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

[amberleadavis]

I'm curious what pen and nib was that?

 

Oh Shoot, that was more than a year ago...... now I will have to go look.

 

Though it easily could have been my Speedball Autofiller, that pen drinks ink.

[Abner C. Kemp]

Some inks aren't worth finishing.

 

+1,000,000

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I figured out that I had a lifetime supply of fountain pen ink years and years ago. I had previously counted 104 bottles, and then I stopped counting. I was really buying ink for a time there.

 

And then I went on the wagon.

 

And then I found myself buying more ink. So I had certainly more than enough ink by then to last me the rest of my life. I'm an old guy with some "issues" that affect longevity.

 

So I went on the wagon again.

 

I've never gone back to the high volume ink buying days, but I have fallen off the wagon, and gotten back on, a number of times . My latest bout of this is still going on. I expect to get four bottles of ink tomorrow.

 

After I take delivery of tomorrow's four ink bottles I plan to get back on that wagon again. At this point I am not sure where to put more ink. The ink drawer is overflowing, so to speak, and cardboard boxes around the house, which my wife is not pleased to see, are filled up. I really do need to resist buying more fountain pen ink now, even when I see great prices and/or very interesting new inks.

 

But I really do enjoy using the inks that I have, and I feel a bit of a sense of security knowing that, absent some really big disaster, I will not need to buy more ink for the rest of my life.

[amberleadavis]

Since my first response to this email my ink collection has increased (I think exponentially). I do believe I may now have enough ink to last my lifetime, even with my proclivities for sharing. I tell myself to keep buying because this is the golden age of ink. So, what you all think?

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Since my first response to this email my ink collection has increased (I think exponentially). I do believe I may now have enough ink to last my lifetime, even with my proclivities for sharing. I tell myself to keep buying because this is the golden age of ink. So, what you all think?

 

The golden age of ink? I suppose that it may be a golden age for somebody. I've just had to resist buying more ink recently because I can't justify getting more. I simply do not see myself living long enough to use even the ink I already have, much less more.

 

Meanwhile I'm testing a bunch of pens I bought late last year, and I'm looking at yet more ink mixtures to try. So I am enjoying what I have. Unfortunately, some of my Noodler's inks just aren't made anymore . One must adapt.

 

http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp360/Ink_Stained_Wretch/indelible_ink.png

 

Hey, Maybe I should get on the lookout for the above stuff. But I'm not sure that I want to call any of my fountain pens "common."

[amberleadavis]

I think more colors, and different types of inks are being made today than in any other time in history. I have no empirical evidence to support that I look at the inks I could easily acquire in my youth and compare that to what my children can easily acquire (with Mom's credit card), and I see more ink.

 

BTW, I do love ink powders.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I think more colors, and different types of inks are being made today than in any other time in history. I have no empirical evidence to support that I look at the inks I could easily acquire in my youth and compare that to what my children can easily acquire (with Mom's credit card), and I see more ink.

 

BTW, I do love ink powders.

 

Maybe there are more inks around today. I'm not sure though. I know that I am not familiar with a lot of inks from the old days, when fountain pens were the thing to write seriously with. We certainly have a lot of them around now, more than, I think, we had about 20 years or so ago.

 

Some inks today are also, IMO, ridiculously pricey. So we have a sort of schism between what could be called the working class inks from a certain price range, and the high falutin inks that cost quite a lot more. I personally have to stick to the less expensive inks.

 

I like powdered inks too. But I only have the Thistle Blue/Black ink powder. And the price of that ink powder was quite nice. Oh, I should not buy more ink.

[amberleadavis]

I keep trying new inks and adding to my collection.... you know how it is.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I keep trying new inks and adding to my collection.... you know how it is.

 

Yeah, I know. I have a lot of bottles of ink around here from that sort of urge. Right now I could only get myself to go for more ink if it were at a tremendously great price. If I could buy some of those inks that they have in India, for the prices they sell them at, I'd probably relent and buy some. From what I've read, however, those places don't ship internationally, and if they did they'd probably raise their prices to less attractive heights.

 

Well, I do have plenty of ink around.

[amberleadavis]

I now have 3 "cabinets" of ink. I still have the cabinets also filled with books, but once I take a picture it will be pretty overwhelming.

