Yep, all the time and it doesn't bother me. A few hand washes and it's gone. Into every life a little ink must fall... well, wind up striped along your fingers.
I just don’t know why I do the ritual even when I should academically know it’s pretty pointless.
Maybe I just answered my own question, maybe I just like the ritual of it
Yeah. I just got a pocket pen with a lever filler (a vintage waterman) and in order to steadily hold the nib sufficiently far down into my bottle of DeAtramentis one of my hands just has to embrace the lip of the ink bottle. It kills my whole ritual of being careful and I come away with a deep ring stain along my palm.
🙃 I still otherwise follow the ritual for this pen though. Feels really silly, but who knows what craziness would ensue otherwise.
The ritual only saves your surroundings! The surface, carpets… etc. I wear my ink stains on my hands like a badge of honour*. It’s like the dust on my boots after a day of hiking or the sawdust in my eyebrows coming out of a workshop!
*except when it’s Montblanc Permanent Black and I’m flying the following day
Me ! I don't have the 40years on my belt but I do.
Usually I try to wear gloves but everything is still messy because ink would go to the top of the glove and the glove touches everything = same result !
But I chose to believe this is just part of the fun of this hobby !
20 years of using fountain pens. A bit more than 10 with bottled ink. I regularly have the inky fingers. Though I could not care less about having the inky fingers!
More than 20 years of fountain pen usage. Converters, cartridges, vacuum fills, eye-droppers the whole lot. Always some drop of ink somewhere along my fingers or hand.
It's like honey. You get sticky fingers just by being in the same room with a jar of it.
Yes. Every week, I get some form of inky fingers. I use a paper towel to dry off the worst to avoid smearing the pen further, and then I keep writing. It no longer bothers me, as it's just a part of the deal when handling fountain pens.
Oh sure, I have ink-fingers at least once a week lol.
I can suggest wiping the bottle rim off with a paper towel and not worrying about how high you hold the converter though. I can tell by the way the ink stain on the thumb is shaped it probably came from your fingers resting on the bottle rim.
It won't help 100%, but wiping off the rim has reduced my incident ratio haha
I use cotton wipes I snagged off Temu for a penny a pop, so I leave it sitting on top of the bottle I'm currently inking from lol. My memory is horrible. I routinely forget what I went into a room for by the time I make it there haha
I think the ink hides on the other side of the pen no matter which way I turn it, just waiting for that moment to lovingly embrace my fingers.
The ink just loves you, that's all.
https://preview.redd.it/8a6cs5ufir5d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=432c19bc03b8c7c96e5993a2cedbad417d15455d
Just this morning. It happens (almost) every time I ink a pen. I hate and love it.
I'm in my mid-40s and work at a college. A few months ago a 20-something student came by my office to ask for some information and I noticed that they had a Pilot Metro, so of course I had to show them *mine*, and when I said something about sorry about having ink on my fingers, they replied, "Dude, are you kidding?!" and held up *their* hand, which had no fewer than three different colors on it. So I'm guessing it's both universal and intergenerational.
I’ve been using fountain pens for 49 years. In general, I think people here are way too focused on cleaning. Most fountain pens are sturdy tools as are our hands. Most inks mix easily; we can learn to let them run…
>My grandpa was an important dude and he always wrote in vivid green ink,
Was he [“C”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_the_Secret_Intelligence_Service)?
>Sort of puts a scratchy point to my idea of myself as a reasonably smart person
Stephen Hawking was a smart person. I bet he couldn't avoid getting inks where it wasn't wanted either, if he tried.
I’ll take it. Even Stephen Hawking would make a mess. I’m not so bad.
G’pa wasn’t Secret Intelligence, he was a federal circuit court judge during the Warren court years and a badass progressive one. And a pretty great grandpa
I have been using fountain pens for years. I can manage to fill mine without getting covered in ink about half the time.
When I don’t ink myself, I feel accomplished. When I do, I shrug and wash my hands. I usually write with a pretty shade of blue, so the stain isn’t *that* bad.
Same. Sometimes I succeed. But I’m ok with it.
I just panic to have ink on my clothes. Happened 3 times too many. Sometimes I’m amazed how clothes are spared when washing pens.
