How Many Bottles Of Ink In Your Collection?

[Mulrich]

That sounds delightful. I live in the country and cant remember a time I saw an actual pen shop. I seem to purchase everything online except groceries and hay. Ive nearly forgotten how luxurious it is to go and physically browse for things. Where are these mythical pen stores of which you speak?

They're nowhere near where I live either but my job takes me to major cities 2-3 times per year and I always make a point of seeking out pen stores. The only major city without a decent pen store that I visited in the last few years is London, which I still don't understand given the city's size and my stereotyping all of Europe as using fountain pens.

[Patrick L]

 

83 Bottles of Ink

74 Different Colors

Akkerman #5 Shocking Blue

CARAN d’ACHE Caribbean Sea

Colorverse Kepler’s Laws red

Colorverse Quasar blue

Conway Stewart St. Blazey Red

De Atramentis Vanilletinte Vanilla Scented Brown

Delta MOMO black

Diamine Ancient Copper

Diamine Aqua Blue 30 ml

Diamine Bilberry Blue

Diamine Blue Lightning Shimmering

Diamine Blue Velvet

Diamine Brandy Dazzle Shimmering

Diamine Chocolate Brown

Diamine Dark Brown

Diamine Gray

Diamine Majestic Blue

Diamine Marine Blue Green

Diamine Mediterranean Blue (2 Bottles and 30ml bottle)

Diamine Presidential Blue

Diamine Sapphire Blue

Diamine Soft Mint Green

Diamine Twilight

Diamine Wild Strawberry 30 ml

Iroshizuku (Pilot) fuyu-syogun gray Old Man Winter

Iroshizuku (Pilot) kon-peki blue

Iroshizuku (Pilot) tsukushi Horsetail brown

J. Herbin Blue Ocean

J. Herbin Stormy Grey

Kobe Seaside Blue #44

Lamy LE Orange

Levenger Cobalt Blue

Levenger Skies of Blue

Levenger Fireball

Levenger Always Greener

Levenger Smokey

Levenger Blue Bahama

Mont Blanc Love Letter Rose Scent Red

Mont Blanc Seasons Greetings Holiday Scent Brown (2 Bottles)

Mont Blanc Seasons Greetings Vanilla Scent Red

Mont Blanc Seasons Greetings White Forrest Pine Scent Green

Monteverde Copper Noir orange

Noodlers Bankers Tan

Noodlers Bay State Blue

Noodlers Black Swan in Australian Roses

Noodlers FPN Dumas Tulipe Noire (3 Bottles)

Noodlers FPN Galileo Manuscript Brown (2 Bottles)

Noodlers FPN Voltaire Candide Vermilion

Noodlers Eternal Black

Noodlers Blue Steel

Noodlers Burgundy Red

Noodlers Chisholm Trail brown

Noodlers Legal Lapis Blue (2 Bottles)

Noodlers Tanned Armadillo

Noodlers Texas Pecan

Noodlers Tiananmen Red

Noodlers Turquoise Blue

Noodlers USS Texas Battleship Gray

Oscarson Purple

Parker Penman Mocha Brown

Parker Penman Sapphire Blue (2 Bottles)

Parker Quink Blue-Black (2 bottles)

Parker Quink Black

Private Reserve 2004 DC Supershow Blue

Private Reserve Black Magic Blue

Private Reserve Plum

Sheaffer Skrip Black (2 Bottles)

Sheaffer Skrip Purple

Visconti Bordeaux

Wahl-Eversharp Wahlberry Blue

Waterman South Sea Blue

Waterman Florida Blue

Waterman Havana Brown

Waterman Purple

 

Hi PAKMAN,

Thanks for typing your complete list of inks. That must have taken you some time ! Did you try the famous Lamy Dark Lilac ink ? I see that you also have the Coloverse Quasar blue ink. I don't have ink but from what I see on the internet it's a really very intense, impressive blue. Am I correct ?

Edited April 5, 2019 by Patrick L

[DilettanteG]

They're nowhere near where I live either but my job takes me to major cities 2-3 times per year and I always make a point of seeking out pen stores. The only major city without a decent pen store that I visited in the last few years is London, which I still don't understand given the city's size and my stereotyping all of Europe as using fountain pens.

No decent Pen store in London? I think my brain just broke.

[Patrick L]

No decent Pen store in London? I think my brain just broke.

I didn't know that they were so many indecent Pen stores in London. Thanks for the hint !