[Flaxmoore]

I now have 3 "cabinets" of ink. I still have the cabinets also filled with books, but once I take a picture it will be pretty overwhelming.

Cabinets?

 

Aside from my pop bottle of Pilot BB all mine fit in a largish cigar box. I need some empty Noodlers glass since the label fell off my Habañero, and finding El Lawrence is a pain- my current target.

[amberleadavis]

If you look really hard, you can see two of the cabinets in the background, you cannot however see the desk for all the CRVs.

 

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/2016-Ink/06-June/slides/IMG_20160629_204839.jpg

[cello]

Yes, I have enough ink to last past my lifetime, but I will still buy more as I find new inks that I enjoy. Many of my bottles will not see the end, and I am OK with that. Some are not worth finishing, and others are a joy to try and finish. I'll find new loves along the way that will replace old loves, and so it goes...

 

Nice ink cabinets Amber! But your desk...well, don't lose a pen or a bottle of ink!

[amberleadavis]

Cello, I totally agree about the desk!

 

About every 18 months, I facilitate the Great Inky Swap. I send each participant 25 ink vials for them to fill with their no longer interesting to them ink. They send it to me and I send them back 20 different inks. Yes, there is a "tax" of 5 inks, but we use those extra inks for encouraging CRVs or giving to newbies or for whatever the reason. So, when you are ready to clear out your inks that you will never use, let me know.

[Flaxmoore]

To answer the original question. Hmmm.

 

300 ml Pilot BB. 90 Noodlers 54th, 60 Quink Black, about 50 BSB, as well as Noodlers Black Eel. 30 of Salix and 20 of Registrars. About 600 ml of ink I can use in a professional context.

 

At my rate of 0.5-1 ml per workday, that's 125-250 in a standard work year. Add 10% evaporative loss, 10 for mixes, and about 300 ml a year or two. I'm good for 4 years absolutely tops.

[Sasha Royale]

Just ONE lifetime ?

[JuInd]

I wonder how long it'll take to finish 100ml Perle Noire by using only a Pilot Parallel 6mm. Well, I have less than 200ml of ink (either a big change of heart or inky corruption) hence I should be OK until the end of next year.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Kahler

[amberleadavis]

I never thought the day would come, but I think it has. I actually listed two inks (a whole two bottles) for sale/trade because I finally figured I had enough ink. When I reorganized my shelves, I discovered that I had duplicates. I had NO idea that I had that many duplicates. I mean, I sort of knew that I purchased several bottles of Private Reserve when I found out that the founder had passed away and some store had a bunch of the original bottles that they were selling at half price, but may I didn't need four bottles of DC Super Show Blue??? And I know I'll never get to buy Noodler's Comanche Rouge again (I love Dromgooles), but with all the new amazing UV Pink/Reds out there, (Suffragist Carmine and our own VCV) maybe I didn't need three bottles? (But really, they are small bottles so it's okay). Maybe I can even justify why I needed five bottles of Dromgoole's Blue Steel - I give it out as gifts.

 

BUT how on earth did I end up with multiple bottles of the R&K Blue Black that was released in Japan? I haven't even opened a bottle (Jared brought over his bottle and I tried it, 'tis nice, but it's not DBS). And why don't I have multiple bottles of KTC? Ink of the Witch or the Sailor Purple Black (that LG tracked down for me at some small shop ... oh yeah because even though it is a favorite, it is darn hard to find.)

[Flaxmoore]

Some inks today are also, IMO, ridiculously pricey. So we have a sort of schism between what could be called the working class inks from a certain price range, and the high falutin inks that cost quite a lot more. I personally have to stick to the less expensive inks.

 

I have to agree. That's why my thread on cheap staple inks exists, because at work I go through enough ink to make spending 50+ cents per fill a waste of money. I stick to Noodler's, Diamine, Monteverde and Higgins at work- less than 15 cents a fill. With paper this bad, even the best unobtainium-fueled ink isn't going to do much.

 

Speaking strictly of professional inks (blue/blue-black/black) I'd be okay for right around 2 years at my present rate of consumption. This of course assumes no inks go bad- I had a bottle of 54th Massachusetts develop SITB a while back, and the last 10ml or so of Black Eel actually start breaking down, stank like death.

[JakobS]

I have between 4-5 liters so I guess I need to pick up the pace a bit....