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Thread: Confessions of an Inkaholic

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    Default Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Okay, time to fess up.

    Who uses the whole fill of ink, and who swaps ink before the fill is done?

    Extra question: those who only use a partial fill, do you put the remains back in the bottle?



    For myself I have, on occasion, here and there, once or twice, not used the whole fill.

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    I always dump the ink before it's out. Thing is, I don't write much, just notes, calculations, and rough design drawings, so eventually I get a clue from how concentrated the ink becomes that I ought to think about doing something. In some cases I just add distilled water, but eventually I just dump out the ink and start over with something else, usually after cleaning out that pen and putting it away. Just this evening, I dumped what turned out to be 3 very concentrated drops of Montblanc Irish Green out of a Forest Green Parker 51. The ink went into the sink, not the bottle. Switched to a Montblanc 146 with Montblanc Lavender Purple. Don't know how long that will last. I like the color, but in the past I haven't lasted a whole fill of a 146 before wanting something else. And the 146 holds a lot of ink. Probably I shouldn't have filled it so full.
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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Both use up, & also empty leftovers, depending on circumstances.
    Never empty back into bottle.

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Both here.....but mostly dump it before it runs dry and never back in the bottle since sometimes I forget what ink is in it!!

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Im guilty of all of the above. I probably write pens dry about 50% of the time. When I decide to clear one out early, I usually dump them down the sink, but I have dumped back in the bottle a couple of times. If memory serves, those times involved cases where I just didn't like a pen / ink combo and had only recently filled the pen. It just felt too wasteful dumping out a full pen... Probably not a great idea in retrospect. Like pouring a partial glass of milk back in the jug

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    My own pens, the ones I use to write with, I use all the ink. I also write-test the pens I sell. I use only part of a fill for that and the remainder goes back in the bottle.
    Regards,
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    My Blog

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Usually I write my pens dry. If a pen and ink don't get along, I'll dump the ink into a sample vial. If I want a different colour, I'll ink up another pen — I have (more than) enough without having to empty one that's already filled with something else.

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Quote Originally Posted by mhosea View Post
    I always dump the ink before it's out. Thing is, I don't write much, just notes, calculations, and rough design drawings, so eventually I get a clue from how concentrated the ink becomes that I ought to think about doing something. In some cases I just add distilled water, but eventually I just dump out the ink and start over with something else, usually after cleaning out that pen and putting it away. Just this evening, I dumped what turned out to be 3 very concentrated drops of Montblanc Irish Green out of a Forest Green Parker 51. The ink went into the sink, not the bottle. Switched to a Montblanc 146 with Montblanc Lavender Purple. Don't know how long that will last. I like the color, but in the past I haven't lasted a whole fill of a 146 before wanting something else. And the 146 holds a lot of ink. Probably I shouldn't have filled it so full.
    I don't fill any of my pens completely full. It saves me wasting so much ink.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    If the cart. is mostly full (cos I've changed my mind within a day), then I have been known to syringe it out and return it to the bottle, but these days, I tape up the cart. and label what ink it is. Saves me time when whimsy suggests I try that ink again.

    Otherwise, I tend to top off the cartridges before they run dry. I fill a few of my pens with the same inks fairly consistently, but there are a few that I haven't quite matched the ink to (thus the "cheapies" for the non-"EDC" colors).

    I haven't quite figured out what my "EDC" blue/blue-black is. The candidates are: Pilot Blue, Pilot Blue-Black, KWŻ Niebiesky galusowy #1 (Blue IG), KWŻ Azure #2, and... probably some other blue. Or gray. (Noodler's Lexington Gray is such a beautiful match for the Pilot Falcon (SEF) that recently when I tried to change the ink, I had to change it back within the day.) (The other gray vying for an "EDC" spot is Faber-Castell Stone Grey.)

    Most-used ink (currently in four pens) is Noodler's Black. This is the ink that gets topped off the most.


    P.S. If I don't save the ink in the cartridge (seal it, however clumsily), then I wash it down the drain. If I don't save it in the cartridge, it's cos there isn't much left.
    Last edited by ethernautrix; December 3rd, 2018 at 05:40 AM. Reason: Afterthought

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    This is why I seldom fill the converter beyond halfway; I have a kind of "Ink Attention Deficit Disorder" and always want to switch pens and inks quickly.

    I write them dry, but it doesn't take as long to do so.
    "Nolo esse salus sine vobis ...” —St. Augustine

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    The only time I dump/refill is when I’m trying a new pen/ink combo and immediately determine it’s not a match made in heaven. In that case I’ll dump it back into the bottle.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Not quite sure why an aura of guilt and confession has to be ascribed to this, but anyway...

