Shangas
May 4 2007, 04:35 PM
I decided to start this topic after responses that I recieved from a friend, and a cousin of mine, about my daily use of fountain pens.
Both of them (friend & cousin) said that they chose ballpoints over fountain pens because they couldn't stand getting ink on their fingers/hands/clothes.
Now, I'm not a particularly neat person. I'll admit it. I do my best to look presentable, but I'm really not a very neat person. I'm clean, just not neat.
As such, ink-stains on fingers/hands, don't bother me. If it's on my clothes and it's noticable, of course that bothers me, but not the former situation.
What about you?
If you get ink on your hands, will you instantly go and scrub away like crazy to get it off, or do you just not care, just ignore it, and accept it as a part of fountain pen use? An 'occupational hazard'?
I was using my dip-pen once, writing down story-notes...and the phone-rang. I held the pen, nib-up while I was on the phone...when I put the phone down again, I realised all the ink from the pen had run down the barrel and had gotten all over my right hand....
Does stuff like this ever bother you? Or do you just accept it/ignore it?
I am always confused when people say they are afraid of getting inky hands from FPs, because my hands used to be just as if not more dirty from BPs and RBs. Maybe it's the way I hold the pen (very low), which perhaps makes the fleshy part of my hand rub against the fresh writing -- I don't know, but my hands have always gotten plenty inky from BPs. With FPs this has actually decreased: the only times I might get ink on my hands is when I fill converters or mix ink colors.
QM2
Bill J.
May 4 2007, 04:50 PM
I think maybe a better question might be "How many different ink stain colors on your hands does it take before it begins to bother you?"
If I get a really big leak or stain I will usually try to wash off as much of it as I can fairly quickly, but I don't mind the small bits one bit.
Bill J.
I don't get any ink on my fingers, nor on my clothes. Does this happen to you/them all the time?
Ray
Shangas
May 4 2007, 05:45 PM
It happens to me with fair regularity.
Usually when -
1. Cleaning pens.
2. Refilling ink/changing inks.
3. Using my dip-pens.
I almost never get ink on my hands otherwise. But after hearing the reactions of non-FP users, I was curious to know what others' peoples' reactions were...
JediGamer
May 4 2007, 06:00 PM
If I get a big spot on my hands like when I fill a pen, then I bleach it off (usually comes right off). If it's a small swipe, then I don't sweat it.
beezaur
May 4 2007, 06:39 PM
Part of the reason I came to fountain pens was being frustrated with getting "boogered" by my ballpoints.
I frequently looked down to find black or blue streaks on my fingers or hand from inadvertently brushing a glob of ink left somewhere on the paper. Try as I might, there was nothing I could do to prevent globs of ink from accumulating and coming off. It bothered me to the point that I set out to find something better.
Perhaps dealing with ballpoints forced me to be careful out of habit. For whatever reason, I have had virtually no issues with spilled ink from my fountain pens. I might get a tiny spot of ink on my finger if it soaks through the tissue when I wipe it off after filling, or if I am too hasty and brush some wet ink, but it comes right off.
Fountain pens have been so reliable for me, and produce such a good written product, that I wonder why they are so uncommon.
Scott
Penache
May 4 2007, 06:40 PM
I remember hearing someone mention that an ink spot was a "mark of distinction". I like that.
As an artist, I find having an ink spot is like having paint on my fingers. Not sure why but it makes me smile.
ToyfaceWonderman
May 4 2007, 08:36 PM
Ah, inky fingers. 'Tis regular, when I fill especially. But also when I jerk my 17 too much and drops a drop of ink! Ahhh, I have ink on them now! 'Tis stubborn stuff to clean! It doesn't really bother me at all. I mean, wow, I have turquoise on my hands. I'm a writer! Artists have paint on theirs!
pakmanpony
May 4 2007, 09:09 PM
Don't really care for ink on the hands. Usually get up and clean it off when it happens. In fact my choice in pens, and how much I like a pen, has a lot to do with how little ink they get on me. My Pels rarely ever cause inky fingers. When I fill a pen I use the ink rag in my top drawer (don't know the original color anymore) to wipe the lip of the bottle and then set the bottle on the rag to catch any drips.
