Make Your Own Quill Pen

THE MAIN INGREDIENT in a quill pen is, of course, the quill. As not all of us live in close proximity to turkeys, crows, or geese, it may be necessary to ask your local poultry farmer for a spare feather. In a pinch, you can try an art supply store or a calligraphy studio. Wherever you find your feather, it’s best to get more than one, just in case. The other tools you’ll need are a sharp knife or razor, a cutting board, and a pencil.

MAKING THE QUILL

Hold the tip of the quill in boiling water for a minute or two to soften it up so that it can be cut without splitting or breaking off. (It should become soft and somewhat pliable, like your fingernails after a hot bath.) You may also strip some of the feathers off to make room for your hand to hold the quill.

For this you will need adult supervision. Use the knife to slice horizontally across the end of the quill. This angled cut should begin about an inch from the end of the shaft on the underside of the quill.

Make a second cut at a steeper angle, about a half-inch from the end, to shape the nib (the “point” of the pen). Clean out the hollow part, scraping out any fluff of fuzz from inside the quill.

Use the knife to make a slit in the middle of the nib.

Use your pencil to open the slit slightly by pressing up gently from underneath. Lay the nib on a cutting board and slice the tip off so that it is square. At this point you may refine the nib by further cutting down the angled sides or using fine sandpaper to gently smooth out rough edges.

USING YOUR QUILL PEN

It’s a good idea to practice on newsprint or water-color paper before moving on to fancier papers. You may want to pencil in some lines or margins as guides before you begin, but this is not required. Dip your quill into the ink you’ve bought, and then begin to write on your paper. Try not to drench your quill with the ink—the nib should be saturated just enough to write a few letters at a time. Otherwise you’ll get blots, drips, and splats. Writing with a quill pen is a leisurely task; the ink takes a while to dry, and the nib will need re-dipping every word or so. Depending on the angle of your nib and the way you hold your pen, your quill will make thin lines as well as thick lines, so feel free to experiment. Practice by writing your favorite sentence—a famous quote or favorite saying—over and over until you can write it without any blots or errors.