Rotating Pens

[writewright]

I am interested in hearing from those who regularly use multiple pens. Some specific questions:

 

1. How frequently do you move from one pen to another?
2. What are the maintenance issues associated with the use of multiple pens?
3. How do you motivate yourself to use pens that are not among your favorites?

I have, until recently, used only one pen. I now have a small number of pens, and I am concerned about how to properly take care of pens that I no longer use on a daily basis. I also find myself favoring some pens over others--espceially new pens that I have acquired. I am sure it is common that the novelty of having a new pen leads one to favor it.

 

There may be other issues to deal with when one begins to use an assortment of pens. I welcome comments on this topic, and I hope we may all benefit from sharing your approach to these issues.

[Huxley]

I'm facing the same issue and welcome any insights that are provided in response to this thread. For myself, I currently have 16 pens inked and use 4-5 of them per day in rotation (but in reality I keep coming back to a core of about 6 that I really relish using). This isn't really economical/ideal and I *know* that at least 2/3s of these pens should be flushed and cleaned and put away. Compounding this is that I have another couple of pens inbound and at least seven that I'd like to return/have returned to serviceable condition, which will leave me with about 26 pens to keep in rotation...

 

I think that the answer - for me - will turn out to be that I need to become adept at flushing and cleaning my pens for storage and then rotate using two or three pens per week... At the end of the week, all three pens should be flushed, cleaned, and dried and put into storage and three more pens inked for use. Not going to like doing that, but I must learn to do so. Bottom-line for me is that I write far, far less than I did 20 years ago and it's hard to use the pens as much as I would like. Thus, keeping three pens inked will likely be overkill but I'm coming to accept that inking a pen and then recovering the ink at the end of the week isn't the end of the world, unless someone pops up on here and tells me that doing so is a terrible idea!

[tmenyc]

There are many posts here about the different practices of rotating pens; I usually have 4-5 in current rotation, and they're always in my signature here. I use until empty, flush, dry, and put away.

Of greater interest to me is your third question, because that gets more to the point of having a collection and why one keeps pens. I have 45 pens in my personal collection, under the overall rule of giving every pen a chance at use in a year; I don't want to have more than a year elapse without seeing a pen. 35 of my pens fit this rule; 10 at present are considered "curiosities, too fragile to use, or not worth selling", i.e. outliers that won't get used for particular reasons. I keep telling myself that I'm not a collector, so the use it-or-lose it rule seems to work for me. In practice, it means that of the 4-5 pens I normally have inked, one is in permanent use, the MontBlanc 149 that my parents gave me in 1970. It lives on my home desk, filled, partly in my parents' memory. So 4 slots get rotated, and my evolving tastes seem to always find a couple of pens each year that can be moved out so others can move in. Also, my collection has been the result of my growing restoration practice, in that every pen (excepting the Montblanc, which has never received or needed any service) has been a resto project. 40+ are the result of my work, and 1, a Sheaffer Vac-Fill, is now out for restoration by a professional because I can't yet do those. There are another 8 or so waiting their turn for restoration, and I may keep some of those.

So those are my collection conventions, and they also fit my rotation rules -- if every pen gets a couple of weeks, a fill or two, and I have 4 in rotation, I sort of see them all over the course of a year. Works for me -- I don't have a single pen that isn't crying for a chance to play, and every one gets a chance, or I sell them!

 

Tim

[NinthSphere]

1. I keep 3 51s in regular use, 2-4 other pens in rotation. I don't have a schedule, it's a matter of what I intend to use. I just tucked away a pair of flexy pens for a stub & a ci because that's just what I wanted to work with.

 

2. More pens in use tends to mean less ink used individually .Everything I have inked gets used at least briefly every couple of days to keep them in working order. If I'm just not feeling a pen enough to use it beyond "keep it working", it gets flushed & tucked away.

 

3. Each pen gives me a reason to use it. I don't try to find reasons why x pen should be used, when I want to do something that x pen does well, that's what I reach for.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

1. Keep 14 inked

 

2. Fill with ink, use, repeat.

 

3. Each pen has a different ink or has different nib so I use accordingly.

[ac12]

I have pens that rotate and pens that are permanently inked.

