What Is Your Preferred Style Of "rotating" Your Pens?

[BillPorter]

It's common to hear forum members talk about the pens in their "rotation," but just what do they mean by this? An obvious possibility is to use a different pen, from among those pens that are inked, each day. Or one might use a pen until it runs dry and then pick up the next pen in the "rotation." Or, if you are doing a daily journal as i am, "rotating" your pens might mean that you use several of the pens that are inked up during the day, "rotating" from one to another as you make entries in your journal. I'll leave it to your imagination to come up with yet other possible meanings of "rotation."

 

Currently, I keep 6 or 7 pens inked and may use four or five of them during a day of journaling. Clearly, there is no "right" way to rotate your pens; I'm just curious about how you do it.

[bbs]

Interesting to see how many variations you get!

 

My aim is to have six pens inked, replacing them individually once their ink runs out with the next pen that has been uninked longest.

 

However, I always ink new purchases immediately, so if I haven't written many letters or done much journaling, I have been known to have more than 30 pens in rotation. Ahem.

 

How I use the inked pens is pretty much according to whim, although I do try to use the ones that have been inked longest first (I keep a list so I can see which one that is).

Edited June 15, 2015 by bbs

[Manalto]

Randomly. But I'm at that end of the "Organized" spectrum that makes this unsurprising. I've visited the "How Do You Keep Track of Which Ink is in Which Pen?" thread a few times, utterly astonished at the systems people have devised to organize and record for posterity their ink/pen combinations. I fill a pen with an ink I'd like to try in it. I don't match the color of the ink to the pen, although I do with red for correcting students' papers. If I forget what color is in a pen, I make a little scribble and maybe smear it to judge the color. If I recognize it, fine. If I don't, I shrug my shoulders and move on. This is probably horrifying to those at the other end of the spectrum, but for me the Excel spreadsheet method of keeping track of pens drains some of the enjoyment out of the experience, like going on vacation with an itinerary scheduled to the minute, devoid of spontaneity. I figure I will gravitate to those ink-and-pen combinations that are my favorites, putting some trust in my memory to take me back there.

 

The same goes for rotating pens. I just pick up the one I want to use that day. If there's no ink in it (I have a pretty good awareness in my head of which do), I fill it up with the ink I'm in the mood to use. I tend to use that pen for several days in a row, interspersed with others. Do some fall through the cracks and get forgotten? Sure. It hasn't bothered me so far. ETA: My "rotation" (ahem) ends up bearing a remarkable resemblance to bbs, who posted at the same time, with perhaps a few too many pens inked up. Then it's off to the sink.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Manalto

[fly_us]

I inked all of my pens, 16 is the number. It is a very small collection when compare with other members here.

 

I have 12 bottles of ink in different shade, and everyday when go to work, i pick 3 of them. One F or M with violet/purple shade to write; one with "unusual" shade like Diamine Ancient Copper, Iroshizuku Shin Ryoku/Syo Ro/Ina Ho; and one M/B/BB with blue black/blue to sign.

 

The reason i pick 3 is my pen-case is a 3-slots

[BillPorter]

I figure I will gravitate to those ink-and-pen combinations that are my favorites, putting some trust in my memory to take me back there.

 

Unfortunately, my memory can no longer be trusted, perhaps due to my age. What I do is keep track of what ink is in what pen by use of index cards. I just have an index card for each pen and when I put ink in that pen, I jot down the name of the ink on the card. I'm still in the phase of this hobby where I am trying to find which inks I like best and until I get better at recognizing the ink by just looking at a line or two in my journal, I guess I'll just keep looking back at my index cards to identify it. Thanks for your interesting comments!

[jar]

For me there is no uniform style or plan to my rotation and in most cases I can't say which ink I am using unless I filled just before I was asked. Generally I use a pen until it gets empty or a different one catches my eye. One or two filled at a time is the norm but sometimes I find I have more than that filled.

[Manalto]

 

Unfortunately, my memory can no longer be trusted, perhaps due to my age.

 

That's why I said some trust. If I forget, which I often do, I simply don't care.

"Mind over matter - if you don't mind, it don't matter."

[tmenyc]

I try, see my signature below, to not have brands of ink or pen in simultaneous use in more than one pen. However, two of my inked pens (MB149 and Varuna, each on a desk of its own) occupy almost permanent places, only changing inks. When I change their inks I try to maintain the variety. It's a puzzle that would get very challenging very fast if I had more pens inked, but I try to stay within five. The main exception happens when I have a pen I've just restored on its first partial fill, because that's always Waterman Florida blue. The doubled use of Diamine inks is a clear violation; one learns to live with imperfection...

 

Tim

[Dronak]

Currently, all of my pens are inked, carried around, and used. Once a week, I take them all out and write a line or two, just to make sure every pen gets some amount of ink flow regularly. During the week, I typically pick up a different pen each time I need to write something or take notes at meetings and such. This could result in a few pens being used one day but none the next. Usually, I can remember within a week which pens I used, but I also make note of which ones I'm using to help me avoid playing favorites. That way I can better ensure that all my pens are actively being used beyond just that short weekly writing sample. If I get many more pens, or likes/dislikes get clearer, I may reduce how many pens I carry, but still do basically the same thing. I hope this helps.

