Shaped Deckles

I don't make the lateral connections and leaps 'til the path is already cleared for me. So in the spirit of laterality and connection making, let's start by saying anything open at the top and the bottom can be used as a deckle.

Deckles, by function and definition, shape paper. They hold pulp and water above the surface of the mold. Their shape determines what the drained pulp will take. So, to be clear, by shaped deckles, I mean those other than the rectangular that accompany or mimic the mould shape.

One would prefer those materials and things that are dimensionally stable, water resistant, firm to the touch.  We are looking for shaped holes whose outer diameters rise about the surface of the mould or screen.  Here is a list to consider:

Materials

blueboard/pinkboard
buttercut

clay

foam core
fun foam

metal e.g. flashing

plexiglas/acrylic

wood

Objects

bird toys

cookie cutters (plastic and metal)

embroidery hoops

stencils

tin cans

I now collect cookie cutters. Someone found 101 cookie cutters in a large plastic container with large shapes great for shaped paper. These are available for around $12 online.

We had a flashing discussion on the list. I had flashing languishing, awaiting vacuum table work. I cut it in half ( shortening the height), then cut it, eyeballed lengths, then folded them in half and then again, forming squares, (squeezing with flat nose pliers-excellent!) sealing the open edges together with duct tape. I've since gone on to other shapes including the heart in the picture.

If you are a person who needs to measure, just remember that for the squares you are dividing by (or multiplying by 4). Maybe you don't need this caution--- it's just that an 18" strip may seem long, but the resulting square is just 4" and a bit. In folding the metal you lose a bit in the corners.

I set these on papermaking screens above plastic egg crate. One may either dip or pour. With bird toys, cookie cutters, and tin cans, I pour. With the others I pull/dip.

Next Step Tin Can Papermaking

This method is far easier work than lugging sets of tin cans. After weeks of wrapping window screening with duct tape LOL! I realized that I had a batch of these (far better) papermaking screens.

The tin can papermaking approach uses two tin cans with screening between. It is a wonderful concept and construct. However, papermakers could benefit from the modified technique of setting the open can(s) on their mold screen, pouring and couching multiple circles. Or use an unattached papermaking screen on egg crate

set in a tray.

More Building Supplies

I have found that blue (or pink) board works successfully for shaped deckles. It's been recommended to tape the interior edge of the cut out shape with duct tape to create a slick surface so that the fibers do not catch on the cut edge of the blue board.

I've never had fibers catch on the edge of the blue board and perhaps this is due to how I cut it. I use a foam cutter-a wire that heats up in a apparatus that looks like a

kind of saw and cake cutter.

I made deckles to fit my 8.5" by 5.5"'s (correspondence-type envelopes with half-moon flap) and a small "parcel-type" envelopes; and I made one to fit my 8.5" by 11". I freehanded on a piece of paper, checked it for size on the moulds, then did it again, folding in half for balance (harder on the "parcel-type") and then cut it out of both regular and thick fun foams. I enjoy designing envelopes. If you have an envelope you like, open it up and trace it.

I preferred the thick fun foam to the thin. The thin fun foam deckle worked best for me when sandwiched between the regular deckle and the mold. The thick fun foam deckle was fine used alone in pulling a sheet. I was advised to adhere fun foam to a designated mould or to a spare piece of heat shrink screen. As I had never seen the adhesive-backed foam, this was not a consideration for me. I share this advice with you should you run across this material and have a mold or screen to spare.

I obtained some plastic foam core from LSM many years ago. As with regular foam core and thick fun foam, I cut it with an Olfa cutting blade (related to the razor blade in a special handle). You could use regular foam core and seal it with duct tape or acrylic.

I also used buttercut. I bought it for sandcarving and etching glass, but this is another fun application. It has an adhesive that you may or may not remove. Buttercut, as its name implies, cuts easily. And while yes, you could use scissors on this, I prefer a cutting knife. I've used it to make and pull figures. Had I tools enough and time, I would probably be scroll sawing myself something at this very moment. If you are so equipped, wood scraps from your local lumber yard are a fabulous source of potential deckle material. You may or may not choose to seal it for its longevity. I use oval wood embroidery rings, as I've not yet run across that shape in plastic.

I am so delighted with the inexpensive and water friendly bird toys. They've made very happy deckles. Plastic stencils, plastic stencil blanks (cut with a hot knife) as well as the aforementioned cookie cutters and embroidery hoops are some of the many options available.

HDPE is another horizon, awaiting that scroll saw.

Joy in the making!

Akua