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Hi all- Sorry if this has been discussed before but I could not find a good answer. I am helping my 80 year old father with many things but the latest issue is taking his MontBlanc collection out of a ziploc bag (yes, they are stored together in one big bag with no protection between them) and finding a suitable storage solution. I think he would prefer a leather case but would also consider something, such as a box, to be on his desk at home. Nothing cheap from Amazon or AliExpress but nothing over a few hundred dollars either. The issue is I cannot find anything that will actually fit the LeGrand and/or 146/149 pens. Here is his collection: Classique pencil Classique ballpoint x2 Classique rollerball (metal, not silver cap) Le Grand rollerball LeGrand highlighter 146 (or maybe a 149) fountain pen x2 They are all classic black/gold (except for the metal cap one) Thank you for any help, information, or links to product pages.

I have lots of nibs. An unreasonable number, and I’m always acquiring more. Originally it was just interesting nibs, or more frequently job lots of random nibs, looking for interesting calligraphy implements. Then I started making Frankenpens, and looking for choice candidate nibs, and my collection grew by an order of magnitude or two and is still expanding. When I started gathering so many I switched from sorting them by maker in a couple of plastic grid storage organizers. They had 36 cells, each about 1” x 1.5”. I quickly outgrew that and started storing them in small zip bags, 1.5” x 2” and stood those up in the cells of those same organizers. The main advantage to this is it’s very, very cheap—all you need are the bags and an ultra fine Sharpie. That’s kept me going for months, but it’s getting increasingly problematic as the number grows. What worked fine for hundreds of nibs becomes unwieldy when it’s thousands. The photo shows what the current selection is like. On the left are Frankenpen candidate nibs, the middle vertical row is other dip nibs in two boxes, A to L and M to Z respectively; all three of these boxes are sorted alphabetically by maker and then nib number. Behind them are a number of small individual storage boxes for nibs of which I have too many copies to fit in the zip bags. Right front is fountain pen nibs by maker, behind that Speedball pens still in the plastic grid cells, organized by pen number. Not shown is an approx. 12” x 9” x 2” box of sets and other containers of more Speedball and similar nibs. I’ve been looking around the internet searching for suggestions that might be more usable long term. But honestly, I haven’t seen anything better that doesn’t either take up vastly more space, or is vastly more expensive, or both. I don’t anticipate doing better than this, really, at least until I can afford a nice dedicated cabinet with many thin drawers with many small compartments. And even then, that’s just a logistical storage space option since the nibs would probably still be in little zip bags. I mostly just wanted to post this here on the off chance someone has previously run into this problem and found a better solution. Thanks, —Hagbard Celine

brown ink sketch design 7.mov Time lapse of my updated sketch of fountain pen and ink display / organizer per you guys’ feedback. There’s also an alternative inspired by one of your comments (will share later). Let me know what you think and then we get closer to some prototypes! Will share more designs in due course Photos below so that it is easier for you to give feedback.

In a few days I will be taking a roadtrip to the other side of the country to stay at a country house for a month. This is the first time i will be taking a fountain pen with me. Because I will be staying for a month, a travel inkwell's capacity will not suffice my writing needs so I decided to take the whole bottle with me (the pen will be empty). A Pelikan 30ml bottle. Could you give me any tips on how to prevent and contain any spillages?

My collection is still quite small. But I have some more vintage pencils on order. And my nightstand drawer and the closet shelf are getting to be too messy (and potentially damage-worthy on the pencils). I can't put them all into coffee mugs on my desk. I already have three mugs jam-packed with pencils and other writing utensils! I can't afford to do what I would like, which is to buy half a dozen Musgrave cedar boxes. So, what do you lot do? I am considering getting a few of these Container Store pencil boxes, for starters. https://www.containerstore.com/s/multisnap-office-storage-boxes/d?q=pencil+box+with+lid&productId=11010311 Any other suggestions are welcome.

I would like to share this free pattern I have written for making a fabric fountain pen wrap. The pattern requires a basic sewing machine, and introductory sewing skills; but it is not difficult to make. (You can also use it for other things, such as crochet hooks and double pointed knitting needles.) Wrap holds eight fountain pens, but you can easily adjust it to make it bigger if you want. The instructions are clearly written and accompanied by photos of every step. I have put a lot of work into writing the pattern, and ask that, as I am not selling it, you respect my copyright by not making items for sale from it. If you would like to share it, that is fine, but please keep its original format with the copyright information and authorship details intact. Links to my website for downloads are appreciated. Happy sewing, and please share any photos of cases that you make. The pattern can be downloaded here. http://www.nataliejaneprior.com/craft-2/fountain-pencrochet-hook.html

I have some relatively inexpensive opens that I'd like to put into long term storage. I'm thinking of placing them in bags to prevent them from scratching each other--- would plastic or cellophane be best? Your thoughts please.

