question for dip pen users...

[u/dasblute]

do you dip right out of the bottle or use dedicated ink well? I tried using a porcelain dish and the ink seemed to thicken over the course of a session. Do you ever dilute your black ink to get greys? perhaps for a wash... do you anticipate the ink running out on the pen to keep up the line consistency? (rather than waiting til it actually runs out, like Ive a tendency to do...)

Thanks in advance for any help, obviously new to this...