I had a real mess the other day with a new (old) Esterbrook, just couldn't figure what was going on with it, after I filled it my hands were covered in ink! Turns out the section has a tiny crack running from the top to the bottom!
Anyway, I'd much rather get the ink on the paper than on the hands!
D.R.Mabuse
May 4 2007, 09:11 PM
It annoys me, particularly in that my wife uses this as fuel in her occasional Pens Are Evil "discussions." I generally use powdered dish soap to clean my hands.
Johnson
May 4 2007, 09:11 PM
I pretty much always have some kind of ink stain on my hands. Doesn't bother me at all. I do hate getting ink stains on clothes, and this is part of the reason I don't use Noodler's bulletproof inks as much.
I got a HUGE stain of thick, viscous, saturated PR American Blue on a nice pair of cackies, and it all came out with a little Shout and a wash.
aunt rebecca
May 5 2007, 12:05 AM
Djehuty
May 5 2007, 12:17 AM
I often have a spot or stripe of ink somewhere on my person, but I usually did back when I used ballpoints (as if that were years ago, instead of only a few weeks!
), so that's no great change. That doesn't bother me. But when filling or cleaning pens, I tend to get large blotches of ink all over my hands. I just can't seem to master the trick of remembering not to touch the inky bits of the bottle, or remembering that ink on a cleaning pad can still get on my hands.
So for that, I keep Ink Nix handy. I don't care to have blue-black-mottled hands.
Tricia
May 5 2007, 12:57 AM
Most of my pens are pretty well-behaved, so I don't often have ink stains. When I do, it's usually just a "highlight" on my writing callus.
It usually washes off quickly, so no biggie, imo.
Pengrump
May 5 2007, 01:03 AM
Fountain pen ink washes off much more easily than ballpoint ink. That being said, I regularly have a little ink on the side of my right hand because I always inadvertently brush my hand over some words I've written. Doesn't bother me a bit. I use nice ink colors, so I just consider the spots decoration.
Shangas
May 5 2007, 04:30 AM
Very interesting responses here.
And yeah, I agree with that guy who was grumbling about ballpoint-pen ink. BP pen ink is has a thicker viscosity...it's an absolute bitch to try and clean off your hands. It's like ink with glue in it.
mdg137
May 5 2007, 06:32 AM
On my hands? Not a bit. Yours? probably.
lalindsay225
May 5 2007, 01:42 PM
Inky fingers don't really bother me that much, unless I'm going to work. It just goes with the territory, sort of like the chalky fingers I had when I was a teacher. Sam Fiorella on her Pendemonium website suggests shampooing your hands, and I must say it's worked rather well the handful of times I've done it.
Lisa
nluoma
May 5 2007, 01:48 PM
As a substitute teacher I spend a lot of time with young children who always seem to be covered with marker or paint. I'd feel out of place without a little ink on me.
jpolaski
May 5 2007, 11:15 PM
As someone who went to art school a little pigment on the fingers is a fairly normal occurrence. That being said, I get most of my coloration when doing repair work. No matter how well you flush a pen, there always seems to be some lurking somewhere. When I get into work the next day, I'll inadvertently be asked to see the pen I brought if I have ink on my hands, as it means I had a new project...
Latro21
May 9 2007, 06:09 AM
im an auto mechanic [maybe i should say
was since ill prolly have to pick a new career due to back injury] so i am used to being covered up to my elbows in grease and oil. whats a tiny bit of ink? ink on my hands doesnt bother me a single bit. its only happened accidentally a couple of times while doing mixing into a cartridge. intentionally though when i have some nib creep ill run my thumb over it to wipe it off.
now if i happen to get any ink on my clothes, that will piss me off if it wont wash out. not that i wear fancy smancy uber expensive clothes, but my pants arent cheap and i dont want them ruined either [im fan of dickies pants and eddie bauer jeans-both great brands for pants-very comfy and very durable
]. i had a bottle of noodlers black break during shipping and i had the box on my leg while taking the other goodies out of the box to wash off, i didnt realize it was soaking through the bottom of said box. needless to say i was pretty ticked since it was a stain of bulletproof ink on a favorite pair of grey dickies, but some quick action with a little shout pretreatment and a washing it came out completely.
