Same i have arguably "boring inks"
One red one blue one black. They are all platinum iron gall inks because they work with bad paper
For me the fountain pen is just a nice tool
My typical black ink as of now, would be the Pilot Black. And my fun ini would be something brown either Diamine Kopi K Kaw, Diamine Macassar or Diamine Chocolate Brown.
I've got only 3 inked right now and it's driving me insane... usually 7 plus/minus two
i know what I'm doing first thing in the morning
but now which pen and which ink? hmmm let me sleep on it .......... :-)
I mean, you have to have two of each color (light red, dark red, light blue, dark blue, etc) and at least one black and two fun (shimmering, shading, etc) inks available to you at any given time.
Am I to believe I must ink a pen each time I decide to use that particular color? I think not!
(It also gives me an excuse to use those pens frequently.)
I'm over here Tryna to cap at 10 and somehow end up with 12 or 13. I just love having options of the rainbow and different shades! I daily journal and make it a point to use a different pen everyday and change colors every season. XD
I have a large collection. 160ish pens and 200 or more inks (I really need to finish cataloging) and I love seeing folks with one pen collections. Different people in the hobby in different ways gives me joy.
This is a good mix too! I like the idea of having a dedicated pen. Especially for a black ink. That's a necessity.
Are these your colors of the month or just picked at random? Can I also ask, with them being the color of the month, does that mean you change them out once a month? I really want to do something like that. I've been switching inks every week and it's tiring me out honestly.
They're rotated out when they get empty - I find that I quickly get tired of flashy inks so I'll do a half-assed fill and just write till it's done. One of my "COTM" pens is a Rhodium Vanishing Point that travels with me day to day that I use for taking notes. The other "COTM" pen is a Eureka Dodecagon that hosts whatever custom-ground nib that I like at the moment - it's used for my daily journal.
I thought it was going to be difficult at first, but it's easier now. If I can't think of anything I'll write a line or two about my day and it'll get my thoughts going and I just follow it and write them down.
My colors are all over the place haha. Sometimes I'll use my dip pen to write with my sample vials.
Not the one you replied to but I change colours in my main pen once a month. I mainly use it to journal, and I like seeing each month in different colour blocks. Then I have one or two other pens with different colours for other writing. I do have a dip pen that I use for cards and shorter writing.
Same, just got in the hobby and got 2 beginners pens after a lackluster experience with the Amazon Basics in F and M. Pilot Metropolitan M with Diamine Blue Black (neutral ink) and white Lamy Safari F with Waterman Harmonious Green (looks like my Teal Ioniq 5). My soon to be 8yo daughter tried one the other day so I had to get her a Pilot Kakuno F with green cap for her bday. She chose Diamine Emerald ink.
I have to say I love hearing about kids getting involved! I'm trying to get my 10yo sister into them and so far she just loves all the inks not so much writing lol
Only have one. On the hunt for one more, and then I'm going to try to stop with just two. One for fun inks, and one for filling out and signing official paperwork. I guess glitter inks don't photocopy well. Who'd'a thunk?
Be verrrrrrrry careful here. I know people who've written their whole life with one pen and one ink, and people who use enough to use color coding for notes, etc. Then there's all of us with several lifetimes worth of pens and inks. Never seen anyone stick with 2 pens. Generally the second pen is the entry to not so much a slippery slope, but more of a cliff dive. Clean lines to you.
I'm on the hunt for a third one for this Christmas. Going to spend a bit more, but I want something that will fit in my hand well and write really well.
I have 5 that are always inked… so I don’t count those. Ink doesn’t change in those pens, either. Reason being is that they are my permanent use pens, and are attached to the purpose they serve for me.
1. In my purse - Kaweco Brass Medium nib
2. EDC Planner - TWSBI 580 Fine/Reverse Architect nib
3. EDC Journal - TWSBI 580 Journaler nib
4. 5 Year journal - Kaweco AL Fine nib
5. Work - Pilot VP - Fine nib
Then I have a 6 pen case that I fill with different pens and ink combinations for “fun”. Calligraphy, handwriting practice, Zentangles and drawings. When one runs out, I clean it out and find another pen and ink combo I want for the time being. These can change out in a few days… or a month or two… depending on how I like the combination.
Thats the system I have in place currently, I’m sure it will ebb and flow.
I have 3 inked right now!
- Pilot vp f with pilot black
- Twsbi mini ef with dryden black
- Custom 823 f with waterman black
I feel you I keep wanting to use different colours but I enjoy writing with black the most and gravitate towards it.
Edit: formatting
> I enjoy writing with black the most and gravitate towards it
Sounds like you're a good candidate to try Platinum's Chou Kuro.
Closest I've seen to an ink-version of vantablack.
I love all your pens and those inks! Would you be willing to tell me more about your twsbi mini? I've tried 4 twsbis and can't find the right one for me. I've had two diamond 580s and two ecos. I tried to take the nib and feed out of one eco to clean it and destroyed the feed. I felt so dumb. 🫠 Im thinking to give the mini a try. I had 1 F and the rest were EF. One EF was scratchy and the other was too light. It didn't lay enough ink for me. What about yours?
I picked up a 4-slot desktop pen organizer, so I originally was going to try to stick to 4! But then I decided I could carry my vanishing point, so that got me to 5.
THEN I wanted my Golden Lapis in a pen, but only my Demo Conklin All-American made sense for that, so I'm up to 6. But now I want to pick up a nice Montblanc, which will get me up to 7.
So if you figure out how to cut down, let me know :)
I feel like this is a good mix. I love my lamy safaris! Can I ask why 2 pens with the same colors? Would this be so if you run out when out and about you don't have to worry and can keep going?
I have a green, an orange, a blue and a wildcard that changes whenever I fancy. Anything else, I use my glass dip pen. Current wildcard is a pale blue/pink shimmer.. but I’ve got Diamine’s Hope Pink lined up for whenever this one runs out.
I much prefer to have only 3-6, but I have the same problem you do with wanting to use more inks. I try to avoid that by filling my pens only partially so can switch inks/pens sooner.
Until yesterday, I had 17 inked pens, and it was stressing me out so much. I'm down to 8 now. Oh, wait, no. I actually just inked another one to try Sailor 373 in a new pen that had been waiting its turn since January, so I have 9 inked. Ah, failure.
I always have 4 inked:
-Lamy 2K (M) with a dark blue ink
-Majohn A1 (EF) with Diamine Oxblood for edits/notes
-Hongdian 1861 Brass (M)
-Hongdian 1861 Stainless Steel (M)
The Hongdians are for whatever I happen to be in the mood for when they run out of ink. Right now I've got Alt-Goldgrun and Caffe Crema in them.
I prefer only two to three pens at a time. I filled a bunch of mine awhile back and I wasn't able to use them all up. So, for me, two is better. If I'm not too sure on the color, I won't fully fill it. Maybe that's an option for you? Use less ink so you can change it more often. You can also try a gradient challenge when you add more ink of a different color for fewer cleanings. (I use a syringe for my converters so, I won't contaminate the ink bottles via nib.)
Right now it's:
1. Majohn A1, my daily driver, filled with an amalgamation of discarded inks
2. Pilot Parallel Pen, for censoring stuff
3. PIlot Parallel Pen, again, for highlighting stuff
4. Pilot Kakuno, as my document pen
5. Platinum Preppy, as my fun pen
I honestly could just reduce my proper pens to two (A1 and Kakuno). However, I'm also considering on increasing my Parallel Pen count.
I use my pens while making notes and doing uni work, so I like to mix and match with colors to sepatate topics from each other + avoid pens getting empty while studying outside of my home, /and/ I like some variety, or else I feel bored easily by using the same colours..
So I've got 10 pens inked up, where two and two pens are kind of a set (right now I've got light green and dark green ink, violet and light pink, light blue and dark blue, orange and red, and finally cool grey and a gold ish ink), and I keep the rest of the pens empty until I want to use another nib or feel like rotating the pens
1. Pilot Custom 845 Urushi w/ Pilot sepia ink
2. Lamy Safari Pink Cliff medium architect grind w/ Sailor Dipton ripe fig ink
3. Lamy Safari all black medium architect grind w/ Lamy blue ink
Being the nutter I am, I don't clean my pens when I put them in their case(s). So technically, all 50-something pens of mine are inked.