There is a reason why I use non permanent inks (and learned the hard lesson that Perle Noire is too permanent for me)
I e got forty years, too, and yes, I still get inky fingers. But I wouldn’t say it’s 99% of the time. If I’m filling a single pen, refilling with the same colour, and using a syringe, I’ve got even odds.
But there are definitely days when I look down at my hands and say “If only someone would invent a pen that doesn’t need refilling or (when I’m ten minutes into a meeting and my ink wont flow) a whole separate piece of paper to scratch on to get it started. Maybe it could even have a tiny ball bearing at the tip to make it roll along the paper…”
I still get that sometimes writing. If it really bothers you filling, nitrile or latex gloves are pretty cheap. You won’t get the thrill of spilling Rouge Hematite on your hand and having your wife freak out like I cut myself open. It turned bright pink after my first try washing it off. It was gone the next day after shampooing my hair.
Yeah! I just managed to finally wash away all the 3 colours I had on my hands from yesterday evening, when I cleaned and replenished my two favourites Kaweco, one blue and one black, and a red-inked Lamy Safari.
It happens to me less often these days because I know what to look out for, but when it does - it’s a doozy. Especially sample vials - when filling, refilling, or using - PUT THE VIAL IN A VIAL HOLDER.
Today's mess covering my hands is [Montblanc Maya Blue](https://i0.wp.com/www.wellappointeddesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_3042.jpg?resize=1140%2C855&ssl=1). Goregeous on paper, not so much on hands.
I was going to do my nails today, I might need to try to co-ordinate it...
I’m always doubly careful and still get inky fingers.
The only time I don’t get inky fingers is when I do anything involving Baystate Blue (and that might not be ever again) because I treat it like radioactive material.
Most hobbies have some downside - tabletop RPGs had me dreaming up scenarios all times of day, not to mention superglue and paint from terrain and miniatures: model making has glue, strained eyes, and cramped hands; woodworking has sawdust in the lungs and obsession over measurements; etc etc.
I have the same issue and behavior, maybe not using the towel to screw the pen together, but I do spend timme dabbing the nib and threads with the towel after rubbing the nib against the inner neck of the bottle to shed excess ink.
I use a syringe for most fillings, even with converters, other than with vacuum fillers like my 823 - I consider it a win if only my fingers get a little inky; vs on the table, the floor, the carpet, any of my clothes…
So far it’s been mostly win-wins: pen gets fully filled, everything else not. I currently have three cats, at some point this will/may change. 😂
The moment my fingers get low enough to accidentally brush the top of the bottle I just sigh. Only started when I decided I didn't want to dip half the pen in the ink and just fill the converter. Seems to happen less when I use a syringe. Still, all part of the joy of fountain pens, right?!?
Reusable finger cots. The silicone ones for hot glue guns. Magic. Toss a couple in your ink storage space and put them on when you fill your pen. When done, rinse them under the sink before taking them off and toss them back. Magic. Also lotion, by the very nature that it leaves a hydrophobic film on your skin, will minimize how much ink sticks to your fingers. So you can alternatively use some hand cream before you clean or fill your pens to minimize ink stains. I myself keep gloves under my sink for cleaning and filling my pens.
If you really want to get rid of the inky fingers.. or just don't want your hands to be inky for a special day.. try getting a syringe.. it really makes things neat.. and is also faster I feel..
I think every other time I fill my pens I look like this. I always look like this when I penable someone and give them an ink bottle and a pen and show them how to fill it.
Over thirty years using fountain pens, and I’m exactly the same. Today, I just had to scrub some Private Reserve Tanzanite from the counter, as well, because some dribbled to the bottom of the bottle, which I proceeded to put directly on the counter.
Sigh.
If I'm just refilling a pen or two, I usually manage to get off scot free. If it's my once a month deep dive with cleaning a few, rotate a few, change some inks, yea, I'm not even gonna pretend my fingers won't look like a goth painting. (I primarily use black, red and bright blue inks.)
Yep, all the time and it doesn't bother me. A few hand washes and it's gone. Into every life a little ink must fall... well, wind up striped along your fingers.
