Getting Ink On Your Fingers

[Rubicon]

... Do you mind? I see a lot of people complain about that, especially if they were forced to use fountain pens as a kid and had trouble with ink getting all over the place. I certainly can't relate. I was made to use a fountain pen when I was in a Chinese elementary school, but never had such problems. I didn't hate it, but FPs didn't make a strong impression either. Years later, I still don't have a problem with wrecked clothing or stained books because of ink. I spill lots of other things, but I was never clumsy with ink.

 

Ink does get on my finger sometimes, when I'm refilling, or the fountain pen is acting up. However, it doesn't bother me. It never gets on my clothes, for one, and when it dries, aside from the stain you wouldn't know its there, and washes off easily. I even somewhat enjoy getting my hands dirty, especially with Diamine's Oxblood ink (I like to go up to friends with my oxblood stained hands and wave them in their faces. Half of them think I was involved in a gruesome murder, or something). Unlike getting mud or paint on your hands like artists do, dried ink doesn't contaminate anything else, and is generally non-acidic and non-toxic. Am I the only one who mildly likes getting dirty?

Edited July 27, 2012 by Rubicon

[Nova42]

I only have issues with ink when I am refilling (and one time my konrad leaked ). I don't particularly mind it but people do look at me funny when they see I have hues of blue, red, and green (among other colors) on my hands. Like oxblood, Antietam is pretty bloody as well .

[dgturner]

Mostly on the fingers when "fiddling" -- I get bored easily.

[dds51968]

It's something I try to avoid, although it does happen from time to time. I accept it as part of the hobby, not too big of a deal.

Pumice stone and water will generally take it of quick and easy.

David

[myn]

It doesn't bother me at all but then I'm retired. A few days back I had a lovely green thumb of the Noodler Sequoia variety, nail and all. :embarrassed_smile:

[ever onward]

It doesn't bother me at all either--though after reading myn's reply, I guess I have to add that I'm a freelancer, so my office is in my attic. But I do go out of the house and I don't mind when my fingers are inky from filling FPs or doing calligraphy.

 

I actually poked a little fun at my mom for worrying about ink on her hands after a suminagashi session and the day before she was leaving for vacation. I was thinking, who the hell cares what other people think about your hands?

 

But I guess it comes down to mindset--whether you think inky hands look messy or just circumstantial.

 

best

eo

Edited July 28, 2012 by ever onward

[Xqmano]

If I have been writing for a while with no ink on my fingers, I "accidently" spill some.

 

I love having ink on my fingers.

[Paddler]

Most people old enough to remember when they were taught fountain penmanship in gradeschool tell stories about staining themselves and the entire circumambient propinquety with ink. I never had the problem. There must be a lot of ham-handed people in this world. Sometimes I get a stain from one of my desk pens that has been drooling in its cup. This is no big deal. The pen doesn't drool on my shirt, so I don't get excited.

[Rubicon]

If I have been writing for a while with no ink on my fingers, I "accidently" spill some.

 

I love having ink on my fingers.

Haha. That, or I start fondling my nib. @Paddler. Exactly what you said. I could not relate at all. Never in my life have I made a serious blunder with ink beyond getting my hands dirty, so I don't know that ink getting all over the place is a serious detriment to using FPs. I was always careful and had no accidents. Drinks, on the other hand... Knocked over more than I can count,

[georges zaslavsky]

It's something I try to avoid, although it does happen from time to time. I accept it as part of the hobby, not too big of a deal.

Pumice stone and water will generally take it of quick and easy.

David

True. Same for me.

[Freddy]

Getting Ink On Your Fingers

... Do you mind?

 

...When and if it happens... .No problemo... .There..

 

...Fred...

Brother..when I hit 'em..they stay hit.<TT,smile> ~ Gabby Hayes ~

 

Edited: TTH must take out pen and paper and write this down ..

next time..

Edited July 28, 2012 by Freddy

[Eeyvind]

I don't mind getting ink on my fingers, but I make extra effort to avoid it when I'm at the office. It's easier to have clean hands than it is to explain why I have blue fingers. It only comes up when I'm refilling though.

 

Perhaps any bad experiences from school (for those that learned to use fountain pens in school) can be attributed to having been a kid at the time?

[jonwat]

The only time that I got embarrassed with inky fingers was with Diamine Sepia.

 

It does not look like ink, rather something nastier ...

[dickydotcom]

I try to avoid it but when refilling carts I've had the odd spill. I count about 15 ink stains on my desk top.

Also I have one pen that leaks a little into the cap so the section gets inky. It's ok when I remember to wipe before use but I occassionally forget.

I just scrub my hands with a scouring pad.

No worse than oil off the bike chain, or beetroot juice from the salad.

 

At least this thread has reminded me to buy some more surgical gloves for the garage.

 

Dick D

[JeanManuel]

It's something I try to avoid, although it does happen from time to time. I accept it as part of the hobby, not too big of a deal.

Pumice stone and water will generally take it of quick and easy.

David

True. Same for me.

+1 and it's not that hard to avoid.

[Pen2009]

I do my due diligence when it comes to avoiding inky fingers. But, I sometimes get some minor inky fingers when I am doing a filling and wiping. I usually do wiping the nib / section after filling with a water-soaked tissue to clean off nicely and do another wipe with a dry tissue. If I try to do a dry wipe, I tend to get inky fingers from an inky tissue.

[inkyleftie]

My user name reflects the fact that I used to have inky fingers when I was at school many years ago, but using fountain pen drove me into being an overwriter, so I don't generally have too many problems these days, except when I'm playing with/refilling pens.

I would rather clean up FP ink than BP ink which is nasty, sticky and greasy. My BP-loving students regularly have accidents with 'exploding' pens and have to be sent to sort themselves out.

[Sasha Royale]

In routine fill of a fountain pen, I don't get ink on my fingers.

That only happens when I am working on a pen. When I open an ink

bottle, I wipe the lip of the bottle and the inside of the cap

with a tissue. Don't be stingy with the tissues. Throw them away

after one use.

 

A 50/50 solution of chlorine bleach and water cleans ink from finger

easily. Follow with soap and water. The longer you wait, the harder

ink is to remove.

 

If ink is on your fingers for a couple of days, the world won't end.

It may be an incentive to select pretty colors. (The cup is half full.)

[XiaoMG]

I don't think I ever get ink on my hands frm normal pen use. I do get inky fingers when I adjust nibs, or occasionally a little when cleaning out a pen, but never from daily writing.

[Sasha Royale]

If I have been writing for a while with no ink on my fingers, I "accidently" spill some.

 

I love having ink on my fingers.

Haha. That, or I start fondling my nib. @Paddler. Exactly what you said. I could not relate at all. Never in my life have I made a serious blunder with ink beyond getting my hands dirty, so I don't know that ink getting all over the place is a serious detriment to using FPs. I was always careful and had no accidents. Drinks, on the other hand... Knocked over more than I can count,

You take me back to memories of college. I spilled coffee on notes and books so often, that

I started using artificial sweeteners to minimize "page stickings". Good times !

"Nib fondling": I am certain many of us do it, but are reluctant to admitt so. :ltcapd: