@alyx apparently there are DIY enjoyers who buy weed whacker cord and cut up their own little styluses for wacom pens. it's just some dead plastic that runs a pressure trigger so as long as you grind it in to the right shape and sand off the tip it works. but apparently the weed whacker cords are durable as shit and you can use them on certain screen protectors to give them a paper feel.

the paper films usually fuck up your nibs but this is where the part where you can make 200 nibs out of wire comes in

but no i just got some super hard cover because i actually like the glassy feel in the pen.

@icedquinn
Never did much drawing, even on paper, let alone on a tablet, so I wouldn't know a thing about what feels better. But the DIY part does sound interesting. It could be interesting to experiment and see what else can be used as a stylus.

@alyx the stylus itself must have the fancy ESR circuit board in it.

but the nib is literally anything. people have done it with spaghetti.

but don't because spagoot will fuck up the tablet.

XP-Pen i kind of like tho because they sell you 100 nibs for 10$ only downside is you have to wait for shipping out of china. but considering i don't burn out nibs (i don't draw 15 hours a day, nor do i use a heavy hand and scratchy surface, like some do) that's ridiculous.

actually even if you do wear out nibs its still ridiculous. samsung, wacom, and staedler want ten dollars for 5 nibs.

i wondered what kind of machinery would be needed to manufacture nibs. they are tiny little things so it's probably a pain.

@alyx aftermarket nibs typically are not available in anything other than "hard plastic" or "soft plastic." whereas OEM nibs tend to come in more options (ex. some wacom kits have these 'springy' nibs where the plastic has a microspring and it gives it more tension/bounce which felt really neat) or the samsungs are made out of felt, and staedler's are made out of a wood compound.

there's people that actually like the weird material tips but there's not really a way to GET those for various pens.

@icedquinn
>i wondered what kind of machinery...
If they're from some kind of plastic, then it's typical plastic injection molds, and then you polish them in big vibrating vats filled with even smaller ceramic beads.

Another method that would work for more materials, make long rods of the stuff, and then shape them further on a lathe.

@alyx yea just trying to think of what kind of lathe is able to make adjustments this small.

maybe the answer is "you don't"

@icedquinn
Watch enough of "How It's Made" on Discovery Channel, and you'll eventually see examples of how precise a lathe can be. I remember seeing luxury ink pens being made on lathes by hand. Imagine how much better a robot could be.

@icedquinn @alyx you'd be surprised how precise some lathes are. yes you could definitely make nibs on a lathe. you'd need really sharp cutting inserts and high RPM though

@meowski @alyx maybe i'll bother both of you some time later about it.

i read complaints about how the only replacement nibs you can get aftermarket for any pen are just cheapo chinese plastics. nobody makes exotic nibs other than OEMs.

@icedquinn @alyx if you find some stiff plastic or other material the right diameter, you could cut it and put it in a drill chuck and sand it to your liking