Hello Today I come to ask you how an iron gall ink should be stored correctly since I have had inks of this type that when they come to me they look good but then they are precipitated in a short time. For example, I had bought a large bottle of diamine registrars ink and emptied it into a 30 ml empty lamy ink bottle that had been washed very well and I refilled with a pen and it worked excellent without flow problems, I checked the bottle the following days and everything looked all right. But on the fifth day the bottle looked ugly with things stuck on the walls and sludge on the bottom of the bottle, the pens that were used with the ink in that state do not write at the first stroke and little pressure and that is annoying since I write with a light hand. I emptied a little more of the main bottle into an airtight bottle and it didn't look bad in that bottle but it didn't work well. I checked the main bottle and at the bottom it was like a centimeter of precipitate well glued XD. The same has happened to me with a bottle of essri that I had in the past that stuck these things on the walls of the bottle and hard starts. From what I have noticed in my experience they arrive well but in a short time after I open them they begin to form that precipitate and consequently flow problems. I keep them in dark drawers.The climate where I live is hot and humid. If someone knows a way to keep them in good condition for a longer time, I will gladly accept their advice, and more than today I just received 3 bottles of essri that I didn't even remember XD. By the way if you ask why I like these, it is that iron galls work so well on cheap paper but they expire quickly with me.

Hello all, there are alot of pen cases, roll ups and notebooks, great for mobile storage, but now that my own collect is growing that I can't keep every pen on me. I have just been placing my pens that are not in use bare on my bookshelf, which feels wierd to just leave them there out in the open. I was wondering what kind of pen storage everyone uses. I'm looking for something that could hold 20 pens and preferably with a bit of a display aspect to it.

Hello, I'm not the most sophisticated pen collector (I often turn to this forum to ask some basic questions), but I've amassed quite a number of pens. I'd like to find a system that: ( A ) Keeps my pens safe, particularly from scratching against each other and ideally okay for travel ( B ) Allows me to keep bits of information with my pens so that I can remember basic details like maker, year, nib size, etc. ( C ) Doesn't cost more than the pens themselves Also, I have the original boxes for a few of my pens, and it would be great if I could either keep them in their original boxes or match the pens with the boxes so I know where they go. Does anyone have a good system to store and organize their pens? How do you keep them when they're not being used? Thanks!

I'd been looking for something to store my growing pen collection in for a while but the boxes that I saw were either too small or too expensive. Then I came across an oak, 7-drawer cutlery cabinet at a local auction which was a bit bigger than I was looking for but seemed ideal for vintage pens. The date engraved for the original owner on top of the box was 1874. They took a lot of care when engraving brass plates in those days. I stripped out the cutlery fittings and tried to make inserts to carry pens. However the inserts I made looked a bit crude and unprofessional but looking around I couldn't find any suitable liners for sale in the UK. Eventually I purchased some vacuum-formed trays from Gary at gopens.com in the US which fitted perfectly as shown in the photos. The liners are 12" x 16" and I have a few left for future projects. The drawers are graduated in depth, with the top four ideal for pens and the lower ones great for storage of ink bottles etc. Room for my collection to grow.

It's becoming apparent that my growing collection of inks and other writing supplies are going to need a home, but unfortunately I do not have a writing desk of any sort, nor do I have room for one in our cramped rental townhouse. I've been using our dining table, but this is annoying my darling husband as we have no proper place to eat meals with my stationery and supplies all over it. I'm hoping to find something that would be somewhat mobile (imagine a mobile calligraphy/letter writing kit, if you will), so I could pack it up and take it elsewhere (like maybe a pen meetup or coffee shop) with a reasonably tidy deployment. Currently I've got a little pencil box holding most of my dip pen holders and a little tin for my nibs, and two little travel watercolor sets in tins. Everything else (notepads, cards, envelopes, ink bottles) is kind of stacked inside of a random cardboard box, which doesn't really lend itself to easy access or packing away. Oh, except for my wax seals, which are in a little plastic craft box that doesn't fit them all that well. My couple of fountain pens are in an eyeglass case, with but one exception that lives in a place of honor. I'm probably missing something obvious, but my first thought was some form of tackle box. There's a bajillion out there, and I have no idea what would do well for holding my current collection with some wiggle room for a little expansion, so if you have something that's worked for you and know the brand/model, please let me know! Even just ideal measurements would help, I'm pretty lost. (Truthfully, however, it should not have room for too much more expansion... Having a severely limited space will help me be more selective in my acquisitions.) I also very much like the Travelling Desk, but I'd need to find some kind of insert (I think) to keep things well seated in the interior part--I don't like the idea of bottles of ink rolling around in the bottom for likely obvious reasons. (Also, with the shipping to the US, the Travelling Desk is fairly pricey... But if there's an easy/great solution to partitioning the large interior cavity, I might be willing to splurge anyway.) I am open to other desk-less suggestions, because I really am not sure what else is out there that might help in my situation (other than maybe moving to an area with cheaper housing). I've considered possibly getting a gateleg table like the Ikea Norden or a wall-mounted murphy desk (maybe not good for a rental), but that still leaves me with no way to easily store my supplies when the desk is not deployed (and it would have to spend most of its time not deployed if we are to be able to traverse the narrow little house). Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!

