Using kraft paper with an FP

[van]

I've seen several references to smoothing a scratchy nib by scribbling figure eights and arabesques on a brown paper bag, which brings up the question: I do most of my sketching in kraft notebooks because of its receptiveness to both FP, colored pencil, and wash (applied with a Q Tip)... am I doing damage to my pens, effectively "smoothing" them with every page?

 

Thanks for any input.

[ZeissIkon]

I've seen several references to smoothing a scratchy nib by scribbling figure eights and arabesques on a brown paper bag, which brings up the question: I do most of my sketching in kraft notebooks because of its receptiveness to both FP, colored pencil, and wash (applied with a Q Tip)... am I doing damage to my pens, effectively "smoothing" them with every page?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Kraft paper as found in a notebook is softer and thicker than brown bag paper, is it not? Seems to me I recall Kraft paper sold for art as being off-white, heavy and absorbent, rather than the brown, harder material in grocery store bags (some other paper bags, like those I get at the liquor store, are yet a different feeling and looking surface).

[van]

This is Paperchase (and one other no-name) wirebound from Borders. Pretty toothy, though the Paperchase is the smoother of the two. Looks just like paper bag kraft, but with a slightly smoother finish.

[ZeissIkon]

I suppose you could test it -- find something expendable with thin gold plating (say, the clip of a cheap pen); rub a corner on a grocery store bag until the plating wears through, then do the same on your Paperchase kraft, and see which takes longer. Failing that test, one might want to use pens in which is isn't too expensive to replace the nibs -- Lamy, for instance, or even Esterbrook.

[van]

Sounds like I'll just play it safe and keep the FPs off the kraft... thanks for the response.