After a couple of frustrating attempts at pre cooking uncovered pens last night the problem was diagnosed by Wanda.
http://wandadesigns.blogspot.com/ Wanda suggested that the pen would be insulated and keep it's shape by the clay covering. It worked and my frustration was relieved.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAq3hIOSfo5IZdrcct5pswL-A6YIXNEDS_yJkv4jF7GO5qkXrKgJspdvplcMMZmZeXmEs0eatijrWSIUCrAInojo5zyqS48LWC87IwCV4qPqw0n9-jnMuUfWF-TA2Z8Z34K9k7mNEFC9s/s320/pen+experiment+1.JPG)
In the above pictures the bic pen melted and shrank. In the second picture the papermate pen melted as well.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlIxp-XsPBS0BjgXLmXANuVBOFsufMoemU7UgSvrbfrO1HLUMebbltCqcTEQoY7Dp40usYEmi2U6_NhbZm0yHj0hjo-nzL4uHA8ZHeGk-DIdFTnOaeQL5x78gYLQS0MdU_JO_9i08GRU/s320/pen+sucess.JPG)
In this picture the papermate flex ultra pen is covered in clay. The pen maintained it's shape! Yipee it works. Now to cover some pens. Look for some more pens soon.