How Many Pens Always Inked?

[Tom Kellie]

~ As of New Year's Day, 2020, three fountain pens are inked.

Last evening quite a few pens were flushed, rinsed and set aside to dry.

Tom K.

[DrDebG]

Far too many right now.

 

Last weekend, I cleaned out my ink sample box. So, with the little bit of ink in some of the vials, I filled up about 10 pens. That is in addition to the 12 pens that already have ink in them.

 

In about a week, I will have to spend an evening cleaning out pens.

[A Smug Dill]

In about a week, I will have to spend an evening cleaning out pens.

 

 

I promised my wife I'll flush and refill all eleven Platinum Plaisir pens in the new year, and they don't even account for half of the pens in her/"our" pen cups housing our relatively cheap, "I don't give a damn if they clog, corrode or whatever" pens that stay inked until actual use or evaporation has left them dry and unable to write.

 

I just refilled my Platinum #3776 Century 'Ascending Dragon' kanazawa-haku pen yesterday — the first to be dealt with in 2020. The previous fill happened so long ago, I didn't even have an entry for it in my inking log book (which was started in April 2019). It still wrote, and I checked the converter and saw that there was still about 0.1ml on ink in it, but I wasn't sure if the colour was as bright as Diamine Red Dragon should be (since I have no comparison to make against an entry in the log book) or have become darker over time, so I topped it up anyway. That's another pen that's perpetually inked and "never" dries on me in spite of weeks or months of disuse.

[TSherbs]

Down to five for me.

[mallymal1]

I have two pens, which are always inked. A Kaweco brass sport with an M nib, and a kuro tamenuri Nakaya portable clipless, with an M nib.

 

The Kaweco goes in pockets and bags, and travels a lot...while the Nakaya is a bit of a stay-at-home.

 

Of course, there are many that rotate in and out, but these two have been continually inked for the past three to four years.

[Karmachanic]

All of them, all of the time.

[ethernautrix]

One year, two pens, two inks:

 

1. Pilot 823 (PO), Noodler's Black

2. Pilot Falcon (SEF), Noodler's Lexington Gray

 

The Year: 2020.

 

Pilot #10 PO in a #6 Jowo housing Special Dispensation: If I find a body that takes this nib unit, then the pen will join the two, along with Maruzen Hatobanezu.*

 

Just... want to know if I'll be as unproductive with the paradox of choice I'm swimming in -- not swimming; it's quicksand. Or more productive.

 

Only way to find out is to "stop it!" (Nod to Bob Newhart in an SNL skit.) for a while and look back, count all the trophies (metaphorical... trophies...).

 

We'll see!

 

 

 

 

Since I'm the type who likes a running start to change deadlines or starting lines, I put all the pens and paraphernalia away in boxes and began the 2020 "challenge" on Sunday, 29 December. It's only Thursday, 2 January -- so the fifth day. So far, so good.

 

Better than good. I love it! No pressure, no hesitation, no decision -- just pick up pen and start writing. Experience told me that I love writing with the SEF and PO nibs the most. So, I picked based on nib, rather than the whole pen aesthetic (which leans most towards Nakaya Piccolo Cigar). (I have "favorite" nibs on my Nakayas, too, but... just not my FAVORITE favorites.)

 

*Just ordered today a Moonman C2. I'd been looking for a Franklin-Christoph 66p but learned it'd been discontinued. Discovered the Moonman C2 today. Looks like it'll take the #6 Jowo housing (I ordered the #6 nib model), and if it does... THREE Pens & THREE Inks 2020! Hahaha. I won't know 'til February, at the earliest.

Edited January 2, 2020 by ethernautrix

[Jerome Tarshis]

When I read the question I misunderstood it to ask how many individual pens you keep always inked, as distinguished from inking them some of the time. None of my pens is always inked. Some are inked more often than others. On any given day I am highly likely to have a Parker 51 inked, but not the same one. (I appear to have bought a number of them large enough that I would rather not explain it.)

