How Many Inks Is Enough?

[amberleadavis]

I believe I've purged over 50 inks the past 6 months;

 

 

I'm always happy to be the purge recipient.

 

Once a year or maybe longer, the SuperPinks decant their extra inks and swap them. I use the extras to entice people to do CRVs and to give away.

[amberleadavis]

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!"

 

 

Thank you for the shout out. Claudia and Mike were both my instrumental to my ink-cumulations and I am sure glad that they are here.

[Lam1]

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.

Exactly. I'm totally innocent on this one.

Now I just need to find one of those pens in good condition and at a time that I have money.

 

I don't know the Papier Plume inks (will have to look into them), but Alt-Goldgrün is one of my favorites, and it goes really well with the white tortoises too.

[SamCapote]

I have made a concerted effort at least a dozen times to count all my bottles, but I always get distracted by a number of them and lose track of my counting project. Thank God for phenol and other preservatives.

Edited July 23, 2016 by SamCapote

[Cyber6]

I have made a concerted effort at least a dozen times to count all my bottles, but I always get distracted by a number of them and lose track of my counting project. Thank God for phenol and other preservatives.

 

:lol:

 

I have my money on you... as King-Of-Inks...

 

C.

[sexauerw]

I seem to have accumulated 126 bottles of 70 different colors. Here is a list of what is in the pens that I have inked right now. I have not updated the list with the change that I made this afternoon: I flushed the Marlen and refilled it with Iroshizuku Kon-peki. It turned out that the pen did not like the Skrip Emerald Green ink, it did not flow well. The pen writes beautifully with the Kon-peki.

 

I do tend to use mostly blue, blue-black and black inks because I'm color-blind and don't see red, brown and green very well. Also, blue and black inks tend to be easy to clean out of my pens and far less likely to stain than red or purple.

 

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/ZNyujMgkQOM5Yj/12749124.0/800/p/Pens_Inked%2C_2016-07-10%2C_Pg_1.jpg

 

 

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/ZNyujMgkQOM5Yj/12749125.0/800/p/Pens_Inked%2C_2016-07-10%2C_Pg_2.jpg

[Arkanabar]

Ten inks ought to be enough for me.

First, the Six Essentials: Heart of Darkness (black), Pilot Blue-Black (blue-black), a purple (want to sample Noodler's Purple for lightfastness before I decide), Noodler's Blue or Eel Blue (blue), Diamine Sherwood (green), and Iroshizuku Yama-Guri (brown).

A spare black, because I won't want to use HoD in *every* pen -- Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black or perhaps J. Herbin Perle Noire.

A few markup colors. I can be content with one each of red (I now have Noodler's Widow Maker and Rattler Red Eel), turquoise (Skrip turquoise; I could probably also use dilute VMail Midway Blue), and green (e.g., Diamine Meadow).

So, counting only bottles, what do I actually have?

• #MontBlanc-Simplo Black with SC21
• #Quink Permanent Black with Solv-X
• Noodler's Borealis Black
• *Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin
• J. Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey (unopened)
• #Waterman Purple
• #Waterman Florida Blue (likely concentrated)
• *#Noodler's Blue
• *Noodler's VMail Midway Blue
• #Sheaffer Turquoise
• *#Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku (featherocious; needs dilution)
• J. Herbin Emerald de Chivor (unopened)
• Diamine Sherwood
• #Noodler's Red-Black
• *Noodler's Widow Maker
• Noodler's Rattler Red Eel (unopened)

All those unopened inks were purchased by my wife on a recent trip to the local world-class pen shop, where I went in search of a combination touchscreen stylus and black ballpoint. Asterisks indicate others of her purchases. And a # indicates an ink that was given to me. So yes, she bought the Noodler's Blue and Ku-Jaku and then gave them to me.

 

We also wound up with a halflex Stipula Splash each (blue demo for me, grey demo for her), and she additionally got herself a Lamy Vista, some flexible sealing wax in red, green, and blue, a pair of dies for the sealing wax, a handle for the dies, and some more of her favorite highly decorated Fiorentina stationery. (This search came up with many similar paper patterns.)

[inotrym]

I currently have 100 bottles, but I think I could cut it down to less than 15 without being devastated.

In fact I wish I had gone for samples first...

[AoKiu]

 

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

Well, it's over 300 ...

Just got 2 Caroub de Cyphre and 1 DeAtramentis Blue-Grey document ink .

[AoKiu]

I have made a concerted effort at least a dozen times to count all my bottles, but I always get distracted by a number of them and lose track of my counting project. Thank God for phenol and other preservatives.

