I had a similar problem, just trying hard to perfect my planner like others spread on KZfaq when my only purpose was just to brainstorm and do functional planning. I just had to let go of that perfectionist mentality and start writing. Boy, after going through that experience, it made a difference in my life by just laying a pen on that paper without thinking about what stickers and washi I should use. I felt that was the first time I got somewhere with my intentional and value setting.

I‘ve fallen deep into the fountain pen rabbit hole. The twsbi eco is nice because you don’t need a converter for the ink. It’s a piston fill so you just dip the nib into the ink, twist the top and it fills up the ink. I gifted my sister a twsbi eco and a hobo weeks a couple days ago and she LOVES them. As for the super dark ink, try a lighter ink. Pilot iroshizuku inks are great…they come in cartridges now so they’ll fit into your kakuno. The take-sumi is a really nice black. If you want to be more adventurous with inks, I’m loving sailor manyo Fuji right now. It’s like a bluish/gray color. Yoseka sells 5ml ink samples…which will get you a couple fills. Great way to try different inks without committing. I also use blotting paper in my weeks so that the ink doesn’t smudge. Hope this helps!

I love your videos ❤! I too am easily influenced by the community 😂. I haven't fallen down the fountain pen rabbit hole...yet. When you said, "I should do what feels right for me."- I felt that in my bones. So often I've changed what works for me because someone did something else and then I was not happy or worse, not using my planner 😮 Off to see the hobonichi cousin vid 😅

This was so fun to listen to and watch! When I first started in Hobonichi I used Pentel Energels. They were good because they dry fast and write smoothly. Now… I’m addicted to fountain pens 😂. It really is a combo of handwriting + pen + ink + paper, which is one the reasons I love fountain pens and Hobonichi so much because the paper makes it so fun to play with the different types of inks. I will say I personally don’t like the pen that came with Hobonichi because I don’t like fines or extra fines because they make my hand writing look ugly 😅. I like bolder ones because it gives my handwriting more control. This is why I think it’s very personal to each individual. :) I think the Pilot Kakuno is the best beginner friendly pen, a Lamy Safari would be next, and then a Twsbi Eco. The Lamy grip will “help” you with control or it may drive you crazy depending on how you hold your pens. As for drying the ink faster, I use cardstock that comes with orders (like postcards) and it absorbs it easily so I can close my notebook immediately. So it doubles as a book mark and “blotting” paper.

I've been using fountain pens and gel pens in my planner for a long time (I've always hated ballpoint pens). I recently switched to the Uni Jetstream in 0.5 at the beginning of 2023. And I must say, because the black ink is so light compared to fountain pens and gel pens, it looked really strange on paper at first. It took me a while to get used to the look of it. But now, after using the Jetstream for 2 months straight, I really like it. This multicolour pen and pencil is so functional and the ink doesn't smear at all, which is nice. I still love fountain pens, but these days I only use them for journaling and memory keeping, which is fine with me. I also prefer simple functional planning without any decoration :) Just do what you like and don't feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing. Easier said than done though ;D I also experience this "This looks so cool in other people's planners, but it looks like shit in mine"... So frustrating!

I use super slim washi instead of drawing the lines. It’s the only “deco” on the page and I’m really loving it.

For fountain pens٫ the sailor Fountain pen (Its affordable aroun. $16 Cad) in black works great for me in my weeks. But I leave my works open all the time. You Could also get some blotter paper to help With the smudging. it took me long time to figure out what pen I liked in my weeks. Lol

I know I am very late to the party here (just discovered your channel recently) and would recommend TWSBI pens (Eco or 580 depending on what you want to spend and whether you like to post your pen) with an extra fine nib combined with Iroshizuku ink for what you are trying to do. If you like a lighter ink look, Iroshizuku Kiri-same is a nice gray that looks like pencil. I also recommend using gel highlighters instead of regular ones which will keep your fountain pen ink from smearing because they aren’t water based like the ink. The combination of EF TWBI and Iroshizuku ink allows for minimal ink to go down (which makes the ink last longer), it dries very quickly (preventing smearing), and still has great coloring on the Tomoe River paper inside a Hobonichi. Plus, TWSBI nibs are incredibly consistent, reliable, and work well right out of the box.

I was thinking maybe if you try one of the grey inks available you might like it better, there’s a Diamine in Earl Grey that might be more to your liking in a fountain pen. I have the Twisbi Eco and I love it. But I use a Sarasa Dry x20 in my Hobonichis the most because it dries quickly! It’s fun to try new things so enjoy yourself, but if you end up preferring a ball point pen that’s great too! 😊

Yea Pilot’s extra fine/fine nibs are finer than Platinum’s. I have a meteor/shooting star as well and ended up ordering an extra fine nib for it. Preppy’s body isn’t as sturdy as the meteor, mine cracked in a few months cause I was a little rough with it lol 😂 It could also be your ink. Wetter, more saturated inks can create thicker lines. Try getting some samples of De Atramentis document/archive inks or Monteverde document ink and play around with those to see what you like before committing to a full sized bottle. They dry faster and is waterproof/water resistant. TWSBI Eco’s are great! Definitely recommend those

I am a Twsbi girl through and through but I also love my pilot kakuno in ef also. I don't like black ink at all, it's much too bold for me as I write small as well. I prefer noodlers lexington grey it's more like a pencil color ink wise if that makes sense and it really pairs well with my twsbi's as well as my kakuno especially in ef. I love it in my decimo pens as well. Both brands as smooth to write with for me and the ink dries almost instantly with either so I have not had to use blotting paper and I've been using a fountain pen in my hobonichi since 2018. You just have to find what works for you. Smaller nib sizes lay down less ink, and some inks are more saturated then others which makes for the harsh darker writing.

you're so funny!😆 I love fountain pens but not for all my writing, specially not for quick notes on my planner. I use a muji 0.38 or jetstream 0.5 in my hobonichi weeks when I am planning. I do use fountain pen in there if there's still space and I want to put in a memory that I'd like to journal about later when I have more time... I also dislike darker tombows and the middle line! it looks so good on people's planners, right?! but for some reason I don't love it in my... so it was fun watching you go through same, but also so nice to see that you found what works for you! that's the best😍 The Twsbi eco is not as thin, even the EF won't feel like the pens you have but it is really smooth. So if you don't mind a bold pen you might like it.