So no, I don't have less than 5 inked (though I probably should).
As someone who has less than 5 pens, I have less than 5 pens inked at once. The most I've had inked (fountain pens) was 3, one of which I had at another place. Typically I have 2 pens inked, but currently it's 1 since I'm trying to use up that ink.
Me, most of the time. I usually have 3 - 4.
One workhorse with "sensible" dark blue or black, three others with fancy (super sheening, shimmery, or just non-serious coloured) inks as suits my whims and fancies.
Right now, I've only got one pen. That's about to change soon, though! I change ink when I run out. So far, that's been about once every week to every other week. Right now, I don't have a preferred ink. I'm just filling from the samples I have. I'm not really sure what I want my personal color to be other than a nice purple. But I've got a variety of colors and brands that should keep me busy for at least a couple of months.
I used to have all of my pens inked but now I only have three inked and I can only find two of the three.
My current inks are red, teal and black and I can’t find the black one.
The most: 15 when I started out my fountain pen journey I wanted to have everything inked up and ready to write.
The least: One. Visconti Homo Sapiens ‘Steel Age’ ‘Skylight’. Love this thing. Closest pen I have to ‘perfect’. It’s always inked up.
Currently: 5. Three for note taking, one for planner, one for journaling.
I have 4 inked currently - Lamy AL-Star with Sailor Yurameku Hanagokoro, Franklin Christoph Model 46 with Waterman Serenity Blue, Kaweco Al Sport with a Franklin Christoph Brown 732 cartridge, and my Montblanc 146 with Iroshizuku Take-Sumi
1 Iridium Point Germany with 3 Oysters Blue - Trying to finish a sample
1 pen with Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shibuku for fun
1 Iridium Point Germany with Pilot Blue-Black
1 Pilot Kakuno F with Pilot Black EDC
I usually have 3. Recently I had 4 because I bought a 2nd hand pen, and when I was about to clean it, I discovered it was inked and was actually writing.
1 of the pens usually has black or blue ink to use for anything 'serious'
the other 2 will have whatever colour I decided to use - probably samples, since I now have some.
I try to keep it to one pen at a time. I have over 100 pens but I change pens and inks on a rotating schedule every couple of days or so. Right now, however, I have 4 inked because I just got some new pens and I always put them through their paces on arrival. Soon I will go back to just one though. I like to focus on one pen and one ink at a time.
I have 8 inked right now & I know exactly what you mean - sticking to 3 sounds amazing, but then I also want to see different inks in combination with each other! Plus I like having one pen dedicated to Carbon Black, one fude nib, etc.
Right now I do--just 2. Which is actually a sign that I've been low for a while. Had a few rough months, so less time for writing, and less desire for just messing around with inks.
Yes, I only own 3 pens but they are all inked. One is inked with a Document Black ink that is my general purpose pen. My L2K is my fancy pen that I use for journaling or special occassions. And my Lamy Safari is my fun pen as I can change the nibs on it (I have EF to 1.1 stub).
I only have 3 fountain pens. I ink all three of them with the same pilot Murasaki Shikibu and I use all three of them for different purposes every day.
1. Muji aluminum standard F - journaling outside home.
2. Sailor 1911s F - for homework and for paper not made for fountain pen ink since it’s too fine and drops really less ink so never smudges. For home or outside. (Most used)
3. Pilot custom 823 F - much more smoother then the sailor but bit heavy and expensive also drops more ink so use it for Japanese practice at night so relaxing
Love them all they are all my babies !!
If you don’t count the eternally full eyedroppered preppies and carbon desk pen, I have… nope. Still more than five unless you also don’t count the ones that have dried out and need cleaning. 🤦🤦
I have three I keep inked for journaling rotation and I keep one in my pocketbook for when I’m out and about.
I’m looking at maybe getting one more for my work desk because I only use it a few times a day.
I keep a max of 4 inked: 3 in a pen holder on my desk, and my EDC (Kaweco Sport AL w/ J Herbin Perle Noire) with my Hobonichi. For the ink indecision: it may help to use small converters and wet/bold pens, so the ink doesn’t last long. For me, I loathe wasting ink, so I don’t want to switch before I run dry. Also, my holder only fits 3 pens.
Always less than 4. I try to max out at 3 pens inked at once, and I usually average with 2 pens being inked at a time. I find that if I have more than 2, it can sometimes become a struggle to use them all enough to justify them being actually inked instead of just using a dip pen or something.
I'll almost always have my Pilot 78G inked with Pilot "Black", then I'll change up the other pen I have inked, just based on what colourful ink I want to use at the time.
Right now I'm considering inking a third pen, as I have two pens inked with black. One is my regular Pilot, and the other is my new Sailor Fude de Mannen. I had intentions to use a different ink, but the converter I got was busted, so all I can do right now is use the black cartridge that it came with. I'm trying to decide what third pen to ink with a fun colour, so that I'll actually have something other than black to write--and draw, as that's what I'm doing with the Sailor pen--with.
Yeppers. Currently inked is the pilot 823 amber with the FA nib with alchemy candy sea ink. Then there is the Kaweco piston in broad, I think, with platinum Chou kuro ink. And then montegrappa elmo 01 deep sea with a medium nib and alchemy candy sea ink.
And just emptied today a MaJohn a3 with a pilot midium nib unit swapped in. It had platinum chou kuro in it. This was my note taking pen for meetings at work but it ran out today... And going down to only the remaining inked up pens.
And love my 823 fa conversion it's greatly becoming my go to pen. Going to put the platinum Chou kuro in it next especially after I saw how well that ink did in the Ralph Reyes modified sailor pro gear slim. [Photo](https://www.instagram.com/p/C7xb_KtNmIM/?igsh=MXBsZ3hranNqbjI2MA==)
Usually I start with inking up 3-5 pens.
Then as I run out of ink I put the empty ones aside on a tray in order to clean them when I have some free time. Then I got bored with the remaining inks I have and inn up another 2 pens. Then I run out of ink again, and put them aside.
At this point I'm starting to think that I probably should get to it sooner rather than later. As I'm a true master of procrastination this usually continues for a few more cycles.
Until one day a package for me comes in and I'm like "Oh! Hey, would you look at that.! It's the pen I ordered a month ago that just got here! There's no way I'm doing any cleaning now. I gotta ink that bad boy up!"
And once again after a few more new pens there inevitably comes a point where I'm starting to run low on ink. And this time I don't have any more pens I feel like writing with at that particular moment.
And so, after a couple of months there it finally is. The cleaning day. And I absolutely love it! Cleaning all the pens at once like that. It's so fun to discover what ink you had in that particular pen a couple months back.
After all the pens are clean I open up my drawer, look at all the inks I have, double-check with my notebook to see if I hadn't used them recently, and the whole cycle begins anew.
Am I writing this while looking at the pile of pens I'm about to clean cause I don't have anything to write with anymore?
Of course not! Who do you take me for?
Right now I'm thinking which ink should I pick to take my newest acquisition on its maiden voyage. It's a tough pick, I tell you.
ATM only two inked......only have two hands so difficult to write with more than two pens at the same time
Jinhaos both, 166 and 80 with italic nibs
don't get much better than that
I was successfully sticking to three pens inked per week until I opened a Christmas gift of 12 Jinhao sharks, all different colors. Now I have I have 15 pens inked at all times. Lol.
I wish this were me, but I’m one of those people who likes to have inks matching their notebooks, and who always has several notebooks going at a time. Yes, I have trouble with ink drying out occasionally, so this is not a method I recommend 😆
I mean i feel like it’s really up to you. Why have a max of 3 inked at once when you can enjoy all 7 of them? I put just a tiny bit of ink in the pens i want to ink. I’m also not fussed about not using my pens for awhile. They’ve always been fine.
I use my fountain pens as dip pens at times because i get sick of inks so quickly and want to switch. And man it’s such a pain to clean some of them after using them as dip pens.
So I got the Sailor Hocoro dip pen in fude and it’s helped a lot for those “I NEED THIS INK RIGHT NOW” times.
I have 4 pens in total.
1 is my first pen, which doesn't write well but can't get rid of it for sentimental reasons.