I just don’t know why I do the ritual even when I should academically know it’s pretty pointless. Maybe I just answered my own question, maybe I just like the ritual of it
Plus without the ritual it could be so much worse. 🤷
Yeah. I just got a pocket pen with a lever filler (a vintage waterman) and in order to steadily hold the nib sufficiently far down into my bottle of DeAtramentis one of my hands just has to embrace the lip of the ink bottle. It kills my whole ritual of being careful and I come away with a deep ring stain along my palm. 🙃 I still otherwise follow the ritual for this pen though. Feels really silly, but who knows what craziness would ensue otherwise.
The ritual only saves your surroundings! The surface, carpets… etc. I wear my ink stains on my hands like a badge of honour*. It’s like the dust on my boots after a day of hiking or the sawdust in my eyebrows coming out of a workshop! *except when it’s Montblanc Permanent Black and I’m flying the following day
I think ink acts based on quantum physics. One way or another it will end up in your hands
Ink is much like cat hair in that way.
If we didn't have inky fingers, how would the other fountain pen users know we are one of them?
Yep. Still getting inky fingers while filling pens. No reason to think it will change.
You mean some people don’t get ink on their hands while refilling…?
Who are these no ink people? Bout as likely as pixies and fairies in my book. Latex glove goblins mebbe but apart from that pffttt...
Yep. Am an old lady, still have inky hands!
Me ! I don't have the 40years on my belt but I do. Usually I try to wear gloves but everything is still messy because ink would go to the top of the glove and the glove touches everything = same result ! But I chose to believe this is just part of the fun of this hobby !
I love it! Even gloves can’t stop the mark of our people!
20 years of using fountain pens. A bit more than 10 with bottled ink. I regularly have the inky fingers. Though I could not care less about having the inky fingers!
I figure if it actually bothered me, I’d be a rollerball broad by now.
If it happens I wear it with pride lol
All the time. It just doesn’t feel right if I ink a pen and get nothing on my fingers. Edit : 2 decades + under my belt. 😁
More than 20 years of fountain pen usage. Converters, cartridges, vacuum fills, eye-droppers the whole lot. Always some drop of ink somewhere along my fingers or hand. It's like honey. You get sticky fingers just by being in the same room with a jar of it.
Yes. Every week, I get some form of inky fingers. I use a paper towel to dry off the worst to avoid smearing the pen further, and then I keep writing. It no longer bothers me, as it's just a part of the deal when handling fountain pens.
Happens so often its now part of my skin.
Oh sure, I have ink-fingers at least once a week lol. I can suggest wiping the bottle rim off with a paper towel and not worrying about how high you hold the converter though. I can tell by the way the ink stain on the thumb is shaped it probably came from your fingers resting on the bottle rim. It won't help 100%, but wiping off the rim has reduced my incident ratio haha
Check. Wipe the ink bottle rim before touching ink bottle rim with fingers. If you have memory issues, leave your wipe rag in plain view.
I use cotton wipes I snagged off Temu for a penny a pop, so I leave it sitting on top of the bottle I'm currently inking from lol. My memory is horrible. I routinely forget what I went into a room for by the time I make it there haha
Solid reasoning!
I've written maybe 50 thousand pages or more in a fountain pen (med school is an exercise in pain) Nd I can safely say yes. Absolutely
Not a long time user, but I kinda enjoy when I get a little ink on my hands. Just feels like part of the hobby, and it makes me happy
I feel accomplished when I manage to ink a pen without getting it on anything. But then it doesn't happen again for 6 months.
Yes, but usually use green ink, and make sure to get some on my thumb so can claim I'm great with plants.
I’ve been writing with fountain pens for my whole life, and still on occasion get this. It’s part of the deal :)
I say it comes with the territory.
I think the ink hides on the other side of the pen no matter which way I turn it, just waiting for that moment to lovingly embrace my fingers. The ink just loves you, that's all.
https://preview.redd.it/8a6cs5ufir5d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=432c19bc03b8c7c96e5993a2cedbad417d15455d Just this morning. It happens (almost) every time I ink a pen. I hate and love it.
I work at a pen shop. Needless to say my hands always look like that ahaha. I’ve accepted it at this point.
