[TheForge] Old fogey writing stuff (was: Starting up)

[Andrew Vida]

Bruce Freeman wrote:
> I'd been looking for black ink - the liquid stuff we used to use in
 > fountain pens - for a year or more before I stumbled upon it at Staples.
 >They actually had more than one brand, but only a bottle or two of each.
> 

	It took you a YEAR to find black ink?  YOu should have asked me, I have 
plenty.  HAve you heard of art supply stores?  Plenty of ink there. 
Tons.  Gallons.  Loads.  Scads.

> Then I discovered Chinatown, Philly, where you can get ink and Chinese brushes

	I can see the headlines:

		"Bruce Columbus discovers Chinatown!"


  (for calligraphy) everywhere.  Later I discovered one of the big 
bookstores had
 > them in kits for Chinese calligraphy.

	Try bugei.com.  They seem to have decent supplies for sumi-e there. 
Pricey, though.
> 
> Meanwhile, I've been playing with reed pens.  They are rather like
 > quill pens - but made from reeds.  (I knew I'd have to explain that
 > to you guys :^)  Reeds (phragmites) grow wild abundandantly in the
 > salt marshes around here.  Broomcorn (sorghum) stalks seem to work
 > at least as well as reeds.  Of course, bamboo would work fine -
 > I gotta watch for prunings being thrown out.

	I've cut reed pens.  They work well.  Goose quills are very good, but 
prparing them is a bit involved, if one is to do them properly.
> 
> There's a great book out there on this sort of stuff, "Making Artist
 > Materials" (or some such title) by Vince Studley (no kidding).  A
 >great read, and you'll want to try things yourself - like making crayons.
> 
> Bruce
> NJ