April 05, 2010

Paper making: Shammy? Towel? Sponge?

Paper making requires adding and drawing out huge amounts of water from a mold. You add water so the paper pulp blends. But after you set the finished wet pulp in the mold and deckle, you have to get the water pressed out. This is where many paper makers become frustrated.

The manufacturers recommend using a sponge. I did as advised and found the sponge too small to absorb enough water. My papers looked uneven because I would press the sponge harder in some sections than others. Yeah this is so not working.

I tried using a worn out dish towel once. Absorbed all the water just fine, but now I can't use the towel for a second batch until it dried up.

All right, I gave into the infomercials and got a pack of Shamwow. It's doing the job...okay, I guess? It's absorbing the water from the paper evenly. It's doesn't wring out all of the water completely and is ready to absorb more water even when a little moist. Well at least there's improvement.

Should I just pony up the cash for those fancy towels scuba divers and swimmers use? They're just so big, and I fear it's going to take forever to dry. What do you guys think?

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