Water is pretty simple. That liquid stuff you get from the tap, drink, bathe in and even swim in. In most of my articles I will be referring to basic tap water. However, you may wish to experiment with bottled waters or even sea water. Each will offer it's own unique flavour to the paper depending on it's mineral content and colour. However, the main purpose of water is to wet and then help to bind the fibers.
Fiber refers to the thread-like structures that cohere in order to form the sheet of paper. They can be of varying consistency depending on what type of cellulose plant product is used. For example, if you're using cotton you'll perhaps have a more slender consistency than if you're using banana skins. I will often mention pulp, which is any cellulose plant fiber such as wood, linen, cotton, etc. which is cleaned and beaten into a wet mixture, that is then used to form the sheet of paper.
A sieve is fancy word for a paper making screen which is supported between two halves of a mold, often called a handmold. The top portion of the handmold will determine the size and shape of your sheet of paper and is called the deckle. The unit, consisting of the deckle, the papermaking screen, and the bottom half or undercarriage which supports the screen is the handmold proper.
Now that you have the main terms down, I want to introduce you to the two basic methods of papermaking available to the home papermaker. One uses a pouring process and the other utilizes a dipping procedure.
The deckle of a pour handmold will have high sides which typically range in size from two to three inches or more. Paper is formed by pouring a small amount of pulp into the mold's deckle. A dip handmold's deckle, however is shallow and usually less than one inch in height. The paper is created by dipping the mold into three or more inches of pulp.
Whether you chose to utilize the pour or dip method, ultimately your success in crafting papers will depend on how the pulp has been prepared. The more time spent on pulp preparation, the better papers you will create. Although it may seem difficult to get the texture you want at first, practice in this case
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