Yamamoto Paper Cosmo Air Light Loose Leaf Paper - White - A4 - Blank

I enjoy using Tomoe River Paper even with the new changes but I also wanted to give other fountain pen friendly papers a try. I was looking for loose leaf paper that's thicker than Tomoe for writing pen pal letters and came across this one.

It handles inks really well and can show them off their properties too. Due to its thickness, it can take a bit of effort to fold if you plan on mailing a sheet but that's not a big deal to me.

There is some drag which doesn't particularly bother me because it emphasizes the feel of nib to paper. But others may want a more smooth feeling, so fair warning!

I will always have a soft spot for Tomoe River, our previous champion, and continue to love it. But between the changes they've had to make and what this new paper brings to the table, I can definitively say this is the absolute top end for revealing all that fountain pen inks are capable of. If you spend some time searching you'll see the community is fairly unified on this, but of course you will need to try for yourself.

I hope that they will use this paper in lots of different sizes, formats, and covers in the future but this is a good start.

The paper has virtually no show through and can stand up not only to ink but also watercolor if you don't mind a little dimpling.

It has more drag on the nib than Tomoe but that's not bad (or good) just different. It does help with some super smooth Pilot nibs that tend to get a little too slippery. The grip of Sailor nibs on this paper feels really nice too.

I first tried this paper as part of a “tasting” sampler I got at Yoseka about a year ago. I loved it, and then ordered some A4 sheets directly from Yamamoto. I’m very glad that Yoseka now carries this size!

This paper is a champ for showing off every nuance of ink shading and sheen. Colors really pop! It has a fairly substantial weight, and a pleasant, slightly off-white color - excellent for correspondence. It has a coated feel but is soft and forgiving rather than glossy or slippery. Dry time is a little slow but quicker than one might expect for such FP friendly paper. (I’m a lefty over-writer and I can handle it.) Downsides: It is very sensitive to picking up hand oils, so be careful with that, and with some nibs in my collection (e.g. Lamy 2000 M) it occasionally squeaks while writing.