[by_a_Lady]

28 bottles, not counting the dozens of samples. Not too bad, I think, but I'm on a mission to use up at least two inks before Inktober.

 

 

Dominique

[dennis_f]

Prior to January, I never owned more than 2 bottles of ink at any one time: a black, and a blue-black. Early in the new year I decided to turn a new leaf, and I made a plan to binge shop inks: the plan was to broaden my base of colours and carry several different colours at any one time. Perhaps a red and a green. Maybe a violet. I did copious research on colours outside of the blue-black and black range, made lists, shortlisted my preferences, and went shopping. I was excited about all the new yellow-greens, and muddy greens, and rusty reds and brilliant purples I was going to add to my ink drawer.

 

My grand total of inks now numbers a whopping 6. I ended up buying two blacks, one more blue-black, two blues, and a violet. My colour range now looks effectively exactly the same as it always has. And since I fell in love with the first ink I bought, and despite the fact that I find the other 5 colours very attractive, I've only been using that first colour since January. The other bottles are sitting here unused and I now realize I have enough ink to last me several years. I am very excited about the prospect of moving on to those inks, but for now, I'm in a blue-black phase. And yes, I do carry multiple pens every day. Three, currently. All inked with the same colour.

 

I envy those of you who can rotate through several different colours... and even though I've made a new list of different colours that I've sworn to buy, I think my personal limit is going to return to having only 2 at any one time.

[senzen]

33 in use, with a couple of repeats, plus 7 I don't.

[uceroy]

Just upped my amount to 136 😆

3 duplicate colors

Edited April 5, 2019 by uceroy

[TSherbs]

Prior to January, I never owned more than 2 bottles of ink at any one time: a black, and a blue-black. Early in the new year I decided to turn a new leaf, and I made a plan to binge shop inks: the plan was to broaden my base of colours and carry several different colours at any one time. Perhaps a red and a green. Maybe a violet. I did copious research on colours outside of the blue-black and black range, made lists, shortlisted my preferences, and went shopping. I was excited about all the new yellow-greens, and muddy greens, and rusty reds and brilliant purples I was going to add to my ink drawer.

 

My grand total of inks now numbers a whopping 6. I ended up buying two blacks, one more blue-black, two blues, and a violet. My colour range now looks effectively exactly the same as it always has. And since I fell in love with the first ink I bought, and despite the fact that I find the other 5 colours very attractive, I've only been using that first colour since January. The other bottles are sitting here unused and I now realize I have enough ink to last me several years. I am very excited about the prospect of moving on to those inks, but for now, I'm in a blue-black phase. And yes, I do carry multiple pens every day. Three, currently. All inked with the same colour.

 

I envy those of you who can rotate through several different colours... and even though I've made a new list of different colours that I've sworn to buy, I think my personal limit is going to return to having only 2 at any one time.

I love this story. No need to envy others! You clearly are motivated more by use than by purchasing or owning. You have found your own equilibrium. Seems healthy to me. I have about 20 bottles, which is more than I will need or use. And I have another 30 samples. I need to pare back!

[Mulrich]

Prior to January, I never owned more than 2 bottles of ink at any one time: a black, and a blue-black. Early in the new year I decided to turn a new leaf, and I made a plan to binge shop inks: the plan was to broaden my base of colours and carry several different colours at any one time. Perhaps a red and a green. Maybe a violet. I did copious research on colours outside of the blue-black and black range, made lists, shortlisted my preferences, and went shopping. I was excited about all the new yellow-greens, and muddy greens, and rusty reds and brilliant purples I was going to add to my ink drawer.

 

My grand total of inks now numbers a whopping 6. I ended up buying two blacks, one more blue-black, two blues, and a violet. My colour range now looks effectively exactly the same as it always has. And since I fell in love with the first ink I bought, and despite the fact that I find the other 5 colours very attractive, I've only been using that first colour since January. The other bottles are sitting here unused and I now realize I have enough ink to last me several years. I am very excited about the prospect of moving on to those inks, but for now, I'm in a blue-black phase. And yes, I do carry multiple pens every day. Three, currently. All inked with the same colour.

 

I envy those of you who can rotate through several different colours... and even though I've made a new list of different colours that I've sworn to buy, I think my personal limit is going to return to having only 2 at any one time.

 

What's the ink?

