Bottles That You Will Never Finish

[WilsonCQB1911]

If I decide I hate an ink, I just toss it. No point in forcing myself to try and use it or keeping it around. I've thrown three bottles away so far.

Iroshizuku ama-iro: at first I loved it, then I thought it was too bright for any of my uses.

Noodler's Polar Blue: my dad has polar black and it's awesome. I went to the local FP store looking for some and all they had was the blue. I got it and found that it would flow inconsistently in any pen I tried it in. It would also creep to the point of making a serious mess, especially if used in a VP. Like ink would be dripping out from the clip and barrel. No thanks.

Pelican Edelstein Amber: the color is terrible in my opinion. It's just not something I want to look at. I might have stayed with it anyway, but it's so dry that it made all my pens scratchy.

[RyanH]

I'll second Rouge Hematite. I absolutely adore the color, with and without the sheen, but it's just too high maintainence. Doesn't matter; this is an ink I need to have just because.

 

Organics Studio Edgar Allan Poe: I loved the color and wanted a bottle of OS ink, but it's a frustratingly hard starter and starts to turn brown after a few days in the pen. Doesn't seem to play nice with other inks for mixing, either. Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses is very close in color, cheaper, and much better behaved.

 

Namiki Blue. This is the first bottle of ink I ever bought, and I just didn't like it. I've warmed up to it a bit since then, but there are so many blues I like better that I doubt I'll ever seriously come back to it.

 

Honorable mention: Noodler's Black and Lamy Blue-Black (new formula). These are my go-to boring/cheap/low-maintenance inks for when such are called for. They fill an essential niche, and I always have at least one inked up, but I use them so little that I doubt I'll ever actually finish a bottle of either.

[rudyhou]

I use a lot of MB Royal and Midnight blues, I can get through a bottle of each in about 6 months, I can get through a bottle of Sailor Jentle Blue quite quickly, MB Jonathan Swift too... these inks seem to have their place in my array of uses. Other colours I have more of a problem with; It might be a colour that I like bit I just can't quite find a use for.

 

Diamine Oxblood, Monaco Red, Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite.

I like these reds, but I just don't use very much red. When I mark up I tend to use greens because I sometimes write with them and always have one to hand, or a particularly zingy blue.

 

Pelikan Edelstein Saphire, Herbin Belu Neut and Eclat de Saphir, Pelikan Royal Blue and blue-black.

I just have a lot of similar colours, I like all of the above but struggle to find a place for them amongst my regular blues.

 

I'm sure there are many more, but Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite would have to be my favourite ink which sees almost no time in a pen.

 

What do you have, and like, but struggle to use? What is the one ink in your collection that you would not want to loose, but only very rarely gets used?

 

i'm way too familiar with this issue. which is why i'm trying hard NOT to get any more ink, though i have my eye on few diamine and iroshizuku inks. for those ones i rarely use, i end up mixing them to get a new color. i force myself to play with them, or they'll just sit in my drawer unused. the only concern i have is the limited edition j.herbin 1670 rouge hematite. i liked it enough that i actually got two bottles. unfortunately, i rarely touch even the first bottle, which i have opened. and it is too expensive to mix with my other j.herbin inks. oh well, guess i just have to write many love letters this month.

[Fakie]

 

If I decide I hate an ink, I just toss it. No point in forcing myself to try and use it or keeping it around. I've thrown three bottles away so far.

Iroshizuku ama-iro: at first I loved it, then I thought it was too bright for any of my uses.

Noodler's Polar Blue: my dad has polar black and it's awesome. I went to the local FP store looking for some and all they had was the blue. I got it and found that it would flow inconsistently in any pen I tried it in. It would also creep to the point of making a serious mess, especially if used in a VP. Like ink would be dripping out from the clip and barrel. No thanks.

Pelican Edelstein Amber: the color is terrible in my opinion. It's just not something I want to look at. I might have stayed with it anyway, but it's so dry that it made all my pens scratchy.

 

 

Why toss D:

Give it away! Sell it!

[hbdk]

My main inks are 4001 Black and B/B + Cultpens Deep Dark series - they get emptied.

