Feather Quill Pen

[pen tom]

I bought a quill feather pen while visiting Historic Williamsburg just to try it out.

So far I can't get anything written. I just get blobs of ink and almost invisible sctratching.

 

Is there a trick to this, or like all things, just it just take practice?

 

The nib is not split like most nibs. Is the nib supposed to be split or not?

[Mr. Pink]

My guess is that it was not really made to be used. There are several You-Tube videos to help you out. But just between you and me, unless you really want to retro in a big way, it's somewhat of a pain to get it just right.

[pen tom]

My guess is that it was not really made to be used. There are several You-Tube videos to help you out. But just between you and me, unless you really want to retro in a big way, it's somewhat of a pain to get it just right.

Thats possible. What makes me think that they are meant to use are that they are intelligently beveled. Using a 2 bevel, compound bevel. Some even had some flex. Also they sold them individually or with different combinations of paper and journals.

 

I don't doubt that it is a pain in the you know what, to use. But I'm retired and have lots of free time. haha

[Randal6393]

Best to start with a handful of feathers, already tempered, and not too dry. Then cut the nib the way you find most like what your normal nib is. Helps to have some background (and success) with dip pen nibs.

 

There are several videos on inking and using dip pens, more on cutting your own nib. Good books on cutting your own nib are Edward Johnston's Writing & Illuminating & Lettering and Graily Hewitt's Lettering. Valuable references for many things dealing with handwriting and calligraphy.

 

I tried the Williamsburg approach, nothing usable there. Such a shame, as many people will only know old practices of penmanship through an inadequate resource. A good doucent and decent script might involve a whole new generation in the wonder of our ancestors lives.

 

Best of luck and enjoy,

[rwilsonedn]

Can you post a photo of the pen and especially of the tip?

ron

[pen tom]

Can you post a photo of the pen and especially of the tip?

ron

I will take photos of the pen and my writing soon.

 

I watched a number of the videos on youtube on how to make a quill pen. This pen did not need much modification to conform to the general consensus in the videos.

 

I cut a slot in the middle of the nib and then had to play around a bit with a razor blade to even up the tines. The quill was already hardened, which is something pointed out in the videos, It makes the quill brittle.

 

My resulting writing was surpriseingly good. Better than good. The ink volume held by the quill was very respectable, I was able to write more than a sentence on one dip. I was very surprised after my first unsucessful attempt with the unmodified pen.

 

Its too bad that Williamsburg did not do the one missing step, which was the cut to divide the tines. Most people trying to use the pen will just give up and not see how early pens worked. Not many are geeky enough to try to make the pen useable

 

I will take pictures and upload them

[pen tom]

Here are 7 pictures. It is just written on cheap copy paper. Some of the blue lines in the nib are caused by the ink coloring to natural lines of the quill. It is harder to see the split seperating the tines.

[pen tom]

The writing in the upper left was done with the original unmodified nib. The rest is with the final product

[rwilsonedn]

Very interesting, thanks. And congratulations on cutting your first quill pen!

ron

[sidthecat]

I have a small cache of quills; they're defeathered up to the ends, which is historical, but they're very cranky to write with.

 

They're probably best with iron-gall ink, which was all the rage in the Renaissance, and real parchment. It's amazing they had the patience to write such long books.

[pen tom]

I have a small cache of quills; they're defeathered up to the ends, which is historical, but they're very cranky to write with.

 

They're probably best with iron-gall ink, which was all the rage in the Renaissance, and real parchment. It's amazing they had the patience to write such long books.

I was thinking of trying some iron gall ink, to be historically accurate. Where did you get quills? I'd like to try a few more, experimenting with the nib cutting.

 

It is amazing to think of all the work that went into ancient books.

[Algester]

hmmm you can probably make a feed for your quill pen by cutting a thick brash shimm (.5 mm to 1 mm) and then making a loop on one end to fit your pen with one side slightly hammered touching the quill's tip

Edited December 11, 2015 by Algester

[Pickwick]

You can make ink a more viscous for dip pens by putting a few drops of Gum Arabic{I'm not the originator} into it. I have a bottle of Diamine ink using this method purely for dip pen use.

[Mr. Pink]

Just curious - has anyone ever stuffed a quill pen with something like a cigarette filter?

[pen tom]

I plan on experimenting with the quills. So far I only have 2 that I bought at Williamsburg, but I'll find more feathers.

 

It seems that with the quill that I pictured, when I dip the quill, a blob of ink is kept inside the quill by capillary action (I think thats whats happening) then it is fed via the slit that I made to the nib. It seems that since the cuts that I made resulted in fairly short tines before you get to the uncut part of the quill. This keeps the ink blob close to the slit and keeps feeding the ink to the tines until the ink runs out.

 

The other quill has longer, more elegant looking tines. That length is keeping the ink blob in the quill too far away from the slit and the tines. The result has been for much worse writing and much less time before I need to re-dip.

 

I need to find more quills!

[graystranger]

You don't need to stuff anything in the quill, the hollow tube will hold a lot of ink and feed it to the tip quite well.

 

By the way, everyone back in the centuries when quill (and reed) pens were used carried a knife to re-cut, shape and slit the writing tip to renew it when it wore down. Thus: THE PEN KNIFE. Earlier one's were small fixed blade knives but later became the folding pen knife. Still using the same rounded end blade that is made today (the small Swill Army knives and many others have pen blades). Search for "antique pen knife" images.

 

You can buy hardened quill pens off ebay here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Handcut-Quill-Pens-Writing-Quality-/151908759280?hash=item235e77b6f0:g:KkAAAOSwl8NVVmM9

 

This seller is also a source for vintage dip pen nibs and all kinds of antique and reproduction accessories.

[Randal6393]

As for iron-gall ink, John Neal Bookseller (www.johnnealbooks.com) sells Old World Iron Gall Ink, Blots Iron Gall Ink, and McCaffrey's Penman Iron Gall Ink. As well as the whole Ziller line of inks and sumi and walnut inks and ... The firm is one of the best.

 

Another good online shop is Paper and Ink Arts.

 

Just be sure to keep your ink for dip pens well away from your ink for fountain pens. Once something like gum arabic is added, the ink is no longer good for fountain pen use.

 

Enjoy,

[pen tom]

You don't need to stuff anything in the quill, the hollow tube will hold a lot of ink and feed it to the tip quite well.

 

Exactly. I'm new at this but I see (and mentioned earlier) that the round quill attracts a blob of ink and holds it in place by capillary action. This acts as the ink reserve. I've gotten between 25 and 35 words written before I need to re-dip

[Precise]

I wonder if a plastic straw would work for this?

[graystranger]

I bet a plastic straw would work well, if it was not too flimsy or you used a light hand. If you try it, give us a report. I would love to know. Maybe you could make it more rigid by slipping one straw inside another (may not be doable). The plastic may be too hydrophobic for the ink to wet well and flow through the slit, but it would be worth a try to see. Cheap, readily available.

 

Great idea Precise! I do know that dip pens are made from hollow reeds. Some calligraphers/artists prefer them to quill or steel pens for certain work. Not sure how the nib is formed or prepared when made from a reed, or even what type of reed is used.

Edited December 26, 2015 by graystranger