Keeping Track Of Which Ink In Which Pen

[Mangrove Jack]

How do you keep track of which pen is inked with which ink ? Multiple pens in use at the same time is quite challenging.

[greencobra]

my memory is horrible! if i have several inked at the same time, i keep their ink contents written in a small notebook i keep tucked away in the desk drawer. nothing exotic i'm afraid.

 

as i got older, my tendency to keep a lot of pens inked at the same time has been reduced so i don't have that remembering which is which problem too often now.

[AmandaW]

I have a page which lists all my inks. From time to time I print a copy and write next to each ink the pen name / colour (with the pen). If a pen is emptied, I cross it out. I stick the page into my journal with a sticky bookmark to show where it is. I always do a new one at the start of a new journal. Then a fresh one within the journal any time the last one is looking a mess.

 

Edited to add a picture. The inks marked with * are those which are waterproof. I'm thinking next time I might add another character to denote those which are samples vs bottles.

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by AmandaW

[A Smug Dill]

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/346231-got-10-pens-inked-and-i-want-to-ink-more/?p=4205509
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http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/338077-how-many-pens-do-you-have-inked-at-any-one-time/page-6#entry4145049

Edited October 20, 2020 by A Smug Dill

[bogiesan]

Ink up fewer pens.

A few years ago, I carried at least four pens, often six. Now I carry two.

[Sailor Kenshin]

How do you keep track of which pen is inked with which ink ? Multiple pens in use at the same time is quite challenging.

In the back of my current journal is a page with each inked pen, listing ink and pen both, with a swatch...when I empty a pen, I checkmark it.

 

At the beginning of each page I list ink and pen after date. This method works for me.

[mike.f]

I'm a rookie at this, I have 8 pens but keep only one inked that I use for a week or two then swap pens. I flush the pen when I'm done for the week and I use the same ink in each pen but maybe I shouldn't. I have the pen and ink listed on a recipe card. My wife has a few more pens but has then all inked for her journaling/work projects.

[PAKMAN]

I just keep a small note book and add each pen I ink with the ink used and date and note when it is emptied and cleaned.

[BaronWulfraed]

Entries in an Access database (which tracks date filled, date cleaned -- so to reports possible: inked history, and currently inked).

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit that this is one of the (few) times where I find high-tech actually works better for me. I have a file on my laptop, listing every pen by brand, and noting the color and nib width if I have multiples of a model. When I ink a specific pen up, I note what the ink is, and highlight the entire listing in a bright color (changing the text from "black" to "magenta". I also note (in yet a different color) if the pen is getting low on ink and needs to be flushed or refilled, and -- if I've been too lazy to flush -- that the ink is diluted; in a separate color (red) I note which pens seem to have gone missing (because, sadly, that has happened).

When a pen gets flushed out, the ink that has been in it gets deleted, and the listing goes back to being black. This way I can keep track better (and since it's basically a 2 page file (two columns per page), I don't have to flip through a bunch of pages in a notebook trying to remember what is in which pen. Highlighting the inked up pens in magenta type means it's easier to spot against a sea of black listings.

But I also don't have a huge number of pens inked up at any given time -- if it gets above about a dozen, it gets too unwieldy for me and I don't use them enough to keep them from drying out. When it gets to that point, and I'm not using them enough, I try to flush at least two before filling any others.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I just keep a small note book and add each pen I ink with the ink used and date and note when it is emptied and cleaned.

 

Me too. I use a small Banditapple notebook which is neither particularly good nor bad and which I didn't want for any other purpose. I just line out an entry when the pen is emptied.

 

I don't keep a ridiculous number of pens inked, though. Currently five fountain pens, plus an Esterbrook Dip-Less desk pen where the ink actually resides in the well.

[Chouffleur]

I keep a notebook - front to back by pen - one page per pen (with inks listed as filled).

 

Turn it all the way to the end.

 

Turn it upside down.

 

Back to front by ink - one page per ink (with pens listed as filled).

 

Easy peasy.

 

Note: there are a few index pages before the item pages start.

[silverlifter]

Plain text file synched between all of my home and work devices.

[sansenri]

I just keep a small note book and add each pen I ink with the ink used and date and note when it is emptied and cleaned.

same here, it's the easy way for me, I've thought of using a spreadsheet, but when you fill a pen you don't really want to use your pc... I use a small Clairefontaine notebook.

With the pen itself, once it has been filled, I write the name of the pen, the nib, the ink in use, the date, and I draw a small area with the ink to show the colour.

I find it helpful to remember which ink I put in so that I don't necessarily have to wash the pen if I refill with the same ink. Also it's a nice comparison of the writing characteristics and the ink colour. It's also useful to go back to it to see if the ink has changed colour with time.

here is a page

[ParramattaPaul]

I have a note pad on which I list the pen on the left and what I have each inked with on the right. This pad is kept on my desk with another note pad.

 

Of the eleven pens on the list, presently four pens have ink and seven more need re-filling. The monthly task of cleaning and inking pens is on the agenda for this coming weekend.

[tinta]

The back two pages of my APICA work books are dedicated to filling notes. I start at the back page & work forwards, as my listings get longer.

I write the date, the ink used: (bottled or cart), the nib (type of metal, nib grade, width, style, etc.) followed by the make, model & colour of the pen being filled.

I then do a pre-determined line of strokes & shapes using this nib with this ink.

Not only does it tell me what ink is in what pen, but it determines how long the ink has been sitting in the pen. This is important if you use a lot of ferrogallic ink. I do..

[milkb0at]

Have a look at https://www.fountainpencompanion.com/ It does what you want and more.

 

My main method, though, is only having a few pens inked, and I write down the pen/ink combo at the end of each diary entry.

[Misfit]

Right now I use 2 notebooks to write the name of the pen, nib size and name of the ink. One is a wire bound Clairefontaine notebook, the other is a Leuchtturm 1917 A5 size. The papers are different tints, which is useful. I need to start adding the date. I try, once Ive put ink in a pen, to write the information in both.

 

Sometimes I dont write it down, and later wish I had.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Misfit

[mhguda]

I've gone the spreadsheet route, adding pen make and model, ink, any noteworthy thing about the ink (such as if it is a mix) and the date of the last fill.

also if the pen is now empty. What's most important for me there is that it is searchable, so I can quickly locate that pen that had the special mix in it... even if that was two or more years ago! I will also note if the ink somehow didn't work out, or if it was fantastic on such and such paper.

The last column has such things as This pen has a special flex nib, or the feed broke and I'm working with the half feed that was still usable, and other such tidbits... all those things that get snowed under in my journal (I do write them down there too though).

[Carguy]

Seeing this post reminded that I needed to start a journal of which inks in which pens. I have always told myself that I could remember or recognize which ink was in each pen.

 

The older I get, I realize that this was a complete fantasy of mine.