How Long Should I Leave Ink In My Pens?

[pensive_ink]

I have an ever growing collection, and by now I have a core set of pens that I write with often and a cherished by second tier set that I don't write with much at all.

 

How long before I officially decommission my second tier pens? That is, when should I flush them of ink?

 

Thanks for any advice!

[white_lotus]

I personally won't leave pens filled with ink that aren't being used. For me, at most a week. I have learned to reduce the amount of ink I put in each pen, as there's no rule that says every pen must be fully filled, and limit the number of pens in active rotation. This way, it's easy to get to those pens that I like a lot, but don't use all the time.

 

Others may have different opinions.

[ENewton]

I currently have two pens inked at a time, write with each one every day until they are empty, and flush them.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

A week or two is the standard "rule." I'm sloppy with mine and it causes no harm for the most part unless it's an IG ink which can corrode plating. Cleaning becomes a major hassle the longer you wait since the ink evaporates and becomes super saturated.

[mulrich]

I only keep 2-3 pens inked at a time and I rarely fill them all the way which means I only have ink in a pen for 1-2 weeks at a time.

[Pterodactylus]

Depending on the ink and the pen (how well it seals) up to several months unused.

 

My experience is that Pelikan pens seal normally extremely well.

When they are filled with a very well behaving ink (with respect to stability in pens) they can handle several months unused without any noticeable effect and still write perfectly on the first stroke.

 

When you notice that the ink is becoming much darker or gooey or the writing behavior changes its time.

 

Imo a week or 2 is nothing to even think about a problem

[WilsonCQB1911]

My 88 has been inked continually for months now. I may add more ink every month or so but that's all I do. My Optima has had the same fill in it for at least a month. I can't see any reason to worry about it with "standard" inks. I'm using Pilot blue/black.

[ac12]

Just rotate through your pens.

Write a daily journal, so you get to use the pens/inks you don't normally use.

Edited March 5, 2016 by ac12

[Pterodactylus]

Ok, refilling when continuously using a pen is a different story.

I have had pens inked up continuously for years, just refilling them.

Currently e.g. my Serwex MB is inked about 2,5 years with ESS Registrars Blue/Black (iron gall ink), just refilling it, no cleaning, no flushing, without any problems.

It's my favorite drawing pen.

 

 

(Serwex MB flex EMF ..... ESS Registrars Blue/Black)

[Freedom]

I typically keep only a couple of pens inked at any given time. I also keep track of which ones are clean or inked and with which ink. I never completely fill them up. Usually no more than half full, which is why I don't care for large capacity converter such as CON-70. I like to change ink frequently so less to return into the ink bottle when I switch colours. As far as the amount of time I will leave the ink in a pen without using it is probably no more than a month (never had issues with ink drying in the nib/feed). That being said, I made a habit of writing at least of few words or doodling with every inked own at least once a week. I also shake my ink bottles at the same time.

[pensive_ink]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

I do have a rotation of my favorite pens --currently about six? But then I have a lot of pens that I think I'll mothball and put into semi-storage.

 

My gut tells me that in most cases it's not that big of a deal to let ink remain for a while --but I also know that it's easy for months and then years to slip by before realizing "oh, I forgot about that pen...".

[Runnin_Ute]

I usually flush most of my pens about once a month. I may or may not change colors at that time. Right now I have about 18 inked, but I need to flush four or five of them. The Al Star and Jinhao 599 both have Diamine Shimmertastic inks in them right now.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Runnin_Ute

[Margana]

As long as a pen gets used so that the ink keeps flowing, most of my pens can tolerate a week or two without getting dried out. Dry weather can reduce that amount of time.

 

Some pens are more tolerant than others. Platinum Century models are designed to handle erratic use. Some of my Pels are good at that, too. My TWSBI 580 ranks up there as does the Conklin Duragraph.

 

Gradually, my rotation is getting reduced to a precious few. I figure if an inked pen isn't meeting paper fairly often, it's time to change the ink or give the pen a rest.

[amberleadavis]

Okay, I'm the difficult person on the board. At any given time, I have about 30 pens inked.

 

Here were the pens I had inked up two+ years ago.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inked_Today/2013-Ink_842.jpg

 

Now before you ask, how I can possibly use that many pens, check out the link below to 366+ inks. This year, I have already tried out 100+ different inks. I have written at least 3 full pages with each ink including the 30+ that I tried out at the LA pen show. That means that I use a LOT of ink in a lot of different colors.

 

Diamine Cerise has been in my TWSBI 580 for almost 6 months. I don't write with it a lot, but I do write with it every 3 days. I will keep Cerise in the pen until I finish it out because it gets frequent use and has never dried out. Also the 580 holds a lot of ink. Now, the Pelikan M200 also holds a lot of ink. I inked up Noodler's G I Green in it last week, and I'm already out of ink. I had forgotten that I adore that ink. I inked up J Herbin Rose Tendresse on 1/1 and I'm about 1/2 way through the fill, and I'll probably finish it out. Other inks just have to got because I will not be able to use a full fill or I don't like the ink. For example, I gave up on the Thorton inks (and those were small cartridges) because they didn't motivate me.

 

In short, I flush the pen when I find that it is sitting in my pen long enough that I have to prime the pen in order to use the ink. That means that certain pens just get flushed faster, and that means that certain inks get flushed, but long terms, I don't want to let inks dry out in my pens.

 

I hope that helps.

[Calibrating]

Amberleadavis, your words are always so fun to read. By flush, do you mean down the drain it goes or does the ink go back into the bottle? I understand either way it's "flushing the pen" of it's ink but I wonder about the ink's final destination.

[amberleadavis]

Amberleadavis, your words are always so fun to read. By flush, do you mean down the drain it goes or does the ink go back into the bottle? I understand either way it's "flushing the pen" of it's ink but I wonder about the ink's final destination.

 

 

Karen, thank you for your kind words. I dump them into big mugs along with the first water flush. Then I let it dry out and I paint with it.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Tests/Fade/2013-Window/Waste_A/2013-03-15_WA_03.JPGhttp://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Tests/Fade/2013-Window/Waste_A/2013-Ink_561.jpg

[Calibrating]

That's so neat! I never thought of that as an option and now feel compelled to try it for myself. Thanks for your reply. : )