Bullet Journal: Supplies

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This is a series of short posts. Here you can find with links to all of them and and an introduction to this subject.

What do you need to start a BJ? To be honest only a notebook and a pencil or pen to write. The notebook doesn't even need to be empty (write the Index section at the end of the notebook in this case). That said, there are plenty of options when it comes to stationery and you may find that some will make keeping a BJ more pleasurable.

Pens, pencils, brushes

There is so much choice on the market that I'm not going to dare any recommendations. Just use whatever you prefer. If you're into illustration or artwork, coloured pencils and pens and even watercolour can be used, as long as your notebook can handle them, as discussed below.

Notebooks

Any will do, but keep in mind:

  • notebooks that stay flat are much more convenient.
  • if you're going to use colour, use paper of good enough quality to support it (this depends on the kind of ink you'll use). Note that good quality ink/pens bleed less. Also good quality paper can withstand ink a lot better: less weight (gsm) does not mean more bleeding.
  • blank, lined, dotted or graphed? Your choice, but dotted is often recommended.
  • size and shape? Your choice, but A5 is usually recommended.
  • cover: soft or hard? Your choice.

A comparison between the most recommended brands

Leuchtturm 1917:
quick drying (better for watercolour).
Moleskine:
good for pencil, more ghosting for pens.
Rhodia (Rhodiarama,Webnotebook,Goalbook):
less ghosting, good for fountain pens, paper slightly better quality and thicker.

Note: good quality notebooks can surprisingly withstand some amount of watercolour use, but there are also watercolour notebooks. When using standard notebooks: Leuchtturm 1917 is better than Moleskine for this purpose.

Conclusion: cheap notebooks that stay flat are perfect, if you do not include any colour/artwork or do not mind some bleeding and ghosting. Rhodia paper is smoother, best for ink pens, but not as good for pencil or roll pens. The paper is thicker, which avoids ghosting, but it means more weight/less pages. Moleskine/Leuchtturm 1917 paper is rougher and lighter, which may be better if ghosting is not an issue. Leuchtturm 1917 is better than Moleskine, so compare prices. Moleskine has more pages.

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