Shangas
May 9 2007, 06:19 AM
Hahaha!! Ink stains can be an absolute bugger to get out in the wash.
Now, I'm not one to keep a box of tissues habitually in my room. When one runs out, I'm just too lazy to go and find another one. So I usually keep a stock of handkerchiefs nearby. Whenever I'm cleaning/filling my pens, and I get ink on my hands (or even when I'm just plain writing or editing friend's uni-work,) I just grab a hanky and wipe the ink off my hands/desk, and throw the hanky in the wash-basket (I have a sheet of glass on my desk, so the ink doesn't stain the wood underneath. A necessary safety-feature).
Of course, the ink never leaves the handkerchieves...so now I have a variety of handkerchieves that represent portable linen-backed works of abstract art everywhere I go...So many pwitty widdle patterns...
nluoma
May 9 2007, 01:21 PM
I am currently dusted with bright silver metallic spray paint, after having helped my son paint a box he's using to make a race car out of. It won't come off!
After this, I shall never again complain about the fountain pen ink which washes off quite quickly.
finnmcool
Nov 16 2007, 03:27 AM
QUOTE(Shangas @ May 4 2007, 04:35 PM) [snapback]286086[/snapback]
I decided to start this topic after responses that I recieved from a friend, and a cousin of mine, about my daily use of fountain pens.
Both of them (friend & cousin) said that they chose ballpoints over fountain pens because they couldn't stand getting ink on their fingers/hands/clothes.
Now, I'm not a particularly neat person. I'll admit it. I do my best to look presentable, but I'm really not a very neat person. I'm clean, just not neat.
As such, ink-stains on fingers/hands, don't bother me. If it's on my clothes and it's noticable, of course that bothers me, but not the former situation.
What about you?
If you get ink on your hands, will you instantly go and scrub away like crazy to get it off, or do you just not care, just ignore it, and accept it as a part of fountain pen use? An 'occupational hazard'?
I was using my dip-pen once, writing down story-notes...and the phone-rang. I held the pen, nib-up while I was on the phone...when I put the phone down again, I realised all the ink from the pen had run down the barrel and had gotten all over my right hand.... :roller1:
Does stuff like this ever bother you? Or do you just accept it/ignore it?
Well, I mix ink for a printing company so the small ink stains I occasionally get when filling a FP don't really phaze me.
Whome
Nov 16 2007, 04:30 AM
heheheh.. BP ink = Ink with Glue in..... Ha!!
<Terry Pratchett moment there>
I usually struggle with inky issues during fill-ups. Not a problem otherwise.
Ghost Plane
Nov 16 2007, 01:39 PM
If I have a 2 color hand, it's a sign of a particularly productive day. I reward myself for writing my pens dry by changing colors.
Huffward
Nov 16 2007, 04:35 PM
I get ink on my fingers when I'm fiddling with pens, but rarely when I'm simply writing with them. The pens I usually carry deposit little or no ink into the cap or round the section as a result. Also I do not hold my pen close to the nib. If I fill a pen I might get ink on my fingers, so I always have something at hand to wipe them with.
FP ink has never given me the sort of garment-staining problems that ball-pen ink has. Get a spot of that on your fingers and it wil transfer everywhere. FP ink doesn't do that, and provided you exercise reasonable care, it should not pose a serious problem.
swarden43
Nov 16 2007, 05:25 PM
Seems I only get "inked" while filling or trying to wipe off that loathsome, repulsive, hideous, appalling, foul, revolting, unseemly nib creep. In fact the ink on my fingers now is a result of that <insert adjectives here> nib creep. Funny, doesn't bother me at all on my fingers. I haven't had it infest any clothing, though.
patrick1314
Nov 16 2007, 06:02 PM
Inky fingers adds to the experience. I feel eccentric (or something).
