Rubber Gloves When Filling A Pen

[Charles Skinner]

Have you ever considered using rubber gloves when filling your pens? I almost always have to go to the bathroom and work a few minutes with my trusty bar of Lava soap. I don't mind doing this, but rubber gloves would make this unnecessary. Your thoughts, please. C. S.

[PaganArcher]

I don't bother. My hands are usually stained some myriad shade of black, blue, or brown from my leather working for me to really care about ink getting on my hands.

[Joane]

No rubber gloves will come between me and the tactile enjoyment of filling, flushing, using--whatever--my fountain pens. Besides, I consider ink stains on the hands a badge of honour!

[white_lotus]

Never. Having a few ink stains on one's hands shows your true allegiance to fountain pens. Never a G2 gel roller for me!

[Arkanabar]

I suppose I could, but I generally don't bother. For one thing, I'm usually sufficiently dextrous that I don't often wind up with big ink stains. For another, I don't find myself filling pens all that often; I have been kind of stuck on my Jinhao 992, which is fine and dry-ish, and many of my other pens are typically ink misers.

[DrDebG]

I've thought about it several times. But most of the ink I use washes away easily enough. Besides, I am allergic to latex.

[Mike-S]

SHOCK! HORROR!

 

How else am I to display my allegiance to fountain pens.

 

I wear my ink stains with pride!

[OCArt]

I bought a box of "finger cots" but I now seldom use them.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hello Charles, et al,

 

Having an executive position now where I work; it is imperative that I keep my hands clean... presentation is very important and ink-stained hands on an executive VP is not quite the corporate image the Board wishes to protray.

 

So I have been known to wear them occasionally, (especially when using hooligan inks); even though I find it more than a bit cumbersome... I always feel as though I'm prepping for surgery... in fact, I've been known to use the famous Ed Norton line from the Honeymooners... "don't touch me, I'm sterile" to my EA when filling a pen.

 

This is why I prefer to wipe off the mouth of the bottle with a heavily folded/wadded-up Kleenex before I dip my pen and use a couple more heavily wadded-up Kleenex to wipe off the section afterwards. (I used to use just one Kleenex to wipe off the section to clean it off before dipping and then flip the Kleenex over to wipe off the section after dipping, but this did not always provide enough protection - so I use two or three sandwiched together).

 

IF YOU DO USE GLOVES, make sure you get the UNPOWDERED type... I suspect all that corn starch would play havoc with the ink and the nib/feed, so I got the unpowdered type... but I prefer just being careful and using Kleenex.

 

Be well and enjoy life.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED to clarify text.

Edited September 10, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[ParkerDuofold]

I bought a box of "finger cots" but I now seldom use them.

Hi OC, et al,

 

I considered those things, but figured it would be less cumbersome to put on one glove rather than three or four fingertip guards.

 

Be well and enjoy life.

 

 

- Anthony

[Astronymus]

As I don't like to be stained at all, I use nitrile gloves for many things in the house. They are one-use gloves but as refilling or cleaning a pen is not as demanding on the material or hygiene I use them several times to save that little money.

"Kleinvieh macht auch Mist.", as we say in German. "Even with a mall lifestock you'll get some manure."

[Freddy]

Have you ever considered using rubber gloves when filling your pens? I almost always have to go to the bathroom and work a few minutes with my trusty bar of Lava soap. I don't mind doing this, but rubber gloves would make this unnecessary. Your thoughts, please. C. S.

 

C.S. ------- Hell No

 

Fred

 

Nil sequitur geminis ex particularibus unquam

[praxim]

Cotton gloves lend a greater air of ceremony with some protection, while not wholly divorcing one from the experience of either pen or ink.

[FPFan]

After over 50 years of fountain pen use, if I can't fill a pen without getting ink on my hands . . . I should give it up!

[AmandaW]

Badge of honour here. Ink stained hands go very well with the paint splattered clothing. (Though I have learned to looked down at what I'm wearing as I enter the studio because I have but one set of clothes left that I could wear 'out'.)

[Chrissy]

I'm clumsy enough with ink sample vials without having gloves on to make me even more clumsy. So even though I have gloves in the room where I fill my pens, I don't tend to use them.

[Bookman]

I like to glove up anytime I open the lid to an ink bottle. I glove up when I clean a pen. If I don't, no matter how careful I try to be, I get ink on my fingers or hands or both. I've bought the gloves Costco sells. They rip too easily. I pay the extra cost and buy the thicker, purple Kimberly-Clark gloves (KC500). I've seen them online for as low as $8 per box of 100. I think they're worth the extra cost. They rarely rip. They're sturdy enough that I typically wash them while their still on my hands, dry them, and reuse them a couple of times—even if they're ink-stained—before I throw them away.

[Erik Dalton]

Boraxo works for me.

[tinta]

The only time I need to use rubber gloves is when I try to open those dang @#$%^&* Iroshizuku bottle caps. Once that's done, using bare fingers gives me the best control.

Stained fingers? Amodex, or wear the stains as a badge of honour.

Edited September 11, 2017 by tinta

[Sabin]

I only use the latex gloves if I have to get inside the barrel