Should This Site Be Blocked?

[Intensity]

Done, and thank you! It was very-well put. Very true for quite a few hobbies, from a newcomer’s perspective. Those who dive in deeply will be debating philosophical nuances of fork design evolution from the renaissance to Bauhaus... I haven’t actually checked, but there is likely a society of Cutlery Connoisseurs out there too.

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

I'm very glad fountain pens are a hobby. I could see falling down the rabbit hole. I'm lucky I have a limited income and don't do debt because some of these pens are GORGEOUS!

 

The project I'm working on should take four months, so it will probably take thrice that. When it's done, I'm buying myself a pretty pen. I don't know which one yet. Maybe I'll have one made. But I'll put aside some money each week and should have a few hundred dollars to spend. It's going to be a lot of fun evaluating what I like and don't like in a pen. I'm so excited to discover that there is a variety of fountain pens in the world. Or maybe, I'll have one made from the apple tree! That would be special.

[TSherbs]

I have yet to buy ink outside of Michael's so as yet have only coveted the "proper" inks and its already addiction level issue those "need".

Me: I need real inks

Also me: Maybe blue

Also me: omg pilot iroshizuki has like 5 blues

Also me: i need 5 blues.

This pleased me

 

::))

[inkstainedruth]

I have yet to buy ink outside of Michael's so as yet have only coveted the "proper" inks and its already addiction level issue those "need".

Me: I need real inks

Also me: Maybe blue

Also me: omg pilot iroshizuki has like 5 blues

Also me: i need 5 blues.

 

As opposed to

Me: Well, my bottle of Noodler's BSiAR is not QUITE the same color as Iroshizuku Yama-budo, so I need *both*, right?"

or

Me: "OOOH, SHINY!"

 

@scunopo -- I'm sorry. Were you insufficiently warned that we are all shameless enablers on this site? My bad.... My husband has taken to telling people that I *used* to collect pens -- NOW I collect inks.... And in the 7 or so years I've been on this site I have gone from two pens to [mumble mumble] and the current number is somewhere between "Way too many" and "Not nearly enough".... I was really good in January and February. Then March came and it started to be major estate sale season around the Greater Pittsburgh area.... And in the past 3 or 4 weeks I've acquired... nine (plus replacement converters for some of them and also for the Pilot Metropolitan because it had a bad interaction with some vintage ink). And two of those pens need major overhauls, and two others (a couple of Sheaffer Skripserts) I still have to try and find affordable converters that will work.... In my defense, one of those pens was $10 US and most of the others were even cheaper. Okay, the Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Purple Cosmos LE with a zoom nib that I just hit the PayPal button for a couple of hours ago? Not so much....

Oh, and a few bottles of vintage or vintage-ish Quink....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

Done, and thank you! It was very-well put. Very true for quite a few hobbies, from a newcomer’s perspective. Those who dive in deeply will be debating philosophical nuances of fork design evolution from the renaissance to Bauhaus... I haven’t actually checked, but there is likely a society of Cutlery Connoisseurs out there too.

 

It's amazing what people collect. I have met not one but TWO people who collect PEZ dispensers (for those not knowing what I'm talking about, they are rectangular plastic dispensers for a type of hard candy, and the "head" is literally actual heads (cartoon characters, superheroes, etc). A friend of mine went to an antiques mall with me a couple of years ago and one booth had a bunch of them -- including one with a Donald Duck head... only it was the "wrong" Donald Duck (apparently she already had the other one). The second person I met (she and her friend and the store owner and I just got talking in another antiques store and when I said that she said "Oh! So do I! And there's a local club...."

At least pens are functional tools, not just tchochkes you have to dust. A woman at my church growing up had her house burglarized and her silver-plate flatware got stolen -- but not the really "valuable" things she had (her collection of Hummelware figurines...). When my mom told me what the woman had said to her about the break-in ("it must have been kids"), we were pretty much BOTH rolling our eyes.... [No offense to any Hummel collectors out there, but seriously not my taste...; and Lladro porcelain isn't either, although somewhat less kitschy looking).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Dmact]

Lol the sad part of it all is... I dont really have a good "writing" pen, only a few calligraphy nibbed that i use for check signing. As such i haven't had the need (luckily) to jump into the REAL wormhole yet... But its coming, i know it, yall know it, this thread prooves it, and theres nothing any of us can do to sto..... Ooooh look diamine o.o

[Restored]

Me: This blue isn't blue enough. It looked bluer in the bottle and on the web. I wonder if I filled it right

(opens pen) Hmm, a cartridge. Maybe it is blue enough. But I do need another blue ink that is more blue. More like this color.

 

Repeat in ever color

[Dmact]

Oh great i just read somewhere on here about monteverde ocean noir... Like an IDIOT i went and looked at it.... Aaaaaand now i NEED to find a flex nib (i know i cant afford) worthy of this blue ink on its way... CURSE THIS FORUM *shakes fist in mock anger*

Edited April 1, 2019 by Dmact

[Rick M]

But is it blue enough on this paper? What about on that paper?

 

Then you have to find the best combination of pen, ink and notebook for each pen, ink and notebook you own.

 

And THEN you start to think like an artist: Does this color convey the mood that my writing is trying to evoke?

