I like it too! Both for the "my words are safe" feeling, and for the very practical reason that since the paper is definitely small-batch and low-tech, it's a lot more delicate - you can see in the "open" picture where I've bent up a bottom edge there.
Actually had just recently started keeping a journal. More a sort of idea/thoughts/lines/things i need to do journal rather then personal thoughts. And not very organized except that i am managing to date pages. The journal itself is this red, hard cover sketchbook i found at a five dollar and below store. I'll use any pen in it but I am currently loving using an "EK Tools" Journaling pen.
I'm keeping a positivity journal, as of this month. I write reminders to myself, reasons I'm a good person, and things I need to work on in it. Sometimes it can be hard to write but I need to keep at it.
I got a couple ClaireFontaine "My.Essential" notebooks in A5 and a Rhodia Dot Pad to try out. I bought a big handful of Pilot Hi-Tecs, too. Well, they're called G-Tecs here in the US for some reason, but the same pen. It would have been cheaper to order it all from JetPens, but I finally found a store locally that stocks neat pens and paper and . . . well, if birthday money isn't for impulse shopping, I don't know what it's for.
@rigorist - That My.Essential looks really nice, and I haven't tried the Dot Pad, but I've been meaning to. I did not know the G-Tec was the Hi-Tec. Huh. And I'm not gonna lie, if I had access to a local store that stocked an array of pens and paper, I would probably make more purchases there and fewer on JetPens. It's nice to be able to see and touch the pens before you buy, so you can make sure of stuff like, is the Sailor G-Free is actually worth five dollar? (I don't know if it's worth five dollars, but it's pretty good). Also, my pen bag came and there's something vaguely creepy about it... I'm not giving you a hug... but here's the daily pen carry and the journal itself! The tiniest scissors and tape roll (so tiny!), a black mini-Sharpie because you never know, Pilot Opt (Etched), aforementioned Hi-Tec Coleto C custom (pen, eraser, pencil), Paper Mate InkJoy Gel in Teal, Sakura Pigma Micron 05 in Burgundy, and the Uni Mitsubishi Pure Color-F, cut off at the bottom. These are my current favourite pens to write with - I've also been using a Pigma Micron 005, which has a gloriously fine point. Strangely, my favourite colour is actually red...
I'd like to get the Hi-Tec cartridges in a G-2 body. I can't flip the Hi-Tecs very well--the balance is a little off. G-2s are balanced perfectly for flipping.
i've been thinking about starting a journal to help with my memory problems, keep note of positive stuff, anddddd homework also a dream journal for that $$$ if they turn out to be interesting enough! i did have a journal in mind that i was going to use, but it vanished. not sure what i'll write in, i might just do it digitally
Bleh. The G-2 is one of my least favourite pens. Mostly because the line width seems enormous and they feel clumsy. Actually, I've heard told that the InkJoy refills fit in the G-2, which, Hi-Tec > InkJoy > literally almost anything else > G-2, as far as I'm concerned. If the InkJoys don't fit, surely something else does. No idea why this is such a gold standard pen... I've had government pens that worked better (actually, Skillcraft does make a legitimately nice pen. That always surprises me). But it does have a solid body...
The body has a nice balance for spinning, but they are otherwise unremarkable. You can get them down to a 0.38 tip, but it's really scratchy that small.
I always forget they come in sizes. Needle-tip gels are a dime a dozen, if we're in the world of something not sold at Walgreens. Felt is far better for a tip of that size, less scratchy and more precise. But yeah, as to G-2, the pen fandom is pretty thoroughly split on them, as to whether they're horrible skip-beasts or ambrosia in gel ink form, which amuses me quite a bit.
I am not by any means a widely-experienced fan of pens, lol - G-2 is probably just my favorite because it was the one of the variety my parents bought that had the best tactile sensation to me, and I kept buying it almost exclusively once I moved out on my own because I am very set in my habits. :) There may in fact be something out there I'd like better, but I'd have to get past the aspie brainfit of "but it's not the thing I know I like," and I'm not sure how much the effort is worth? Rather put my journaling energy into collecting a variety of journals. In other news, I am not perfectly consistent at the Morning Pages yet, but it is doing me a lot of good! If I actually manage to do it first thing in the morning (after I've woken up and poked at my first-thing-in-the-morning internet alerts, while my sister is making coffee), it seems to help kickstart my verbal ability, actually, which is nice. And I've missed the tactile sensation of handwriting that much in one go - all my other current journal-type efforts are very much the practical-lists and short-descriptions sort.
@Kit - If you like it and it works for you, there's no reason to use something else! A lot of people do adore them. Whereas I have ADHD, which is constantly like 'okay now try a new things because New Things are Cool' but I also almost certainly have at least one conflicting brainweird that's like 'okay, you tried this New Thing, and it was cool, maybe even better than your favourite, but let's go back to the old favourite now because Permanent Change is Too Weird' (and so, I have many Pigma Microns and I've used them for like ten years). I haven't started Morning Pages yet, but I'm going on vacation over Labour Day weekend and usually wake up earlier than my best friend, so that seems like a good time to take a gander at it. Actually, since you mentioned the verbal ability thing, I'll definitely have to pass it along to him, too...
I don't think G-2's are bad pens, especially for the price. The bodies are well balanced and the grippy thing is nice. They're certainly nicer than the Hi-Tec ones. I think the Hi-Tec has the edge in writing smoothly with very fine tips.
journaling! i love journaling, and did it a lot when i was younger, though not consistently (i'd skip weeks, months, and sometimes years). still, i did manage to fill up some journals. my problem is i'm always buying more. i have a Journal/Notebook Problem. it's been a while since i've journaled on a regular basis, so i'm probably going to try again sometime soon--this weekend maybe since i'll have time. i'm also hoping to start a bullet journal/planner so i can keep track of things i need to remember, because i am notorious for forgetting Important Things I Need To Do. as for writing utensils i like, someone recommended the staedtler pens on their blog so i bought some when i bought my planner, and they're really nice! i haven't decided whether or not i want to use pen in my next journaling attempt, though.
