When I started collecting fountain pens, I have never considered using them for bullet journaling. I felt that most nib sizes were thicker than what I’m used to. However, because I wanted to use my fountain pens almost exclusively, I looked for the best fountain pens, inks, and paper that would be best.
What to look for…
- Extra fine or fine nibs. They’re the closest to 0.3mm gel pens or fineliners
- Entry level pens or cheap pens. The bullet journal is essentially a planner, you would most likely carry these around. Use cheaper pens so you would worry less when you’re out with your bullet journal
- Type of ink. Fair warning: most fountain pen inks are not water resistant, but don’t worry there are some
- Fountain pen friendly paper. Is your current bullet journal notebook fountain pen friendly? What happens if it’s not?
Fountain Pens
All of the pens mentioned on this list are included in my 2019 list of Best Fountain Pens for Beginners.
Cheap yet reliable – Platinum Preppy
I recently purchased a Preppy for ink review purposes (I have a pink one but don’t worry they have other colors!). When I tried it for longhand writing, I was surprised. It’s a really good writer!
The only caveat is the plastic design and it’s not really built to last for years. It’s only $3 and when you run out of ink, you can just refill it with a new cartridge. I highly recommend this pen for those who want to try using fountain pens for the first time and aren’t sure if it’s the right one for them. (P.S. If you don’t like the Preppy’s design, you can opt to buy the Platinum Plaisir instead)
Classy yet affordable – Pilot Metropolitan <Fine>
The Pilot Metropolitan was the first fountain pen I used for bullet journaling primarily because of the nib size. It’s not labeled as an extra fine but it writes like an extra fine (the closest you can get to the gel pens). This is because Pilot is a Japanese brand and usually, Japanese fountain pen nibs are made (ground) thinner than American or European nibs.
The feel of the pen is amazing because it’s not flashy and it’s made out of metal. The only thing that I don’t like about this pen is that sometimes it leaks a little (aka nib creep). Also since it’s thinner, it writes a bit scratchy so it isn’t ideal for heavy-handed writers.
Lightweight and secure – Lamy Safari <Extra Fine>
The Lamy Safari is a well-known workhorse and knock-around pen which makes it great for bullet journaling. As I’ve mentioned, if you use a bullet journal, you would most likely carry it wherever you go.
The Lamy Safari has this nice clip design too which secures nicely on the elastic band of a standard dot grid journal.
It also has an ink window so you can see your ink capacity). The pen is made out of plastic so it’s also pretty light to carry around.
Large ink capacity – TWSBI Eco <Extra fine>
TWSBI is one of the best fountain pen brands out there especially for their price point. The extra fine nib isn’t scratchy and writes smoothly. Also, the Eco is has a clear body which means you can see your ink levels and ink color easily. It has the biggest ink capacity among the rest which makes it a reliable everyday carry.
The only caveat here is that you won’t be able to use an ink cartridge and would need to buy a separate ink bottle.
Best Fountain Pen Inks
If you can install an ink cartridge with your fountain pen, that might be the most convenient thing to do.
If you’ve been using drawing pens or gel pens for bullet journaling, you may have gotten used to waterproof inks that you can highlight over. Fountain pen inks are different because they are dye-based inks and are rarely water-resistant. I did my research and found out that there are a few fountain pen inks that are water-resistant to waterproof and won’t damage your pen.
A few of the best water-resistant inks are:
- Noodler’s Bulletproof Inks (waterproof), various colors
- Platinum Carbon Black Ink – Note: When using a Platinum Carbon Black, you need to clean your pens more regularly than other pens because there are small particles in the ink that can clog the pen in the near future
- DeAtramentis Document inks
If you’re not particular with water-resistance, there are a lot of inks to choose from. You can always opt for brands like Pilot, Lamy, Waterman, Diamine, Herbin fountain pen inks. There are a lot to choose from so I wrote a separate post about it here: Best Beginner-Friendly Fountain Pen Inks.
Also, always make sure that the ink that you purchase is a FOUNTAIN PEN INK and not a calligraphy ink because that will clog and ruin your fountain pen!
As for the colors, it’s really up to you. I choose black inks for consistency – let’s say I don’t have my fountain pen at hand, I can always use any black pen available to write with on my bullet journal. If you’re looking for inks that aren’t too flashy but also aren’t bland, check out Brian Goulet’s video on “Work Appropriate Inks”.
Another Thing To Consider – Paper
Paper quality plays a big part in the fountain pen hobby. Fountain pen ink does not work well on low quality (like receipts) or standard paper (like copy paper or even Moleskine notebooks). You will find that your ink will bleed through the page and feather like crazy. There are a lot of notebooks taht are considered to be fountain pen friendly so keep these brands in mind when you want to use fountain pens for bullet journaling:
What I Use for Bullet Journaling
I used to rotate between the pens that I’ve mentioned but right now I use the Platinum Plaisir (not on list) inked with Platinum Carbon Black.
I enjoyed writing with the Platinum Preppy so much that I purchased the Platinum Plaisir (which is essentially a Preppy with an aluminum body) specifically for bullet journaling.
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