 

In addition, some pen or other, possibly several pens, just not a pen that has too much in common with the 51. Not a Parker, not a self-filling pen, not an American pen, I do look for differences. Right now my shirt pocket is sporting an Aero 51 and a piston-filled Pelikan.

[TSherbs]

When I read the question I misunderstood it to ask how many individual pens you keep always inked, as distinguished from inking them some of the time. None of my pens is always inked....

Oh. I misread it too, then.

 

I have no single pen always inked.

[A Smug Dill]

I have no single pen always inked.

 

 

Not even, say, an "eye-droppered" Platinum Preppy or some such?

 

I have a whole bunch of those filled with inks such as Noodler's Air Corp Blue Black and Rubinato Nero Inchiostro. I don't use them enough to deplete the ink, and the caps are extremely effective in preventing loss of ink volume through evaporation, thus I haven't even had any occasion for refilling any of them; and I just can't see myself "re-purposing" them to use with other colours, so whether I top up their ink levels or not, they stay "always" inked without any breaks from being on standby and ready to write at any time.

[TSherbs]

 

 

Not even, say, an "eye-droppered" Platinum Preppy or some such?

Nope. I don't eyedropper. I like rotating pens, and I only have about five inked at a time, typically. I don't keep lots of inked pens laying around.

[Tom Kellie]

Oh. I misread it too, then.

 

I have no single pen always inked.

 

 

~ I must have also misread.

There is no individual fountain pen which is inked at all times.

Tom K.

[DrDebG]

Oh dear - I guess I need to update my glasses. I also misread the OP's question. But truthfully, I think what we have all been saying is what he was really after.

 

So to answer both questions:

 

1. How many pens do I always have inked? I do not have only one pen that is always inked, particularly with the same ink. I have several pens that are frequently inked, but they are usually cleaned and refilled each time they run out of ink. These would include my Montblanc 146, Franklin Christoph Panther, and Waterman Carene, although both the Panther and Carene are sitting out this week which will be the longest time they have sat out of my rotation. And who knows, I may just have to ink them up anyway.

 

2. About how many pens do I have inked? Presently, I have 13 pens inked. Last week is was close to 30 pens inked. I had been cleaning out my ink samples and wanted to use the small amounts of ink up, so I kept filling pens - some with only 1/4 fill. But I used those up, and cleaned the pens and now I am down to 13. Several of those will be finished in the next day or so.

 

I keep track of all the pens I have inked by keeping two lists of the pens and current inks - one list sits on top of my pen storage box, and the other list is in my journal.

[Tom Kellie]

I keep track of all the pens I have inked by keeping two lists of the pens and current inks - one list sits on top of my pen storage box, and the other list is in my journal.

 

~ 5Cavaliers:

 

My Pen and Ink Log has been a blessing on the many occasions when it slips my mind which ink is currently in which fountain pen.

Tom K.

[ethernautrix]

My New Year's pen resolution, which I began on 29 December (taking the pressure off 1 January), is 2P&2I:2020 (two pens, two inks, one year), just to see. Can I do it? Will I find it beneficial or silly, and if the latter, how long will that take me?

 

Pilot 823 (PO) with Noodler's Black and Pilot Falcon/Elabo (SEF) with Noodler's Lexington Gray.

 

Pilot #10 PO with Maruzen Hatobanezu Special Dispensation, if I find a body to work with the #10 PO nib. Ordered a Moonman C2 with a #6 nib, hoping it uses the Jowo housing. Will find out next month.

 

So far, so good. I'm spending less time pencrastinating. I'm tempted to whittle it down to just the 823 (One Pen One Year!), but I do love that SEF nib, especially with the gray ink on Tomoe River paper (I've gone Hobonichi annual diary this year, instead of Moleskine, on which paper only Noodler's Black works trouble-free).

