Getting Ink On Your Fingers

[Anitropius]

I usually see it as a sign of accomplishment if my hands are full of ink, and my hands are almost always stained no matted what kind of pen I use. Heck, sometimes I use my lefthand as a blotting paper from time to time. Getting stained with ballpoint ink was quite annoying though.

[savingbirds]

Only when filling, and once from a leaky eyedropper pen

[ERdept]

I get ink on my finger, it's a badge of courage.

[hrjunior]

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

But sometimes I feel ashamed when my fingers are much inked.

[Plume145]

I honestly think about 90% of the 'ink everywhere' problems people had as kids relates less to the pens and inks themselves, and more to a well-known and universal kiddy trait: the omission or downright avoidance of hand-washing

 

Basically, like rubicon and others said, as a kid I eventually figured out that washing my hands, even with just water, will a) remove a good deal of a fresh stain and b ) 'set' whatever wasn't removed, so that I could then touch anything - my face, my paper, whatever - and not get ink on it. BUT given I was growing up with two big ink users right there in the house - one a writer (and FP user!) the other an illustrator - it's entirely possible this discovery was either guided ('wash your hands honey, you'll see, most of it'll come off') or by natural mimicry-slash-osmosis. Whichever it was, I think this discovery played a MAJOR part in getting me to continue using FPs after most of my contemporaries ditched them (they were only mandatory in primary school).

 

I also think the people complaining are often old(er), and if this is true then the other 10% of the reported problems could be due to them simply not having had very child-friendly pens when they were very young, because such pens take time to develop and they just weren't widely available yet - at least not compared to what I had access to in the 90s. And so the pens caused more problems and malfunctioned more frequently. Generally speaking, there is a trend towards making equipment for children more child friendly, both because of technological advances and because of becoming more aware that young children aren't just small-sized adults, they're a whole other breed with different requirements (that last part kind of comes and goes...we could be doing a lot more of that I think, but that's a separate discussion).

 

Then on top of that, there is the usual adult whining - look at yourself, you've gotten so dirty, you're so careless, you look like a savage - and all the dumb stuff many adults tell the kids in their charge when the adults themselves can't cope, which however can be rather traumatizing to a little kid. So if the above is the how people ended up with ink all over as kids, this *could*, perhaps, be the why they might cringe when they get a bit dirty; there's a lot of shaming involved with getting dirty as a kid that carries over into adulthood.

 

So I think it's these two issues. But yeah, like you Rubicon, I don't really relate! Hence the lengthy explanation, I've had to make an effort to see things from people's perspective to figure out why some have issues with it.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Plume145

[welch]

I get ink on my finger, it's a badge of courage.

 

That's it. Although I expect to get inky when I fill or fiddle with a nib. I would distrust a pen that inks my fingers while writing.

[alc3261]

I'm OK with filling piston fillers, converter fillers, filling cartridges with a syringe etc but adjusting nibs is messy work!! My fingers have been green, brown, purple and black from Diamine, Aurora, Noodler's and iroshizuku (colours not in correct order with makers!!) during this weekend alone.

[OcalaFlGuy]

It's pretty common for me to get some on my fingers doing a fill. No matter how hard I try. I'm so used to it though, it barely registers.

 

A pen leaking on me while I'm using it Registers.

 

Thankfully it doesn't happen very often as I can hardly use the pen for what I wanted to at the moment until I clean it up and try and figure out what the problem is. (Most often, it's that my carry cases gets jostled and a bit of ink goes in the cap which then gets on the section.)

 

So. Hardly and yes, some.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[kkshadow]

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

 

Guilty as charged.

[goldiesdad]

+1

 

I get ink on my finger, it's a badge of courage.

[JeanManuel]

The only "ink contamination" I find problematic, is the dust which is produced when unscrewing an ink bottle.

 

When it enter in contact with water (e.g. the bottom of a glass, hands freshly washed or damp sleeves), the dust turns back into ink and can make a light mess. So I took the habbit of opening my bottles above a sheet of paper, and cleaning them with a damp cloth, where the dry ink tends to accumulate.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I had my usual minor inkcident filling my Estie with some Antique Copper and got some on my hand and wrist. (Luckily, no eyelids this time. )

 

I had 3 people yesterday freak out slightly that I had "blood" all over my hand... (Interestingly enough, no one said anything when I said, "No, that's just ink.")

 

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL-well, yeah, it Did kind of look like it

Edited August 6, 2012 by OcalaFlGuy

[Rubicon]

I had my usual minor inkcident filling my Estie with some Antique Copper and got some on my hand and wrist. (Luckily, no eyelids this time. )

 

I had 3 people yesterday freak out slightly that I had "blood" all over my hand... (Interestingly enough, no one said anything when I said, "No, that's just ink.")

 

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL-well, yeah, it Did kind of look like it

Sometimes I do the "blood" thing on purpose. This is off the record.

[JimB]

I really hate it. I've been known to spray Clorox foam bleach on my fingers at the slightest hint of colored digits. If it gets under my nails, I get the shakes! Since I use Noodler's Black and Australian Roses a lot, I look like a killer garage mechanic. :roflmho:

Edited August 8, 2012 by januaryman

[Geo2359]

Here's something that seems to work well for me, even on very inky fingers:

 

1. Blot the ink from your fingers; don't rub. Rubbing only rubs the ink further into the skin.

2. Place some Fast Orange hand cleaner on the area (don't wet your hands before doing this), and use your fingers to rub the Fast Orange in well.

3. Now rinse the area in water and dry with a paper towel.

 

Depending on how inky your fingers are, you may have to repeat another time or two. Sometimes it takes all of the ink off. Sometimes it leaves a light stain that is barely noticeable.

 

Hope this is helpful to someone.

[mhphoto]

NOPE! :roflmho:

[autopsy]

I get ink on my pants pretty much every time I use the Noodler's Flex pens. Their screw cap for the piston is nicely latched onto by the cap when posted, so when I go to unpost it, I twist in the wrong direction and get ink spat on me. Drives me nuts.

[nickapos]

I rarely get ink on my hands. Usually it happens in refills and when I handle a pen that has been moved a lot around an may have ink on the section. The last time it happened was yesterday I can not remember when was the previous time.