Yesterday, I was writing at my desk, which is sort of temporary, one of those horrid flat-pack things. So I was writing on the extreme right of the desk, when the desk started clicking; it appears the top of the desk is separating slightly from the rest of the desk - which is why I bloody hate flat-pack furniture.
Without thinking I gave the desk a thump with my right hand, the one clutching the CS 388 lever filler. Needless to say, my hand was spattered with Diamine Indigo, and the desk was in need of a wipe.
gregamckinney
Nov 16 2007, 06:57 PM
Having inky fingers makes me very happy. One of the first things my wife noticed about me when we first met (we worked together) was the varying colors of ink on my hands.
So, when I see that I have ink on my hands (and assuming it is not also on my clothes) I smile and recall fondly the earliest days with my wife-to-be.
Best regards, greg
bernardo
Nov 16 2007, 07:08 PM
I don't care too much abut inky fingers; even Noodler's fades out soon from my skin.
hardyb
Nov 16 2007, 07:58 PM
I don't mind it very much. I just spray a little Windex on the stain, a couple of licks with a toughie scrubber and it is all gone. I once had a bottle of ink fall and smash on the stone floor and got alot on my hands cleaning up (it was a very bright blue ink). The next day my boss saw my hands at the morning staff meeting and asked "What the hell did you get into?" I replied " Oh I was felling a litttle blue this morning and it must have come off on my hands, either that or I have the "Blue Bonnet Plague".
southpaw
Nov 16 2007, 08:41 PM
Inky fingers don't bother me. Inky shirts / pants do. Doesn't happen often. Only really bad when it's with a waterproof Noodlers. One time I had a huge blue blob on my shirt. I had clipped an M200 in between the buttons on my golf/polo shirt. I went to grab the pen and came up with just the cap. It seems I hadn't screwed the pen in well.
Fortunately, the softball-sized stain was Waterman Florida Blue and came out . . . eventually.
Italicist
Nov 16 2007, 09:03 PM
I don't object to having a bit of ink on my fingers; I often do. What I find objectionable is my own foolishness with the ink once it is on my fingers. I have a way of regularly getting ink on my hands without realizing it, then passing my hand over some prominent portion of my face (e.g. nose, forehead, cheek) and unwittingly transferring spectacular smudges from hands to face! My wife has enjoyed considerable amusement on such occasions; fortunately it seems to happen more often at home than at work.
fpfanatic5
Nov 17 2007, 06:59 PM
I am a recent convert from BP's and I love fountain pens. I think that getting ink on your fingers is a drawback, but it doesn't deter me from using a pen. I have never had any on my clothes, and when it's on my fingers it doesn't really bother me too much. I think that it's part of the experience. I don't usually get any ink on my hands while writing anyway, it's only when filling since I don't use cartridges.
encephalartos
Nov 17 2007, 09:37 PM
QUOTE(Latro21 @ May 8 2007, 10:09 PM) [snapback]288878[/snapback]
...
now if i happen to get any ink on my clothes, that will piss me off if it wont wash out. not that i wear fancy smancy uber expensive clothes, but my pants arent cheap and i dont want them ruined either [im fan of dickies pants and eddie bauer jeans-both great brands for pants-very comfy and very durable
]. i had a bottle of noodlers black break during shipping and i had the box on my leg while taking the other goodies out of the box to wash off, i didnt realize it was soaking through the bottom of said box. needless to say i was pretty ticked since it was a stain of bulletproof ink on a favorite pair of grey dickies, but some quick action with a little shout pretreatment and a washing it came out completely.
My sympathies on the breakage in shipping incident. I've never had that happen. I highly recommend Pendemonium.com's packing methods.
They wrap each bottle or box in bubble wrap and then have a plastic bag around that, too.
