More Rice Writing...

[Inka]

I've done this before, using the inverse or top-side of a "specialty" nib I'd ground into a duo-point Cursive Italic/XXXF Account nib.

The following is the first time I've ever attempted Rice-Writing with just unaltered standard nibs!

Using some long-grain American Jasmati or "Jasmine" rice as a writing surface, just how hard will it be to actually write on it and it still be legible???

 

Here are a few pictures of what I've done this morning, proof-positive that even a *Large [*in size] Fine nib or a small Medium nib pen is capable of some extremely fine writing...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/JasmineRice03.jpg

 

The blue-black/semi-green ink is pure Noodler's Coral Sea ink from Australia, written using a Large-nib Rotring 1928 LE F 18ct gold nib.

The black ink is from using Sailor- Kiwa-Garu Nano-Carbon black ink, written using a Medium point "Special Alloy" Pilot Vanishing Point pen...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/JasmineRice02.jpg

 

So there you have it, it's not just the nib or the pen that makes the words written look the way they do.

It is also in large measure the fountain-pen-operator having a huge influence on how any pen reacts, on any surface written upon!

While not my best penmanship, keep in mind that each letter is barely over the size of a pin-head, and I had to write under 20X magnification while trying to hold the nib and the rice in balance.

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/JasmineRice02.jpg

 

Anybody else try something like this, using a fountain pen?

I've seen this done on a TV program by a guy using a needle as a dip pen.While not the same as writing the Lords' Prayer on the head of a pin, this was still rather challenging.

Boredom can be a funny thing... makes me do some pretty strange things at times...

Edited September 29, 2009 by Inka

[MegWesley]

That is interesting. I never would have thought that you could write on rice.

[escribo]

Wow!

And I thought I could write small...

I am impressed!

[Inka]

Thanks.

I had to wipe the nib at times to get ink to flow, as it picks up some of the starches on the rice surface and dries out the nib tips.

The biggest problem was flow-control, either it would flow too heavy or not at all, had to find a happy medium to get the letters right.

[zubipen]

Amazing Job and amazing nib Congratulations!!!

[Inka]

Here's some better shots of the nibs used to write on rice.

The black ink was in a Pilot VP with a M nib...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/VP_Nib01.jpg

 

This is the nib unit removed from the VP, to show the M size marking...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/VP_Nib04.jpg

 

Incredibly, the blue-black-green or Coral Sea ink is in a Rotring '28 with a massive nib [also currently my Avatar picture]!

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/Rotring1928LE12.jpg

 

The Rotring '28 is a MASSIVE pen, here it is next to my M800 for comparison...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/E.jpg

 

Hard to believe a pen as big as this can write on a single grain of rice, but the proof is shown that it was done and with this monster-of-a-pen...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/L.jpg

 

It's all about nib-control, no pressure applied and a steady hand.

I guess all those years teaching Hunter Safety and precision shooting paid off, controlled breathing was a must to write on rice too.

[Gran]

Inka, did you use a pair of tweezers to hold the rice?

[Inka]

Inka, did you use a pair of tweezers to hold the rice?

Great question, was wondering if someone would ask!

Yep, used a VERY old pair of German-made spring-loaded tweezers.

Here's some old pictures from one of my first "Rice-Writing" posts, when I wrote using Polar Blue ink and my custom-ground CI/A nib on my Plumpster...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/InkaonRice2.jpg

 

I've had these tweezers for so long they'd rusted over and got cleaned many times over, actually have pits in the carbon steel now in places from where I removed the rust...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/InkaonRice1.jpg

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/FPN1.jpg

 

I have dozens of different tweezers all over my house but these old ones are my favorite.

[Inka]

Hmmm, I wonder why my images don't show up, unless I'm logged in???

I must be doing something wrong; Photobucket used to show pics even when I'm not logged in, using the IMG code from my account there.

[ZeissIkon]

That is interesting. I never would have thought that you could write on rice.

 

One of the various Ripleys strips (which I read in a collection in the 1970s) cited a complete letter to Ripley, written on a grain of rice and delivered by the US Post Office. Postal worker were a different breed then...

[escribo]

In college my business math professor allowed us a 3" x 5" cheat sheet on the final exam.

I can write tiny, and back then my eyes could also see that tiny writing.

Everything I needed was on that 3x5 card. The prof was astounded.

LOL, glad she didn't limit us to rice grains! 8^o

[ZeissIkon]

In college my business math professor allowed us a 3" x 5" cheat sheet on the final exam.

I can write tiny, and back then my eyes could also see that tiny writing.

Everything I needed was on that 3x5 card. The prof was astounded.

LOL, glad she didn't limit us to rice grains! 8^o

 

I remember cheat sheets. I once freaked out both the professor and most of the other students by showing up with a blank cheat sheet, finishing the one-hour exam in under thirty minutes, and getting an A.

[Inka]

I have a few Ripleys' Believe it or Not museums very near to where I live here in Florida, one in Orlando, in Tampa, a few other places I believe and *one just a few miles from my home.

*I actually worked at that one, nearest to my home, for a brief period doing maintenance, the place itself is amazing to visit but working there and having access to areas off-limits to the public was even more amazing!

I seem to recall an exhibition where the entire Lords' Prayer was written upon a single grain of rice, along with The Last Supper painted on a single grain of rice!

That goes beyond my current skill level, lucky to get a few letters or a word on a rice grain and doing even that with a fountain pen and not a surgical micro-size needle or similar still amazes me to do.

I don't recall seeing a letter written to Ripley on a rice grain but maybe I'll try Searching for it later, kinda too tired to look now but that does sound intriguing!

If I find it I'll post the Link back here, of it anyone else comes across it I'd like to see it.

[Inka]

I was thinking about little lines like on those little candy hearts @ Valentines' Day.

Writing on multiple grains of rice and giving them to friends or placing one in a letter sealed in a tiny bag would be interesting.

Can you imagine a wedding, where all the rice tossed at the bride & groom had little notes written on them? Too much for me but it had crossed my mind.

Eh, people these days throw bird seed around here, not rice, having often heard that rice will swell up inside a bird and can actually kill them!

I don't know if that's true about the rice & bird deaths, but people here believe it and use bird seed at weddings now instead of tossing rice.

 

I'm getting tired, my mind is wandering in too many tangents, so off I go to get some sleep, maybe have some nice "Rice Writing" dreams or come up with another crazy idea to break the boredom [lol!].

[Sailor Kenshin]

Too cool! And with that shiny baseball bat of a Rotring no less.

[Inka]

Too cool! And with that shiny baseball bat of a Rotring no less.

Hehehe, thanks; it was definitely a practice in steady-hand/eye co-ordination and a bit of Zazen combined [except when I'd forget to breathe], using such a massive pen to write on such a tiny grain of rice.

Funny thing, I had written on a dozen or more grains while practicing, now finding tiny little rice grains with my User name and FPN written on them everywhere.

I grabbed one of my Micro-Fiber cloths this morning, that I use to wipe my pens clean, only to get pelted on the nose by a piece of rice I'd written upon, pretty funny really.

They seem to be all over the place now, on the carpet and on my couch, even sticking to my bare feet as I walk around my home, been finding rice I'd written on months ago.