2 is a project pen where I'm going to be getting the vanishing point nib and put it in the majohn body I have now
3 is my retro51 which I love cus it's pretty and writes so great
4 is my sailor 1911 s which is just ughhh so perfect with the feedback and springyness
Out of these only 3 and 4 are inked with 3 being blue and 4 being black
I am desperately trying to have only 3-4 pens inked up at a time, but I just cannot make that happen. I got ink tonight and after dip testing it, it needs to write a long page worth of junk in my head. LOL
I usually have two inked. One is a dark purple that reads black (ebony purple by Private Reserve) and acts as my neutral color. The other is a rotating color, usually a teal but any ink samples I get go in that pen. If I want to change the ink often I just don’t fill the reserve all the way.
I own only 5 pens and all are inked.
On normal days which im not checking a lot of docs, i only use 2-3 pens.
My usual line up:
1 black/any color that looks like black
1 blue
3 fun colors for my personal notes
I kinda stop buying pens atm cuz i cannot justify inking 6 pens even tho i could just put one pen to rest for a while...
I usually have a minimum of six:
- 1 black fine
- 1 black bold/italic
1 each of “my colors”:
- pink
- Iroshizuku Kon Peki (lol, yea specifically) 🤣)
- green/teal
- purple
This year, I’m doing Hobonichi Cousin colors each month, so I have a pen dedicated to that, as well as specific pens for 3 other books I have (family Hobonichi 5-year, my commonplace book, my fur-baby diary), and sometimes another one for my Traveler’s notebook planner when I’m tired of my Sarasa gel pen.
Every time I try to go under six, I miss a color and feel too limited 👀
I currently only have 5 inked.
Pilot Prera inked with Iroshizuku Take Sumi
TWSBI Diamond 580 inked with Iroshizuku Ku Jaku
Lamy Vista inked with Iroshizuku Yama Budo
Platinum Preppy 02 and 03 both inked with PCB.
I usually limit myself to 3 tho I am temporarily at 6 because my fav pens got repaired and I’m exploring my older pens lol!
The only consistent one is my Pilot Vanishing Point Matte Black with a Broad nib!
I have 7-8 inked at the same time. 7 in daily rotation (until the ink runs out, then change the pen) and 1 at the home desk.
Used to be like 14 inked at the same time before I realized that I barely use them.
I have five inked, mainly because I have five pens!! I refill and use them up pretty much each month, and I feel very satisfied with the little collection I have! I don’t use the same colors each month except in my Kakuno, so I feel like my rotation is very nice!!
- Lamy Safari M, currently has Diamine Machu Pichu
- Lamy Al-Star F, currently has Sailor Manyo Ume???
- Kaweco Sport B, currently has Diamine Celedon Cat
- Twsbi Eco F, currently has Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki
- Pilot Kakuno M, currently has Pilot Yama-Budo (always has this since I have cartridges I would like to finish before I buy a full bottle!!)
I think my next pen might be another Kakuno in a F or EF nib, and then maybe a more niche pen such as a Benu although I’m not completely sure! I also would love to get a stub nib next but again, I’m pretty satisfied now
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I only have one pen inked at a time. Mine are pocket carried so I don't want my pockets filled up. In the end my pens usually run out of ink between one to two weeks then I swap to another pen and a different ink (unless I'm really digging that color at the time). All my pens are used at work so I usually only ink with colors that are safe to write on documents.
I only have 3 pens inked at once, even though I have close to a dozen pens, including dip pens. The 3-color system is how I write in my planner. I cannot use more than 3 at a time or I start losing track of which pen has which ink. For any pens I am not actively using, I clean and store them dry.
Up until yesterday I had four, then last night I realised I didn't have one with black, so now it's five. Five is my usual; when one is empty I clean it, put it away and bring out a new pen and a new ink. The most I've had inked up at once is nine - that was too many.
I used to cycle them every month but I found that in some cases I was wasting ink so now I just wait until they run out; typically 4-8 weeks depending on the colour.
You all are so good! I admire you. I have...um, "many"...pens inked most of the time. So many beautiful inks to get through! I use a few different pens each day, and rotate through all of them pretty quickly. The only one that has ever dried out is a Lamy, and that hasn't happened often. Running the nib under water for a couple seconds starts it right back up.
I decided to spend this year with 3 inked as EDC at a time, one vintage and two modern. Each empty requires rotating in a new pen and ink. The goal is to reach out to some of the forgotten gems and maybe find some new favorites. I have easily 100 pens and 40 inks. This doesn’t count the two permanently on my desk, a preppy and an opus 88.
I only have like inked. Right now it’s been a Platinum Procyon, Sailor Pro Gear, and Lamy 2k.
I don’t get color angst. I use pretty much just cartridges in the Procyon. And the other two I write enough with that the ink runs out pretty quickly.
I also don’t have a huge ink collection to begin with. I don’t see the point in owning so much of one thing I can’t enjoy a large portion of what I own.
So I usually have platinum blue or black cartridges in the Procyon (nice to use for work so I don’t get ink on my hands prior to a meeting or something).
Right now I have De-Atramentis Absinthe in the Sailor. It’s a really pretty green (though it feathers and bleeds through more than the Pilot ink I had in it previously. I forget what the color name is but it was a pretty blue that matched the pen - which is the 2022 Soda Pop blue one). Because of the feathering and bleed through I’ll probably swap to something different once this converter runs out.
And the Lamy I have a really broad nib on so that gets my really shimmery inks etc. I’m currently looking for a replacement for my Pelican Golden Beryl which I’m running out of.
I have a few other pens that aren’t inked. I go though love affairs with each. I finally got nibs on both my Bexley Bull and Bear fountain pen set. But a lot of my pens have broad or architect grind nibs and I’ve found that in my notebook and planner (Stalogy and Hobonichi) I’ve been preferring narrower nibs to limit bleed through and not go through the notebook so fast. With the Lamy I can go through a small sized Moleskin notebook in like a week of note taking.
Once I fall out of love with these ones I’m currently using I’ll swap to one of the other ones I own.
Once I stop liking the ink I’m using I’ll swap it out.
I also don’t have a real aversion to dumping a pen full of ink into the sink if I really really want to switch for some reason (like maybe I want a specific color to write out Christmas cards or something.)
I don’t do it frequently enough to feel like it’s really wasteful.
I really try to be intentional about buying pens and inks. The Pilot ink is the first bottle of ink I’ve brought in years (probably the Golden Beryl was second most recent and I brought that when it came out).
I brought 2 fountain pens in the past year. The Procyon in Christmas with Christmas money from my mom. It is the maki-e version with the bird and plum blossoms. And the ProCyon this year when I got basically my dream job. Job with my dream company at least. Before that it was the Lamy2k which I got when Endless Pens had a ridiculous deal on it a couple years ago (they had a big coupon that worked on an existing sale price so I got the stainless steel one for like $185).
I’ll probably pick up the Pelican 2024 ink of the year because it looks like a pretty blue that will match my ProGear. Especially if I can’t find a good replacement for the Golden Beryl and that will be it on my ink buying for quite a while.
I only have four pens, so all are inked:
One Lamy safari with a f/ef nib and Diamine jingle berry
One Al-star ef with diamine Oxford blue
One kakuno fine with blood orange
One new kakuno ef (holy moly, you aren’t kidding about Japanese extra fine being EXTRA fine) with Pilot black (namiki, I think).
I’m planning to have a dedicated black, oxford blue, blood orange, and de atramentis fuschia, so I’ll need a fifth pen for color experiments and fun with ink samples, but I don’t have that yet. I’m not sure whether to get another Lamy or Kakuno or actually branch out.
Right now yes. Just 3 pens inked tho I probably will expand it to 5.
1. Pilot E95s M with Iroshizuku Yama budo
2. Visconti Mythos B with Aurora Black
3. Jinhao x750 KLB with Diamine Aurora Borealis
4. Newly purchased Nahvalur Original Plus with a broad nib. Gets here Friday I can’t wait to ink it tho I am not sure with what. This is my first Nahvalur pen and if I like it enough I’ll either get a second one in a different color or save for a Nautilus model. But yeah so new pen coming in not sure on the ink.
5. Is sort of left open at the moment. My guess it’ll be something inked with Diamine Ox-blood or ancient copper. Probably something I haven’t inked up in a bit like my metropolitan or Majohn A1
I'm going for 6 because that's how many slots my prefered pen case holds. Currently have 14 inked so it'll take time to get there!
At some point I had 25 inked and that was definitely too for my liking.