 

So... at least for this year, two pens (maybe three). Tryna improve my habits, be more productive. Been two weeks. I feel lighter! No longer perturbed by nib and ink choices -- and already beginning season three of _Breaking Bad_ -- ha!

[DrDebG]

My New Year's pen resolution, which I began on 29 December (taking the pressure off 1 January), is 2P&2I:2020 (two pens, two inks, one year), just to see. Can I do it? Will I find it beneficial or silly, and if the latter, how long will that take me?

 

Pilot 823 (PO) with Noodler's Black and Pilot Falcon/Elabo (SEF) with Noodler's Lexington Gray.

 

Pilot #10 PO with Maruzen Hatobanezu Special Dispensation, if I find a body to work with the #10 PO nib. Ordered a Moonman C2 with a #6 nib, hoping it uses the Jowo housing. Will find out next month.

 

So far, so good. I'm spending less time pencrastinating. I'm tempted to whittle it down to just the 823 (One Pen One Year!), but I do love that SEF nib, especially with the gray ink on Tomoe River paper (I've gone Hobonichi annual diary this year, instead of Moleskine, on which paper only Noodler's Black works trouble-free).

 

So... at least for this year, two pens (maybe three). Tryna improve my habits, be more productive. Been two weeks. I feel lighter! No longer perturbed by nib and ink choices -- and already beginning season three of _Breaking Bad_ -- ha!

 

ethernautrix -

 

I commend your determination! I've thought of doing something like that... but not for long. I love color too much. I did do one pen for one month - actually two pens for one month, but I realized how much I like to change up my colors. I do try to use one pen for one page in my journal, though.

[Tom Kellie]

My New Year's pen resolution, which I began on 29 December (taking the pressure off 1 January), is 2P&2I:2020 (two pens, two inks, one year), just to see. Can I do it? Will I find it beneficial or silly, and if the latter, how long will that take me?

 

Pilot 823 (PO) with Noodler's Black and Pilot Falcon/Elabo (SEF) with Noodler's Lexington Gray.

 

Pilot #10 PO with Maruzen Hatobanezu Special Dispensation, if I find a body to work with the #10 PO nib. Ordered a Moonman C2 with a #6 nib, hoping it uses the Jowo housing. Will find out next month.

 

So far, so good. I'm spending less time pencrastinating. I'm tempted to whittle it down to just the 823 (One Pen One Year!), but I do love that SEF nib, especially with the gray ink on Tomoe River paper (I've gone Hobonichi annual diary this year, instead of Moleskine, on which paper only Noodler's Black works trouble-free).

 

So... at least for this year, two pens (maybe three). Tryna improve my habits, be more productive. Been two weeks. I feel lighter! No longer perturbed by nib and ink choices -- and already beginning season three of _Breaking Bad_ -- ha!

 

~ ethernautrix:

 

That's the spirit! Reading your pen resolution brought good cheer.

The creative discipline involved is impressive.

I hope that your resolve will remain unweakened.

Tom K.

[A Smug Dill]

I've thought of doing something like that... but not for long. I love color too much.

 

 

In my ideal world, Platinum Pen — or even Pilot Corporation itself — would make twenty-four distinguishable variants of "affordable", Slip-and-Seal mechanism-equipped pen (such as the Platinum Plaisir) loosely matching the twenty-four colours in the regular Pilot Iroshizuku line, that can be filled once and stand ready to write at any time for two or even three years (unless I deplete the ink in the reservoir from the amount of writing done with the individual pen). In effect, bespoke "tester" pens for inks that write like fountain pens, and are in fact fountain pens, that would last as long with a single fill of fountain pen ink as one would reasonably expect a non-refillable Pilot G2 pen or some such to last. I'd happily buy enough of them at around US$10 apiece (including converters) for six dozen or even a hundred of the inks of which I have full retail bottles, if I can distinguish them from one another by visual inspection of the pens without resorting to self-adhesive labels on which I have to hand-write or laser-print myself.

