How to Make a Pen Stylus
- Unscrew the pen to remove the ink tube.
- Cut the middle of a Q-tip on an angle.
- Poke the pointy end of the Q-tip into the tip of the pen.
- Secure the Q-tip in place with a piece of tape.
- Wrap a 9 cm (3.5 in) square of foil around the Q-tip and the neck of the pen.
- Moisten the tip of Q-tip with water each time you use it.
How do you make a stylus out of a pen?
How to Make a Stylus with a Pen 1 Remove the ink tube from a pen that has a metallic body. 2 Push a little cotton ball into the tip of the pen. 3 Trim off any excess cotton ball that is hanging out of the nib. 4 Use your pen stylus in the same way that you would use your finger. See More....
How was a reed pen made?
To make a reed pen, scribes would take an undamaged piece of reed about 20 cm, and leave the end that would be cut into point in water for some time. This ensured that the pen would not splinter when cut. They crafted a series of cuts that would cut the nib of the pen until it is flat enough and pointed.
How do you make a cotton bud pen?
Prepare your materials Remove the ink cartridge from your pen, leaving a hole where the pen nib would be. Take your cotton bud and cut diagonally about 100mm from the end of one of the buds with a pair of scissors or a craft knife (carefully). 02. Insert cotton bud tip into pen
Why does the stylus have a cotton ball on it?
This makes the stylus easier to use and makes its touch more accurate. Leave about 2 millimetres (0.079 in) of the cotton ball hanging out of the pen so that the tip of the metal pen doesn't scratch your screen. [3]
What is a reed stylus made of?
A reed pen (Greek: κάλαμοι kalamoi; singular κάλαμος kalamos) is a writing implement made by cutting and shaping a single reed straw or length of bamboo.
What was the reed stylus used for?
A reed stylus was the main writing tool used by Mesopotamian scribes. Scribes created the wedge shapes which made cuneiform signs by pressing the stylus into a clay or wax surface.
What is Egyptian reed pen?
Egyptian reed pen It was made from a piece of full reed from a marsh, 1-1.5 mm in diameter, which was frayed at one end by chewing on it in order to create a sort of brush tip, indispensable since Egyptian writing was more painted than carved.
How do you use a bamboo reed pen?
0:3913:54How to use a dip pen (bamboo) and brush - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBecause it's well bamboo that's cut and use it just like a dip pen you have your bottle of ink youMoreBecause it's well bamboo that's cut and use it just like a dip pen you have your bottle of ink you just dip it in scrape.
Did reed pens use ink?
Due to its capacity to hold ink, the reed pen can perfect the boldest of strikes and majuscule scripts such as Roman Capitals. I feel that Roman Capitals were developed due to the nature of the reed pen, as it tends to make bigger strokes by using more ink. making swift and precise strokes.
What replaced reed pen?
Reed pens were used for writing on papyrus, and were the most common writing implement in antiquity. The calamus is a piece of cane or rush with a pointed end to be used for writers. It was replaced by the goose pen gradually, between the sixth and ninth centuries.
When did they stop using feather pens?
19th centuryfeather, used as the principal writing instrument from the 6th century until the mid-19th century, when steel pen points were introduced.
What did ancient Egyptians use as ink?
The general observation is that the ancient Egyptian black and red inks were made from organic and inorganic material, primarily soot and ocher, which was mixed with a binder, typically gum Arabic, and suspended in water, and at times perhaps in other fluids like animal glue, vegetable oil, and vinegar (1–3).
Who invented the first reed pen?
The first to use reed pens were scribes from Ancient Egypt in the 4th century BC for writing on papyrus. They would dip reed pen into an ink and it would retain some ink in a split at the point.
How do you make a bamboo pen?
Bamboo PenStep 1: Bamboo. First get a strong piece of bamboo 10 - 20cm long. ... Step 2: Point the Top. Whittle the end of the bamboo to a fine point.Step 3: Create the Slit. This can be tricky and dangerous so be careful. ... Step 4: Write.
What's a bamboo pen?
0:003:03How to use a bamboo pen - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIt's basically a piece of bamboo. Read that is cut and shaped to use as a pen. It's basically a dipMoreIt's basically a piece of bamboo. Read that is cut and shaped to use as a pen. It's basically a dip pen. Only it's much stiffer than a usual dip pen.
How do you cut a bamboo pen?
0:284:52How to cut a bamboo pen for Arabic Calligraphy step-by-step TutorialYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd you're just going to start by making your initial cuts on the bamboo. So the first cut will justMoreAnd you're just going to start by making your initial cuts on the bamboo. So the first cut will just be a small scoop like so and you're just going to continue with that slow scooping motion.
What were reeds used for in Ancient Egypt?
The Ancient Egyptians built boats from papyrus reeds, which were widely cultivated along the Nile River and Delta. This reed was also used for many other purposes, especially for providing papyrus writing parchments. Other reeds of the genus Cyperus may have been used as well.
How was the reed pen invented?
The invention can be credited to the scribes of Ancient Egypt in 2000 BC who were in the pursuit of a replacement for styluses and writing in clay. This instrument was made from a single reed straw where its end was cut into the shape of a nib from where ink would flow.
What is a reed pen called?
A reed pen (Greek: κάλαμοι kalamoi; singular κάλαμος kalamos) is a writing implement made by cutting and shaping a single reed straw or length of bamboo. In Arabic, it is called Qalam.
What did scribes keep their reed pens in?
They were held in a wooden (or sometimes ivory) palette which had a depression to hold the red and black inks. Scribe's Palette with 4 Reeds in a pen holder, #37.450E, Brooklyn Museum. Later on in the Ptolemaic period, reed pens were used.
Community Q&A
I put water on the end of my stylus and use it on my phone screen, but nothing happens. Please help.