I'm still pretty new to fountain pens, so I don't actually have a collection of pens, but started poking around looking for pen storage/carry options for when I eventually do have multiple pens and perhaps start carrying one or two on a daily basis. For personal reasons, I don't really like leather (the fake stuff is okay, but also not my favorite), so I was hoping to find some non-leather options, and a LOT of what I have noticed in the forums is leather. Anyone have or know of a good non-leather case? These are the things I'm looking for, by order of importance (with the first being the thing I'm most interested in): I'd like to find something to carry maybe two or three pens in my purse or backpack that would keep them from getting too banged up once I am comfortable enough to start using fountain pens on a daily basis. I tend to be rough on my purse and its contents, so something protective, but easy to get into, and since I'm not sure if any pen I get would leak, maybe some leak resistance? I have a family heirloom pen that I'd eventually like to have a nice, safe (from damage) storage/display option for, so I'm thinking I'll probably seek out a wooden case of some sort for that but I would like to know if there are other, more fun options (especially for a cluttered desk with very little real estate left). I intend to write with this pen, but as it is a sentimental piece, it will live at my home desk. I have some dip pens that are in a pencil tin at the moment, and am curious if there was a better storage method for those, as well.Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have!

Of the three pens I have at moment. A montblanc 144, Jinhao 159 and a Noodlers Ahab since I'm just starting out basically was cycling through the pens to see which one style, nib etc I prefer Like I find the Montblanc sort of too small (thin ) for me and the 159 just a bit too large. I had all filled with ink and when I went to use the Ahab today I found the ink had dried up. I was sort of surprised at that. I managed to wash pen out and will re ink it when I get home. I'm thinking it may be a good idea to store pens until ready to use possible filled with distilled water to prevent and ink still in side feed etc from drying out Appreciate any thoughts on this or is it really unnecessary. Thanks

Well, I have been on an ink acquisition spree of late having bought about 16 bottles of various brands in the last month with an imminent purchase of another 4 bottles. Most of the new inks, I really just buy to see how they will reflect my writing and I really just keep going back towards my favorite daily drivers. I'm hoping, some day, my son and daughter will find them and will, hopefully, be curious as to what their old man was up-to and why he was so fascinated with colored water Which brings me to my question... How do you store your inks? How would you recommend I store my stash so that it would remain stable for 20-30 years? I have bought very old ink bottles where the contents were pristine and I have bought NOS bottles, only 9-16 years old, which suffered from significant evaporation. I am thinking of using those airtight plastic containers... I actually have bought a few 2.5L (I think) ones... They fit my desk drawer perfectly and are just the right height to accommodate the bottles sitting upright and each box should hold about 20 to 26 bottles. Any thoughts/recommendations?

I recently finished a substitute for my old shoe box that I used to hold my pens and ink bottles. Here are a few pictures. More pictures are available here.

While I am enamored with the pen display, ink display, and desk displays of them,( I am confounded with an equivalently stylish and practical storage of sheet paper in office use sizes (8.5x11, A4, A5, A6, B5) sheet and inventory of notebooks. Used and full filing/storage paper and notebooks is a matter for another post. Any suggestions on an "at hand" cache for near the office and a "within minutes" storage inventory system. I use ~3 sheet paper styles in Japanese and US sizes, with cards and envelopes included, as well as Rhodia, Clairfontaine, Muju, and ~5 others that would be "within minutes" since I don't instantly finish a notebook. Since my paper investment is well beyond my ink and I change papers/stationery far more often for their appropriate use a proper storage vessel/system to maintain the integrity of the stationery is important. I have been using an office supply file storage box but the cardboard container and the stacking have not been ideal. I would show you my pics of my system but it's a file box and a bookshelf. Looking for better. Best wishes from the Goat