 

A lot of others wont - e.g. got myself a nice little Platignum Regal in orange (in a lot on the Bay), so I thought it should have a bit of orange ink; ordered a bottle of Poky Orange - well, I have written about 4 lines with it. I found out that I do NOT like orange ink. Also got a 5ml sample of Diamine Soft Mint - probably the most disgusting colour I have ever seen, makes you

[Moondrop]

I don't know if I can say I would not want to lose it, because when I got it I thought I'd like it, but I can only use it with a bit of black mixed in or it truly hurts my eyes: Levenger Blue Bahama. The bottle is probably more than 95% full. I've had it for several years and haven't touched it. Better in the bottle than on paper. As I recall, it's a well-behaved ink, but it really is too bright for me.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Moondrop

[Ed333]

Diamine Prussian Blue and Levenger Emperean...they just don't do anything for me. Don't know what I was thinking of. Even Parker Quink is more likely to be used up.

[frolland]

The only ink I have not used since I purchased the bottle is Sheaffer Orange.

FER

[Better to have Written]

I have this Visconti black. Just sits there, looking impressive in its box. Am seriously into khaki greens.

[Aquinata]

I only have two bottles of ink. One of them came free with a Christmas order, Sailor Blue. I'm fairly indifferent to it and have given several samples of it away to friends who are new to pens to help them get started.

 

When I get a sample I don't care for, I save it for the next friend who comes along.

[snowcandy]

I'd say my bottle of J. Herbin Bouquet D'antan. It's a gorgeous pale pink that seems very sophisticated, unfortunately I don't use it often since it looks good on specific paper and while using certain pens only.

[Michigan]

Private Reserve DC Supershow Green was so dry I thought my pen needed renibbing. And I went through half a bottle before joining this site and realizing I knew very little about inks.

 

I love the color, but unless someone steals my trashcan, no one will ever finish it. It may be the first ink I've ever thrown out.

[zacablaster]

I will never finish Noodler's Blue-black. Its as boring as black is, except it has a little splash of blue.

[amberleadavis]

When I first bought the giant collection of giant Akkerman inks, I did a round of samples. I ended up using every drop of those inks. Well, except for I'm now down to the last 10 or so sample vials.

 

Sharing the love is a great way to use up ink and see it go to a great home.

[apkayle]

Noodler's X Feather. This ink's behavior betrays its name and tends to feather on my cheaper papers. I'll continue using it on occasion though, since I bought it at a cheap price I won't feel horrible about using it on cheap notes that I'll only hold onto for short periods of time.

[amberleadavis]

Private Reserve DC Supershow Green was so dry I thought my pen needed renibbing. And I went through half a bottle before joining this site and realizing I knew very little about inks.

 

I love the color, but unless someone steals my trashcan, no one will ever finish it. It may be the first ink I've ever thrown out.

 

I thought I was the only one who thought it was obnoxiously dry.

[amberleadavis]

When faced with the possibility that I might not use up all the ink in each of my approximately 110 bottles of ink, I rush out and by more fountain pens.

 

I'm so totally there with you.

 

 

 

If I decide I hate an ink, I just toss it. No point in forcing myself to try and use it or keeping it around. I've thrown three bottles away so far.

Iroshizuku ama-iro: at first I loved it, then I thought it was too bright for any of my uses.

Noodler's Polar Blue: my dad has polar black and it's awesome. I went to the local FP store looking for some and all they had was the blue. I got it and found that it would flow inconsistently in any pen I tried it in. It would also creep to the point of making a serious mess, especially if used in a VP. Like ink would be dripping out from the clip and barrel. No thanks.

Pelican Edelstein Amber: the color is terrible in my opinion. It's just not something I want to look at. I might have stayed with it anyway, but it's so dry that it made all my pens scratchy.

 

 

Don't throw them away... give them away! Others will love them. Donate them to a school.

 

Try Polar Blue for mixing. It will improve poor flowing inks.

 

 

The only ink I have not used since I purchased the bottle is Sheaffer Orange.

FER

 

I love orange, but it's hard to use.

[ac12]

Waterman Brown

It looks good, but I found that I just do not use it much.

After several months of just using it so the nib won't dry out, I just deinked the pen.

[inkstainedruth]

Platinum Mix-free Flame Red. Isellpens was having a giveaway a couple of years ago when the Noodler's Konrads were first released and they had overstocked the Mix-free line. Since I didn't have any red inks at the time, I chose Flame Red.

*Big* mistake: the color is horrid (think Baystate Blue's vibrancy combined with red Mercurachrome). The only consolation was that it was free....

And I have a freebie bottle of Conklin Endura Black -- swag from last summer's DCSS -- that has never been opened, because like what someone else (pakmanpony?) said, I almost never use black ink.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kiavonne]

I have a lot of inks. I have inks I don't like. However, I have learned - the hard way - to never say "never." I am ready for the Zombie Apocalypse! Hope it never happens, but I am ready.