 

I will usually rotate a pen out, when it runs out of ink. That is unless I get tired of the ink and WANT to deink the pen.

 

A pen that is rotated out gets fully cleaned of ink. This is relatively easy for most c/c pens, but a PIA for a pen like a Parker 51. So how easy the pen is to clean is a major factor in the pen being in rotation, permanently inked or not used at all.

 

If I don't care for a pen, I just don't use it.

[writewright]

Many thanks for your responses. Some follow up questions: What is the risk of deterioration do to infrequent use? And what indicates that deterioration is occuring?

[Runnin_Ute]

Currently about 14-15 inked. I try to not duplicate inks. Right now I think the only pens inked that fit that are my P45 desk pen & an Esterbrook j with Waterman Serenity Blue.

[thatotherguy1]

I have all but one of my pens inked up right now (keep in mind that that's only four) but the typical advice is to have them cleaned and safely stashed away. What I tend to do is to flush the pens as if I was going to change inks (flush with water until the water runs totally clear) then leave the pens disassembled on my desk for a few days (to insure that all of the wet parts are completely dry), then reassemble the pens without the ink and keep them in my normal spot and orientation for them. I keep all of my rotation pens nib up in a Coke bottle shaped glass near the rest of my daily carry items catchall tray.

If your pens have a material that's easily faded or weakened by UV exposure, keep them in a drawer or otherwise out of the sunlight. Other than that, keep all the normal pen maintenance rituals and you should be fine.

[langere]

penwright, to answer your question, there is no downside in storing pens and not using them. As long as you clean them well and put them in a safe place where they do not get sunlight or humidity, they can last for decades. If you have vintage pens, you might have to replace sacs or corks, but you would have to do that anyway if you used them.

 

So - enjoy and use your pens as you like!

 

Erick

[jisip]

I keep my daily writer (TWSBI Mini) separate from the inked pens from my collection. I hardly bring pens in rotation outside the house since I can't bear the thought of damaging or losing one (I lost an O-ring last time I did). For your question I'll focus on the inked pens in my collection.

 

I have an 8-pen wrap where I place all of my ink pens. The rule is that all inked pens must be able to fit in the wrap, so I can't ink a new pen if there is no slot available. I use all pens in the wrap equally depending on which nib size I'm in the mood for. Maintenance wise some pens dry more quickly than others, probably depending on the secureness of the cap. When I feel that a pen is almost empty I start using it almost exclusively until it runs out. Some pens become reluctant starters after a few days so I make sure to use them regularly to keep the ink flowing. As for favourites, I'm actually the opposite in that I don't ink my favourite pens but instead keep them in storage except for very special occasions. I used to have a 48-pen wrap filled with inked pens but it was a nightmare keeping track of which pen had which ink.

 

Regularly inspect the pens you have in storage. My pen storage is almost airtight so I make sure to open it up for fresh air and vent celluloid pens regularly. Keep HR pen covered to prevent discolouration. My biggest worry is the humidity caused by temperature changes so I keep a lot of silica in the cases.For peace of mind you can also install a thermometer and humidity gauge. Oh, and quarantine freshly cleaned pens before storing them with the others, especially if you use pen trays. I have one of those tupperware food containers with a lockable lid that I fill with silica gel to ensure a pen is fully dried before storage to prevent corrosion.

 

3. Each pen gives me a reason to use it. I don't try to find reasons why x pen should be used, when I want to do something that x pen does well, that's what I reach for.

 

Great advice from NinthSphere! Each pen has something it does best, even if that's just to be a dedicated pen for Baystate Blue.

[deepak23]

I carry two pens daily. One with blue and other with a colored ink. I have 6 pens inked with blue for each day of the week and three pens with 3 colors that gets repeated in a week. My system is that when a pen runs out of ink it goes out of rotation and a new one comes in. That way all my pens get to come into rotation sometime or other.