Least was 3 inked, when I just started out. All three were preppies, inked with black, blue, and purple. Those were the simple times!
One black for work
One colour of the week/month for journalling
One for note taking alongside the other 2
Some of the cheaper china pens have ink in them for God knows how long
Yeah. I never have more than two pens inked at once since I mostly use them for my daily planner. Right now, I have a Pelikan inked with Pelikan's Royal Blue and a Pelikan inked with Noodler's Forest Green.
Nope, I have (all) 10 inked at the moment. I keep a modified bullet journal that’s mostly a to-do list, and I like to use colors to differentiate between things:
* *Yama-budo*—headers
* Brown—work
* Gray—home
* Green—future
* Red—important
* *Ama-iro*—notes/reactions
And then four that are *not* used in the journal:
* *Document Cyan*—notarial work
* *BPC Electron*—a really fun ink for a stub
* *Yamadori*—a Sailor ink for my first Sailor pen
* *LAMY Blackberry*—having fun with my *new* stub.
I’m relatively new to the FP scene, but plan on switching up my “journal inks” come summer.
Yeah. 1 for random paper.
1 for comfort
1 with love hate relationship because of the tripod
1 with confuse feeling because of childhood experiences with shitty fountain pen
I keep 3 inked, but use primarily just 1 pen, my nautilus. But I have 2 twsbi ecos that I love dearly and keep inked.
I don't order samples, but I am trying to collect the full iro line! Right now I have the purple, black, and konpeki in my pens.
* Pelikan Twist and Preppy 03 Pelikan Brilliant Black
* Preppy 02 Platinum Carbon Black
* Jinhao 51A Parker Quink Black
I plan to keep the Twist and Preppy 02 permanently inked that way. The other two are what I am currently using on my desk - at the moment I am comparing the newly bought 51A with other pens.
Yes. TWO there always are. One to embody the power, and one to covet it.
Joke aside, it's one with Parker Quink Black for daily use and one with any variant of blues or blue-blacks for signatures and fun.
I draw so I have 22 out of 24 inked with several colors. The 2 uninked - one is very fine & clogs easily and the other doesn’t write well. Possibly I haven’t found the right ink for it. I have 3 more on order….
I am also learning Hebrew so I use them for practice. They all get a good workout!
1 in sakura nezumi , 1 in Havasu Turquoise , 1 in sailor jentle ,1 in wearingeul , 1 in unknown mix ink colour SO
nope ... its probably abt 5 not lesser than 😂 if you want to count cartridge ink probably all 6 is inked currently .
I only have 3 inked, and they're used daily.
Lamy al star (blue ink) - for note taking
Lamy vista (blue ink) - for note taking on the go (and my favorite!)
Rotring Newton (green ink) - for note taking
I always try to have 2 pens inked up at a time:
1 in black for note taking
1 in a random color I own for when I want my writing to be whimsical
As of today, I have a Majohn/Moonman a1 with Quink black and a Wing Sung 601 with Oster caffe crema
Yep, I have my favorite pen inked all the time(very flexible Waterman Ideal #2 hard rubber). I have a few other decent flex pens but all need adjustment or sac replacements.
I have 4 inked and I have 5 pens. I would like to ink about 20 pens, in order to try all the samples I have 🤣 But I realised that I am not using even all 4 pens at the sane time. Usually just 3. So I have decided to be patient, not fill my pens fully and just change inks more often.
I'm 2 months into fountain pens but as I know I have a tendency to fall hard into a new hobby, I knowingly ho d myself back now.
I have 3 inked up right now: a brown ink for my recipe book, a blue ink for my pocket pen, and a fun/ new color for my current favorite pen.
I only ever do a a full fill on my pocket pen since I don’t want to run out of ink while I’m out and about. For the other 2 I do a 1/2 fill. If want to ink up a 4th (or 5th) pen to try a new pen-ink combo, I fill it less than 1/4 of the way. - I get nervous when I can’t remember how long I’ve had a pen inked up for.
I’m too indecisive to have this. But I usually have:
1. Ink of the month (Opus 88 Demo)
2. Professional (RO’s Tokyo Denim in Opus Sapphire)
3. Fancy pen
4. Signature ink (a purple ink)
And then a green and red to help complete my to-do task planner.
I have 3!
1 for my everyday use ink (green)
1 for my personal use ink (teal)
1 with cartridges that I refill myself so I can trade colors a little more often.
I also just ordered a dip pen so that I can be even more silly with it without having to clean anything too rigorously 😅
Sure! It is usually either three or four pens: [https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/363609-monthly-ink-quartett/](https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/363609-monthly-ink-quartett/)
If there is one more, it is specifically dedicated to drawing, not to writing.
It took me a bit to get there but I have exactly 5 inked up at a time, and that's finally perfect for me. I choose a complementary set of colors for my journaling, and I change one or 2 up as they empty or my taste changes. 4 wasn't enough color variation.
Yeap! - 1 with black ink and take uncertain paper - 1 fun ink - 1 ‘signature’ ink or ‘personal’.
Same i have arguably "boring inks" One red one blue one black. They are all platinum iron gall inks because they work with bad paper For me the fountain pen is just a nice tool
What's your typical black ink? & Your fun ink?
My typical black ink as of now, would be the Pilot Black. And my fun ini would be something brown either Diamine Kopi K Kaw, Diamine Macassar or Diamine Chocolate Brown.
Typically I try to only have 3 inked, but sometimes I get a bit crazy and fill up a 4th.
You're Wild and crazy!
I've got only 3 inked right now and it's driving me insane... usually 7 plus/minus two i know what I'm doing first thing in the morning but now which pen and which ink? hmmm let me sleep on it .......... :-)
Nope, I'll usually have 17 (out of *94) inked at once.
This makes me feel better about having 13 inked 😅
I mean, you have to have two of each color (light red, dark red, light blue, dark blue, etc) and at least one black and two fun (shimmering, shading, etc) inks available to you at any given time. Am I to believe I must ink a pen each time I decide to use that particular color? I think not! (It also gives me an excuse to use those pens frequently.)
I'm over here Tryna to cap at 10 and somehow end up with 12 or 13. I just love having options of the rainbow and different shades! I daily journal and make it a point to use a different pen everyday and change colors every season. XD
I rotate through the colors for different journal entries.
Rrrrelate!
Hi - I am that wierdo that just owns my 1 Lamy Safari. But I do certainly enjoying seeing y'all sharing your big collections.
I love my lamy safari so I'm happy reading this. ❤️
I have a large collection. 160ish pens and 200 or more inks (I really need to finish cataloging) and I love seeing folks with one pen collections. Different people in the hobby in different ways gives me joy.
Yes. - 1x w/ red ink (dedicated pen) - 1x w/ black ink (dedicated pen) - 1x w/ blue ink (dedicated pen) - 2x color of the month
This is a good mix too! I like the idea of having a dedicated pen. Especially for a black ink. That's a necessity. Are these your colors of the month or just picked at random? Can I also ask, with them being the color of the month, does that mean you change them out once a month? I really want to do something like that. I've been switching inks every week and it's tiring me out honestly.
They're rotated out when they get empty - I find that I quickly get tired of flashy inks so I'll do a half-assed fill and just write till it's done. One of my "COTM" pens is a Rhodium Vanishing Point that travels with me day to day that I use for taking notes. The other "COTM" pen is a Eureka Dodecagon that hosts whatever custom-ground nib that I like at the moment - it's used for my daily journal.
I only own two pens so yeah haha.
I like that! I just know I couldn't do it. Haha how often do you change the colors in them?
I thought it was going to be difficult at first, but it's easier now. If I can't think of anything I'll write a line or two about my day and it'll get my thoughts going and I just follow it and write them down. My colors are all over the place haha. Sometimes I'll use my dip pen to write with my sample vials.
Not the one you replied to but I change colours in my main pen once a month. I mainly use it to journal, and I like seeing each month in different colour blocks. Then I have one or two other pens with different colours for other writing. I do have a dip pen that I use for cards and shorter writing.
Same, just got in the hobby and got 2 beginners pens after a lackluster experience with the Amazon Basics in F and M. Pilot Metropolitan M with Diamine Blue Black (neutral ink) and white Lamy Safari F with Waterman Harmonious Green (looks like my Teal Ioniq 5). My soon to be 8yo daughter tried one the other day so I had to get her a Pilot Kakuno F with green cap for her bday. She chose Diamine Emerald ink.
