Ideas & Activities: quill

How to make a Quill pen

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The Tudors would write with feather pens called quills. A small 'penknife' was used to sharpen the point of the feather into a nib.

To make a quill you will need:
A strong feather (goose feather is good)
A penknife (make sure you get help if you need it)
Tweezers
Ink to write

1. Cut the feather down to about 20cm.
Image showing where to cut a feather to make a quill
2. Strip off the barbs (the feathery bits)
from the lower end of the shaft.
Image showing the shape to cut the nib

3. Cut the bottom of the shaft off with
your penknife.

4. Shape the bottom of the shaft, and
take the core out of the shaft with the tweezers.

5. Make a slit in the end of the nib about 5 mm long. Image showing a cut in the nib

6. Trim the end of the shaft again, this time at
an angle. This way if you're right handed,
the opposite if you are left handed.
Image showing how to adjust the shaft of the pen for left and right handed users

7. Dip the quill in the ink and try writing!