Ferro Pens
After reading “Do not allow contact with magnets” on a bottle of ferrofluid I had to try it. The tiny magnetic particles suspended in oil are immediately attracted to a magnet, pooling around it, only removable with a cloth. After glueing a magnet to a pencil I tried drawing with it, and discovered it had an indescribably frictionless feel, as if writing on air. The magnetic fluid is pressed between the paper and the magnet, resisting the force with which the pen is pushed down, and so “pushes” back allowing the pen to glide across the page effortlesssly.
After reading “Do not allow contact with magnets” on a bottle of ferrofluid I had to try it. The tiny magnetic particles suspended in oil are immediately attracted to a magnet, pooling around it, only removable with a cloth. After glueing a magnet to a pencil I tried drawing with it, and discovered it had an indescribably frictionless feel, as if writing on air. The magnetic fluid is pressed between the paper and the magnet, resisting the force with which the pen is pushed down, and so “pushes” back allowing the pen to glide across the page effortlesssly.
I developed this further with serveral 3D printed tests and and eventually a wooden pen cut on a CNC router. There is potential to explore this further, especially in a way that retains the costly fluid in a “pad” of some kind controlled by electromagnets. This project has taken a back seat for now but I have plans to collaberate with artists to allow this medium to reach its full potential.