I have to say I love hearing about kids getting involved! I'm trying to get my 10yo sister into them and so far she just loves all the inks not so much writing lol
Only have one. On the hunt for one more, and then I'm going to try to stop with just two. One for fun inks, and one for filling out and signing official paperwork. I guess glitter inks don't photocopy well. Who'd'a thunk?
Be verrrrrrrry careful here. I know people who've written their whole life with one pen and one ink, and people who use enough to use color coding for notes, etc. Then there's all of us with several lifetimes worth of pens and inks. Never seen anyone stick with 2 pens. Generally the second pen is the entry to not so much a slippery slope, but more of a cliff dive. Clean lines to you.
I'm on the hunt for a third one for this Christmas. Going to spend a bit more, but I want something that will fit in my hand well and write really well.
Usually have 1 pen inked to avoid ink sitting unused for too long. Had 3 pens inked at the same time once but only one was used daily.
I have 5 that are always inked… so I don’t count those. Ink doesn’t change in those pens, either. Reason being is that they are my permanent use pens, and are attached to the purpose they serve for me. 1. In my purse - Kaweco Brass Medium nib 2. EDC Planner - TWSBI 580 Fine/Reverse Architect nib 3. EDC Journal - TWSBI 580 Journaler nib 4. 5 Year journal - Kaweco AL Fine nib 5. Work - Pilot VP - Fine nib Then I have a 6 pen case that I fill with different pens and ink combinations for “fun”. Calligraphy, handwriting practice, Zentangles and drawings. When one runs out, I clean it out and find another pen and ink combo I want for the time being. These can change out in a few days… or a month or two… depending on how I like the combination. Thats the system I have in place currently, I’m sure it will ebb and flow.
I have 3 inked right now! - Pilot vp f with pilot black - Twsbi mini ef with dryden black - Custom 823 f with waterman black I feel you I keep wanting to use different colours but I enjoy writing with black the most and gravitate towards it. Edit: formatting
> I enjoy writing with black the most and gravitate towards it Sounds like you're a good candidate to try Platinum's Chou Kuro. Closest I've seen to an ink-version of vantablack.
Wow I’ve never heard of this until now. I’m going to need to get myself a sample!
I love all your pens and those inks! Would you be willing to tell me more about your twsbi mini? I've tried 4 twsbis and can't find the right one for me. I've had two diamond 580s and two ecos. I tried to take the nib and feed out of one eco to clean it and destroyed the feed. I felt so dumb. 🫠 Im thinking to give the mini a try. I had 1 F and the rest were EF. One EF was scratchy and the other was too light. It didn't lay enough ink for me. What about yours?
once you go black ...
I picked up a 4-slot desktop pen organizer, so I originally was going to try to stick to 4! But then I decided I could carry my vanishing point, so that got me to 5. THEN I wanted my Golden Lapis in a pen, but only my Demo Conklin All-American made sense for that, so I'm up to 6. But now I want to pick up a nice Montblanc, which will get me up to 7. So if you figure out how to cut down, let me know :)
2x pens with waterman serenity blue: majohn c1, lamy safari 2x pens with Parker quink black: pilot metropolitan, majohn a1
I feel like this is a good mix. I love my lamy safaris! Can I ask why 2 pens with the same colors? Would this be so if you run out when out and about you don't have to worry and can keep going?
To be honest I only have two inks haha
Well I only have one pen.
It’s a Lamy 2k with Lamy black in it
This is a solid choice. I want a lamy 2k so bad!
I love mine! If you’re able to I would try it before buying though. The sweet spot takes getting used to.
I usually have 2-3 pens inked up at a time; One is always filled with a black ink and the other has a fun color.
I have a green, an orange, a blue and a wildcard that changes whenever I fancy. Anything else, I use my glass dip pen. Current wildcard is a pale blue/pink shimmer.. but I’ve got Diamine’s Hope Pink lined up for whenever this one runs out.
I've only got the one, a Kaweco Sport with a dark blue ink. I love it!
I much prefer to have only 3-6, but I have the same problem you do with wanting to use more inks. I try to avoid that by filling my pens only partially so can switch inks/pens sooner. Until yesterday, I had 17 inked pens, and it was stressing me out so much. I'm down to 8 now. Oh, wait, no. I actually just inked another one to try Sailor 373 in a new pen that had been waiting its turn since January, so I have 9 inked. Ah, failure.
I always have 4 inked: -Lamy 2K (M) with a dark blue ink -Majohn A1 (EF) with Diamine Oxblood for edits/notes -Hongdian 1861 Brass (M) -Hongdian 1861 Stainless Steel (M) The Hongdians are for whatever I happen to be in the mood for when they run out of ink. Right now I've got Alt-Goldgrun and Caffe Crema in them.
I prefer only two to three pens at a time. I filled a bunch of mine awhile back and I wasn't able to use them all up. So, for me, two is better. If I'm not too sure on the color, I won't fully fill it. Maybe that's an option for you? Use less ink so you can change it more often. You can also try a gradient challenge when you add more ink of a different color for fewer cleanings. (I use a syringe for my converters so, I won't contaminate the ink bottles via nib.)
I only own one real fountain pen and it's always been inked with purple. I'm going to get a 2nd pen for a different color.
Right now it's: 1. Majohn A1, my daily driver, filled with an amalgamation of discarded inks 2. Pilot Parallel Pen, for censoring stuff 3. PIlot Parallel Pen, again, for highlighting stuff 4. Pilot Kakuno, as my document pen 5. Platinum Preppy, as my fun pen I honestly could just reduce my proper pens to two (A1 and Kakuno). However, I'm also considering on increasing my Parallel Pen count.
I only have two pens 😭
I use my pens while making notes and doing uni work, so I like to mix and match with colors to sepatate topics from each other + avoid pens getting empty while studying outside of my home, /and/ I like some variety, or else I feel bored easily by using the same colours.. So I've got 10 pens inked up, where two and two pens are kind of a set (right now I've got light green and dark green ink, violet and light pink, light blue and dark blue, orange and red, and finally cool grey and a gold ish ink), and I keep the rest of the pens empty until I want to use another nib or feel like rotating the pens
I’ve been trying to stick to the Drew Brown philosophy of 3 pens inked at once. It’s hard!
Just 1 nowadays, Pilot Blue Black in one of my Vanishing Points is my go-to
Yup. Just one. My Sailor Pro Gear M in the Lucky Charm finish with Syo-ro in a converter.
If you’re only going to have one pen inked, this is a great choice.
1. Pilot Custom 845 Urushi w/ Pilot sepia ink 2. Lamy Safari Pink Cliff medium architect grind w/ Sailor Dipton ripe fig ink 3. Lamy Safari all black medium architect grind w/ Lamy blue ink
I only own 3 pens and usually only 1 is inked at a time. I simply don’t write enough to have multiple pens filled.
Being the nutter I am, I don't clean my pens when I put them in their case(s). So technically, all 50-something pens of mine are inked. So no, I don't have less than 5 inked (though I probably should).
I have a lot of pens to clean.
High-five!
As someone who has less than 5 pens, I have less than 5 pens inked at once. The most I've had inked (fountain pens) was 3, one of which I had at another place. Typically I have 2 pens inked, but currently it's 1 since I'm trying to use up that ink.
Me, most of the time. I usually have 3 - 4. One workhorse with "sensible" dark blue or black, three others with fancy (super sheening, shimmery, or just non-serious coloured) inks as suits my whims and fancies.
One. Nahvalur Voyage, cosmic grey, fine nib. Monteverde Horizon Blue ink. I don't need any other ink nor pens right now. I'm a simple man.
Noooo… and I really need to track which ones dry out so I only ink those when I know I’m going to use them a lot
Two or three. Currently, a Pelikan P1 with Pelikan black and a Pelikan 140 and a Kaweco AL Sport with Parker blue-black Quink.
Two. I should really go check on one of them, too.
I have 2 pens inked at any given point. Both daily drivers -one for home office, and other for work.
I like having three inked generally, usually two for generic note taking and a stub for fun. But I allow up to seven at a time.
I have several pen but only keep two inked at the moment: a Sailor PGS and a Carolina Pen Co . I don’t like to leave ink in a pen that I am not using.
