This video shows a sofer writing a sefer Torah. This sofer has a good hand, writes at a nice pace, and can ask a decent price. But one can also tell how the sefer Torah industry has commercialised the process, allowing for better productivity.
Note the following:
1) The sofer is writing on a light table, which means he does not have to worry about planning the spacing and can just trace over the letters. This saves a lot of time. This also minimises mistakes and saves time of repairs.
2) The quill is a plastic kulmos with a repository, which means you need to dip it into the ink every few lines instead of every few letters. Also you do not need to sharpen it and make new quills. Both of these save time.
3) The klaf today is more refined and smooth, easier to write on. Not uneven and rough like the old days. I'm sure lots of "mei klaf" is added. This enhances writing speed and quality of writing.
4) Double sirtut. Again this enhances quality and neatness.
5) The tagin / …
If the paper is very thick, you MAY be able to remove the dyo with a bowed razor blade held between your thumb and forefinger. Alternately, you could try scraping with a very sharp blade. I'd recommend the first method though, it's often possible to slice under the dyo without damaging the surface at all. Be sure to apply gum sandarac to the abraded area or the ink will most likely spread.
ReplyDeleteYou could also try an ink eraser gum. On paper, I doubt it's possible to make a perfect correction that will leave no trace.
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ReplyDeleteBowed razor blades do work, but on many thick art papers they will leave a very clear mark at the place of the correction.
ReplyDeleteAnother suggestion is to use a #10 x-acto blade (the curved one). Hold the blade perpendicular to the page and VERY gently scrape in one direction, not back and forth. It may take a white, but with care this can remove the ink even from thin paper. When done, go over the area with a white rubber eraser and then, as Binyomin rightly points out, dust with gum sandarac and rewrite!
What is gum sandarac? Would that be used on klaf as well? I was taught on klaf to lightly rub a white pastel/chalk on erased area to keep ink from spreading.
ReplyDelete