Pepper Pen

This is a folded pen I made out of the tab of a Dr. Pepper can. Originally I wasn’t too happy with the results so I put it away for awhile. However, I tried filing it to smooth the edges following Peter Thornton’s advice on using folded pens and now it’s a fairly useable tool. I’ve been practicing with it for about a week now and I quite enjoy the unpredictability of it. The ink that worked best for me was walnut ink—a dry powder derived from peat that you mix with water. This watery consistency made for a consistent ink flow but also created some neat joining of strokes exiting out of a letter or where paths crossed. the ink remained wet on top of the paper for a few moments allowing for it to be pushed around.