How Much To Stockpile Of Your Favorites?

[Jerome Tarshis]

I think I've read that too. I wonder if the less toxic formulations are actually any worse at preventing bacteria growth though. Time will tell I guess. It would be interesting to have the inside scoop on what caused any given ink to develop SITB...luckily I haven't developed any yet.

 

 

 

It is the actual *intention* of the EU regulations about biocides that the biocide won't last as long as the earlier biocides did. Biocides are poisons, and the thinking about them is that we don't want to be putting long-lasting poisons into the environment if we can make do with shorter-term poisons.

 

It's true that we don't yet know what the practical effects will be over time. We do know that the chemicals are formulated to self-degrade sooner than phenol would. It is worth remembering, however, that the Japanese manufacturers haven't adopted those EU standards.

[almoore]

 

It depends on what works best for each ink in terms of storage. My unopened bottles are generally kept in their retail boxes (in case I want to sell them or give them away as presents, not that either is likely), and other bottles are stacked where possible, so boxes can be handy except for bottles that end up in trays.

 

 

This is the type of desk I have: https://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/80354276/

 

and this is how I store all my ink bottles:

 

 

I thought my collection large but this is awesome

 

[sirgilbert357]

 

I enjoy having options (for a variety of purposes) at my fingertips, especially if I can afford it. Moreover, I don't believe in a single 'general purpose' camera (with or without attachments that can be removed and/or swapped in and out), a single pen, etc. to meet every requirement in every circumstance. Even though I know I don't and won't take my digital Single Lens Reflex with me out of the house day to day, I will never subscribe to any marketing spiel or 'user testament' that the camera on some mobile phone handset is sufficient and equally as good for all the purposes I can think of in my life; but then I don't forgo having 'ultraportable' cameras (such as the one built into my phone handset) in the name of pursuing photographic purity. I have ten pairs of running shoes 'in rotation', a dozen running caps, twenty or so running tops, and a wardrobe full of jackets. Two bags jammed full of various types of backpacks and duffel bags. 180+ different inks (but about 210 retail bottles in total), some 150+ fountain pens. Think of it as the personal 'resource pool' I like to keep.

 

Believe it or not, so far all the ink bottles I have fit inside the built-in shelving under my small IKEA desk. They're not on display, as the desk is opaque.

 

Edit:

Just to pre-empt, since some members here (as with other online forums) seem apt to jump in and start preaching 'sharing' of private resources as if 'the community' has some claim or entitlement to benefit from others' private property that is not being used/exploited to its maximum potential: I never intended, and will never agree, to make any part of it a library for other would-be fountain pen ink users to access. What I'd prefer to encourage by spending/buying is to let ink manufacturers know there is a demand for certain inks, that they should not discontinue producing, but instead price according to demand (and supply) so that consumers who want it can be satisfied if they pay the asking price (whether or not that means they have to make a choice not to 'afford' something else).

 

 

I TOTALLY get the Digital SLR thing. I was into photography for a while and you really can't have one "do it all" camera (unless you are always ONLY shooting pics of the same thing where the lighting, distance, colors, etc. are within a very narrow known range). Even with a good SLR, you can have a range of lenses and still end up needing a different setup to achieve the desired result...or you just don't want to carry all that (bleep) with you and something smaller works better at that moment. So yeah, I get that having the right tool for the job is "a thing".

 

I can see how your thought process might lend itself to multiple inks - even 180...I guess, LOL. That's an awful lot of color variety. I doubt I could make a dent in that kind of inventory with the little writing I do. I think that's where my preference diverges -- I ask first what is it that I want. Then, what can I reasonably expect to use. I then try to find a compromise of sorts where I get what I want with a reasonable expectation of putting it to good use. Sure I WANT 20 Pelikan M800's in all varieties, with different nibs; I can reasonably expect to use the two I have though. I get we all have different standards - I'm not bashing yours, just talking through why I think mine differs. It's fun to see the differences.

 

I think the main driver for my mentality is just my available disposable cash. I typically have to carefully plan my pen purchases and cannot be happy with myself when money is tied up in something I'm not using -- it could go towards something I WILL use! This is why I went from three cameras to one, from 13 or so watches to 6 and from about 14 pens to the main 7 I have now (with the 4 beaters that don't "count" lol). Each time I sold stuff off from one hobby, it got funneled into the next one, and I was rarely in more than one hobby at a time. If I had more disposable cash, I probably would have kept all that stuff and still used it occasionally, but I don't really miss any of it thankfully.

 

PS - 100% agreed on your edit there. I don't get why people think this way at all. And half of the time, if you dig a little, you find out they are moral relativists anyway and don't believe in any objective moral good or bad! LOL. Oh, so it's just your "opinion" then that you have more of a right to my stuff than I do?? But you're right and I'm wrong, right? Way to be intellectually consistent there! LOL.

