Inky T O D - Do I Have Enough Ink To Last My Lifetime?

[SeeksAdvice]

I really don't know what I'm doing wrong with my ink. I seem to burn through ink at a really rapid pace. Right now using a lot of Noodler's Henry Hudson Blue, and it's really showing in the bottle. If in trial, at hearings, or going through matters for a trial, I can easily burn through at least an M400's worth of ink and take a good chunk out of say my M800. If I open up with my firehose Keene, all bets are off with how fast I can go through ink as only my MB inks have been relatively able to tame it. Perhaps I need a bottle or two of Pelikan ink for it.

Asa-Gao ~1.5-2 years old and ~1/2 full

Tsuki-Yo ~1/2 full

Tsuyu-Kusa ~2/3 full

Ama-Iro ~3/4 full

Sei-Boku ~1/2 full

Kiwa-Guro ~2/3 full maybe? Too dark to tell...

Guessing that I probably have a 2-3 year supply if I factor in my Noodler's bottles. Midway Blue has seen significant use.

[Oldane]

If I only used ink for work and other serious uses, a 50ml bottle would last 6-12 months. But I also sometimes play around with ink - try out mixes (which is unsuccesful more often than not), test various pen/ink combinations etc., so some ink will eventually also go down the drain. I figure my present stock would last for the rest of my life (i'm 62 by now) and that doesn't worry me. What could worry me a bit is if any of my favorite inks should be discontinued down the line. I discovered the discontinuation of my old favorite Montblanc Blueblack too late and and didn't get around to restock in time. I still regret that. In later years some of the bigger ink brands have discontinued their iron-gall formulations, so I have now bought a stock of Salix and Akkermann #10 to last for at least 10 years. Time will show if I will ever use it up, but then ink is not that expensive.

[cellmatrix]

Got more ink in the mail yesterday, and I had to add another drawer to my ink storage space. Was trying to decide if I had enough ink to last me the rest of my life, and started doing some calculations based on how long a bottle would last.

 

How about you? How long does a bottle last you? How long would your stash last you?

I still have most of a quart bottle of vintage Sheaffer skrip blue black which I originally got for around $35 - it's about the only ink I use nowadays, and with this quantity I figure I'm set for life

[amberleadavis]

Seeks don't worry. We attorneys use more ink than we would expect. Trials use more ink than office work.

[colrehogan]

I'd love to see Amber at work for a day. How many pens and inks do you go through in one day?

[amberleadavis]

I know if I don't fill every week, I'm out of ink. Considering I have 15 pens filled at a time, that's a little scary. I could go 2 weeks when I had 10 TWSBIs filled.

[amberleadavis]

And lest you think I waste ink, this is what I do with the washes from when I clean my pens.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Artistic_Endeavors/slides/20140425_224409.jpg

[VivienR]

I'm feeling to be more safer and safer months by months

[PaperDarts]

I hope to have enough to finish using all my paper.

 

Exactly.

[Oranges and Apples]

I use about ~0.8 or ~0.9 ml of ink per working day. This is because I run my Pilot Vanishing Point in a broad point dry every working day and then I have a Pilot Acroball 3 Multipen to use. So in a week I use from ~4ml to ~4.5ml. In a month I use ~18ml. In a year I use about ~200ml. This is with the Con-20 converter.

 

So, I have about 35 years worth of ink. I do not plan on working for 35 years so... it might be very well a lifetime worth of ink.

[amberleadavis]

Today I used a nib that in 4 pages of paper consumed 1 ml of ink. Even my inky collection is in jeopardy.

[Oranges and Apples]

Wow! I usually get at least 15 pages with my Pilot Vanishing Point EF.

[tmenyc]

I'd love to see Amber at work for a day. How many pens and inks do you go through in one day?

Amber is unique -- she's the only working attorney in Nevada who is also a simultaneous court illustrator. She doodles and objects at the same time. In 2007 she got in trouble with a judge who didn't like being pointed at by a moving fountain pen.

 

Tim

[chewytulip]

And lest you think I waste ink, this is what I do with the washes from when I clean my pens.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Artistic_Endeavors/slides/20140425_224409.jpg

That's absolutely fantastic! (I thought I might be the only one who used "inky water" for other stuff!)

[amberleadavis]

Yes amber is unique and sometimes buggy.

[holgalee]

I haven't done the math, but given my rate of writing, I figured all my ink can last a few lifetimes. Using Japanese F and EF nibs doesn't help. I'm need to paint with them and give away some I guess.

[tmenyc]

I guess I have around 15 bottles that are full and down to half full. I seem to use a whole bottle a year, and seem to pick up a couple of bottles a year and give away a couple of bottles a year. At this rate, my wife and daughters will have to dispose of around 15 bottles when I'm gone. That is, if I can't figure out how to take it with me, since I'll have my favorite pens...

 

Tim

[amberleadavis]

On a related topic:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/300222-cost-analysis-of-fountain-pen-ink-vs-ballpoint/?do=findComment&comment=3504074

[DrDebG]

Hmm, I just did the math for my ink based upon the amount of ink I have now, the number of pens I use each week and the number of mls of ink I use in each pen each week. I have enough ink to get me through to the next year. I guess I don't feel so bad if I buy some more ink.

Edited November 23, 2015 by DrPenfection

[OCArt]

Today I used a nib that in 4 pages of paper consumed 1 ml of ink. Even my inky collection is in jeopardy.

I'm curious what pen and nib was that?