For clothes pre-treatment, I highly recommend you get yourself the larger bottle of Amodex, which is a kind of enzyme-enhanced detergenty
substance. Another good pre-treatment is Kiss-Off, which is a white stick in a tube. With Amodex, I've been able to save a white
denim jacket that had a Pelikan in one pocket after the cap came off the pen and a large Noodler's Ottoman Azure stain resulted. It takes
multiple treatments and much rubbing, but it's good stuff.
Another good thing might be a dark-colored wardrobe: black pants, black t-shirts, and so forth... This is also good if you wind up wearing
part of your lunch once in a while, as I do.
Viseguy
Nov 17 2007, 09:45 PM
QUOTE(bernardo @ Nov 16 2007, 02:08 PM) [snapback]420783[/snapback]
I don't care too much abut inky fingers; even Noodler's fades out soon from my skin.
I agree. Also, I hardly ever
get inky fingers. Occasionally while filling, never when writing, so it's no big deal [acronym="As Far As I'm Concerned"]AFAIC[/acronym].
aunt rebecca
Nov 18 2007, 02:14 AM
inky fingers are a mark of honor to me, on me, on my walls, sheets desk, table, and clothes.
ojars
Nov 18 2007, 11:38 PM
inky fingers means I am using my different pens and my different inks!
Ray-Vigo
Nov 19 2007, 04:37 AM
Only in large quantities- little spots here and there aren't a problem. I will clean up though if I have bit spots or a mess.
Garageboy
Nov 19 2007, 06:15 AM
Water soluble/ non toxic= don't care
I even touch the nib intentionally when I don't think ink is flowing, etc
Iridium
Nov 19 2007, 04:09 PM
It's never been an issue for me, as I've never gotten fountain pen ink on my fingers or clothes from normal use (knock on wood). I've gotten a little ink on my fingers a few times when messing around with my pens, like when cleaning them or testing drying times on different papers, and it generally washes right off.
Ironically, I've had more issues with ballpoint pen ink (in normal use). Sometimes it forms globs that get transferred to my fingers somehow, and I've picked up a few abused pens that have leaked on me--it's rare, but go figure.
Ink Stained Wretch
Nov 19 2007, 04:34 PM
It doesn't bother me at all! Go figure
.
Hélène
Nov 19 2007, 05:46 PM
It normally does not bother me, but a big spot of bright pink ink is a bit anoying (the nib of my pink Varsity wound up touching my hand.)
zarjaz
Jul 10 2008, 08:02 AM
I have ink on my fingers pretty much the whole time when I'm at college. It's because I have a bad habit of holding the pen with my fingers slightly touching the nib.
It only normally affects the fingertips and also down the sides of my middle and index fingers - see photo.
I don't bother trying to wash it off, I just leave it. I am only 17 so most people just accept it's from being at school/college etc.
I wouldn't like to get it on my clothes, but that never happens. I also don't like getting it onto the BACK of my hands, and that DOES happen sometimes.
lapis
Jul 10 2008, 11:55 AM
Well, I didn't opt for FPs just because they can leave any evidence on my fingers (usually that I have been experimenting with new mixtures again... ) , but if I ever do get a blotch or so, that's fine. I don't mind at all.
Of course I try and avoid something like that on a white shirt etc. I guess that's why I usually wear old clothes and dark colours.
Mike
PS: I'd rather buy new pens and inks than new clothes!
hamadryad11
Jul 10 2008, 01:38 PM
I'm not so wild about it if it's a red or burgundy ink and people start saying 'OMG! What did you do to yourself?!' because it looks like blood.
But generally, no, I don't care about getting ink on my hands. It seems to bother the people around me a lot more than it bothers me. Go figure.
alexanderino
Jul 24 2008, 01:39 PM
Ink on my hands is a mark I wear with joy. That said, every last one of them washes off after 2-3 shampooing sessions. The only exception was Noodler's Baystate Blue. It stubbornly clung to my fingers and nails over the course of 20+ shampoo sessions. Interestingly, it fades when exposed to light over time, on paper. Most peculiar.
Siv
Jul 24 2008, 02:53 PM
Ink on the fingers is fine. What annoys me is when I get ink under my nails. That stuff stays there forever and no amount of scrubbing gets it out.
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