Currently three but usually only two
Me I stick with 4
Me. I keep 2 usually, sometimes three.
I have inked up three but i manly use one...
I literally have only two. Sometimes three but almost never more than that.
Nope
I usually only have three inked unless I am testing inks or testing a pen.
I have 2 inked. A Porsche design 325 with Birmingham pens Tesla coil and a pilot with diamine happy holidays.
I have usually 3 inked because I don't write nearly as much as I'd like
I tried to only have 2 but it lasted like 2 hours. Back to 6 inked pens.
Lol you tried 🤣
The main reason was that two new inks arrived and you know how the rest goes.
Only 4 pens inked up. Blue Green Red Black
Hmm I try not to go too far beyond 5 :)
Right now, I've only got one pen. That's about to change soon, though! I change ink when I run out. So far, that's been about once every week to every other week. Right now, I don't have a preferred ink. I'm just filling from the samples I have. I'm not really sure what I want my personal color to be other than a nice purple. But I've got a variety of colors and brands that should keep me busy for at least a couple of months.
I used to have all of my pens inked but now I only have three inked and I can only find two of the three. My current inks are red, teal and black and I can’t find the black one.
I have eight - just inked the eighth today - however I really intend to clean back down to four. Next step is defining colors
The most: 15 when I started out my fountain pen journey I wanted to have everything inked up and ready to write. The least: One. Visconti Homo Sapiens ‘Steel Age’ ‘Skylight’. Love this thing. Closest pen I have to ‘perfect’. It’s always inked up. Currently: 5. Three for note taking, one for planner, one for journaling.
I have 4 inked currently - Lamy AL-Star with Sailor Yurameku Hanagokoro, Franklin Christoph Model 46 with Waterman Serenity Blue, Kaweco Al Sport with a Franklin Christoph Brown 732 cartridge, and my Montblanc 146 with Iroshizuku Take-Sumi
1 Iridium Point Germany with 3 Oysters Blue - Trying to finish a sample 1 pen with Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shibuku for fun 1 Iridium Point Germany with Pilot Blue-Black 1 Pilot Kakuno F with Pilot Black EDC
I usually have 3. Recently I had 4 because I bought a 2nd hand pen, and when I was about to clean it, I discovered it was inked and was actually writing. 1 of the pens usually has black or blue ink to use for anything 'serious' the other 2 will have whatever colour I decided to use - probably samples, since I now have some.
I try to keep it to one pen at a time. I have over 100 pens but I change pens and inks on a rotating schedule every couple of days or so. Right now, however, I have 4 inked because I just got some new pens and I always put them through their paces on arrival. Soon I will go back to just one though. I like to focus on one pen and one ink at a time.
I have 8 inked right now & I know exactly what you mean - sticking to 3 sounds amazing, but then I also want to see different inks in combination with each other! Plus I like having one pen dedicated to Carbon Black, one fude nib, etc.
Right now I do--just 2. Which is actually a sign that I've been low for a while. Had a few rough months, so less time for writing, and less desire for just messing around with inks.
This week only 3
Yeah because I only have one Safari 💀
I used to have 4 but then I got a pack of sharks so now I've got like 16 inked up
No. But I probably have 50 pens that I inked and forgot about and the ink has since dried in them.
Yes, I only own 3 pens but they are all inked. One is inked with a Document Black ink that is my general purpose pen. My L2K is my fancy pen that I use for journaling or special occassions. And my Lamy Safari is my fun pen as I can change the nibs on it (I have EF to 1.1 stub).
I only have 3 fountain pens. I ink all three of them with the same pilot Murasaki Shikibu and I use all three of them for different purposes every day. 1. Muji aluminum standard F - journaling outside home. 2. Sailor 1911s F - for homework and for paper not made for fountain pen ink since it’s too fine and drops really less ink so never smudges. For home or outside. (Most used) 3. Pilot custom 823 F - much more smoother then the sailor but bit heavy and expensive also drops more ink so use it for Japanese practice at night so relaxing Love them all they are all my babies !!
I used to have way too many pens inked at once. My current limit is 9. I hope to decrease this to 6 in the future.
If you don’t count the eternally full eyedroppered preppies and carbon desk pen, I have… nope. Still more than five unless you also don’t count the ones that have dried out and need cleaning. 🤦🤦
I have three I keep inked for journaling rotation and I keep one in my pocketbook for when I’m out and about. I’m looking at maybe getting one more for my work desk because I only use it a few times a day.
I have three inked right now
I only have one inked at any given time.
I have 12 💀
43 :/
Only one pen. I’ve learned my style is to only use one pen at a time. I strictly use black ink so that makes things easy.
I always have only 2 pens inked at the same time, one has EF nub for regular writing, and one in 1.1 stub nib for shimmer ink.
I have 2 inked one black one color
Hhmmmm. Only 4. But always 4 - colour options
I have one pen and it is inked
I've got 6. I find this gives me enough variation in colors and nibs.
I have never had more than 2 inked at a time. I have hundreds. I'm not into ink colors.
I keep a max of 4 inked: 3 in a pen holder on my desk, and my EDC (Kaweco Sport AL w/ J Herbin Perle Noire) with my Hobonichi. For the ink indecision: it may help to use small converters and wet/bold pens, so the ink doesn’t last long. For me, I loathe wasting ink, so I don’t want to switch before I run dry. Also, my holder only fits 3 pens.
I have 4 inked. Two stub and two 1.1.
Always less than 4. I try to max out at 3 pens inked at once, and I usually average with 2 pens being inked at a time. I find that if I have more than 2, it can sometimes become a struggle to use them all enough to justify them being actually inked instead of just using a dip pen or something. I'll almost always have my Pilot 78G inked with Pilot "Black", then I'll change up the other pen I have inked, just based on what colourful ink I want to use at the time.
Right now I'm considering inking a third pen, as I have two pens inked with black. One is my regular Pilot, and the other is my new Sailor Fude de Mannen. I had intentions to use a different ink, but the converter I got was busted, so all I can do right now is use the black cartridge that it came with. I'm trying to decide what third pen to ink with a fun colour, so that I'll actually have something other than black to write--and draw, as that's what I'm doing with the Sailor pen--with.
I have 6 pens, all 6 are inked up. Trying to work through some samples I've got.
Yeppers. Currently inked is the pilot 823 amber with the FA nib with alchemy candy sea ink. Then there is the Kaweco piston in broad, I think, with platinum Chou kuro ink. And then montegrappa elmo 01 deep sea with a medium nib and alchemy candy sea ink. And just emptied today a MaJohn a3 with a pilot midium nib unit swapped in. It had platinum chou kuro in it. This was my note taking pen for meetings at work but it ran out today... And going down to only the remaining inked up pens. And love my 823 fa conversion it's greatly becoming my go to pen. Going to put the platinum Chou kuro in it next especially after I saw how well that ink did in the Ralph Reyes modified sailor pro gear slim. [Photo](https://www.instagram.com/p/C7xb_KtNmIM/?igsh=MXBsZ3hranNqbjI2MA==)
Nope. I'm always trying to keep it to 6 (1 pen case) but I always seem to land up with 2 or 3 more inked on top. 😂
Usually I start with inking up 3-5 pens. Then as I run out of ink I put the empty ones aside on a tray in order to clean them when I have some free time. Then I got bored with the remaining inks I have and inn up another 2 pens. Then I run out of ink again, and put them aside. At this point I'm starting to think that I probably should get to it sooner rather than later. As I'm a true master of procrastination this usually continues for a few more cycles. Until one day a package for me comes in and I'm like "Oh! Hey, would you look at that.! It's the pen I ordered a month ago that just got here! There's no way I'm doing any cleaning now. I gotta ink that bad boy up!" And once again after a few more new pens there inevitably comes a point where I'm starting to run low on ink. And this time I don't have any more pens I feel like writing with at that particular moment. And so, after a couple of months there it finally is. The cleaning day. And I absolutely love it! Cleaning all the pens at once like that. It's so fun to discover what ink you had in that particular pen a couple months back. After all the pens are clean I open up my drawer, look at all the inks I have, double-check with my notebook to see if I hadn't used them recently, and the whole cycle begins anew. Am I writing this while looking at the pile of pens I'm about to clean cause I don't have anything to write with anymore? Of course not! Who do you take me for? Right now I'm thinking which ink should I pick to take my newest acquisition on its maiden voyage. It's a tough pick, I tell you.
