Ink & razor blades

I have been wondering, just how long does Ink last ?
We all have a bunch of razor blades stashed away and they don't really go bad.
But should we start collecting ink ?
Can I collect Ink ?

one cut said:

Can I collect Ink ?

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I give you permission to collect ink and share as you see fit.

I regularly use ink from the thirties and forties although I'm unsure how long it will actually last.

I have a few inks from the 50s-60s. As long as there's no mold or growth, you should be ok.

If there's mold or growth, you're required to show us pics!

one cut said:

But should we start collecting ink ?
Can I collect Ink ?

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You have been at B&B for over a year- you should know the answer by now

Wow, Doug! Does that ink smell any differently than the newer stuff?

celestino said:

Wow, Doug! Does that ink smell any differently than the newer stuff?

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Oh, yeah! Love the smell of phenols in the morning.

LOL
Ok so I should have known , YES I can collect ink. What should I have expected from a bunch of people who collect soap.
I was wondering if it made sense. ( hold on I can get the other foot in there.)
I did have that very nice blue black waterman Ink that nomad has pictured. Sadly it smelled bad, was watery and faded out Fairly fast.
So I had wondered if ink had a use by date.
Because you know you have to have enough inks to last you threw the inkpocalypse.
runs off to buy more Edelstein ink.

onecut....wondering if it makes sense to collect ink....does anything most of us in here do make any sense....it makes sense to us but it probably does not make sense to those in the other world.

Some cartridges that I've received with NOS pens from 10 to 20 years ago have visibly reduced ink levels even though they are still sealed. What has happened, evidently, is that the plastic is just porous enough to permit some gradual evaporation of the water from the ink. Presumably you could put the cartridge in a pen to open it, take it out, squirt a little distilled water into it with a syringe, and put it back in, but it probably wouldn't be worth it. I'm guessing that this sort of evaporation doesn't happen with sealed glass bottles, but I don't know.

As with some shaving supplies, my main regret is not hoarding inks as such, but accumulating brands that I'll never use up because I simply don't like them that much. Sorry, no PIFs, but I might throw some in as bonuses if I ever sell any of my surplus pens.

I collect ink and have over 40 bottles, have not had any issues with any of them.

I had a decent sized decent of Noodlers Year of the Pig turn into a rather sold mass in a glass bottle sealed with a metal cap over three years or so. There was a good deal of air space in the bottle and that is an unusual ink. Have not had any problems with anything else including decades old ink as I recall. Maybe something I did not care about grew mold. Pretty rare thing. I have lots of inks.

Two things to remember if you are going to collect ink. Keep it out of the light and keep it in a container that has a tight seal. Do that and you should be fine.

LouieGrandie said:

Two things to remember if you are going to collect ink. Keep it out of the light and keep it in a container that has a tight seal. Do that and you should be fine.

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I have seen photos of people's dens with nice looking ink bottles on display. While it looks nice, I keep mine in their original box and the box in a cabinet.

I recently had to discard a bottle of Parker Quink Turquoise

That ink was about 40 years old, but quickly started to get moldy once I began to use it ... a pity!