About This Article
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Step 1: Get a Sturdy Reed
You need a dead bulrush or similar reed. Pull off the ragged layers until you are down to something that is firm and stiff. You only need about 8 inches, but you will probably want a whole stick so you have plenty of chances to mess up. I could not get my cat to leave this long, thin stick alone :D
Step 2: Cut to Length and Soak for 15 Minutes
Slice it down to about 8" long. That's a well balanced length for a pen. Soak the end that will become the nib in water for at least 15 minutes, so that it will cut smoothly and not splinter. I tried it first without soaking and it just blew to bits. You have to soak it. It floats, so you probably have to pin it down with something.
Step 3: Create the Initial Bevel and Hollow
Slice into the reed to create a tapered end. Don't try to do it in one slice, progressively carve it down. Make it come to a flat before the end, because you will be cutting off the end to make the square nib.
Step 4: Hollow the Reed
Scrape out the interior flesh, leaving only the hard tube. Scrape gently, it's easy to destroy the tube.
Step 5: Create the Side Bevel to Shape the Nib
Rotating the pen to the side, carve into the sides of the nib to form the proper nib shape. If you have ever seen a fountain or dip pen, you know what shape you're going for. Note the flat piece on the end. Make sure that you have a flat projection so that you can cut it square to form the tip.
Step 6: Cut the Tip Square
Hold the pen against a flat surface and press down with a sharp knife to square off the end. This forms your writing edge.
Step 7: Split the Tip
Splitting the tip forms the ink channel to allow the ink to flow properly. Put the pen flat on the table and press the knife gently into the center of the tip to split it.
History and manufacture
Reed pens with regular features such as a split nib have been found in Ancient Egyptian sites dating from the 4th century BC. Reed pens were used for writing on papyrus, and were the most common writing implement in antiquity.
Reed pen in art
Although quill pens had largely replaced reed pens by medieval times, from time to time the powerful strokes produced by the reed pen have been preferred by modern artists. Until the end of the 19th century, most art was commissioned by wealthy patrons or by institutions such as the church.
01. Prepare your materials
Remove the ink cartridge from your pen, leaving a hole where the pen nib would be. Take your cotton bud and cut diagonally about 100mm from the end of one of the buds with a pair of scissors or a craft knife (carefully).
02. Insert cotton bud tip into pen
With your ink cartridge removed from the pen, push the cotton bud into the tip of the pen where the nib normally sits. This can be tricky, so you may need to play around with the size of the remaining stem of the bud.
03. Reassemble the pen and wrap in foil
Once secure, screw the pen back together. Wrap the tin or aluminium foil around the pen making sure the foil is making contact with the cotton bud tip. Use some tape to secure the foil.
04. Dampen the tip of your stylus
Now you need to dampen the tip a little to make the pen conductive. Dip the tip in water and squeeze off the excess, you only need the tip to be damp, not soggy, and you don't want to get water on your tablet. And there you have it, your very own stylus! If it stops working and is dry to the touch, you can try dampening it again.
01. Dismantle your pen and cover the casing in foil
Start by dismantling your pen. If the case of your pen isn’t metal, then cover the casing in tin foil, and secure with tape.
02. Reassemble the pen
Reassemble the pen, screwing the top back on and then the bottom. It’s better to have the tip of the pen fully secure and leave a gap at the bottom, otherwise the cotton wool causes a bit of an obstruction. You can always trim the cartridge if it's poking out of the bottom and the pen won't screw back together.
Step 2: Cutting and Finishing the Tube
Measure the length you would like to cut and mark it with a marker pen. By using a tube cutter it will leave no burr to worry about.
Step 3: Making the Tip
Cut the felt and conductive fabric into 2*2 cm. If you're using a smaller tube than mine, the felt site should be 1*2 cm.
Step 4: Finishing
Now you have a fully functioning product but for me it’s not finish yet. With a small amount of super glue on the bottom end. I glued the wood stopper stamped with my logo, wait for a minute then it’s done…Tada!
The wedge
When cuneiform writing was first invented in ancient Sumer, the scribes scratched signs on the moist clay by means of a pointed instrument (fig. 1). Soon, however, they realized that it would be far more effective to impress marks using an angular-tipped tool. By doing so, they gave birth to the basic element of the cuneiform script: the ‘wedge’.
The reed stylus
The Sumerian word for stylus, ‘tablet-reed’ (GI DUB (-BA), Akkadian qantuppi ), betrays the origin of the tool. Various species of reed were abundant in ancient Mesopotamia and Syria, and one of them, Arundo donax (giant reed), presented the optimal characteristics to serve as a writing tool.
Bone and metal styli
Although widely used in Mesopotamia down to the very end of the cuneiform age, reed was not the only material to be used. At the site of Tell ed-Dēr (Sippar-Amnanum), archeologists found twelve bone instruments which can be securely interpreted as writing styli.
The stylus of Nabu
The stylus was the symbol of Nabu, the god of scribal knowledge and writing; as such we find it represented in Babylonian kudurrus, Neo-Assyrian stelae and reliefs, and in countless seals from Mesopotamia and Syria.
Cuneiform on wax
Waxed boards were extensively used in the Ancient Near East, both for ephemeral records and for compositions intended for libraries and erudite collections. It has been calculated that at least one-third of Aššurbanipal’s library likely consisted of board-books.
Cuneiform on hard materials
Although cuneiform script had been originally designed for clay tablets, in the course of the centuries it was also used on metal, stone, and other hard materials. In these cases, the wedges had to be carved, scratched, painted, or impressed through techniques other than the ones used for clay or wax.
Wedge analysis and quantitative palaeography
Since not a single example of a stylus has survived, writing techniques are best investigated through the traces styli left behind on the tablets, i.e. through the evidence of the wedges.