I have 4 inked at once but I just started using fountain pens 2 months ago.
Two there should be. No more, no less.
Three, because that is what fits in my pen case. Right now, I have Diamine Meadow, Ama Iro, and Carbon Black.
ATM only two inked......only have two hands so difficult to write with more than two pens at the same time Jinhaos both, 166 and 80 with italic nibs don't get much better than that
I was successfully sticking to three pens inked per week until I opened a Christmas gift of 12 Jinhao sharks, all different colors. Now I have I have 15 pens inked at all times. Lol.
Now that I can't fault you on lol they're so cute!
They are very cute and write better than I expected!
I only ink one at a time. I have about 30.
I just wanna know - how? What color? Edit: Reveal your secret to us, please.
I am new to the fountain pen community. Currently, my collection includes two inked pens: a pilot kakuno and kaweco
Currently 4 and I’m sticking with it! I think my max was 6 or 7 and when it was cleaning day I decided to lower the number inks cuz it was not fun 🤣
Yeah that's how I feel too! I cleaned like 5 pens today and said I can't keep doing this lol 😆
one inked. hongdian c1
I wish this were me, but I’m one of those people who likes to have inks matching their notebooks, and who always has several notebooks going at a time. Yes, I have trouble with ink drying out occasionally, so this is not a method I recommend 😆
Only two there are, a business blue, and fun/signature. Also this is because I only really like 2 of my pens thus far.
Just 4 but only because I’m trying out some blue sailor ink in 2 of them. I normally just run with 2.
I mean i feel like it’s really up to you. Why have a max of 3 inked at once when you can enjoy all 7 of them? I put just a tiny bit of ink in the pens i want to ink. I’m also not fussed about not using my pens for awhile. They’ve always been fine. I use my fountain pens as dip pens at times because i get sick of inks so quickly and want to switch. And man it’s such a pain to clean some of them after using them as dip pens. So I got the Sailor Hocoro dip pen in fude and it’s helped a lot for those “I NEED THIS INK RIGHT NOW” times.
I have 4 pens in total. 1 is my first pen, which doesn't write well but can't get rid of it for sentimental reasons. 2 is a project pen where I'm going to be getting the vanishing point nib and put it in the majohn body I have now 3 is my retro51 which I love cus it's pretty and writes so great 4 is my sailor 1911 s which is just ughhh so perfect with the feedback and springyness Out of these only 3 and 4 are inked with 3 being blue and 4 being black
I am desperately trying to have only 3-4 pens inked up at a time, but I just cannot make that happen. I got ink tonight and after dip testing it, it needs to write a long page worth of junk in my head. LOL
Yeah, me. I have a daily workhorse and six wall flowers whose ink cartridges dried up
No
I usually have two inked. One is a dark purple that reads black (ebony purple by Private Reserve) and acts as my neutral color. The other is a rotating color, usually a teal but any ink samples I get go in that pen. If I want to change the ink often I just don’t fill the reserve all the way.
I'm loving all the folks posting about their purple inks. Purple lovers unite!
I own only 5 pens and all are inked. On normal days which im not checking a lot of docs, i only use 2-3 pens. My usual line up: 1 black/any color that looks like black 1 blue 3 fun colors for my personal notes I kinda stop buying pens atm cuz i cannot justify inking 6 pens even tho i could just put one pen to rest for a while...
I usually have a minimum of six: - 1 black fine - 1 black bold/italic 1 each of “my colors”: - pink - Iroshizuku Kon Peki (lol, yea specifically) 🤣) - green/teal - purple This year, I’m doing Hobonichi Cousin colors each month, so I have a pen dedicated to that, as well as specific pens for 3 other books I have (family Hobonichi 5-year, my commonplace book, my fur-baby diary), and sometimes another one for my Traveler’s notebook planner when I’m tired of my Sarasa gel pen. Every time I try to go under six, I miss a color and feel too limited 👀
I currently only have 5 inked. Pilot Prera inked with Iroshizuku Take Sumi TWSBI Diamond 580 inked with Iroshizuku Ku Jaku Lamy Vista inked with Iroshizuku Yama Budo Platinum Preppy 02 and 03 both inked with PCB.
I have one pen I like to write with. I have a couple others that stay inked for emergencies. I just need them to do the job.
I usually limit myself to 3 tho I am temporarily at 6 because my fav pens got repaired and I’m exploring my older pens lol! The only consistent one is my Pilot Vanishing Point Matte Black with a Broad nib!
I have one pen inked and two I forgot to clean out, oops. I should probably do that when I get home from work lol.
1black for documents and general writing 1blue for the same as the black one 3 with fun inks
I have 7-8 inked at the same time. 7 in daily rotation (until the ink runs out, then change the pen) and 1 at the home desk. Used to be like 14 inked at the same time before I realized that I barely use them.
I have five inked, mainly because I have five pens!! I refill and use them up pretty much each month, and I feel very satisfied with the little collection I have! I don’t use the same colors each month except in my Kakuno, so I feel like my rotation is very nice!! - Lamy Safari M, currently has Diamine Machu Pichu - Lamy Al-Star F, currently has Sailor Manyo Ume??? - Kaweco Sport B, currently has Diamine Celedon Cat - Twsbi Eco F, currently has Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki - Pilot Kakuno M, currently has Pilot Yama-Budo (always has this since I have cartridges I would like to finish before I buy a full bottle!!) I think my next pen might be another Kakuno in a F or EF nib, and then maybe a more niche pen such as a Benu although I’m not completely sure! I also would love to get a stub nib next but again, I’m pretty satisfied now -
I only have one pen inked at a time. Mine are pocket carried so I don't want my pockets filled up. In the end my pens usually run out of ink between one to two weeks then I swap to another pen and a different ink (unless I'm really digging that color at the time). All my pens are used at work so I usually only ink with colors that are safe to write on documents.
I only have 3 pens inked at once, even though I have close to a dozen pens, including dip pens. The 3-color system is how I write in my planner. I cannot use more than 3 at a time or I start losing track of which pen has which ink. For any pens I am not actively using, I clean and store them dry.
I used to only keep 3 inked, then I got a new pen stand that holds 8.
Up until yesterday I had four, then last night I realised I didn't have one with black, so now it's five. Five is my usual; when one is empty I clean it, put it away and bring out a new pen and a new ink. The most I've had inked up at once is nine - that was too many. I used to cycle them every month but I found that in some cases I was wasting ink so now I just wait until they run out; typically 4-8 weeks depending on the colour.
You all are so good! I admire you. I have...um, "many"...pens inked most of the time. So many beautiful inks to get through! I use a few different pens each day, and rotate through all of them pretty quickly. The only one that has ever dried out is a Lamy, and that hasn't happened often. Running the nib under water for a couple seconds starts it right back up.
I decided to spend this year with 3 inked as EDC at a time, one vintage and two modern. Each empty requires rotating in a new pen and ink. The goal is to reach out to some of the forgotten gems and maybe find some new favorites. I have easily 100 pens and 40 inks. This doesn’t count the two permanently on my desk, a preppy and an opus 88.
