Sep
11
How to make a quill pen
Filed Under Pens, Quills, Stationery Lover's Life
(Image by Digital Paradox)
When I was little - and already addicted to writing equipment - I dreamed of trying out a quill pen. Living in a big city, the only birds I saw up close were food, or maybe pigeons - but my mother was fond of peacock feathers.
I stole one of those off the wall where it was mounted, and tried dipping it in watercolours (the nearest thing I had to ink). You can imagine how well that went down. The tip never did get clean again.
I remembered this incident when, browsing around on an unrelated search, I found that there are plenty instructions available if you fancied making your own quill pen.
Here’s how you do it, then.
1. Unless you’ve got geese wandering around, you’ll be needing some quill feathers. You can buy those in hobby shops, and they’re pretty cheap. Ducks or geese are best.
2. Get your pen knife. You can strip the plume completely or keep some of it, whichever you prefer. The plume may get in the way of your writing, but it’s pretty, so you may want to sacrifice your comfort a bit. In any event, strip enough of the tip that you have a comfortable grip, and scrape away the scales near the tip.
3. Some sources recommend soaking the quill in cold water beforehand, or dipping it into boiling water to soften it like your fingernails before a manicure. Others advise that you temper it in hot sand to make it more brittle, and clean out the inside of the quill with a piece of wire. Try out all these methods if you like, but I’m quite lazy, so I’ll go on straight to cutting the nib.
4. To make a nib, first slice the tip of the quill at about a 45 degree angle. Shape the remaining tip into a sharp point; after this - and that’s counter-intuitive, but recommended in several places - chop the very tip off to make it slightly blunter. Mind your fingers though.
5. To finish off, working from the inside, cut a groove in the nib to help the ink flow.
6. You are done. You may now dress up in your Rennaissance Faire garb and write long, beautiful letters to no one in particular.
This pair of videos demonstrates in helpful detail everything you may not have figured out from the description above:
Quill-making and calligraphy resources used in preparation of this article:
- Quill Making on OurHouse
- Calligraphy on HistoryUK
- How to cut quill pens from feathers
- Cowpens National Battlefield on NPS USA
- Cutting a Quill Pen on Regia Anglorum
- Making a Quill Pen on YouTube
- How to make a quill pen on YouTube
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8 Responses to “How to make a quill pen”
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[...] Stationery Fetish How to Make a Quill Pen [...]
Some of us remember when gentlemen carried a “pen knife” in their pockets. No I am not so old that it was used for reshaping my pen. I use it to take care of my fingernails.
Good article and a fun project.
That’s quite romantic, in the way that vintage things are romantic.
love your site. I too have a stationery fetish, and like you, I’ve had it since I was very young, and for as long as I can remember. I think it’s great that you’ve created a blog about it - I never would have thought to do that.
I used to find a lot of feathers as a kid, I collected them. I had some that were from big birds. I remember using my pocket knife to sharpen the end and make my version of a quill pen. I did calligraphy so I had proper ink. The problem was you have to dip it soooo often. But I guess the groove inside would help hold some ink as well.
We have ducks wandering around… which feathers are the quill feathers? The long ones on their wings maybe? Maybe I’ll try making another quill pen from your wonderful instructions!
Hi Donna,
So glad the article resonated with you. I hoped there would be other people who shared my interest in stationery, but you never know with a specialised hobby like this!
Wing feathers are the ones you need. Hopefully, the ducks will conveniently lose some where you can find them
I love the idea of doing a quill pen. Actually thats a lie im only doing it for school. Well thank you anyways for putting up how to make a quill pen you were a big help.~ * ~ he he thats my signature!
Glad to help, Chloe!
Writing with quill pens is a joy. I have taken to writing a letter to my parents every Sunday with one.
One of these days I’m going to start writing my blog posts with one as well.