 

Edit: As for remembering which ink is in which pen, it's pretty simple for me at the moment. Nearly all of my pens have a blue ink from the same brand as the pen in them. A couple of my Pilots have blue-black instead of blue, but those are easy enough to tell apart by writing a bit with them if I can't remember. It might get harder as I use the ink samples I bought recently, but I intend to limit the number of pens with them to begin with, and they're all blue or dark blue, so it won't be a major issue either. I don't normally use anything other than a blue or maybe blue-black ink, so there isn't too much to remember if we're talking about just ink color. I may start making notes on which brand ink is in which pen for the samples I have though, if I end up with more than one or two of those in use at the same time.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Dronak

[inkstainedruth]

It's somewhat random. If I have a bunch of samples I want to try out, the Vectors tend to get put back into use (particularly for iron gall inks), and maybe the Noodler's Creapers. Otherwise, it's sort of whatever I'm in the mood for.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[perfaddict]

Random. I use whatever pen suits my "mood" for the day, and may use the pen for a day or more. Sometimes, my choice is influenced by the last time i used a particular pen. However, i keep strict records of daily use of pens/inks in my daily-carry notebook.

[jdivitto]

I have about 25 pens with an equal mix of cheap (<$150) and expensive (>&150). I keep one form each category filled at all times and change pens about monthly using a random replacement. I do find myself reaching for favorites, like the Homo Sapien, more often but really try to spread the love.

[Buzz_130]

I have a five pen wrap that goes to work with me. My pen storage has five drawers. When a pen runs dry, the next pen in the drawer makes it into the pen wrap. While at the office, I'll rotate through the five pens in the wrap depending on the meeting or project I'm working on. I have a pretty good feel for how much writing I'll get out of any given pen now, and I have a good sense for the types of pens and nibs I enjoy using the most.

 

Buzz

[Turboweevel]

I have one EDC pen, which is a Pilot Decimo <F> inked with a cartridge of Pilot Black (will replace with Noodler's Heart of Darkness when the cart runs out) and then I will pick another pen based on my bullet journal. Every day I pick a different one based on what kind of color I feel like (usually what haven't I used in a while. Today it's Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses), what kind of nib (stub vs regular nib), and I write on the top of the day's journal page what pen-ink combo I'm using. That way everyone has a go except for impractical pens such as Pilot Parallel pens or my Jinhao x750s with the Zebra G Nibs that I shoehorned in (very nice flex but not really something to journal with).

[Starguard]

 

Unfortunately, my memory can no longer be trusted, perhaps due to my age. What I do is keep track of what ink is in what pen by use of index cards. I just have an index card for each pen and when I put ink in that pen, I jot down the name of the ink on the card. I'm still in the phase of this hobby where I am trying to find which inks I like best and until I get better at recognizing the ink by just looking at a line or two in my journal, I guess I'll just keep looking back at my index cards to identify it. Thanks for your interesting comments!

 

I like this idea! I'm in the same position, I tend to like dark blues so the shades are pretty close sometimes. I've been jotting the ink & pen in the front of my journal for quick reference, but I'm running out of room! I don't need anything elaborate, really all I want to do is note the pen, ink and the date. Thanks for starting the thread!

[DaveBj]

I have two mugs (and not that many pens). I start with all my pens in one mug, except for my colored Varsities, which have their own package. Then when I write letters, I pull a pen from the mug, use it, put it in the other mug, and pull another one. When the first mug is empty, the process reverses. That way no pen gets ignored.

[doggonecarl]

I have a simple formula:

[ac12]

Both

- I rotate among the various pens (and inks) in my pen cup and my desk pens. Sometimes I use them at random, sometime with specific pen or ink color in mind. I "try" to use every pen within a couple/few days, so the nib/feed does not dry out.

 

- I also rotate pens OUT of my pen cup and rotate pens INTO my pen cup. This is to be able to use more of my pens that just what is in the pen cup. Sometimes I do it when the pen run dry, other times I just get tired of using a pen (for whatever reason) and will deink it and replace it with a different pen.

 

- I will sometimes rotate an additional pen INTO use, just because I want to try the new pen or a new ink. But that only lasts 1 fill of the pen. By then I will have figured out if the pen/ink will stay in the pen cup or rotate out.

 

- There is only a finite number of pens that will fit into the pen cup, so once the max is reached (which it has), I have to rotate a pen OUT to rotate a pen IN. This is a way that I put a limit on the number of inked pens that I have to deal with.

[J_MM]

Generally, I like to have 3 pens with black, blue and purple inks. I often use eyedropper or piston pens and if they are pleasant writers I just keep filling them up. A new pen enters rotation infrequently.

[arcadeflow]

I'm with the "let's not waste ink" crowd. I pick some pens, ink them up, and try to finish them. Then I wash them and while they are at it I can ink up pens that were taking a nap in the case.