For beginners, I recommend using machine-made edge paper, whether it is Mi Zige's machine-made edge paper or non-checked edge paper.
Wool edge paper is a kind of light yellow paper made of bamboo fiber. It should be noted that it must be made of bamboo fiber. According to historical records, "the bamboo paper produced in Jiangxi in the late Ming Dynasty is delicate, thin and soft, light yellow, water-resistant and good in water absorption. Suitable for writing and printing ancient books. " Because Jin Mao, a great book collector in Ming Dynasty, loved books and printed books on bamboo paper, he once went to Jiangxi to order a large number of slightly thick bamboo paper and stamped the edge of the paper with the word "Mao", so people used to call this paper wool-edged paper, which is still in use today.
So, how to choose edge paper? Here I mainly quote the classic teacher's words and attach my own interpretation for your reference only.
When choosing edge paper, look at the material first. Materials are divided into two issues, one is truth and the other is high and low.
The so-called authentic, that is, some "wool paper" is not made of bamboo pulp, or not all made of bamboo pulp. It stands to reason that paper that is not pure bamboo pulp cannot be called raw edge.
There are many kinds of adulterated materials:
1. Straw pulp is the material for making paper shells. The paper with too much straw pulp is dark yellow in color, with short fibers and no tension (you can secretly pull a corner to see). Straw pulp can be divided into primary straw pulp and recycled straw pulp. The primary straw pulp is fine and no caking can be seen. The recycled straw pulp is piece by piece without refining.
2. Wood pulp, wood pulp is the material for printing paper. Add wood pulp and the paper will turn white. So what is the standard color? Quite simply, the true color of bamboo is the standard color of wool paper. Of course, the green skin of bamboo should be removed. Regenerated wood pulp is not easy to break, so many edge papers have small white spots, which are typical characteristics of inferior raw edges and are very common in the market.
Judging from the writing effect, the corner paper mixed with wood pulp and straw pulp is easy to ink, which is not suitable for accurate stippling. Moreover, the raw edges of doped straw pulp or wood pulp are not heavy, that is, the color is easy to turn gray, as if floating on the surface. The key is that grass fiber and wood fiber are not as elastic as bamboo fiber, so these woolen papers mixed with straw pulp are very untidy and slow to write, which is very disappointing.
The so-called high-quality material means that the bamboo pulp is old and tender, and the paper made of old bamboo is rough. For example, I have a post trying to use wool paper in front of me. The paper inside is made of old bamboo, but it is actually funeral paper.
Tender bamboo is more delicate. In ancient times, raw edges were made of tender bamboo and used for printing and painting. Good tender bamboo paper has a shiny surface. It is said to be something similar to parenchyma cells, not just bamboo fiber. I don't quite understand this.
Second, look at the workmanship. The original edge of this mechanism occupies most of the current market. As for why it doesn't work, I don't know the principle. In fact, sometimes I laugh at myself for being a heart that really serves the poor with the smoother mechanism. (Qi Ming Publishing House: The classical teacher said that the integrity hall here refers to the integrity hall paper, which is a kind of Xuan paper produced by the working people of the Han nationality in Huizhou area in the Five Dynasties and Ten Countries. Because of its excellent quality, it was rated as the best paper in the history of papermaking in China. It is one of the three treasures in the Southern Tang Dynasty. It is famous for its preserved eggs, such as film, hard and clean as jade, and thin and slippery. However, for people who are particular, it is better to use manual burrs. Most machine-made burrs are not particularly smooth on one side, which can be used to judge the difference from manual burrs, but now this standard is hard to say, because the machine-made procedures are also improving, and everyone is trying to imitate the appearance of handmade paper. (For the rough side of edge paper or glossy surface, please refer to "Which side of edge paper is used to practice calligraphy?"? Glossy surface or rough surface? 》)
Another difference between manual deburring and mechanical deburring is that it has clear curtains. The clearer and more exquisite the curtain pattern is, the better the papermaking technology and materials are.
It is said that the old papermaking has a half-finger curtain pattern, that is, the curtain pattern is only about half a centimeter, which is the best. One finger curtain pattern is rare and can be described as top grade. Now the curtain pattern, mostly about two centimeters, is not bad. The curtain pattern is thick, and if it is blurred, it is a ride. At present, there are some mechanism burrs that imitate the patterns of hand-made curtains, but most of them are opaque.
If you have a little confidence, of course, you'd better try, but it's not easy to judge immediately. Because only by comparison can we draw a conclusion that if you don't have good burrs on hand or haven't used authentic handmade burrs for a long time, it's easy to go astray.
Finally, if you are interested in the difference between draft paper and meta-book paper, or want to buy draft paper that is easy to write without ink and wrinkle, you can see what kind of paper is good for novice calligraphy (with the difference between draft paper, Xuan paper and meta-book paper attached).