Care and Feeding

From BBCi:

"Tips for Using the Moleskine Notebook

      Although the book will fit in a back trouser pocket, if you're going to carry it on your person, it's less damaging to the book to put it in your jacket pocket. (Although the book is light, placing it in a shirt pocket is not recommended.)

      Always use the elastic to keep the pages closed. The pages may be acid-free, but they are not waterproof. Keeping the book closed tightly with the elastic will limit any rain damage to the page edges.

      The ideal writing instrument for the standard size notebook will have a fine point (ie a maximum of 0.7mm). Either pen or pencil will work nicely.
 
      If you're using the notebook as a creative writing aid, Bruce Chatwin recommended numbering each page for use as a reference guide.
 
      Chatwin also suggested placing your mailing address in the inside cover, along with notice of a reward for recovery in the event the book gets lost. (The Modo and Modo version provides a space in the inside front cover for this information.)"
...
Burning sands, reticulated pythons, coffee grounds and crayons often take their toll on our little black books. What to do? Martha is busy taking notes from her courtroom seat so let's take the cudgels.

- I keep mine in Ziploc® when traveling.

[BBCi excerpt added 3.4.04]

Update 5.12.06

Alexia has a photoset on FLICKR about Moleskine repair.

Comments

[barney gumball]

wow! i wasnt expecting such a speedy response! well, i am actually still able to use the elastic band feature, as the nice man at the hospital was able to remove it from my brother's eye!

but now security is much tighter around the diary, i sleep with it in my bed at night. sometimes i awaken with the soft leather pressed against my flesh, and ill tell you, it doesnt feel too bad!

xx

[bob]

I've repaired Moleskine notebook elastics in the past. It's not too hard.

You just need to peel off the liner paper from the inside of the back cover (very carefully!!), reinsert the elastic end that has pulled out, glue it with good glue (some kind of contact cement will work fine, elmers will also work) and press it closed for a while.

After a night of being under a stack of books, the notebook was fine again.

bob

[barney gumball]

thanks for the advice, but ive fixed the problem now- i purchased a moleskin bookmark which i lightly glued to the inside back cover- works a charm!

i do, however, have another problem for which i do need advice; as i said, i sleep with the book in my bed. however, recently, me and my partner were being 'intimate', and erm... how can i say this... something was accidentally spilled onto the front cover! it does make the diary look far less innocent, and i'd like a way to remove the 'substance' without ruining the exterior! help much appreciated!

x

[Hans Moleman]

Hmmn, I do have experience in stain removal from moleskines myself. However, in order to give sound stain advice I'll need to know a little more about the type of stain we are dealing with. Could you give a little more detail please, Mr Gumball?

[barney gumball]

howdy again hans! well, the stain is (if you use your imagination) a cross between glue and toothpase. its not all over thought, theres really just one big long globule sprayed accross the front, so it doesnt need an all over cleaning!

x

[artcat05]

I don't have a moleskine yet, but if you have an elastic band around it it would seem easy enough to sew an elastic loop to that to hold a pen/pencil. Or make a separate band to fit with slots for pens/pencils/markers/paintbrush- Whatever you use in your moleskine.

[luke]

Barney: using my imagination.
Your were brushing your teeth one morning, when you realized that someone, in an attempt to prevent you from testifying in court against their felonious activities that you were a witness to, replaced your toothpaste with a half-toothpaste, half-glue mixture. The toothpaste was added to cover the flavor and aroma of the glue, but it was not enough. As you were brushing, you realized what was transpiring and quickly spat out the heinous mixture all over the room, splattering your beloved notebook, which never leaves your side. Although the notebook suffered minor damage, you are now able to appear in court and see that justice is served.

[Hans Moleman]

Luke, have you been spying on me??!!...I mean....what a clever, if somewhat far fetched, idea. No-one would ever go to that much trouble to cover up a little crime like coveting thy neighbours wife (or whatever this person may have done)....(it wasn't me).....(are you a cop?)

Anyways, I'm sure Barney will be grateful of the suggestion and i'll get to work coming up with a glue/toothpaste removal device.

Cheers

[Enoch Soames]

Just got my first Moleskine the other day - the paper takes fountain pen ink wonderfully well, but I quickly discovered that a little blotting was occasionally necessary. Rather than wait for the ink to dry before closing the notebook I cut a square of paper towel fractionally smaller than the page, and keep it in the back - when I'm ready to close the notebook I just tuck the paper towel in between the pages.

