Q&A for How to Make a Pen Stylus

Make sure that the foil is in contact with the tip, and that you are touching the foil at all times. Remember, it's your body's natural electric field that allows you to interact with your tablet screen, and that the foil and wet tip are conducting that field.

You can use cotton balls if you would rather, they'll work just as well.

No. The eraser is far too rough for the screen and will just dirty it up. The graphite tip will just destroy the screen.

Regular Q-tips probably work fine, since you are just using the tips as opposed to the actual handle.

No, don't do this. This will scratch and damage your screen. The aluminium foil helps to transfer the electrical current from your hand to the tip of the Q-tip, and you need to wet the tip of the Q-tip to make the pen stylus work.

No, because it has to be hard and firm to press against the screen.

Yes, metal is important here because metal can conduct electricity. The way a touch screen works is, when your finger touches the screen, the charge from your finger disturbs the charges on the screen. It reads these disturbances and registers it as a touch. If you use a plastic pen, the charge from your finger will not be able to move to the screen. But if you don't find a metal pen, don't worry. You can just wrap some aluminum foil around your plastic pen. Make sure the foil touches your finger and the cotton.

The inner portion of some chocolate wrappers have a thin layer of aluminum. You can use them if you like.

If you have a baby wipe, dry it out and you can use that. Or, you can use tissues, or toilet paper will work too.

Either one would work but method 1 would probably be more comfortable to use for long points of time suck as drawing or writing.

No, all you need is a pen (plastic will do) and cover in it the foil. It actually works better with plastic.

Yes, it will work for iPads, tablets, phones, Chromebooks or any touch screen laptop.

Yes. It's the exact same thing as shown in method 2, just without a metal pen. If you want to, you can replace the pen with anything you want (in method 2. Method 1 requires a metal pen). If you do it right, it will work. For example, I used a plastic mechanic pencil instead, and, as we speak, it has still saved me from having to spend 10-15 dollars on a stylus.

Yes. If you don't, it will not work, as it will be nothing more than a pen with cotton swab for a tip. Most likely, you have a capacitative touchscreen. This means that it requires a human touch (or something with an electrical charge) to respond. As a result, if whatever hits the screen has no charge, then it will remain inactive. The primary function of cotton is its softness. The water is what conducts the electrical charge. So, to recap, the straight answer is yes.

It conducts an electrical charge. You can use anything that conducts (allows to flow through) an electrical charge. However, aluminum foil is the most reliable and best for making a homemade stylus. You can find aluminum foil almost anywhere, even some chocolate bars are wrapped in aluminum and this is a great way to reuse the foil!

You can wet it in dabs as you go. It will eventually dry up anyway. Maybe keep a cup of water next to you, so it’s easier.