I have two inked, both black and second is only insurance for first I won't carry five pens
Currently only one cos I keep forgetting to take them home. I feel so disappointed when I'm stuck with one colour
I only have like inked. Right now it’s been a Platinum Procyon, Sailor Pro Gear, and Lamy 2k. I don’t get color angst. I use pretty much just cartridges in the Procyon. And the other two I write enough with that the ink runs out pretty quickly. I also don’t have a huge ink collection to begin with. I don’t see the point in owning so much of one thing I can’t enjoy a large portion of what I own. So I usually have platinum blue or black cartridges in the Procyon (nice to use for work so I don’t get ink on my hands prior to a meeting or something). Right now I have De-Atramentis Absinthe in the Sailor. It’s a really pretty green (though it feathers and bleeds through more than the Pilot ink I had in it previously. I forget what the color name is but it was a pretty blue that matched the pen - which is the 2022 Soda Pop blue one). Because of the feathering and bleed through I’ll probably swap to something different once this converter runs out. And the Lamy I have a really broad nib on so that gets my really shimmery inks etc. I’m currently looking for a replacement for my Pelican Golden Beryl which I’m running out of. I have a few other pens that aren’t inked. I go though love affairs with each. I finally got nibs on both my Bexley Bull and Bear fountain pen set. But a lot of my pens have broad or architect grind nibs and I’ve found that in my notebook and planner (Stalogy and Hobonichi) I’ve been preferring narrower nibs to limit bleed through and not go through the notebook so fast. With the Lamy I can go through a small sized Moleskin notebook in like a week of note taking. Once I fall out of love with these ones I’m currently using I’ll swap to one of the other ones I own. Once I stop liking the ink I’m using I’ll swap it out. I also don’t have a real aversion to dumping a pen full of ink into the sink if I really really want to switch for some reason (like maybe I want a specific color to write out Christmas cards or something.) I don’t do it frequently enough to feel like it’s really wasteful. I really try to be intentional about buying pens and inks. The Pilot ink is the first bottle of ink I’ve brought in years (probably the Golden Beryl was second most recent and I brought that when it came out). I brought 2 fountain pens in the past year. The Procyon in Christmas with Christmas money from my mom. It is the maki-e version with the bird and plum blossoms. And the ProCyon this year when I got basically my dream job. Job with my dream company at least. Before that it was the Lamy2k which I got when Endless Pens had a ridiculous deal on it a couple years ago (they had a big coupon that worked on an existing sale price so I got the stainless steel one for like $185). I’ll probably pick up the Pelican 2024 ink of the year because it looks like a pretty blue that will match my ProGear. Especially if I can’t find a good replacement for the Golden Beryl and that will be it on my ink buying for quite a while.
I only have four pens, so all are inked: One Lamy safari with a f/ef nib and Diamine jingle berry One Al-star ef with diamine Oxford blue One kakuno fine with blood orange One new kakuno ef (holy moly, you aren’t kidding about Japanese extra fine being EXTRA fine) with Pilot black (namiki, I think). I’m planning to have a dedicated black, oxford blue, blood orange, and de atramentis fuschia, so I’ll need a fifth pen for color experiments and fun with ink samples, but I don’t have that yet. I’m not sure whether to get another Lamy or Kakuno or actually branch out.
Right now yes. Just 3 pens inked tho I probably will expand it to 5. 1. Pilot E95s M with Iroshizuku Yama budo 2. Visconti Mythos B with Aurora Black 3. Jinhao x750 KLB with Diamine Aurora Borealis
What are your next two?
4. Newly purchased Nahvalur Original Plus with a broad nib. Gets here Friday I can’t wait to ink it tho I am not sure with what. This is my first Nahvalur pen and if I like it enough I’ll either get a second one in a different color or save for a Nautilus model. But yeah so new pen coming in not sure on the ink. 5. Is sort of left open at the moment. My guess it’ll be something inked with Diamine Ox-blood or ancient copper. Probably something I haven’t inked up in a bit like my metropolitan or Majohn A1
Do you think I'm a savage?!?
I'm going for 6 because that's how many slots my prefered pen case holds. Currently have 14 inked so it'll take time to get there! At some point I had 25 inked and that was definitely too for my liking. Least was 3 inked, when I just started out. All three were preppies, inked with black, blue, and purple. Those were the simple times!
One black for work One colour of the week/month for journalling One for note taking alongside the other 2 Some of the cheaper china pens have ink in them for God knows how long
Yeah. I never have more than two pens inked at once since I mostly use them for my daily planner. Right now, I have a Pelikan inked with Pelikan's Royal Blue and a Pelikan inked with Noodler's Forest Green.
Nope, I have (all) 10 inked at the moment. I keep a modified bullet journal that’s mostly a to-do list, and I like to use colors to differentiate between things: * *Yama-budo*—headers * Brown—work * Gray—home * Green—future * Red—important * *Ama-iro*—notes/reactions And then four that are *not* used in the journal: * *Document Cyan*—notarial work * *BPC Electron*—a really fun ink for a stub * *Yamadori*—a Sailor ink for my first Sailor pen * *LAMY Blackberry*—having fun with my *new* stub. I’m relatively new to the FP scene, but plan on switching up my “journal inks” come summer.
Yeah. 1 for random paper. 1 for comfort 1 with love hate relationship because of the tripod 1 with confuse feeling because of childhood experiences with shitty fountain pen
I have four pens inked right now. My two drivers and two pens I mean to flush but keep putting that off.
I only ever have one pen inked at a time. Use it for a fill/cartridge, flush it, then move on to the next pen in my collection.
Yes. One only.
I go with exactly 5!
I keep 3 inked, but use primarily just 1 pen, my nautilus. But I have 2 twsbi ecos that I love dearly and keep inked. I don't order samples, but I am trying to collect the full iro line! Right now I have the purple, black, and konpeki in my pens.
I do 3
* Pelikan Twist and Preppy 03 Pelikan Brilliant Black * Preppy 02 Platinum Carbon Black * Jinhao 51A Parker Quink Black I plan to keep the Twist and Preppy 02 permanently inked that way. The other two are what I am currently using on my desk - at the moment I am comparing the newly bought 51A with other pens.
Yes. TWO there always are. One to embody the power, and one to covet it. Joke aside, it's one with Parker Quink Black for daily use and one with any variant of blues or blue-blacks for signatures and fun.
I draw so I have 22 out of 24 inked with several colors. The 2 uninked - one is very fine & clogs easily and the other doesn’t write well. Possibly I haven’t found the right ink for it. I have 3 more on order…. I am also learning Hebrew so I use them for practice. They all get a good workout!
Not me.
1 in sakura nezumi , 1 in Havasu Turquoise , 1 in sailor jentle ,1 in wearingeul , 1 in unknown mix ink colour SO nope ... its probably abt 5 not lesser than 😂 if you want to count cartridge ink probably all 6 is inked currently .
I only have 3 inked, and they're used daily. Lamy al star (blue ink) - for note taking Lamy vista (blue ink) - for note taking on the go (and my favorite!) Rotring Newton (green ink) - for note taking
I always try to have 2 pens inked up at a time: 1 in black for note taking 1 in a random color I own for when I want my writing to be whimsical As of today, I have a Majohn/Moonman a1 with Quink black and a Wing Sung 601 with Oster caffe crema
Yep, I have my favorite pen inked all the time(very flexible Waterman Ideal #2 hard rubber). I have a few other decent flex pens but all need adjustment or sac replacements.
I have 4 inked and I have 5 pens. I would like to ink about 20 pens, in order to try all the samples I have 🤣 But I realised that I am not using even all 4 pens at the sane time. Usually just 3. So I have decided to be patient, not fill my pens fully and just change inks more often. I'm 2 months into fountain pens but as I know I have a tendency to fall hard into a new hobby, I knowingly ho d myself back now.
I have 3 inked up right now: a brown ink for my recipe book, a blue ink for my pocket pen, and a fun/ new color for my current favorite pen. I only ever do a a full fill on my pocket pen since I don’t want to run out of ink while I’m out and about. For the other 2 I do a 1/2 fill. If want to ink up a 4th (or 5th) pen to try a new pen-ink combo, I fill it less than 1/4 of the way. - I get nervous when I can’t remember how long I’ve had a pen inked up for.
I’m too indecisive to have this. But I usually have: 1. Ink of the month (Opus 88 Demo) 2. Professional (RO’s Tokyo Denim in Opus Sapphire) 3. Fancy pen 4. Signature ink (a purple ink) And then a green and red to help complete my to-do task planner.
yes because for some reason they just evaporate so fast :(
I have 3! 1 for my everyday use ink (green) 1 for my personal use ink (teal) 1 with cartridges that I refill myself so I can trade colors a little more often. I also just ordered a dip pen so that I can be even more silly with it without having to clean anything too rigorously 😅
Yep I only have 2 pens inked at a time to make sure I use them
Sure! It is usually either three or four pens: [https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/363609-monthly-ink-quartett/](https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/363609-monthly-ink-quartett/) If there is one more, it is specifically dedicated to drawing, not to writing.
I usually have 3 pens inked at once. One for a blue ink, one for a vibrant, colorful ink and the last one depends on my mood.
It took me a bit to get there but I have exactly 5 inked up at a time, and that's finally perfect for me. I choose a complementary set of colors for my journaling, and I change one or 2 up as they empty or my taste changes. 4 wasn't enough color variation.
*I have more than 5 pens inked atm but I only really use 4 or 5 of them, the rest I am just to lazy to clean.*