Hatrack River Forum: Medicos and engineers and pen afficionados-- research assisstance needed

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Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

What would one need to do in order to write a message in blood stored in a pen?

What kind of pen would it need to be? Fountain pen? Ball point? What would be the difference?

Would an anticoagulant be necessary to keep the blood from clotting?

If too much anticoagulant were put into the mix, could a ball point pen "explode" in the same way that they often do with ink?

Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

Oh, yeah-- check this link out:

[url= http://www.theeyeofnewt.com/store/html/items/WRITING_Dove's_Blood_Ink.asp]Dove's Blood Ink[/url]

I tell you, I'm in the wrong business. I going to start selling magical supplies like, "Virgin Tears," with disclaimers like, "No actual virgins were harmed, emotionally or otherwise, in the making of this product." Six bucks a pop? Oh, yes. . .

Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :

I missed that day at Nursing School. [Dont Know]

An anticoagulant would definitely be needed, because, uh, blood clots. Heparin would be the stuff to use.

I suppose a fountain pen would be appropriate for blood writing. Ooh -- or a quill.

Could you use the blood as a component of ink, or must the writing be pure-blooded?

Would you identify the writer with the assistance of a graphologist or a bloodhound? [Dont Know]

Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Scott R:
"No actual virgins were harmed, emotionally or otherwise, in the making of this product."

Scott

Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

I can't use a quill-- the writer in this case is a modern day ten year old boy. I could have him use a fountain pen, if a ball point pen absolutely won't work.

It can't be a felt tipped marker, either; I need to have the pen explode or spill. . .

Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :

BTW, this is for a revamped telling of my short story, "Middle Child Syndrome."

Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :

Dad's been making fancy wooden pens lately, but I think he's ordering the ink cartridges. So that won't help.

Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :

Explosions! Blood! Now that's something to write home about.

Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :

You would need to know the approximate viscosity of ink. In my limited Googling efforts I have been unable to find such data.

Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :

Before I read that this was for a story, I was starting to get worried that you had a vampire for a son or something.

Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :

Silly kojabu, vampires drink blood, they don't write with it! [Razz]

I would think that a fountain pen would be more plausible. There's also the pens where the nib looks like a fountain pen's, but you dip it in an inkwell rather than use an ink cartridge. Those might actually be called fountain pens too, but I'm not sure. I suppose they work pretty much like a quill, only they aren't made of feathers.

I have no idea about the clotting factor, but might there be something you could add to get rid of the platelets? That's the part that does the clotting, right?