[PAKMAN]

Hi PAKMAN,

Thanks for typing your complete list of inks. That must have taken you some time ! Did you try the famous Lamy Dark Lilac ink ? I see that you also have the Coloverse Quasar blue ink. I don't have ink but from what I see on the internet it's a really very intense, impressive blue. Am I correct ?

 

Even though I have several purples I don't tend to use them much so I haven't tried the Dark Lilac. I do very much love the color of Quasar Blue it reminds me of Parker Penman Sapphire blue.

[dennis_f]

I love this story. No need to envy others! You clearly are motivated more by use than by purchasing or owning. You have found your own equilibrium. Seems healthy to me. I have about 20 bottles, which is more than I will need or use. And I have another 30 samples. I need to pare back!

 

Wait a second! Are you trying to talk me out of buying more ink?!? If so, that would be a first on FPN.

[dennis_f]

 

What's the ink?

 

 

Montblanc Midnight Blue -- that's my current blue-black (though it seems to me to be more of a really dark blue than a blue-black).

 

Diamine Oxford Blue

Diamine Sargasso Sea

 

J Herbin Eclat De Saphir

J Herbin Perle Noire (after several years of using Aurora Black)

 

Lamy Obsidian (I was really impressed by this in the pen shop where I bought it).

 

The only reason I bought those last two was the store I was in was sold out of Aurora Black, so I thought I'd try these other two.

 

And you won't believe it: while double-checking label names, I actually came across a seventh bottle that I'd forgotten I'd bought: De Atramentis Fog Grey (barely a colour, really, but an interesting shade of blue-grey). It turns out, I now have so many inks, I lost track of one. ;-)

[DilettanteG]

Even though I have several purples I don't tend to use them much so I haven't tried the Dark Lilac. I do very much love the color of Quasar Blue it reminds me of Parker Penman Sapphire blue.

I really should focus on down sizing, but that Quasar Blue’s sheen looking amazing. Does it do that on all papers?

[TSherbs]

 

Wait a second! Are you trying to talk me out of buying more ink?!? If so, that would be a first on FPN.

Ha!

 

I started a thread here once on the topic of letting enough be enough. The thread died quickly. RIP. 🤔

[DilettanteG]

Ha!

 

I started a thread here once on the topic of letting enough be enough. The thread died quickly. RIP.

I have been mentally comparing my collection here with the Favorite Ink thread. I enjoy the entire process of getting new ink; from discovery to taking inks off the shelf, to pushing the last drop of a fill thru the pen. The reality is there are some inks I just never use. I either need to accept that and give up the shelf space or embrace the fact Im going to have to spend the time and effort to list, sell, and ship them. Its almost like buying something is the easiest part of owning it. Edited April 5, 2019 by DilettanteG

[A Smug Dill]

The reality is there are some inks I just never use. I either need to accept that and give up the shelf space

How much shelf space does it really occupy, though, assuming a fit-for-purpose storage solution is in place?

 

My storage solution is just a cheap hack – consisting primarily of a cheap IKEA desk, and cheap trays and crates from Daiso – but adequately stores all of my ink bottles (with just enough room to hold the few more on order that are yet to shipped), although it's almost at capacity now.

[DilettanteG]

The

How much shelf space does it really occupy, though, assuming a fit-for-purpose storage solution is in place?

 

My storage solution is just a cheap hack – consisting primarily of a cheap IKEA desk, and cheap trays and crates from Daiso – but adequately stores all of my ink bottles (with just enough room to hold the few more on order that are yet to shipped), although it's almost at capacity now.

Woe, that’s an impressive collection. I like to be able to see all mine at a glance, so they’re each on shelf stepson the closet shelves you see on myoriginal post. All the boxes are broken down and stored separately in a lidded plastic bin. So, not a lot of space, but it’s gotten crowded which feels cluttered.

[A Smug Dill]

Woe, that’s an impressive collection.

Thanks. Woe indeed!

 

So, not a lot of space, but it’s gotten crowded which feels cluttered.

Fair enough. The feeling of cluttered is not something that can be argued with rationally, even if a storage solution exists that allow you to see everything in your collection at a glance, but in which 'free space' is 20% or less of the volume within the enclosure.

[DilettanteG]

Thanks. Woe indeed!Fair enough. The feeling of cluttered is not something that can be argued with rationally, even if a storage solution exists that allow you to see everything in your collection at a glance, but in which 'free space' is 20% or less of the volume within the enclosure.

Whoops, that was supposed to be, “Wow!”

 

My iPad apparently doesn’t approve of my ink hoarding. Or apostrophes for some reason.