I too use Phenol and Proxel GXL (which I got 1ltr sample that would last minimum 3 human lifetimes...)

[anibalgb]

Enough ink? ... never!

 

Enough_Ink.jpg

I know what your problem is...

 

The tv is taking a lot of space for more bottles of ink!

Edited July 24, 2016 by anibalgb

[dcwaites]

I know what your problem is...

 

The tv is taking a lot of space for more bottles of ink!

 

I agree. Get rid of the CRT TV, replace it with a similar size flat LED one, attach it to one of the cupboard doors up the top, and bob's your uncle, a whole new space. Put another shelf half way up, and look at all that ink you can now store.

Edited July 24, 2016 by dcwaites

[Morphling27]

enough

 

[ih-nuhf]

 

adjective

1.

adequate for the want or need; sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire:

 

Given ink started as a want, I'd say there's a number you could place on it (some in this thread have said 10 or 5 or whatever)

 

But, ink isn't actually a want - it's a need. I take out my big basket of ink (well usually, ink has to be stored in other locations now) I look over and don't feel it's 'enough'. Like when you come up from being underwater a tad too long and you suck in air - I get that feeling.

 

NEVER ENOUGH INK.

[thejournalceo]

I've only got one bottle of ink right now- Emerald of Chivor. Mostly out of my budget... I can't say I wouldn't "mind" having more if money/space were no object.

 

I have about 30 or so small little ink samples that could probably each fill up a fountain pen a few times. I just got those, and it's fun to have some variety in fountain pink inks now. I figure I can use those, plus my usual gel pens, in a year or two. That's the most fountain pen ink I've ever had, as I'm new to it. I have a few cheap fountain pens, all ink'ed. I would like more fountain pens just because I don't like having to refill them, but am trying to avoid that for a while.

Gel pens are usually what I've been into over the years, so those pens I've got a lot more of.

 

I've been trying to clean out most of my stuff across the board, more as a financial perk and home organization/move preparation than because I "enjoy" less stuff. I like having a variety of pens (and everything else), but at some point, the amount adds up to where I could've gotten more short-term enjoyment out of that money by spreading out the spending on different types of products/activities, instead of 1028209 pens. Instead of buying, say, 100 bottles of ink that would take me years to use, I could personally with my budget limits get more short-term enjoyment out of a few ink bottles, a few candles, massage, dinner out. I've been trying to remind myself of that and nix most of my shopping until I use up some of my stuff and reach some savings goals.

 

I suppose my "ideal" ink bottle collection would probably be about 20-30 bottles. Enough to have variety, but an amount I could use within a decade or less. If they were free with a matching free palace to house them and free maid to clean them, then 3000 bottles. Really, though, I think 20-30 would give me some options while still being a small enough amount that I could still enjoy and find each of them.

 

[KKay]

I thought 12 would be enough, until I started doing a lot of sampling. I think I have 16 now. 3 of those were given to me. But after so many samples, and reading about others, I want more ink. I have several inks on a wish list right now. There are a few samples I'd like to try in the future too. I am thinking maybe 30 would be enough, but I can't swear to it. If money wasn't holding me back, I'd have at least 10 more bottles right now most likely.

[Inky.Fingers]

Besides from the ink god/goddest, how many of us is changing ink everyday?

 

I only see myself inking everyday with black, black, black...

Edited July 31, 2016 by _InkyFingers

[dcwaites]

Besides from the ink god/modest, how many of us is changing ink everyday?

 

I only see myself inking everyday with black, black, black blue, blue, blue...

 

There, fixed that for you.

[praxim]

Besides from the ink god/goddest, how many of us is changing ink everyday?

 

I only see myself inking everyday with black, black, black...

 

No need to change ink when you can change pen. I have at least one pen in an identifiable shade of each of red, green and blue, with variations.

[Barkingpig]

I have 30 pens inked @ the moment, 6 drying after their cleanings & probably another 5 by the kitchen sink to be cleaned. All had been filled with different inks & most were almost empty when cleaned. I have about ten new inks to try as I use up some of these 30 pens, although two of them are designated for refilling with the same inks, neither of which is blue or black.

 

I consider THIS my "GOOD behavior," since there may be forty additional "clean" pens I COULD have already filled. I tend to keep about 30 filled as MAXIMUM number, an occasional blue, blue/black, but never a black.

[AndyYNWA]

 

There, fixed that for you.

 

 

Almost never use black...