[Buzz_130]

I've settled into keeping 5-7 pens inked at any time. I have a 5 pen wrap that I travels to work with me for the week, and I keep 1 or 2 pens in a glass on my desk.

 

I swap out a pen when the ink runs dry. It's flushed cleaned and stored, and the next pen in line of the pen tray takes its place. This works very well for me as my "favorites" sometimes change when I go through the pen tray and realize how much I missed using a particular pen. Through this rotation, I've learned to avoid collecting because certain pens are popular. I know what size, length, weight, and nib my hands prefer. I'm only buying those kinds of pens. That answers 1 and 3.

 

Your maintenance issues are the same for 1 pen or many. For high dye load, iron gall, and nano particle inks, you need a methodical cleaning regimen. You need to avoid letting these inks dry out in your pens. The number of pens doesn't matter if you have good pen hygiene habits.

 

For your last question, I have one pen that is 100 years old, numerous vintage pens in the 70+ year range, and, of course, a collection of modern pens. Rubber sacs lose their flexibility over time, cork dries out, and other maintenance problems may exist. Without taking a pen apart to check, you indications will likely be the pen no longer fills with ink or holds much less than you recall. You are far more likely to have problems with your nibs over time due to drops or poor handling.

 

I don't think you need to worry about infrequent use and deterioration. Read some of the stories of people who find old pens in back of drawers decades later, do some minor maintenance, and then get back to writing. Keep them out of direct sunlight, and treat them to a load of ink for writing every now and then.

 

Buzz

[Doug C]

I have several hundred pens, which means that I will 're-discover' pens that I don't tend to use frequently. I will go on a tear with Italian pens, then move to small American made pens, on to Japanese pens. Then I will remember my Pelikans and use them for a few days.

 

Some days I will ink up 8-10 pens, while others I will only use 1. I usually have at least one pencil and RB along in the mix.

 

I also will have a pen that cost over 1K, and one that might cost $50. As long as I like them, it doesn't matter.

[cancoi]

I keep several inked & most get daily use. I have two that are my work pens (Skyline Sport & P51), the VP I keep with my daily planner, a Kaweco Liliput for my pocket pen, & 2-3 at home for journaling & daily writing exercises I do with my kids. I don't believe I have ink duplicates, but I do try to rotate inks. I suspect I have more inked than I should but they are so intriguing.

[william2001]

I use 2 to 3 pens a day. Since I go to school, I cannot carry and use too many pens.

If I don't like a pen, I don't use it.

-William S. Park

[spaceink]

Here's my rotation regimen, where I've classified my pens into three categories:

Prestige pens: tend to be more traditional in color, with a just little bit of gold--my Montblancs, Parker 180s, decent Waterman

Vintage pens: mostly lever-filled Esterbrook Js, Sheaffers, and various other makers

Workhorse: recent no-fuss pens, like a Waterman Kultur, Lamy Safari, Noodler's Ahab

I have one of each inked up. The prestige ones are usually for use when with clients, the vintages because I love them, and the workhorse ones are for quick tasks or when the others go dry.

Is it a good system? I think so. If I have too many pens inked up, they'll simply go dry. And this way, I get to circulate through all parts of my collection and won't be inclined to just have the pricier pens in use.

There are other times when I have specific needs in mind and will need to ink up a broad or extra-fine to enter the rotation but that's not very often.

Edited February 7, 2015 by spaceink

[penviper]

may I just ask how long would it takes typically for an fully inked-up FP to dry up in the converter?

Edited February 7, 2015 by penviper

[The Blue Knight]

I don't own a huge number of pens I think it's some where around 15. It varies a lot get through them all in a six month period. When I ink a pen it is usually inked for around 2-3 weeks and normally I only have 2 or 3 pens inked at once.

[cucciasv]

I own about eight fountain pens. For my everyday carry, I use a 1000D nylon three-pen plus notebook (with two Field Notes notebooks) wallet made and sold by Nock Co. (model is the Hightower - Three + One Bi-Fold). Their website is at www.nockco.com . I generally keep my Pilot Vanishing Point in the wallet permanently, and rotate two others every 10 days or so or until ink runs out.