Just picked up the following drawer chest to store my ink bottles. I got it from the Container Store for $20. (no affiliation) http://www.containerstore.com/s/4-step-drawer/d?productId=10029421&q=4-step%20drawer&sort=default The drawer will accommodate most bottles, but it won't handle tall ones like Noodlers and Aurora. I've started loading up the drawers with Sailor ink bottles and the vertical clearance is plenty for the drawer to slide in and out with ample breathing room on top. The smaller top drawers are still able to accommodate 2 Sailor bottles. For the bottles that don't fit, I can transfer them to 1oz. Nalgene bottles and they fit easily into these drawers. I'm thinking of buying a couple more of these and just put all my bottles in drawers in my cabinet shelf and vertically use all of the space available in the shelf, and also label each drawer and pull out the one ink I need without having to move or unstack any boxes. My cabinet is still a work in progress but I'll try to share a photo of things later. http://cdn-us-ec.yottaa.net/55df7e1a2bb0ac7d800040c2/ecdf7130ef10013390340a3ba3fac80a.yottaa.net/v~13.46/catalogimages/128859/4StepDrawer10043299_x.jpg?width=560&height=560&align=center&yocs=t_&yoloc=us (Not sure if 'Inky Thoughts' is a valid forum for this post, or maybe 'Marketplace', sorry if I'm in the wrong location)

Pardon me if this is a newb question. With a number of FPs i own i find the following starting issue: After a long time of the pen stored nib UP (whether in a shirt pocket or pen mug), the pen would not start when I first put nib to paper. It would take a while for the ink to work its way to the tip. I find this can happen to both wetter and drier pens. My guess as to what is happening is that after significant time nib up, all the ink has left the feed, so that when I first start to use, the ink takes a while to work its way through feed, nib onto paper. (If that's the case, is it simply a question of some feeds being "wetter" than others?) To deal with this, there are a few things I've tried, each has its own problems: Holding the uncapped pen, in writing position, flick the wrist so that pen jerks downwards, in direction of nib. Repeat this several times until the ink is "shaken" towards the nib. [PROBLEM: Do this too much and drops of ink fall out of feed, onto paper, hands, clothes etc] Twist cartridge/piston knob slightly, to pressure the ink down. [PROBLEM: Too much and I end up with ink droplets oozing out of nib. If I hold pen over my writing it makes a mess.] Keep scratching away on scrap paper until it writes. [PROBLEM: TIme consuming. Also, any long-term nib damage from doing this?]Experienced FP users, how have you dealt with this problem? How do you diagnose? Should I do someting to the feed? To the nib? Or is there an effective "trick" to getting ink out that I need to discover? thanks

Hello everybody, I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions for dip pen storage which includes holders and nibs. I know that a similar topic exists but it didn't really encompass the storage of such a large quantity of nibs and holders. The last time I counted I have about 6,000 to 7,000 various nibs all new old stock and about 50 or so dip pen holders many of which are also new old stock and are in their original boxes. Some of the boxes of nibs are still sealed some are open. I store some nibs in small polyethylene bags by model and company and leave others in their original box and put the boxes in bags or polypropylene containers. I want to make sure that however they are being stored will be safe for long term storage. I'm not sure if it's better to leave the nibs in the box or to remove them and put them in small bags. Any advice or suggestions would be great. Here are a few pictures. Davide http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah48/Davide_Borrelli/Crown_1_zpsoq3mevy8.jpg http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah48/Davide_Borrelli/Eagle%20Corktex_04_zps8es335gz.jpeg http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah48/Davide_Borrelli/Falcon%20Stub_zps15a83ksn.jpg http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah48/Davide_Borrelli/Eagle%20Pencil%20Co%20Carton%201_zps9zaeexyk.jpg This is a carton of E740 nibs there are 25 boxes of 144 ct. The original carton is marked Eagle Pencil Co.

