Shaking Pens (Instead Of Ink Bottles)

[Charles Skinner]

There has been some "talk" lately about gently shaking an ink bottle before filling a pen. Seems that some people feel that this will make sure that everything in the mixture is mixed as it should be. Makes sense, ----- and if it is a good practice, ---- how about giving a pen a gentle shake every time just before using the pen. Seems to me this would be logical. Your thoughts, please. C. Skinner

[Karmachanic]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/342118-should-i-shake-my-ink-bottle/?hl=%2Bshaking+%2Bink

[wallylynn]

I give my safety pen a good hard shake after it's been sitting for a while before using it. I like to unscrew the body of my Hero 616 and slosh the ink back and forth in the sac. My Iron-gall inks would oxidize in the pen, so I would shake that to darken the ink too.

[lapis]

Shaking the bottle prior to filling the pen, and/or shaking the pen ==> both are and should be unnecessary. An ink is (and again, should be) a solution with no precipitates/sediments. Shaking is only useful to get the precipitates mixed/suspended into the solution. Even if that works out, the sediment in the bottle will sooner or later fall out in the pen and clog it. The only exceptions are (1) you want a suspension in the first place (to get it onto the paper) in which case a FP is the wrong instrument and a dip pen would be better (although I wouldn't shake a dip pen), and (2) the suspension is due to an unusually high dye concentration and an insufficient ambient temperature. To get that suspension (back) into a solution, you don't need to shake anything, you only have to thaw the ink out or heat it (and the pen) up.

 

Whew

[tinta]

Lapis is right but,... what do you do with an Akkerman #10 bottle before filling your pen, so that the bottle's upper chamber becomes full? In my experience, I need to invert the bottle at least a couple of times to fully fill this chamber. Sometimes the pesky glass ball gets in the way.

Would this be the same as shaking a bottle before filling?

[lapis]

Crass! I hadn't thought of that! #10... my favourite Akkerman!!

All I need to do with that is first turn it upside down (har, har) and then turn the bottom back down but only halfway and then back up. Doing that once or twice will fill the upper part (above the glass ball) up to the brim -- just like a new bottle of Noodler's. I've not yet ever needed to shake it.

[Karmachanic]

There's already a current thread on this subject.

[lapis]

There's already a current thread on this subject.

That's true, and thanks for posting the link up top as the first reply. But Charles Skinner talked about shaking the pen. That's why I revised the title of this thread

[praxim]

I own quite a few vintage (20s & 30s) pens. I would not shake them even if it were otherwise my inclination because I prefer to keep the ink in the pen, before writing.

[tinta]

A pen?

Though this may not be actually shaking a pen before writing, but if I'm using a pen loaded with international carts, I'll raise the pen up to my shoulder & tip it back , just enough to hear the little ball stop at the back end of the cart, then I gently bring down my pen onto the paper. I don't know if this movement really agitates the ink inside the cartridge reservoir, but it's become a habit. Sometimes I do this more than once. Is it a sin?

[lapis]

No, but buying new inks as much as I used to was a sin.

[sansenri]

Shaking the pen with the purpose of shaking the ink inside it makes no sense the same way as shaking the ink bottle does not (with some exceptions that have been mentioned such as shimmering inks).

I shake my pens with a different purpose sometimes, and that is prime the feed!

a gentle centrifuge movement drives the ink to the feed, especially when the pen has hard starts due to being left open (but be careful not to spill ink in the cap)

[AlohaLani787]

 

There has been some "talk" lately about gently shaking an ink bottle before filling a pen. Seems that some people feel that this will make sure that everything in the mixture is mixed as it should be. Makes sense, ----- and if it is a good practice, ---- how about giving a pen a gentle shake every time just before using the pen. Seems to me this would be logical. Your thoughts, please. C. Skinner

 

 

My attempt at gently shaking the pen in an effort to produce consistent flow in use of shimmer ink resulted in splatter over the letter. Next time I'll tilt the pen up and down like a teeter-totter and hope for the best.

[senzen]

Some inks do require some shaking, e.g. Rouge Hématite or Équinoxe 6; shaking the pen sounds like it wouldn't accomplish much beyond spilling some onto the nib and cap...

[Noihvo]

[Bibliophage]

I was holding a Wing Sung 3008 filled with Waterman Black (at least 10 yrs old), and I made a very mild gesture with it towards some paperwork, and it threw ink. So, shaking may not help anyone.

 

This is the first time in 30 years I've had a pen toss ink splatters just from me moving my hand.