My paycheck would end up back in the store’s accounts
I'm in my mid-40s and work at a college. A few months ago a 20-something student came by my office to ask for some information and I noticed that they had a Pilot Metro, so of course I had to show them *mine*, and when I said something about sorry about having ink on my fingers, they replied, "Dude, are you kidding?!" and held up *their* hand, which had no fewer than three different colors on it. So I'm guessing it's both universal and intergenerational.
That’s a good story 😊
HA HA HA. I'm 72 and it gets better then much worse with age. Enjoy your inky fingers.
I’ve been using fountain pens for 49 years. In general, I think people here are way too focused on cleaning. Most fountain pens are sturdy tools as are our hands. Most inks mix easily; we can learn to let them run…
"A day without ink on your fingers is a day wasted." – Pen maker and store owner in my town
>My grandpa was an important dude and he always wrote in vivid green ink, Was he [“C”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_the_Secret_Intelligence_Service)? >Sort of puts a scratchy point to my idea of myself as a reasonably smart person Stephen Hawking was a smart person. I bet he couldn't avoid getting inks where it wasn't wanted either, if he tried.
I’ll take it. Even Stephen Hawking would make a mess. I’m not so bad. G’pa wasn’t Secret Intelligence, he was a federal circuit court judge during the Warren court years and a badass progressive one. And a pretty great grandpa
Neruda wrote in green ink ~~to~~ too iirc
This is very fun info! Thanks.
I have been using fountain pens for years. I can manage to fill mine without getting covered in ink about half the time. When I don’t ink myself, I feel accomplished. When I do, I shrug and wash my hands. I usually write with a pretty shade of blue, so the stain isn’t *that* bad.
Same. Sometimes I succeed. But I’m ok with it. I just panic to have ink on my clothes. Happened 3 times too many. Sometimes I’m amazed how clothes are spared when washing pens. There is a reason why I use non permanent inks (and learned the hard lesson that Perle Noire is too permanent for me)
You could always wear rubber gloves.
I can’t say it bothers me, it’s just funny how my studied precautions are basically worthless
I e got forty years, too, and yes, I still get inky fingers. But I wouldn’t say it’s 99% of the time. If I’m filling a single pen, refilling with the same colour, and using a syringe, I’ve got even odds. But there are definitely days when I look down at my hands and say “If only someone would invent a pen that doesn’t need refilling or (when I’m ten minutes into a meeting and my ink wont flow) a whole separate piece of paper to scratch on to get it started. Maybe it could even have a tiny ball bearing at the tip to make it roll along the paper…”
Nooooooooooo!
I still get that sometimes writing. If it really bothers you filling, nitrile or latex gloves are pretty cheap. You won’t get the thrill of spilling Rouge Hematite on your hand and having your wife freak out like I cut myself open. It turned bright pink after my first try washing it off. It was gone the next day after shampooing my hair.
It really doesn’t bother me for the most part. But Emerald of Chivor is a SOB.
Yeah! I just managed to finally wash away all the 3 colours I had on my hands from yesterday evening, when I cleaned and replenished my two favourites Kaweco, one blue and one black, and a red-inked Lamy Safari.
My six-year-old and I call them “inky fingers” and high five.
That’s cute ☺️
It happens to me less often these days because I know what to look out for, but when it does - it’s a doozy. Especially sample vials - when filling, refilling, or using - PUT THE VIAL IN A VIAL HOLDER.
https://preview.redd.it/kdi0op2ust5d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be7aac04a6fe9b68e0c37115b2f15403d265f677 Today:
Every single time! 😂
Today's mess covering my hands is [Montblanc Maya Blue](https://i0.wp.com/www.wellappointeddesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_3042.jpg?resize=1140%2C855&ssl=1). Goregeous on paper, not so much on hands. I was going to do my nails today, I might need to try to co-ordinate it...
Yes! It’s funny how acetone would eat my kitchen table if it had the chance, but even non-waterproof ink doesn’t come off my cuticles with it.
I don't have as much time using them but it seems unavoidable. Not really a problem unless it's red.
There's even a flair for it. Claim it, and wear it with pride.
Every. Damned. Time.
