Spilling Ink

[Charles Skinner]

I often worry about spilling ink on my desk when filling a pen. I have an old Mont Blanc ink bottle that is clean, and I believe that it is by far the safest way to fill a pen for someone, like me, who may "have an accident." My question is: Have you ever considered pouring ink of another brand into an old, clean MB bottle in order to lessen the chances of an accident?

 

C. S.

[The Good Captain]

Things like that have occurred to me but I don't happen to have an empty MB bottle to use! Someone might take pity on me...

[torstar]

MB is a well-known bottle to fill from, old-school Skrip with the plastic reservoir as well.

 

I fill old bottles all the time from the ink of Aurora and Noodlers, great inks but not the best for filling from the bottom half.

 

And I anticipate one ink spill every year, converting a dress shirt into a pajama top in a second.

[wallylynn]

Nothing the matter with putting ink inside a clean bottle. I feel the Lamy bottles are the most stable.

[lapis]

You can always fill any old, used, empty ink bottle with any other ink. Just make sure that the bottle is well washed, rinsed with deionised or filtered water, and then well dried. Ditto the cap. The newer MB shoe bottles are among the best bottles I've ever seen. Note that the old MB shoe bottles are by no means as good as the new MB shoes bottles because the old ones had inferior caps and/or sealing disks. These are often hard and dangerous to open and close. The MB Season's Greetings ink bottles are worst of all. Hard to hang onto, and hard to open without a spill.

Mike

[Bigeddie]

This from something else;

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6695948785_3b5686c3c9_z.jpg

Montblanc bottles by Bigeddie100, on Flickr

 

I think the Ink of xxx (Ink Of Joy pictured here) will be a pretty good re filler, Its quite deep and quite necked for a 30ml bottle. I'm going to use one of these for 30ml Diamine bottles, or 100ml Writing Desk packaged Diamine.

[someonesdad]

I have switched from using ink bottles to using those 8 ml bottles that are used for ink samples. I use an eye dropper or syringe to fill them from the bottles if they're not samples. Most importantly, I use a holder I made from some scrap wood sitting on my table saw; the two pieces were glued together (the bottom piece is a chunk of flooring and the top piece is a chunk that came from a ripped 2x4). I do the filling from the bottles in the bathroom sink, so if there was ever a spill, I should be able to clean it up before the wife catches me.

 

I've used this little holder every time I fill a pen at my desk and I've never had an ink spill. If I was using bottles a lot, I'd make a similar holder for the bottle and glue some inner tube rubber to the bottom (or smear some silicone rubber on the bottom) to make it non-skid. Don't be shy about using a hefty chunk of wood -- the extra mass might help it survive a bump.

 

Lots of other things can be used in a pinch: a Crescent wrench, machinist's clamp, a pair of pliers with a rubber band, etc.

[professionaldilettante]

If you're afarid... nothing can beat the Lamy bottle, even your shoe. Sure, you may have stability in the direction of the length of the shoe, but with Lamy's wide base, you're set for all 360 degrees.

[dcwaites]

Use Blue Tack or equivalent on any bottle.

Three or four or more little bits under the bottle, press firmly to the desk, and it won't spill over (excepting earthquakes, tornadoes and over-excited Labrador puppies...).

[tinta]

I use a stainless steel plate/tray from India, that's used to serve or eat food.

It is about 30cm. in diameter & has an edge that is about 2.5 cm high.

It holds a little more than 0.75 liter of liquid. That would be a lot of spilled ink!

I line it with a paper towel & do my filling operation over it (next to the sink).

 

Iroshizoku ink bottles, while lovely to behold & bottom-weighted, are just waiting to tip over.

I thought of making up a special wooden base with a special slot for these bottles (similar to "someonesdad"'s filing station).

In the kitchen I found a Rubbermaid # 14 square plastic food container.

Without its lid, this container serves as a very stable base for the flat Iroshizoku ink bottles.

[professionaldilettante]

Either that... or fight the paranoia. I actually forced myself to learn to be very cognizant of my ink bottle for the first year, cause it amounted to what is a plastic laboratory test tube with a cap. There is no where you can set that down without it spilling. I had to hold it, and watch it, so I didn't make a mess in class with Noodler's Heart of Darkness. Super saturated, and a bugger even just to clean up a few drops. Now, I'm toting around a small 30ml bottle from Pilot. It's small, easily forgotten, and such, but I don't leave it alone when I'm filling. No worries about spilling, as it's either closed, or open for the 5 seconds it takes for me to fill. If I can do it, you can to. Just got to be cognizant when filling comes around. No filling, and leaving the bottle unattended.

[mirosc]

Either that... or fight the paranoia. I actually forced myself to learn to be very cognizant of my ink bottle

+1

Just be with your thoughts and your attention where they belong. There's a task at hand and I concentrate on this and not on anything else. If I do a job, I do it properly. I clear the mess from the table, don't get distracted and I come to survive the seconds without an incident. I've never encountered any spilling for the last 30 years or so.

For a "holding device" I would recommend a big sponge, make a hole in the middle for the bottle - it's almost impossible to topple and if you spill something the sponge picks it up.

[torstar]

Either that... or fight the paranoia. I actually forced myself to learn to be very cognizant of my ink bottle for the first year, cause it amounted to what is a plastic laboratory test tube with a cap. There is no where you can set that down without it spilling. I had to hold it, and watch it, so I didn't make a mess in class with Noodler's Heart of Darkness. Super saturated, and a bugger even just to clean up a few drops. Now, I'm toting around a small 30ml bottle from Pilot. It's small, easily forgotten, and such, but I don't leave it alone when I'm filling. No worries about spilling, as it's either closed, or open for the 5 seconds it takes for me to fill. If I can do it, you can to. Just got to be cognizant when filling comes around. No filling, and leaving the bottle unattended.

 

 

OT, your dancing chick avatar melded in very well with Hey Mr. Spaceman by the Byrds on the radio this morning...

[Bo Bo Olson]

As of yet I've not spilled anything out of a bottle.

I might have learned not to do that as a child, in Howdy Doody times.

Children learn fast and remember so much better than adults.

 

As soon as I fill the pen, I put the top on the bottle. Murphy loves a bottle with out a tightened top.

 

One hand for the ink bottle held flat on the desk, one hand for the ship.

 

In that I have mostly piston pens, I sort of grab the bottle with most of my hand, hold the pen with two fingers and twist with the fingers of the other hand.

 

 

 

 

I find Pelikan and Waterman bottles ok too. Good to fill from the side when the bottle is low too.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

[hazcat]

I am me and I am going to spill and spatter ink. It's my nature to make any task messy. So, I do as much as I can in the kitchen sink. The countertops are old, but the little colorful ink splotches look rather cool among the worn spots. I won't feel that way about my new granite, though. :ltcapd:

Edited January 31, 2012 by hazcat