[sirgilbert357]

So to add a dimension to this discussion, do you all tend to keep the inks in their original boxes, or do you store them without? I am debating this right now as I contemplate moving my fairly rage collection from its shoeboxes to a bookshelf. I can probably get a lot more if I keep them in boxes, but I’m sure I’ll like the aesthetic as much.

 

 

I always just chunk the boxes. Unless it's a L.E. ink. I'll wait until I've opened the bottle and started using it to toss the box for some reason. I have no good reason for doing it that way with the L.E. inks, lol.

 

I will say, however, that I like to look at the bottles when I open that drawer with my ink in it. I just think they are beautiful. If everything were boxed up, it wouldn't appeal to me as much I guess. With the L.E. inks, the boxed one is sitting behind the one in current use, so I still get to see that bottle too...

[sirgilbert357]

 

It depends on what works best for each ink in terms of storage. My unopened bottles are generally kept in their retail boxes (in case I want to sell them or give them away as presents, not that either is likely), and other bottles are stacked where possible, so boxes can be handy except for bottles that end up in trays.

 

 

This is the type of desk I have: https://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/80354276/

 

and this is how I store all my ink bottles:

 

 

 

Wow. That is awesome. Not just the way you've stored it, but the "collage" there with all the arrows and pics of how things are organized within the drawers. That's a pretty efficient use of the space, I have to say.

 

You seem very detail oriented, which is awesome. I have a pretty high attention to detail too and always appreciate that when I see it in others!

[A Smug Dill]

Thanks!

 

You seem very detail oriented, which is awesome.

 

Well, yes, I am. That, and I like to cram things densely into rigidly defined spaces. You can see it from my Chinese writing samples (usually on 5mm dot/grid paper). Most people are amazed when they see how I pack my suitcases when travelling.

 

Apparently I can't bloody count, though. There are ten bottles of ink, not nine, in the darker woven basket at the very top.

 

I just received two gifts today, one of which is a bottle of Montblanc Writer's Edition Homer Greek Blue ink. I think I'll definitely be keeping the retail box for that one! Luckily I still have some space on those shelves.

Edited February 19, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Intensity]

A Smug Dill: I love your collection and organization! Very inspirational.

 

eharriett: Keeping all the boxes that the inks came in. I might store an ink bottle separately for a while if I know I'll be refilling that ink again soon / if it's my regular ink bottle. I've traded, sold, and gifted some inks I did not end up using or liking, so I prefer to keep as complete and neat of a package as possible--and the packaging also helps with keeping a bottle safe during shipping. And finally packaging helps with stacking ink bottles on top of each other, particularly if the bottles have a rounded / irregular shape.

[eharriett]

A Smug Dill: As others say, I love your organizing method!

[Bibliophage]

I'm a moral relativist (morals are guilt complexes established by a society to influence behavior), but I'm a firm believer in ethics. My asking you to give away inks, when you _use_ them, would violate my ethics. That is, I have no need for them, and you have need of them.

 

In this case, I stand by my earlier statement. You'll need to take up another hobby that helps you use some of them up a wee bit faster. So you can buy more

[Karmachanic]

you really can't have one "do it all" camera

 

I used one camera, one lens and one film for ten years. Made money doing so. Ralph Gibson did it for several decades.

 

Could I use only one pen? Yes. With the proviso that I could have three nibs. One ink? Hmm, no. Four would do. Blue teal, reddish, orangy yellowish and blackish. Currently KWZ Walk Over Vistula, KWZ Maroon #2, Sailor Kin-Mokusei, and Kiwa-Guro. To be replenished with similar, but not necessarily indentical replacements

 

Slowly slowly moving in that direction. I have two pens in the "out'" box.

[sirgilbert357]

 

I used one camera, one lens and one film for ten years. Made money doing so. Ralph Gibson did it for several decades.

 

Could I use only one pen? Yes. With the proviso that I could have three nibs. One ink? Hmm, no. Four would do. Blue teal, reddish, orangy yellowish and blackish. Currently KWZ Walk Over Vistula, KWZ Maroon #2, Sailor Kin-Mokusei, and Kiwa-Guro. To be replenished with similar, but not necessarily indentical replacements

 

Slowly slowly moving in that direction. I have two pens in the "out'" box.

Heh, guess I should have said I wasn't satisfied with my one camera. But in your own reply you say you could never make do with one ink, lol. It's a matter of preference and what level one is willing to constrain themselves to.

[sirgilbert357]

I'm a moral relativist (morals are guilt complexes established by a society to influence behavior), but I'm a firm believer in ethics. My asking you to give away inks, when you _use_ them, would violate my ethics. That is, I have no need for them, and you have need of them.

 

In this case, I stand by my earlier statement. You'll need to take up another hobby that helps you use some of them up a wee bit faster. So you can buy more

I appreciate you being intellectually consistent in that regard (about the inks). I don't want to derail this thread with off-topic discussion, so feel free to PM me if you want, but I don't see how one can claim to see no such thing as morals and then also claim to hold to a standard of ethics (which is just another morally based system), unless your ethics are just subjective -- in which case it makes perfect sense.

