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Cost: $ $ $ $ $

Difficulty: • • • • •

Time: 5 mins

Level 20 Smudge Stick Holder
i got the idea for this whatchamadiggy upon my return home after procuring replacement smudge sticks. the old ones were horribly filthy from frequent use and a curiosity that makes it very difficult to keep my hands free of dirt. then i remembered how small they were and the discomfort caused from trying to cramp all of my fingers in the same spot. i have one of those pencil-nub extender thingies but i new that wasn't going to work on account of the discrepancy in diameter. from there, i pulled out all the pens that didn't make it into the pen hoarder's pen holder and started test-fitting the smudge stick to see what would make the most suitable holder, and the bic worked perfectly. the eraser on the back end almost didn't happen, though i couldn't say what exactly inspired me to hack off the end of the pen tube and shove in a replacement eraser for a drafting pencil, but it worked out wonderfully.

also, sorry about my ridiculously small handwriting. if you can't read it, grab the .PDF or just make your best guess as to what all of the pretty pictures mean. oh right. the description box. never mind all this, then.

fun fact: it took me 168 times longer to draw up and post this tutorial than it did to make the actual project.

crafter's pro-tip: don't throw away old pens. the empty tubes come in handy for the strangest of things. you can toss the inky bits though. they tend to get messy if you let them hang out in the parts box.

Posted by misterjosh from Atlanta, Georgia, United States • Published 21st January 2013 • See misterjosh's 5 projects »

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Step 1
[REQUIRED: IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THIS AND ATTEMPT THIS PROJECT, EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL BE WRONG AND CATCH ON FIRE.][please use your super-powers responsibly]
if a swiss tech utili-key is not currently in your possession, your first step is to stop reading this tutorial, find a place that sells them, and get yourself one. if i ever get the money, i will run around with pocket-fulls of these things, tossing them like confetti. but that day doesn't look to be in the near future on any time scale, so don't use that as an excuse not to go get one.
Step 2
gather parts on a flat surface. look at them until you smile a genuine smile.

... or if you're in a hurry, just get all the parts within reach.
Step 3
remove nib holder. if you have weak hands this will not be easy and you should find someone with strong hands to help you. normally i have no qualms with the inevitability of 'teeth as tools' during craft projects but i have to recommend against it here because what will wind up with the brunt of the teeth-marks is the bit we want to keep nice and shiny.
Step 4
remove nib/ ink tube assembly from nib holder. [DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THE INK TUBE FOR THIS. seriously. i only had the tube pulled out for a second and found myself battling with a Lovecraftian amount of ink tendrils.]
Step 5
insert smudge stick into the now-empty nib holder. give it a bit of a twist as you apply firm but steady pressure. keep at it for the one or two seconds it takes before the paper starts buckling.

[if you are opting out of the eraser, please skip to step 8]
Step 6
break out your trusty {utili-key}, line up the teeth with the seem parented by the body of the pen and the end cap, and saw downward until you run out of plastic tube. if you want to soften the newly made outside edge of the tube, a nail file will do just fine. especially if it's not yours.

or if you are totally lame, you can use something else that has teeth and cuts. don't use anything that will deform the cylindrical shape of the tube.
Step 7
you may need to tweak the internal edge of the hole a little to get the eraser to fit.

insert eraser, giving it gently firm pressure to jam it in place.
Step 8
re-insert your modified nib holder.
Step 9
smudge away!

... or 'smude' away if you're prone to taking advice from typos.

tip: when not in use store with pen cap on to protect smudge stick's point

[TROUBLESHOOTING]
if you find that the pressure from your smudging is causing the smudger to pop out of the nib holder, add a filler to the inside of the tube to hold it in place. a tightly rolled section of paper cut to appropriate length should do the trick.