trade Commission. Guides for Select Leather and Imitation Leather Products, 16 CFR Part 24. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, current edition. Supports the leather labelling and composition points in the materials section.