Onion Skin Journal "This Is My Story": A Rare Paper Worth Writing On

Introduction

Onion skin paper, sometimes called airmail paper, is a thin, translucent stock with a devoted following among fountain pen users. It is rarely found bound into a proper hardcover journal, which is exactly what makes the Onion Skin Journal “This Is My Story” edition such a rarity. It pairs that distinctive paper with a lay-flat binding, a tough linen hardcover, and an artisanal approach to bookbinding that shows in every detail.

First Impressions: Design and Build

The journal arrives wrapped in a burlap cover printed with an ouroboros, a symbol of rebirth and recovery, setting an inspirational tone before you even open the book. Beneath it is the “This Is My Story” journal itself: a slim, tidy hardcover in linen with gold lettering, and a spine stamped “The Onion Skin Journal” in the European bookbinding style so it stands out on a shelf.

It is a good-sized journal and feels genuinely tough. After two weeks of being carried in a bag, ours showed no scratches at all. The edges are tight, the binding is precise, and the whole object feels handcrafted rather than mass-produced.

What Makes the Paper Special

The onion skin paper is the heart of this journal. It is translucent, very strong relative to its weight, and remarkably smooth. With a fountain pen it is brilliant: ink shading and color variation come through beautifully, and the writing experience feels like pushing ink along the delicate edge of the nib into lovely loops and cursive shapes. A polished nib feels even smoother on this paper.

The binding is a Smyth-sewn construction, where groups of pages are sewn together and the stacked signatures are bound into the hard cover. The practical result is that the journal lies flat anywhere, which makes writing across the full width of the page easy and keeps hand placement comfortable.

Practical Details: Tracing, Guides, and Handling

Because the paper is nearly transparent, the journal includes a guide card with both ruled lines and a dot grid to place behind the page, whichever you prefer. A nib clip or similar holder keeps the thin page from migrating over the liner as you write.

Transparency is not for everyone. If you dislike bleed-through, this is not your paper: writing can be visible from pages away. But many writers love seeing the shading and color character of their ink, and you can always place the guide card behind the page for a cleaner look. The translucency also creates an interesting layering effect that artists can exploit, stacking drawings or writing on top of one another. Just handle the pages with care when turning them, as the paper is delicate and can tear at the edges if something is jammed into the book.

Who This Journal Is For

With 320 pages and a cover stiff enough to work like a clipboard, this journal is excellent for writing on the move. You can write standing up, balance it on your knee, or journal in a park or on a city bench without a desk in sight. A ribbon page marker keeps your place, and the journals are made in the United States by a third-generation bookbinder, designed by the company’s founder, a poet and designer who started the company to support her own journaling practice and wanted a journal that would lie flat.

Buying Advice

At $54 USD, this journal costs more than many alternatives, and the price is the main consideration alongside the delicate paper. But the comparison is not with a casually glued pad of paper; it is an artisanal book bound in the USA with traditional methods and a genuinely rare paper stock. Viewed that way, the price is fair for the craftsmanship, the paper quality, and the small-business provenance behind it.

If you have never written on onion skin paper, it is worth trying at least once. The smoothness, the ink character, and the sheer tactile pleasure of the pages make it easy to fill with words faster than you expect.

Conclusion

The “This Is My Story” journal from Onion Skin Journal is a beautifully made, inspirational notebook built around one of the most distinctive papers available to fountain pen users. Its translucency and delicacy will not suit everyone, but for writers who value ink character, a lay-flat binding, and genuine artisanal craftsmanship, it is a rare and rewarding find.