Craft · 6 pages · 12 min

How ink is ground for a pen

Pigment is rubbed fine in a liquid so the particles stay suspended and can pass a nib.

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From the opening

Ink for a pen is made by reducing color to particles small enough to hang in a liquid and flow down a slit. Grinding is the step that breaks lumps of soot or pigment so they will not settle at once or choke the point. The opening covers the stick is rubbed on stone, a muller shears pigment, and binder keeps particles up.

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Inside

The stick is rubbed on stone
A muller shears pigment
Binder keeps particles up
Coarse grit scratches the nib
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Ink stick on an inkstone
Pigment mulling in a binder

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How ink is ground for a pen

From the opening

Inside

Sources

Also on the desk