I also ironed my fabric bookmark. Hey - it was wrinkled!

[billby]

Since confessions are in order, I have cut my pocket size Moleskine in two, with a bandsaw (gasp), and now have two really small pocket sketchbooks, each so portable that they can go anywhere I go.
cheers, bill b.

[Mike]

Mr. Gumball,
Concerning your stain, have you tried rubbing at it with a moist cloth? I think substances (ahem) like that are normally fairly water soluble, and the moleskine isn't leather, it's oilcloth, so I think it'll probably hold up pretty well...
Concerning the previous conversation about keeping the wrappers on; you all *do* realize that those are wrappers, for marketing and display purposes...right? Would you store a new novel in the shrink-wrap it came in?

[Peter]

Dan, I use a Cross Ion Pen it comes with a clip similar to a key-chain. You can attach it to most anything including the Moleskine elastic band. Cross also sells a lanyard you can put the pen on and wear it around your neck. I love both my Moleskine and my Ion pen ; )

[EdelmaK]

Some people have mentioned that they keep their Moleskines in zip-lock bags to protect them from moisture. Sounds like a good idea but has anyone found a solution other than a gallon plastic bag? Perhaps something equally as effective but more elegant?

[IL Postino]

There are iPod cosies and socks. Maybe somebody should make one for a certain notebook too.

[John L.]

Here's a way to get very cheap (at least 50% off, perhaps even more) Moleskine 2005 planners (daily, weekly) Stop by at a Borders after Dec 25, you will get great discounts. I think discounts are even better after Jan 1.

[Yasemin]

Today I got my first moleskine (plain notebook), and I was very excited while waiting for the package. But!! When I imagine with what to fill the papers, I feel quite embarrassed. I'm so fascinated by the plain softly gleaming papers, that I fear it to be a sacrilege to smear them with trivialities. What were your first entries?

[whitemoth]

Yasemin, I make it a point to make my first entry on page 5 or 6, thereby eliminating the issue of "where to begin." I can always go back and fill in those pages if I come upon something worthy of them - but I seldom do. It's the curse of Page One ...

And besides, remember this - if it comes from you, it is not a triviality ...

[fixedgaer]

Moleskine hack? How to keep the bookmark from unravelling? Mine seems to be ready to undo itslef after 2 weeks of use. A drop of clear nail polish seems to have headed this off at the pass.

[Mr_Neal]

For bookmark unravel-prevention, I tie a figure-of-eight knot in the end. There's just enough material to make the knot fall perfectly below the bottom edge of the page.

[Philip Sharman]

EdalmaK, You were asking about plastic bags for Moleskines. Michael Connick suggests using something called an Aloksak:
http://geocities.com/wanderlyte/journals/moleskine_kit.html

I haven't tried them, but they sound interesting.

[kent]

I use a Dymo labeler (< $30 at Walmart aka Wally World) and put my name and the type of book using plastic tape right on the front. I have a Diary/Calendar, Journal, and Book List going at any one time. I carry the Journal and Diary with me all the time, and my Book List - a canonical list of names and notes for all the books I read - on my bedside table.

[Linda Kennedy]

I am the person who put ALOKSAK waterproof bags on the market that were reccommended by Mihcael Connick. I was pointed to the Moleskins website by a reader in Australia. I must say, I am facinated by the endless excitement with the Moleskins notebook. I think I need to get one! Can anyone tell me who MIchael Connick is?

[EdelmaK]

I took a plastic Glad ziplock freezer bag (1 gallon size)and cut off the bottom so the bag was a near perfect fit for my large Moleskine. I then used clear packing tape to reseal the bottome of the bag and reinforce all of the seams. I have been using it for a few months and it works great. Cheap, effective protection for your important journal!!

[BitMan]

I sat down with my new and first Moleskine regular squared first time opening it, at a nice pub, faced with the the question: Should I put anything in the reward slot imposed on me? How much is it worth to me, now the cost, later who knows? The environment being in gave me the answer: I crossed out the $ (ok, I get it why, despite it's acclaimed history its namt the euro sign) and put down '1 pint of Guinness', an award
any would be writer should be gratefull for.

[Gobbo]

I just swapped out a palm for the new batteryless, a pocket plain page (don't need lines and like to diagram). When confronted with the reward question, I left plenty of room so that I can increase the reward as the text becomes more valuable to me (since it is a pda replacement and includes work, there is an actual monetary value).