Try drawing the lines in pencil, I had the same problem and the pencil lines are perfect, not too distracting or competing with the writing

I used mainly Sakura Pigma Microns in size 01 in my Hobonichi Mega Weeks - because I need a really fine tip to be able to fit what I need to have in each day on the weekly page. I color-code in my organizers, with each of 5 Major Goal areas assigned a color. I'm not a fan of the stepped-cylindrical design of the Sakura Pigma Micron tips- because I hold my pens right up by the tip and typically hold AT the step from narrow tip-cylinder to wider next cylinder. For general writing in black, I use a Kuretake ZIG Cartoonist Mangaka Outline pen in 01 - it's nicely thin, with a more conical tip than that of the Sakura Pigma Microns. And I have a couple of colors of Copic 0.3mm Multiliners that I use. I only use waterproof inks in my planners (after a blocked drain line lead to my AC overflowing into a basket of my planners. The only pages I was able to reuse from the flooded binders were written with Sakura Pigma Microns). I don't like writing with ball-points; it takes too much pressure & is hard on my hand. Maybe because I hold my pen at a low angle to the paper - or other reason, I find writing with gel writing pens I end up skipped spots, which annoys me. Hence I mostly use markers of various sorts. I do use Sakura Gelly Roll, ZIG metallic markers, & Kuretake ZIG Clean Color dot markers for accents and headings. Any of the juicier pens take a while to dry on Tomoe River paper - even the Sakura Pigma Micron in the 01 width. I find it useful to have some absorbent paper cut to size to use as blotting paper when I want to flip pages before the ink has had enough time to dry.

I love fountain pens and use Lamy Safari fine nib in my Hobo Weeks; I also use my Cross Bailey fine nib. That said, I usually use the Pilot Acroball fine point. Do what feels best to you!

Purchase some lighter colored ink. I love a gray instead of black and there are some very nice variations.

Your handwriting is great also with fountain pen. If you really want to use them, maybe you could try a black ink that has a softer ton! Jet pens has a really nice guide on that. Maybe grey inks could be something for you too! You write really small so European extra fine nibs would be better for you and if you go with the Asian nibs, which are also wonderful, than fine could be already too fine! Going to a store is also a good idea for getting some help on the theme. I hope I could help a little bit. 😊

The Japanese made pens have finer nibs. I had the same problem with both of the pens you mentioned as I'm a FP newby as well. Get the Extra Fine nib and you will see a huge difference.

Also hopping on the Hobonichi train this year! I've been enjoying .4 Sarasa Mark On!

I've been trying all the pens in my weeks and I keep going back to 0.38 ballpoint. I'm just going to stick to what works for me lol

Use what you enjoy, other's spreads are for inspiration IMHO, not necessarily to be reproduced. I love fountain pens but I've been using them since I was 7 and where I grew up in Europe, we had to write almost exclusively in cursive between the ages 6-10. So I'm really comfy with them. I can't master gel pens though for the life of me. 😅 I've veered away from ballpoints because of the ridging on TRP and the force you need to use to put down a decent amount of ink. But seriously, use what you like, we're all different. 😉

I recently look into/research about fountain pens 🖋️🖋️🖋️ and absolutely, go for the TWSBI ✨

you should try to get an EF FP. though both are steel nibs so they should write finer point than say a softer gold nib would. hmmmm you could get a custom grind if you want finer than what you are seeing now. I find that my EF pilot nibs are enough for me.

So I don’t use a Hobonichi weeks but I’m using the Sweet Freckled Designs weekly diary and I actually use pencil a lot and the uni jet stream .38. If I want something to stand out, I use an energel .7 but mostly for headings in note pages not for actual plans or lists. I don’t like the super dark ink on the tomoe river paper.

I absolutely love the Techo Cousin b/c the all-in-one nature of it is so great, but I really don't like the paper. I am conflicted b/c I haven't used a Hobonichi since 2021 and I really miss the layout but I know I don't like the paper so I'm not sure what I wanna do for 2024

Pilot EF would be your best bet... maybe the fine? Go to grey ink

Re fountain pens - get yourself some carbon ink by platinum and give it some time to dry before you turn the page. It won’t smear with highlighters either!

Appreciate your videos! I steer clear from fountain pens because I don't trust myself. LOL I admire all those that do use them though. Would you pls share the link for the vellum? My apologies if I overlooked seeing it above. Thank you!

I feeeeel you with the fountain pens! I now have 3 and lost. I don’t use for hobo. I would love your apricot cover ❤ if still available I will reach out

Buy sample inks before you buy bottles! Watch some videos on pilot vanishing point "after" you find a cheep pilot nib you like...

Would love to grab your apricot cover if you're interested in selling. 🙂

Buy grey ink instead of black for your fountain pen...

Is your apricot cover still available?

It's because Japanese nibs are finer than other nibs. You have to know that.

Twsbi is very wet... lots of ink, I don't think you'll like that