 

That's not including relatively more favoured pens, e.g. my Leonardo Momento Zero Blue Hawaii with an imperfect-out-of-the-box nib which I've since amateurish and bullishly reground, as writing instruments that dispense particular colours (Pilot Iroshizuku kon-peki in the Leonardo Momento Zero) that I happen to like enough to use beyond testing and occasional scribbles.

 

Alas, I only have ten Platinum Plaisir pens (with the notable exclusion of black-bodied models) in different colours to match ten of the Pilot Iroshizuku colours. Three suitably-coloured Platinum Preppy pens are being used as "eye-droppered pens" for Sailor STORiA pigment inks, and another three for Rubinato (black, blue, and blue-black) writing inks.

[TSherbs]

 

 

In my ideal world, Platinum Pen or even Pilot Corporation itself would make twenty-four distinguishable variants of "affordable", Slip-and-Seal mechanism-equipped pen (such as the Platinum Plaisir) loosely matching the twenty-four colours in the regular Pilot Iroshizuku line, that can be filled once and stand ready to write at any time for two or even three years (unless I deplete the ink in the reservoir from the amount of writing done with the individual pen). In effect, bespoke "tester" pens for inks that write like fountain pens, and are in fact fountain pens, that would last as long with a single fill of fountain pen ink as one would reasonably expect a non-refillable Pilot G2 pen or some such to last. I'd happily buy enough of them at around US$10 apiece (including converters) for six dozen or even a hundred of the inks of which I have full retail bottles, if I can distinguish them from one another by visual inspection of the pens without resorting to self-adhesive labels on which I have to hand-write or laser-print myself.

 

That's not including relatively more favoured pens, e.g. my Leonardo Momento Zero Blue Hawaii with an imperfect-out-of-the-box nib which I've since amateurish and bullishly reground, as writing instruments that dispense particular colours (Pilot Iroshizuku kon-peki in the Leonardo Momento Zero) that I happen to like enough to use beyond testing and occasional scribbles.

 

Alas, I only have ten Platinum Plaisir pens (with the notable exclusion of black-bodied models) in different colours to match ten of the Pilot Iroshizuku colours. Three suitably-coloured Platinum Preppy pens are being used as "eye-droppered pens" for Sailor STORiA pigment inks, and another three for Rubinato (black, blue, and blue-black) writing inks.

Have you ever posted a photo of your desk or storage room (warehouse)? I can't imagine how your store and access all your pen stuff.

[A Smug Dill]

Have you ever posted a photo of your desk or storage room (warehouse)? I can't imagine how your store and access all your pen stuff.

 

Here's a photo of my ink storage from eleven months ago:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/343296-how-much-to-stockpile-of-your-favorites/?p=4171260

 

I have more ink bottles now, but after I moved most of the new and unopened bottles out of that space into a medium-sized shipping carton, it's still looking much the same today.

 

Here's a photo of where I store about seven dozen of my "higher-end" pens (typically with gold nibs, as a minimum. although some Pelikan M20x pens made it into the Sailor leather pen cases):

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/326713-pen-display-drawers/?p=4177952

 

I have another pen display box (no photos, sorry) that holds nearly as many of my "better" steel-nibbed pens — mainly Delta, Lamy, Faber-Castell, Diplomat, Sailor, Pilot, Monteverde, Moonman and Delike, with a few cheapies like Nemosine and Wing Sung thrown in.

 

These new/NOS/unopened pens all live inside crates and cardboard boxes in another cupboard.

 

Of course, we also have too many pen rolls, pen cups, etc. in different rooms. All the Platinum Plaisir pens live in one pen cup, all the FPR pens we have just got cleaned out last night and will be tossed into a box to languished in darkness, etc.

 

 

Edit: Replaced incorrect link (thanks @TSherbs!)

Edited January 13, 2020 by A Smug Dill