When Is Enough 'enough?'

[PJohnP]

I've hit a lull in acquiring inks after getting possession of a reasonable amount of PPS in bottles recently. I looked around to realise that I wasn't coming close to using inks as fast as I was acquiring them !

 

That doesn't mean that I won't hit a point where I get some additional "new" inks, but a pause in the process is a good thing in many ways. I've been trying inks in different pens to a fair level of enjoyment, such as the Montblanc Alfred Hitchcock blood-red coloured ink in a carmine vacuum-feed Sheaffer MilClip. It's been surprisingly well-behaved and fun in a seventy-year-old pen !

 

I'm also tinkering here and there with inks that I found to have incredible colour, but poor flow and/or drying characteristics. Several inks in the last year have gone from marginal to daily users with some adulterations of the inks to make them more amenable to my uses. In essence, I've been gifted with almost wholly new inks to write with, save that I had bottles of them sitting on the shelf unused. That's also tempered my desire for purchases or swaps of new inks, as discovered hidden attributes in what I already owned.

 

 

 

John P.

[Squire]

Yes at times...then I unplug its buzzer.

[Newjelan]

I'm reminded of the comedy bit about being really good at quitting cigarettes because I do it every day. I think "enough!" sometimes, but it's usually a 24-hour bug.

Yes, like I quit fine Pinot Noir every week.

[WirsPlm]

Enough is whenever you feel like you have enough.

 

Not as easy or simple as it sounds, but it's the only answer that really works. It takes paying attention to the patterns of what you write with.

 

For me, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I don't have the inks I want, but I've got enough for the moment. I'm more focused on finding some awesome pens.

 

Eventually, I know that I'll want one each of blue, green and purple for fun/letters/journals, a black ink for notes and general writing, and one random fun ink (this will probably be a sample that changes often). No pastels or light colors. They should all be saturated, low-shading inks, water and fade resistant, and if they have a sheen that would be lovely. I know this is what I want because this is the structure I keep coming back to through the years of using gels and rollerballs. It provides enough choices that I can always switch looks if I want to, but it's not so many inks that I suffer from analysis paralysis or feel like there's an embarrassment of riches and I need to trim for my limited storage space.

Edited August 31, 2013 by WirsPlm

[SamCapote]

That's easy. When I die.

 

Then I start collecting Heavenly colors.

Edited August 31, 2013 by SamCapote

[mikeschu]

After some trades and buying Goulet samples like they were cups of coffee, I now have about a liter of ink. I use maybe 1ml/month right now.

 

I bought a 15-qt clear storage box with a snap lid at Target, plus a 50-vial holder from Amazon. Then I drew the line after I put everything in there and said "no more" until I at least work through the samples.

[PAKMAN]

Some time back I though that I had to quit getting more ink, not because I actully had enough colors or bottles but because my ink shelf was full. Then I realized that I had several extra bottles of my favorite inks and my hoard of Penman Sapphire. So I removed the extras and stored them away and volia! more space for ink! Recently I looked at my shelf and realized that the latest bottle of ink again filled the shelf to the max .

Maybe it is time to quit buying ink... or maybe time to throw out some books and clear off another shelf for storing ink!

[Pen Nut]

This concept, "enough", what is this that you speak of? I'm not certain many on here can or will grasp this concept....

 

 

Nibbly

 

Now then.....here is someone who understands !

 

 

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sport033.gif

[Bo Bo Olson]

One could get by with 15 inks...25 max.

Just don't change from supersaturated to shading inks or inks with sheen.

 

Now that I have 50-55 inks, and still 'need' close to that in just Continental inks...not English which is that much too....or Japanese inks....much less importing at great expense Noodlers.

 

Any of you want to buy some real nice pewter topped beer mugs? The ones I saved when I cut my collection in 1/2....I'd wondered why I hadn't been drinking my way through all my beer mugs every year, until I counted 120 of them***. 60 went back to the flea market....

***Not counting the living room 'set'.

 

I guess the classic siphon bottles are not needed. Ice bowl, silver and crystal shaker...the old cheap glass I have in the kitchen is more professional than that one.

Time to throw away books that made it through the move into a smaller den in the new apartment.

In the glass door book case....is no books. I really don't need that ostridge egg with the 1600's world map on it. Florida goes to the Ohio river in the days of New Amsterdam...India looks as skinny as Florida. and north of Baja which was California is unknown territory.....no, one needs a worthless souvenir here and there.

Well I got to be ruthless, and use up a bottle of ink...all the way...not saving it.

That don't cure anything though, one does have to replace it with it's self.

 

What does a pewter topped beer mug do...keeps the flies and bees out, keeps the beer or other cold items cool.Looks nice....drink your beer with some class.

For those with a few bucks, I have two six mug sets out in the living room with the better class mugs....One of the Grand Dukes of Heidelberg, the other of the great Heidelberg Romantic poets from Schlossquell brewery, yearly mug....cost each 90 DM or €45....let go for half (€135 plus postage. Postage will not be cheap.)...I can move some of my salt glazed beer mugs out into the living room with the better mugs...and have lots of space for inks.

 

Very pretty good mugs, or I'd not got one a year for 12 years. My mother-in-law had a connection at the brewery so many were from her, gotten when others couldn't get any. So I guess they were LE beer mugs.

Perfect for sitting out by your pool or patio, or when the guys come over for a football game, add a bit of class to your bar.

Clearance sale...got to clear space for new inks.

 

I do have a dozen that are expensive; like heavy cut lead crystal or those over a hundred years old. Once a gypsy buying our inherited violin went from €300 to €600 in two breaths for a rare Reservist Krug with artillery on top. For 800 I might have thought about it.