On Black Friday, or around that time, Kohl's was selling a Bey-Berk Pen Case for around $50 (Originally $98). So I figured why not? I have room on my bookshelf in my office might as well show off some of my pens rather than storing them in their original boxes in my desk drawer. Here is my review of the overall transaction and of course the case itself. 1. Shipping/Packaging: Although this has nothing to do with the product itself or likely even the manufacturer, I thought it was odd enough to discuss in my review. First, it took about 2 weeks for this product to actually be delivered. That's a lengthy shipping process if you ask me considering I've ordered items from outside the country that have shown up in half the time. Second, and the reason I am posting this was the packaging that it arrived in. When, I got home there were two boxes in front of my door. One said Kohl's on the outside and said FRAGILE on the top and the side of the box. The other box was smaller and had no writing on it whatsoever. Assuming the larger box that said fragile on it was going to be the the pen case I opened it first. To my surprise the only thing in the box was a bathmat that someone ordered for my new place since I moved into a 3 bath. In the smaller box was an additional smaller box and some of those styrofoam packing peanuts. They did a good job of protecting the case, but it was certainly not what I was expecting. 2. Dimensions/Capacity: The case is angled for display and overall is 4.25"H x 8.5"W x 7"D, but the front is about 3.25"H. The top level is enclosed by a hinged a glass cover to display up to 10 pens and below it is a pull out drawer that holds 9 pens. Although it only displays 10 pens, I think that the size and shape of it is great for placing on a shelf. However, they could have done a little bit better when measuring the depth of the pen slots. If a larger pen is in an outer slot the glass cover will not close. For some perspective, I used a Lamy AL Star to figure this out. 4. Quality of Construction: As mentioned above the case does not close entirely when a large pen is in the outer slot. That is not the only component where you can see an apparent lack of craftsmanship. One thing that was not immediately noticeable, and can be fixed with a simple adjustment is that the way the hinges were put on it is not entirely aligned when closed. It appears to close a little towards the left, between a 16th and 8th of an inch. Another thing that can be considered both positive and negative is that there is no stop to the bottom drawer. What I mean is, when you pull the bottom drawer out it will come all the way out. This is bad if you pull it out too far by mistake and it results in dropping your pens. But good in the sense that you can take it out and use it as a tray to carry your pens or even rest your pens in while working at your desk so they don't roll off. Also relating to the drawer there are no slides or padding to prevent it from rubbing against itself when you open it or even protect your shelf from the edges as it angles down when you get past a certain point. My final concern with the case is that there is no felt/protection in either the drawer or the display. So if you are not comfortable putting your pens directly on the wood that it is made with than this product is not for you. 5. Appearance: The cases simple styling is perfect for what I wanted. Its small size allows me to put it anywhere. Its walnut color looks great, and does a great job of show casing my pens. I also like the brass drawer handle. Its certainly nothing fancy but it looks good overall. It does have a little bit of a glare when its not on my shelf. I took the case off the shelf to get better lighting for the following photos so you'll be able to see it better. (You might be able to notice the hinge alignment in the first photo) 5. Conclusion: I'll start by saying I am not going to return it. I think that for what I paid and the purpose I had in mind for it that it is between good and great. Sure there are somethings I would change about it, but nothing is perfect and I am happy with how this displays my pens and how it looks on it's. However, I would not recommend purchasing this product if you can't get it for less than the original price. I am sure that there are far better options if you are searching for cases with a $100 budget, but I think that it serves its purposes of storage, and displaying my pens perfectly fine for only $50.

Hello, I'm thinking of making a number of pen trays for the too many pens I have. My plan is to either build a box with several drawers of pen trays or to fit an existing frameless bookcase with shallow drawers. I'm thinking that since I plan to create the pen trays as a drawer insert that it would have to be some sort of stable sheet material that wouldn't expand or contract: something like MDF. My plan is to rout a flute into material with a core box bit, cut it out into a long strip, cut it to fixed length pieces and glue them side by side onto a hardboard substrate. By making this a kind of modular design, I'm basically trying to avoid having to rout uniform parallel flutes into a single panel. Then I would apply flocking to the surface to finish it off. I'm wondering if there's any flaw in my design that I should be concerned with? Alternatively, I have to ask myself whether it would just be better to buy one. It's a common question for woodworkers. There's one here that I can get locally at Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=54852&cat=1,250,43243,43245,54852. Has anyone had experience with this?

Thought I would share this...was in the market for a pen case...particularly, one for travel and I found this lovely cloth roll on ebay. They are made in Japan, cost $14 dollars with shipping, and are very good looking. You can purchase them in several different designs...all with a unique traditional Japanese pattern. I really love it. They also sell a nylon case that can be folded in a clever way to have the pens standing up in the holder. Description is as follows: Japan SAKI ROLL PEN CASE Made in Japan Pattern name ：Asanoha Main color：Purple Internal Color：Black Size ： 7×7　inches *Long brush pen does not enter. Number of Compartments：3 Pen Capacity：9 Material ： Cotton Here is the web site: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cases-/165651/m.html?item=261459820658&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_ssn=funa273