Calligraphy With a Real Quill Pen
Real quill pens were writing instruments made from large bird flight feathers used during the Middle Ages for writing with ink, playing an essential part in human intellectual advancement and increasing literacy rates.
Quill pens were more resilient and long-term durable than bamboo or reed pens, not needing frequent sharpening. Thomas Jefferson even kept geese at Monticello to provide him with writing quills!
Perfect for calligraphy
Real quill pens are great tools for calligraphy, offering finer lines and responding quickly to hand pressure. Furthermore, their lively quality distinguishes their work from that of ordinary ball point or felt tip pens.
A quill pen is comprised of goose feathers that have been professionally or home trimmed into nibs. While other types of feathers may work as well, goose feathers tend to be stronger and larger compared to their counterparts and thus allow you to craft multiple styles of quill pens more effectively.
Prior to feather quill pens, reed or bamboo dip pens were commonly used to write on papyrus; however, these did not hold their point very long and required much maintenance. Feather quills did not need frequent sharpening; in addition, their shape held for much longer than their counterparts.
Easy to resharpen
Quill pens were once the go-to writing instrument before steel pens became more widely used during the 1800s. Made from five outer feathers from goose or swan wings that have been trimmed to a point and hollowed out to hold ink when dipped into an inkwell, quill pens require light hands that don’t exert too much force when using them for writing.
Feathers must be carefully treated, heat treated and cut to create the nib. This process required highly skilled quill dressers. However, with Lewis Waterman’s introduction of the first leak-proof fountain pen design in 1884, this process became significantly simpler.
These unique pens stand out from their competition due to the natural variations and sharpening capabilities found within each quill, as well as their popularity with calligraphers.
Low maintenance
Quill pens were once the go-to pens until metal nibs became increasingly popular during the nineteenth century. Made of feathers from goose, swan, turkey, crow or other large birds such as goose or crow they make great ink reservoirs with hollow barrels that can easily be cut to create fine writing tips or have slits for controlling ink flow.
Treating feathers for quilling requires various methods. Some involve using hot sand or ashes to cure their feather shaft, hardening and strengthening it over time, while other processes involve boiling water or alum baths to dissolve membranes and desiccate oily parts, respectively.
Once a feather has been treated, it must then be cut into a fine writing point with a pen knife, while at its lower end a small scoop is added as an ink capillary to allow ink flow. Although this process takes time and precision, if done right a quill can last an extended period without needing to be sharpened again; according to Godey’s Lady’s Book every young lady “should know how to construct and repair her pen herself”.
Easy to make your own ink
When writing with a real quill pen, having enough ink on hand is essential for uninterrupted writing sessions. Keep in mind that ink used during its popularization was vastly different than modern ink formulations.
Ink was often made up of carbon, glue and water and quickly faded or smeared upon application; often used with a goose feather quill pen.
Quill pens were popular choices before metal pens emerged; they were particularly sought-after among writers who preferred handwritten styles of writing. Quill pens were more efficient than clay tablets, wax tablets or reed pens when writing on parchment and vellum documents; people would even use them to embellish manuscripts with figures, decorations and images.