    I am an unashamed ink butterfly. There are a lot of inks, a lot of pens, I like to favour as many of them as I can so none of them feel left out. So I usually only partial fill, for a start, because while I will throw ink away I don't see the need to be wasteful with it for no reason. Then I write. If it's a poor pen/ink match, I empty it again. Life's too short for unhappy pen and ink marriages. If it's a good match, I'll probably write it out. If I'm in the middle of something, I may even refill it. If I get bored before the end, I'll empty it out. Never back in the bottle, usually down the drain, recently in an old bottle just to see what colour I might get (mainly on a theme of green, funnily enough). At some point that'll go down the drain too, because I don't hate any pen* enough to inflict such a mish-mash of inks on it.

    To sum up: ink is cheap; my time available to use it is short. Would rather waste ink than time.


    *Except maybe the Jinhao 922. But that cracked up ages ago and is in the great pen pot in the sky. Or maybe, if there's any justice, somewhere lower down...

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Not quite sure why an aura of guilt and confession has to be ascribed to this, but anyway...
    Let's just assume it was a tongue-in-cheek way to start a conversation.


    Hadn't thought about saving dribs and drabs and mixing them. Might give it a go.

    Generally though I do use the whole fill, and usually make myself do it if using one of the pricier inks (Sailor for example, because these inks are not cheap to me!)

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    This thread is absolutely fascinating to me and has made me feel better.

    I thought I was strange because I don't write that much, like to change pens and inks frequently, and therefore took to only filling the converters part way. Now I find out there are many others who do the same.

    I am most certainly still strange, but apparently not because of my ink usage habit!

    Thank you all for providing a morning smile!

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Quote Originally Posted by Empty_of_Clouds View Post
    Okay, time to fess up.

    Who uses the whole fill of ink, and who swaps ink before the fill is done?

    Extra question: those who only use a partial fill, do you put the remains back in the bottle?



    For myself I have, on occasion, here and there, once or twice, not used the whole fill.
    Almost always, I will grind through a fill with gritted teeth, even disliking the ink. I have to absolutely despise the ink/pen combo before jettisoning the fluid.

    That said, I rarely do complete fills, unless it's a tried-and-true combination.
    My other pen is a Montblanc.

    And my other blog is a tumblr!


    And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Right now, I am writing with a Sheaffer Statesman with a Touchdown filling system. The pen sports an ink window, but the ink doesn't go there; I can't tell how full the pen is before I go on a real writing toot. So whenever I push the plunger, whatever ink is left in the pen goes into the bottle before the pen inhales a new fill. I haven't seen any biological activity in my ink bottles for many years. Snorkels and TipDip pens have the same "problem".

    Lever, piston, VacFill, and cartridge pens easily show their fill levels. I can check them before I "take 'em to the woods".

    I always rinse a pen before changing inks. You have to take chemistry into account.
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Quote Originally Posted by Empty_of_Clouds View Post
    Generally though I do use the whole fill, and usually make myself do it if using one of the pricier inks (Sailor for example, because these inks are not cheap to me!)
    Ah, cloudless-sky-but-the-sun's-getting-in-my-eyes-and-the-shades-you've-given-me-don't-fit-exactly-right, you fail to value both your money and your time. Save the former and let Sailor and their ridiculous prices go for a long walk off a short pier, and value the latter by using it well to seek the perfect balance of pen and ink in order to embrace true fountain pen nirvana.

    You're welcome. Leave a donation in the rice bowl on your way back down the mountain. Ommmmm...

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Quote Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin View Post
    Almost always, I will grind through a fill with gritted teeth, even disliking the ink. I have to absolutely despise the ink/pen combo before jettisoning the fluid.

    That said, I rarely do complete fills, unless it's a tried-and-true combination.
    Because I hardly ever completely fill my pens (apart from when I use cartridges) especially when I'm reviewing an ink, I don't often have a problem of having to "grind through a fill with gritted teeth." If the fill has been in the pen for a while, the unused ink goes into an ink vial.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    I also don't do complete fills unless I know I will be using that pen and ink combo for a while.

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    Default Re: Confessions of an Inkaholic

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by mhosea View Post
    I always dump the ink before it's out. Thing is, I don't write much, just notes, calculations, and rough design drawings, so eventually I get a clue from how concentrated the ink becomes that I ought to think about doing something. In some cases I just add distilled water, but eventually I just dump out the ink and start over with something else, usually after cleaning out that pen and putting it away. Just this evening, I dumped what turned out to be 3 very concentrated drops of Montblanc Irish Green out of a Forest Green Parker 51. The ink went into the sink, not the bottle. Switched to a Montblanc 146 with Montblanc Lavender Purple. Don't know how long that will last. I like the color, but in the past I haven't lasted a whole fill of a 146 before wanting something else. And the 146 holds a lot of ink. Probably I shouldn't have filled it so full.
    I don't fill any of my pens completely full. It saves me wasting so much ink.
    You know what? I've never thought of doing this. I always aim for a full fill, and then since I usually write the whole thing out, it takes FOREVER to write it dry. I'm going to have to try that.
    Lady Onogaro

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