Cutting a nib to create a quill pen can be challenging.
Prior to industrialization in the middle 19th century, most people relied on quill pens for their writing needs. Writers preferred wing feathers from large birds. Quill pens began to fall out of favor when more durable steel-tipped nib pens became mass produced, inexpensive and common. While cutting a quill pen simply requires a sharp knife, actually creating a writable nib and writing with a quill pen takes practice and is in itself a work of art.
Instructions
1. Choose your feather. The New Hampshire Historical Society recommends using goose, swan or turkey. Crow and peacock, among others, can also be used. The large flight feathers from a goose are more common.
2. Soak the feather in hot water for a few minutes to soften it, and then dry by pushing it into hot sand or simply leaving it for a few days to dry. The Jane Austen Centre states that feathers from the left wing should be used for right-handed writers and vice versa.
3. Trim the plume back for personal preference. Also, be sure to scrape the barbs smooth for comfort while writing. Although much of the plume can be left on the feather for aesthetic purposes, it was common practice to remove all plume.
4. Cut the tip of the shaft at a sharp angle for a quarter-inch or so. Use the end of the knife to clear the membrane from inside the feather's shaft. A sharp pen-knife, pocket-knife or X-acto knife can be used.
5. Slit the cut tip to near the end of the first cut. This must be done gently to avoid cracking the tip. If it cracks, you will have to start over again with a new first cut. One method is to position the end of the knife on the tip and rock the knife forward to make the slit. It will take some practice to get the proper length of the slit for your writing style. A longer slit will make the tip soft, and those who write with a lot of pressure will keep breaking the tip. Conversely, a shorter slit will make the tip hard and harder to write with.
6. Enlarge the steep first cut (scoop) to about three-fourths of an inch in length.
7. Shape the nib on both sides of the slit to create a point. If the nib is too curved, it can be straightened some by carefully scraping its inside. Also, thin the nib tip with more careful scraping. This type of pointed nib is most common, but calligraphers create several different nib shapes to suit their purposes.
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