Mad Props to Scribes

Sarita

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So, I'm working on something for the AW Auctions. A little special surprise that Kevin (KTC) and I cooked up. And for this secret little project, for the first time, I'm trying out bamboo pens, basically they look like this:

http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/exhibits/writing/reed_pen.html

I absolutely LOVE the quality of the ink strokes and how it hits the paper. I haven't seen any kind of synthetic or hair brush that can paint or write like this. But the problem is, they don't stay sharp too long. I've made about 50 strokes with the first one and it's already shot. The tip is splitting and it's not retaining ink like a good girl -er pen should.

Any suggestions? Aside from buying 20 pens per project? And how on earth did the ancient scribes keep from going insane if this is what they were working with? :)

Does anyone use ink well pens or some sort of calligraphy pen? Any recommendations?
 

Devil Ledbetter

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Any suggestions? Aside from buying 20 pens per project? And how on earth did the ancient scribes keep from going insane if this is what they were working with? :)

Does anyone use ink well pens or some sort of calligraphy pen? Any recommendations?
I recommend the AlphaSmart Neo.:tongue

Good luck with your project, though.
 

Sarita

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I recommend the AlphaSmart Neo.:tongue
Right, but an alphasmart can't do this:

imagefetch.ashx
 

Smiling Ted

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I absolutely LOVE the quality of the ink strokes and how it hits the paper. I haven't seen any kind of synthetic or hair brush that can paint or write like this. But the problem is, they don't stay sharp too long. I've made about 50 strokes with the first one and it's already shot. The tip is splitting and it's not retaining ink like a good girl -er pen should.

Any suggestions? Aside from buying 20 pens per project? And how on earth did the ancient scribes keep from going insane if this is what they were working with? :)

This is what penknives are for - a small, very sharp knife to re-whittle the point on your pen.
 

Maryn

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Ted's thought was my first thought, too. If it's bamboo without a metal nib, use a good knife and sharpen it, until it's too short to use.

How do you think the pen knife got its name?

Maryn, who suspects pigs invented it
 

Sarita

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Okay, I'll give the pen knife a shot. I'm just afraid the tip will split. It's the gapped reservoir design that the Egyptians came up with so it's a bit more fragile than a solid bamboo pen.

Sara, about to go McGuyver on her bamboo pen.