There was a life before fountain pens.

 

Getting a new computer today...so can put up the pictures...PM for the Schlossquell sets.

I do need space for some ink.

 

If I give away the three inks I don't like there will be space for 3 of the 9 I MUST have.

Edited September 2, 2013 by Bo Bo Olson

[Mesu]

Enough of the "enough" word.

 

As long as we have pens waiting to be inked up, no number of inks are enough.

 

I draw a line at the volume though. I definitely don't need 500ml bottle of the Bril pink ink. And i didnt purchase it even though the store guy was saying it is a rare color and it is just Rs.60

Edited September 2, 2013 by Mesu

[LameJane]

I am in the process of reducing the number of inks and pens I have. So far it's not working very well. The reason is that I simply do not know what to do with the excess inks. How do you get rid of them? Just throw them away? (I'm talking about bottles here, not samples.)

Edited September 2, 2013 by LameJane

[Sailor Kenshin]

I am in the process of reducing the number of inks and pens I have. So far it's not working very well. The reason is that I simply do not know what to do with the excess inks. How do you get rid of them? Just throw them away? (I'm talking about bottles here, not samples.)

Hello Kitteh NO! Sell them. Pay them forward. There are aways going to be people who want what you have.

[lectraplayer]

I would like a few random bottles myself.

[Cyber6]

I am in the process of reducing the number of inks and pens I have. So far it's not working very well. The reason is that I simply do not know what to do with the excess inks. How do you get rid of them? Just throw them away? (I'm talking about bottles here, not samples.)

 

That is what the classifieds is for.... Put a list of the bottles you want to get rid off... and a price per bottle. Reward people who would take the whole lot.. or just encourage people to buy more than 6 bottles by discounting multiple purchases.

 

I buy ink this way... keep my cost down and help a fellow FPN to reduce clutter.

 

 

C.

[anandaink]

I lived with only 2 bottles of ink- Noodler's Black and Apache Sunset- for my first 2 years of fountain pen use. Now I'm starting to branch out and play with samples.

 

Ideally, I want full bottles of black, a brown/sepia, a red, and a blue. I'm halfway there, as I have the Noodler's Black, which is awesome and I have no desire to even try other black inks right now, and I recently bought a full bottle of Noodler's Liberty's Elysium. I've been having fun looking for my red and brown inks. I'm *thisclose* to buying a full bottle of J. Herbin Rouge Hematite, but I need to play a little more with Diamine Red Dragon to be sure. I haven't found a brown that is just what I want yet.

 

But I'm open to adding a few random bottles to my collection as well. I really, really like De Altamentis Mint Turquoise, and a full bottle will probably find its way into my next online order. And I'm also very fond of Rohrer and Klingner's Alt-Goldgrun. But I mostly think I'll try samples here and there, and only add a full bottle rarely. I'm kind of picky about my colors. There are plenty that I enjoy using for a few days, but have no desire to own a bottle of.

[Gloucesterman]

You could always offer "Pay It Forward". It would be a nice way to decrease your the number of inks while helping others enjoy different inks.

 

Just my .02 cents worth.

[pencils+pens]

I'm getting close. Today I ordered a bottle of Cross Blue and Visconti Turquoise.

 

The only other inks I see on the near horizon is a bottled pink ink when I get thru all my samples and a gray to replace Levenger Smokey which is nearing the end and is no longer made. I have a few samples of gray ink to try first.

 

After that, I will wait to empty a bottle (or so I say at the moment) before buying another of a similar color. I already know that Noodler's Dragon's Napalm will be replaced by Apache Sunset but that is probably a year or more away.

 

I am going to leave myself some wiggle room. I have a small collection of blue ink but no Sheaffer or Parker blue, except in cartridges. I may get one or both of those inks in bottles to replace the cartridges.

 

Update: I forgot, I want a Akkerman ink, probably blue, for the bottle.

Edited September 2, 2013 by pencils+pens

[amberleadavis]

You'll probably want Shoc

 

I'm getting close. Today I ordered a bottle of Cross Blue and Visconti Turquoise.

 

The only other inks I see on the near horizon is a bottled pink ink when I get thru all my samples and a gray to replace Levenger Smokey which is nearing the end and is no longer made. I have a few samples of gray ink to try first.

 

After that, I will wait to empty a bottle (or so I say at the moment) before buying another of a similar color. I already know that Noodler's Dragon's Napalm will be replaced by Apache Sunset but that is probably a year or more away.

 

I am going to leave myself some wiggle room. I have a small collection of blue ink but no Sheaffer or Parker blue, except in cartridges. I may get one or both of those inks in bottles to replace the cartridges.

 

Update: I forgot, I want a Akkerman ink, probably blue, for the bottle.

 

You'll probably like Shocking Blue.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/INK/attachments/Akkerman1.png

[pencils+pens]

It will be a tough choice, especially since I use ink at a snail's pace; it will be around for a while.

 

I also realized that I have two Pilot pens but no Pilot ink. So there is another bottle to buy, probably blue also.

[amberleadavis]

I am in the process of reducing the number of inks and pens I have. So far it's not working very well. The reason is that I simply do not know what to do with the excess inks. How do you get rid of them? Just throw them away? (I'm talking about bottles here, not samples.)

 

 

Sell it - Give it away - or trade it. Use the classifieds. I've been able to score stuff that is no longer available because another FPNer didn't need something anymore, and I've given away more than I received so I'm grateful that I was able to get an opportunity to share in the inky joy.

 

I also found that schools are frequently looking for pens and inks - and our very own Shane would love to give anything you have to donate to his students. He teaches high school.