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How Many Inks Is Enough?

Inky.Fingers

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amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

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PS my ex husband is with me and I read this question to him. He pointed out that this is simply an incomprehensible question. This is like asking how much clean air is enough. I cannot even tell you how much blurple is enough ... I want more.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Barkingpig Collectors Item

Barkingpig

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There are "some" people who claim, "Less is MORE......."

 

THEN there are others who say, "MORE IS MORE!"

 

I fall into the latter group.........

 

I have my Krishna inks "on their way" from India & undoubtably they will not be the last. I am able to control acquiring more pens but inks are HOPELESS & I am okay with that. They are fun & I am happy to be able to enjoy them. I filled a pen yesterday (that I was very disappointed in after it arrived more than a year ago) with a vintage Montblanc ink, "Coffee," which was a winning combination & that old bottle of ink made me enjoy that pen for the first time. It must have been all the Phenol in the 40 year old ink that did the trick!

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inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

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I clearly don't have enough. I have one of the cheap Piccadilly sketch pads that I do ink reviews in that is barely used (it's my third one). :rolleyes: I've tried over 200 inks at this point, but a lot of those were samples. Some I liked enough to get a full bottle, others I didn't, and some I'm still waffling over for whatever reason.

I have given away one bottle of ink -- Platinum Mix-Free Flame Red -- because I just hated the color so much (that was one I didn't sample first, but it was free with the purchase of a Noodler's Konrad from isellpens because of an overstock; I got it because I didn't have any red inks, and after I got it I *still* didn't have anything I considered "red").

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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sirgilbert357 Antique

sirgilbert357

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:lol:

Good one!

 

I like your system of matching ink and pen.

 

It also lends itself to some interesting situations: a couple of days ago my wife said that the pen I was using with the Rohrer and Klingner Alt-Goldgrün didn't match the ink. So, now I need a pen for that ink... I'm thinking Pelikan M450 Green Tortoise. Now, I just gotta tell her, after all I absolutely need that pen to use Alt-Goldgrün ;).

 

LOL, any reason to justify a new pen purchase is a good one in my book! I usually get the pen first and then search out an ink to put in it, but either order works!

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sirgilbert357 Antique

sirgilbert357

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Tell me if you don't have black ink!

 

I have two...and I should really only have one. I never use it black for some reason...

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Inky.Fingers Collectors Item

Inky.Fingers

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This has been discussed before.

It has a mathematical answer.

 

Given that the number of inks you have is n

and that e is enough inks

then e = n+1

 

 

IOW, enough is one more inks than you currently have.

I have always thought that n is the number of ink you have. e^n (e to the n power) is what you really need.

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."

 

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

 

 

Confucius

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goatgolfer Mint

goatgolfer

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Why don't samples count as "owning an ink" lack of commitment? I have >100 samples in the blue>>black>grey range and am quite happy with a 4.5oz bottle of HoD, 4.5oz BSB and 3 Lamy blue varieties. Am I missing the point? Although, I do have 4 old scrips bottles (one with Hod) and 4 empty Montblanc shoe-bottles just because the engineering is so terrific.

Sometimes I think I can taste the colors of the ink through my eyes. That Emerald.....

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ac12 Donor Pen

ac12

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n + 1

Where n is the number of inks you have.

 

And for some inks, you need more than 1 bottle.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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Runnin_Ute Museum Piece

Runnin_Ute

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n + 1

Where n is the number of inks you have.

 

And for some inks, you need more than 1 bottle.

Like Pelikan 4001 Blue Black. I just got my third bottle. Have about 15 ml of the last one left.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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jmccarty3 Antique

jmccarty3

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:lol:

Good one!

 

I like your system of matching ink and pen.

 

It also lends itself to some interesting situations: a couple of days ago my wife said that the pen I was using with the Rohrer and Klingner Alt-Goldgrün didn't match the ink. So, now I need a pen for that ink... I'm thinking Pelikan M450 Green Tortoise. Now, I just gotta tell her, after all I absolutely need that pen to use Alt-Goldgrün ;).

 

Great choice--you can always remind her that the purchase of the 450 was her idea. I must order some Alt-Goldgrün to go with my 450. I have Papier Plume Streetcar in it now, but that ink is a little pale for such a dramatically beautiful pen.

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

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IrishEyes Extremely Rare

IrishEyes

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Define "enough". I'm pretty certain I'm not there, yet....

 

I'm guessing we have something like 50 bottles of ink, and close to the same number of samples. We have way too many blacks. I only use one, so I don't need more than that. Zwack likes black, though, and uses several of them. Mostly I think, though, that he uses some bulletproof black ink.

 

Clearly, though, we don't have enough inks. I only have like a dozen reds, a half dozen oranges, 3 or 4 turquoises, and 2 or 3 yellows, for example :P. Amberlea may aspire to be a good lawyer (until then, she practices :) ), but I aspire to Amberlea's kind of ink collection :lol:.

Edited by IrishEyes

"In the end, only kindness matters."

 

 

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NinthSphere Vintage

NinthSphere

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I'm fairly certain this "Enough" thing is the one of legend, said to have been lost ages ago in the Rainbow Sea.

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haruka337 Collectors Item

haruka337

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I'm making a concerted effort to not go over 150 bottles of ink. So, "enough" is 150, for now. :cp

This limit encouraged me to look at my current inventory objectively. For the sake of space, I believe I've purged over 50 inks the past 6 months; inks that, when considered, I knew I'd never used. Now I purchase ink in a more discerning manner.

Though some may consider it a waste, this process has benefited me immensely in terms of learning what I truly enjoy when it comes to these bottled treasures. It's also been a boon for other FPN members, as I tend to resell inks (including Japanese Shop Exclusives) at affordable, non-auction prices. Everyone wins! :cD

Still, I reserve the right not to count duplicate inks. :cP

Ink, a drug.

― Vladimir Nabokov, Bend Sinister

Instagram: a.transient.life

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Tas Donor Pen

Tas

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I'm making a concerted effort to not go over 150 bottles of ink. So, "enough" is 150, for now. :cp

 

This limit encouraged me to look at my current inventory objectively. For the sake of space, I believe I've purged over 50 inks the past 6 months; inks that, when considered, I knew I'd never used. Now I purchase ink in a more discerning manner.

 

Though some may consider it a waste, this process has benefited me immensely in terms of learning what I truly enjoy when it comes to these bottled treasures. It's also been a boon for other FPN members, as I tend to resell inks (including Japanese Shop Exclusives) at affordable, non-auction prices. Everyone wins! :cD

 

Still, I reserve the right not to count duplicate inks. :cP

 

:)

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Barkingpig Collectors Item

Barkingpig

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Oh my Gosh! 150 bottles is way more than enough. Having ten for me is excessive. That is ten bottles of black ink.

 

So who is the God/Goddest of ink?

My Goddess(es) of ink is of course Ms Amberlea for USA & Ms Claudia, "Cyber6" of Canada, who made it possible to introduce so many of us to the allure of KWZI inks, besides making the initial group buys for same possible before the wonderful folks @ Vanness brought it to "our shores."

My German God would have to be our loyal & esteemed SUPER MODERATOR, Mike, "lapis," for his efforts to inform & keep watch over the inky madness of the European universe, besides his also numerous "acts of kindness" for inky fiends.

 

I feel sure my above mentioned Inky "HEROES" would concur that 150 bottles is "a good start" but NEVER "way more than enough!"

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amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

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Enough ink? ... never!

 

attachicon.gifEnough_Ink.jpg

 

I love it! Don't let anyone convince you to make it look like a display - it encourages people to count.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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