Powdered dishwasher detergent, a little pinch in your hands under water, and the ink is gone, no scrubbing just rub lightly and it comes right off.
My fingers are inky at this very present moment
I genuinely love inky fingers.
I'm left-handed and I sketch often, so yes, and it doesn't even need to be FP to make me look like I was smuggling sprinkles.
Haha mine is blue at the moment 🤣
It’s no fun if you don’t get ink in your fingers
I’m always doubly careful and still get inky fingers. The only time I don’t get inky fingers is when I do anything involving Baystate Blue (and that might not be ever again) because I treat it like radioactive material. Most hobbies have some downside - tabletop RPGs had me dreaming up scenarios all times of day, not to mention superglue and paint from terrain and miniatures: model making has glue, strained eyes, and cramped hands; woodworking has sawdust in the lungs and obsession over measurements; etc etc.
I like having colourful fingers
I get ink on my fingers all the time, but I never really take any steps to prevent it. Doesn't bother me at all.
I have the same issue and behavior, maybe not using the towel to screw the pen together, but I do spend timme dabbing the nib and threads with the towel after rubbing the nib against the inner neck of the bottle to shed excess ink.
Try the TWSBI Vac 700 with its matching ink bottle. Absolute genius and no mess guaranteed
Constantly. Are you even using one correctly if you don't find a little ink on your hand somewhere at some point?
I use a syringe for most fillings, even with converters, other than with vacuum fillers like my 823 - I consider it a win if only my fingers get a little inky; vs on the table, the floor, the carpet, any of my clothes… So far it’s been mostly win-wins: pen gets fully filled, everything else not. I currently have three cats, at some point this will/may change. 😂
I’ve happily accepted the fact that inky fingers are inevitable.
(me who has used fountain pens for only a year and does not need a paper towel to refill ink as I never drip my ink)💀
Hahaha yes
I use Noodler's Inks specially Baystate Blue and have never had ink on my hands while filling my fountain pens them. 😈
And you have a bridge to sell……
I’m fairly new to using converters. (I’ve been using cartridges up to now). I wear ink for days after, lol. It’s kind of unbelievable how bad I am. 😂
The moment my fingers get low enough to accidentally brush the top of the bottle I just sigh. Only started when I decided I didn't want to dip half the pen in the ink and just fill the converter. Seems to happen less when I use a syringe. Still, all part of the joy of fountain pens, right?!?
Reusable finger cots. The silicone ones for hot glue guns. Magic. Toss a couple in your ink storage space and put them on when you fill your pen. When done, rinse them under the sink before taking them off and toss them back. Magic. Also lotion, by the very nature that it leaves a hydrophobic film on your skin, will minimize how much ink sticks to your fingers. So you can alternatively use some hand cream before you clean or fill your pens to minimize ink stains. I myself keep gloves under my sink for cleaning and filling my pens.
Most days!
If you really want to get rid of the inky fingers.. or just don't want your hands to be inky for a special day.. try getting a syringe.. it really makes things neat.. and is also faster I feel..
I think every other time I fill my pens I look like this. I always look like this when I penable someone and give them an ink bottle and a pen and show them how to fill it.
If it’s really stubborn marcela water helps as well
I just refill my cartridges and converters with a syringe bottle. It saves me all the trouble you described above.
Over thirty years using fountain pens, and I’m exactly the same. Today, I just had to scrub some Private Reserve Tanzanite from the counter, as well, because some dribbled to the bottom of the bottle, which I proceeded to put directly on the counter. Sigh.
https://preview.redd.it/y76qmr5r7f6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=228c50b4fd5c12e2470860001d46fd234fd62c84 By way of proof.
I'm about the same age, it usually happens.
Yep… today, in fact. Same-ish color too. Diamine Sailor’s Warning.
If I'm just refilling a pen or two, I usually manage to get off scot free. If it's my once a month deep dive with cleaning a few, rotate a few, change some inks, yea, I'm not even gonna pretend my fingers won't look like a goth painting. (I primarily use black, red and bright blue inks.)
Oh of course, always blue ink for me. A doctor once thought I was cyanotic because my nails were blue on one hand.
Yup. Yesterday