What is a Quill Pen Price?
Quill pen use is an old-fashioned art form. Quill pens were popular before metal dip pens and fountain pens gained widespread acceptance.
To craft an effective quill pen, you will require suitable goose flight feathers treated in accordance with their application, an extremely sharp small knife and practice. Ink should also be stored separately so as to enable writing directly on paper.
History
People used quill pens for centuries. Made from feathers from goose or swan wings, the quill pen were fashioned into pointy shapes with small slits leading up to them so as to hold ink – when immersed into an inkwell the ink would flow to its point through capillary action – thus being the primary writing device before dip pens and metal nibs came along.
People used quill pens because they worked well with parchment and vellum – two writing surfaces made from animal skin – as well as for more intricate work on documents like Magna Carta and Declaration of Independence, among many others. Thomas Jefferson even kept geese at Monticello so he would have enough feathers for his quills! However, these quill pens eventually gave way to steel-nibbed pens in the nineteenth century.
Anatomy
Quill pens are pens which use feathers to write on paper. Each feather is carefully trimmed into an inked point with an open end slit at one end to hold ink, and pressure-sensitive quill pens must be used carefully so as not to damage either your paper surface or hand; also they must remain dry at all times.
The highest quality quills come from primary flight feathers shed during their annual moult cycle by birds. Feathers typically harvested from geese, swans, or turkeys are typically taken due to their larger sizes and stronger feathers; it is important that any feather chosen be treated humanely and was not obtained illegally.
Quill pens differ from fountain pens in that they do not feature an internal reservoir or converter that continuously supplies ink to their nibs, nor ballpoints, rollerballs and fiberpens (with hard steel tips) with continuous ink delivery systems. Yet creating one is relatively straightforward and enjoyable!
Nibs
A quill pen’s nib is the point which creates ink marks on paper. Treated to hold ink, its capillary action channels it to its tip via thin cuts called slits in its material. Nibs can either be rigid or flexible and feature tines which split apart for variable line widths.
The pointed nib is flexible with a sharp point and tines that can separate to form thick or thin lines. Thick strokes are produced by applying more pressure, which causes more tines to expand outward; for thinner lines less pressure must be applied so the tines remain tightly close together.
Professional scribes use quill pens for finer writing tasks, while quill pens are also highly valued by individuals who need to produce large amounts of text quickly and simply. Nibs are kept safe in an eyelet holder to avoid losing or misplacing them.
Tips
Quill pens can be great fun to use! Bottled ink works wonderfully with them; just be careful to avoid using cheap printer paper or notebook notebook paper which tends to tear and pill the nibs. A better experience would be gained using sketch or drawing paper instead – especially as these pens tend to be extremely pressure sensitive! Be patient with yourself when pressing, otherwise there will be inevitable frustration!
Quill pens were the preferred writing instrument during medieval era as they worked best with parchment and vellum surfaces made from animal skins, while producing finer and more detailed writing than reed pens. Thomas Jefferson even raised geese at home to harvest enough feathers for his quill pens! These quill pens remain popular today among artists performing calligraphy as their nibs consist of goose, swan or turkey feathers carefully trimmed to a point with an ink well at one end for ink storage purposes.