[Intensity]

https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-morality-and-ethics

[Kalessin]

I keep all the boxes when possible, and I probably have about sixty bottles of ink. Keeps the light damage down, and makes stacking up the bottles easier.

[sirgilbert357]

 

It is the actual *intention* of the EU regulations about biocides that the biocide won't last as long as the earlier biocides did. Biocides are poisons, and the thinking about them is that we don't want to be putting long-lasting poisons into the environment if we can make do with shorter-term poisons.

 

It's true that we don't yet know what the practical effects will be over time. We do know that the chemicals are formulated to self-degrade sooner than phenol would. It is worth remembering, however, that the Japanese manufacturers haven't adopted those EU standards.

 

 

I missed this post earlier...thanks for the reply. Makes sense, I guess, about the biocides. I have to wonder if the biocide retains its properties even within dried ink though. If not, that's probably a good thing...

[Mongoosey]

I did stockpile 2 bottles of Sailor Souboku because it's:

 

• All around one of the better behaved permanent inks in a pen IMO. I'm always looking for the best permanent inks out there.
• I find it flows well in my pens,,
• and for such a permanent ink it feels smooth to write with.

________________________________

 

I typically stockpile an ink I need with 2 extra bottles on top of the one I'm using if they are around 50 mL (Souboku, Kiwa-Guro)

 

For something closer to the volume of Noodler's (>90mL), I'll stockpile 1 extra bottle (HOD).

________________________________

 

If I wasn't concerned about permanence I'd stock up on more Iroshizuku inks. I find they flow so well in all my pens and I love how smooth they make a nib feel.

 

I do have 1 bottle of Take-Sumi and Yama-Guri and consider myself quasi-stockpiled with Iroshizuku inks since I find they're very consistent.

 

But honestly, besides the permanent inks, I wait to find a pen I really like, then an ink that marries well with it, and then I'll stockpile it or various colors of that same type if consistent enough.

[A Smug Dill]

I must say I'm kinda falling out of love with Sailor kiwaguro pigment ink. While it may be better behaved than Platinum Carbon Black in terms of flow in most pens, it simply isn't as waterproof, in that if you dunk a page written in Sailor kiwaguro into a bucket (or just some sizeable body of water), chances are that what washes off the surface would smear and stain the page sufficiently while in that state, to render the permanent marks (i.e. the original writing) on the paper illegible anyhow. I saw that happen again yesterday when I was doing a test of some of my new pens. So, only having one 'spare' bottle of it (as opposed to three of Sailor souboku) suits me just fine.

Aurora Black and Monteverde Black Ash are both slightly less water-resistant than Sailor kiwaguro, but on the other hand they're less apt to smear and stain when soaked.

Edit: fixed broken mark-up

Edited February 22, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Mongoosey]

I must say I'm kinda falling out of love with Sailor kiwaguro pigment ink. While it may be better behaved than Platinum Carbon Black in terms of flow in most pens, it simply isn't as waterproof, in that if you dunk a page written in Sailor kiwaguro[/] into a bucket (or just some sizeable body of water), chances are that what washes off the surface would smear and stain the page sufficiently while in that state, to render the permanent marks (i.e. the original writing) on the paper illegible anyhow. I saw that happen again yesterday when I was doing a test of some of my new pens. So, only having one 'spare' bottle of it (as opposed to three of Sailor souboku) suits me just fine.

Aurora Black and Monteverde Black Ash are both slightly less water-resistant than Sailor kiwaguro, but on the other hand they're less apt to smear and stain when soaked.

 

Did you ink blot the paper it was on?

 

I heard about problems with Noodler's Black smearing unless it was ink blotted.

 

Maybe there's a similar problem with Kiwa-Guro.

[dragorsi]

So to add a dimension to this discussion, do you all tend to keep the inks in their original boxes, or do you store them without? I am debating this right now as I contemplate moving my fairly rage collection from its shoeboxes to a bookshelf. I can probably get a lot more if I keep them in boxes, but I’m sure I’ll like the aesthetic as much.

 

I don't stockpile. I have waaay too many untried inks (see here: http://www.fpc.ink/users/295) and I keep seeing new ones I want.

The only one I'd be sad to see go and would buy a couple of bottles would be Diamine's Soft Mint, but I don't think that one will ever go away. Any other really loved inks (like the Sailor #123) will be appreciated while they last than I'll get 10 new one instead of them

 

In the beginning I throw away the boxes but now I keep them since I can pile them up easier on the shelf I have dedicated to my inks and samples. Plus they keep them in the dark which is supposed to be a good thing for them.

[A Smug Dill]

(see here: http://www.fpc.ink/users/295)

 

 

Interesting. Never heard of that site before. Just signed up now.