 

And when writing letters: Which color would my friend like best, and does the color represent me in some positive way (some way that I can't even articulate).

 

And then your head explodes. Finally, in a moment of clarity, you pick up a disposable Bic and scratch a few lines and think, this writes really nice. I wonder if it comes in another color? And down the rabbit hole you go again.

 

I wouldn't change a thing!

[DilettanteG]

I came here because after forty years of collecting on and off, I’ve been thinking about down sizing my horde. I now have six more bottles on order.

 

Well, at least I’m in good company.

[Restored]

In this small Appalachian mountain town, you frequently see Bentley's, Lamborghini's, BMW M4's, Porsche's, etc. So when I buy a $16 bottle of ink, I don't feel so badly about it.

[ridiculopathy]

I finally made ink swabs because I was forgetting what some colors looked like (the first red flag!) and to my horror, the final tally was 50!

[Karmachanic]

In this small Appalachian mountain town, you frequently see Bentley's, Lamborghini's, BMW M4's, Porsche's, etc. So when I buy a $16 bottle of ink, I don't feel so badly about it.

 

Don't hold back! Get a bottle of https://www.montblanc.com/en-us/collection/refills/writing-accessories/116544-elixir-colorist-collection-azure-ink-bottle-50-ml.html

[inkstainedruth]

I finally made ink swabs because I was forgetting what some colors looked like (the first red flag!) and to my horror, the final tally was 50!

That's nothing. I'm on my third notebook (cheap Piccadilly sketchpads) of ink testing/reviews to myself, 1 per sheet of paper. And half a fourth one in the wings ready. They're roughly 200 pages (or 100 test/reviews per...). And I have a bunch of inks and samples I haven't gotten to yet....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Dmact]

That's nothing. I'm on my third notebook (cheap Piccadilly sketchpads) of ink testing/reviews to myself, 1 per sheet of paper. And half a fourth one in the wings ready. They're roughly 200 pages (or 100 test/reviews per...). And I have a bunch of inks and samples I haven't gotten to yet....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I would die happy to play in a horde like that!

[Intensity]

It’s fairly easy and not cost-prohibitive to order cheap ink samples and play with those. 2-5ml of ink, which is 2+ fills, is all a lot of people need from each ink, if they are into trying different inks frequently.

[1nkulus]

I think of FPN as 'Friendly Pen Nuisance' and then carry on browsing for the next purchase.

 

Me: This blue isn't blue enough. It looked bluer in the bottle and on the web. I wonder if I filled it right

(opens pen) Hmm, a cartridge. Maybe it is blue enough. But I do need another blue ink that is more blue. More like this color.

 

Repeat in ever color

 

Standard procedure and logically justified.

 

It’s fairly easy and not cost-prohibitive to order cheap ink samples and play with those. 2-5ml of ink, which is 2+ fills, is all a lot of people need from each ink, if they are into trying different inks frequently.

+1

[amberleadavis]

This method may work to slow you down. Works for me.

Look at a colour wheel. What part of the spectrum appeals to me.

Go here https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/282789-start-here-inky-t-o-d-topics-oday/ and look at the bottom of amberleadavis' page where you will find links to various colours.

 

Pick a few of your faves. Buy SAMPLES of those. Fill your pen with your #1 and write it dry. Get to know it well.I prefer pens with screw-in nibs. That way I can easily see its performance spectrum .

What do you like/dislike about it? Continue through the samples. Buy a bottle. Resist the temptation to purchase a second ink that has a 3% difference in hue.

 

Next. What colour will compliment/contrast with this ink? Repeat step one.

 

Like that.

 

On the other hand you may want to convert the spare bedroom to ink storage.

 

Thanks for the shout out.

 

This is solid advice.

[NeverTapOut]

Let's face it...we are all "addicts" on this board. We all suffer from OCD.

What I did 2 years ago and this is going to sound sacrilegious...I came up with the phrase "Eliminate the Excess".

I sold all pens Inks everything and upgraded to my grail pen and then another pen and limited the inks I bought.

I didn't have as many inks as amberleadavis but I had boxes and drawers full.

I sold everything in 4 lots or traded for nib services. Now I only own 5 MB 149's. Bought 2 more 149's this week and MB Heritage 1912. I also kept a pen Shawn Newton made. I got rid of all the TWSBI's, Pilots, Franklin Christoph, ect.

I going to unload another 6-8 bottles of ink I don't use...Sailor, Kobe, Bungubox, and RO for trade. Probably for MB ink. If not I'll dump it.

I also unloaded boxes of motivational boxes. It was hard...YES. Did I lose money...YES...Do I regret what I did...YES...however I felt better when i did it and freed up hours of my life. Plus I'm selective with what I buy now. Am I recovered...No. Did I relapse...Yes...I bought those Japanese inks.

Regards,

David

[NeverTapOut]

Might have a relapse again...I might buy all those sheening inks from Organics Studio. That means I'll buy TWSBI's to go with them so I don't ruin my MBs. Why buy a sample when you can buy a few bottles and get free shipping?

It a dangerous world we live in.

Cheers.

David

Edited April 7, 2019 by JesusNeverTappedOut