Inky T O D - Do You Ever Use Samples Because You're Feeling Lazy?

[amberleadavis]

Okay, I know I'm OCD.

I don't fill from the bottle unless I know my pen is clean.

Sigh ... Pen Hygiene ... Sigh

 

So, I confess, I've been known to do a so so job cleaning my pen and then refiling it from a sample vial.

 

What about you?

[WC Lee]

I really dislike filling from the sample vials but will use them if I am playing around with mixing or dilution. I tend to clean my pens really well cause they will be out of rotation for a while as all the other pens get a chance to come out and play.

Edited May 26, 2014 by WC Lee

[amberleadavis]

I really dislike filling from the sample vials but will use them if I am playing around with mixing or dilution. I tend to clean my pens really well cause they will be out of rotation for a while as all the other pens get a chance to come out and play.

I'm very proud of you!

[Runnin_Ute]

For me it sometimes seems like MORE work not less to ink from a sample. Depending on what it came to me in. As I keep all or most of my pens inked all the time, it will require a cleaning before I can change the ink.

[PhilProf]

As a matter of hygiene I usually fill my pens from sample vials. I refill far more often than I clean a pen. I always fill lever fillers or vacumatics from a vial, even when clean.

[ac12]

I now fill almost all my pens from a sample vial.

I transfer the ink from the ink bottle to the vial, then fill the pen from the vial.

This prevents "stuff" (dirt, paper dust, etc.) from getting back into the bottle.

But more important, is that it provides a buffer for when I get a "senior moment," and put the pen with one ink into the vial for another ink. I would rather ruin the 5ml in the vial, than a whole bottle of ink. And the more inks that I put into use, the more important this buffer is, to me.

[inkstainedruth]

I have a *lot* of samples (including some duplicates -- for various reasons), so I'm using them to try the ink out in one or more pens. If I like an ink well enough to buy a full bottle, I may not finish the sample first. But I keep the sample vial so if I'm traveling I will have something to work out of rather than dragging a bunch of bottles around in my suitcase; in that case I will refill the vial from the bottle. But I'm more likely, when I'm home, to get the bottle out first.

Also, if it isn't an "OMG -- WAAAANT, must HAAAAVE..." ink, but not an "ICK! This stuff is AWFUL", I'll keep the samples around. At some point I might pull some of them back out and say "Hmmm. Didn't work well in pen X" or "Ehh, the color is just meh..." I might try and see if my mind has changed if I put the ink in a different pen.

What gets me is that it's often hard to get a fill if you're not working with a brand new, full, sample when dealing with a pen with a very large nib (that's often the problem with the Noodler's Konrads). Or (as in the case of my Morrison ringtop overlay) I can't get the nib down far enough into the vial and still be able to work the lever.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[vossad01]

I guess I don't consider it lazy (or if we want to nitpick I would concede it as a moderated level of laziness).

 

True lazy would be always opening the bottle to get ink and not caring about the consequences. Instead I keep a sample vial with with each of the inks I own for quick access. When they get low/empty then I refill them with a syringe from the bottle.

 

I try to keep the samples pure, just as I would a bottle. However, I do consider them contaminated from the standpoint that they cannot go back into the bottle and a syringe dirty from with a sample will not go back into the parent bottle.

 

Yes, I in some circumstances I may be a little more lax with respect to possible contamination of the vial (which I suspect is where you consider it laziness). However, I consider it more a practical matter than a laziness matter. It takes too long otherwise. I think it is a good practice too because even with the best hygiene other accidents or mistakes can still happen, so this reduces the opportunities for those.

 

It is more common that I go into a vial to get ink for a mix than to actually fill.

[lapis]

Maybe I just don't get the question, but -- no -- I don't use samples because I'm lazy. If I fill a pen from a sample or a real bottle, I do the same work, so none is easier. I've not yet ever ordered any samples, just used the ones sent to me by friends. Otherwise, I decide in advance... do I want to order it or not?... and then just step on the gas.

 

 

[FayeV]

Since some of you mentioned filling from sample vials, I decided to give this a try (also since I received some empty sample vials yesterday). As I took out my syringe (my first time using it) and filled it with ink from a bottle, I looked at the vial and looked at the converter, then decided it was just easier to stick the end of the syringe directly into the converter. WOW. That was easy. I did this yesterday with Noodler's Cactus Fruit Eel. Cleanup was easy.

 

Earlier today, I went to fill a new pen with Noodler's Liberty's Elysium. Did the same thing. Filled the syringe and injected the ink directly into the converter. So easy! So I wonder, why even bother with filling from sample vial? It would be the same amount of work (cleanup), having to use a syringe to fill the sample vial before filling the pen directly from the vial.

 

So a new newbie question came to mind...

 

How long does a syringe last?

I imagine the syringe would wear out over time from repeated use plus taking it apart to thoroughly clean it.

How many syringes does the average person keep on hand? (I have 2)

 

I do like the idea of not sticking a pen directly into the bottle. I clean my pens between color changes, but I'm never 100% sure that is is completely clean. There still may be the tiniest bit of old ink in there somewhere. Before yesterday, I have always stuck the pen/nib or converter into the bottle.

[amberleadavis]

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inked_Today/slides/20140528_114103.jpg

[vossad01]

So I wonder, why even bother with filling from sample vial? It would be the same amount of work (cleanup), having to use a syringe to fill the sample vial before filling the pen directly from the vial.

 

[sadly] Not all pens support this method of filling. Particularly pens with attached sacs never work this way. Piston fillers may or may not be able to be filled this way (some disassembly required).

[FayeV]

All my pens so far use converters (or cartridges). I'd like to try a Piston filler and was searching through old forum posts for "starter piston" pens and have narrowed it down to probably the TWSBI 580 or the Pelikan M200 (although I'm eying the M400/M600 also). I'm trying to justify it as either an "end of summer" gift to myself, or maybe save up for a Christmas gift.

[Vgimlet]

I sometimes fill from a sample vial, especially if I'm testing nibs or something else on a pen. I also want to be careful not to mess up a whole bottle if I make a mistake about which pen has what in it - not that I have yet, but the idea is in the back of my mind.

 

I like filling with a syringe, but I have an unlimited supply of them, thanks to my diabetic hubby. (I do rinse them out first...)

[Bigeddie]

I canceled my Ink Drop more than 12 months ago and I am still surrounded by samples. I really struggle to find things to use them for when I have so many inks that I already like!

 

The sample vials are invaluable for filling up and keeping at work or in a bag, the bottle can stay safe at home.