Feather Quill Pens

[jbb]

I bought some feather quill pens. Can anyone give me some tips on writing with them. Which inks and paper do you like? What will be different than writing with a dip pen? How do I know if I got good ones? Mine squeak and splatter -- is that normal?

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7232/7270335832_3879f657a1_o.jpg

Edited May 25, 2012 by jbb

[fair isle]

I'm interested in this also, I hope some experienced members chime in. I do seem to remember hearing somewhere that iron gall inks are especially good for quills as the albumin in the quill reacts with the ink making the nib harder and more durable. But I haven't experienced it myself so YMMV as they say

 

From your writing sample above it looks as though you found some ink and paper that worked out, or is it an illusion

[Sasha Royale]

Seems to me that the quill works okay in the single,

smooth stroke. As soon as the quill changes direction,

the point catches, scrapes, and spatters. Have you

viewed much of the quill writings of 200 years ago?

Full of feathers, blotches, and irregularities. I

think your writing sample looks very good. Of course,

if you seek an authentic look, you will have to be

messier.

 

Have fun. :roflmho:

[asaha]

Really fancy and good taste. The ink well is beautiful.

[wallylynn]

I was once looking to make my own quills. Collected goose feathers, learned about cutting, tempering, etc. (and poke berries and walnuts for ink) I never did get to it because one of the things I needed was a razor sharp penknife. I had no experience sharpening so I had to stop there.

 

Anyway, I learned you truly need a feather light touch, and just like a FP, aligned tines. They'd wear out quickly. And they're not needle pointed, it's more like a chisel cut, just very narrow (italic nib?). And the barbs were removed, they're just for show now.

 

Anyways, you seem to be doing fine on your own.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Fresh feathers are tempered by heating a can sand ... with out plastic liner...in the stove. After removing the can of sand, sticking the blunt end of the feather in the hot sand and let cool.

 

I have the goose feathers, and a can of sand. :embarrassed_smile: That's as far as I have gone.

 

I can sharpen the pen blades of my pocket knives, but thin an exacto blade will do just as well.

 

On You-tube there are many nice videos.

Edited May 26, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

[eduardp]

The inkwell is so beautiful. It came with the quills?

[Paddler]

It may be that your nibs were cut too long and thin. The antique pens that were made by professionals, back in the day, all seem to be rather stubby. The longer and thinner, the more flex you get and the greater the tendency to grab and splatter.

 

A tip on "Dutching", or tempering.

First, use your thumbnail to scrape the water repellant layer off the end of the shaft. Cut the end off of the shaft and remove the papery insides with a small crochet hook. Then soak the shaft in water overnight.

You can Dutch with a flatiron. Get a small Phillips screwdriver to use as a "Dutching tool". Turn your flatiron up to the wool setting and heat the screwdriver shaft on it. Then, use the hot screwdriver to hold the feather shaft against the hot surface of the iron. The shaft is tempered when it begins to turn yellow. Don't bother tempering the shaft all the way around; you are going to cut away the bottom when you make the nib, anyway.

 

Also, you don't need a slit in the nib. If you want the nib to write like a modern italic, cut the nib's point off square, and just score the top and bottom surfaces where the slit would normally be. There won't be any flex, but it will write with line variation.

[jbb]

The inkwell is so beautiful. It came with the quills?

I've had that inkwell for years. It has those skinny holes for holding skinny dip pens or feather quills so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it. My daily dip pen holders are too fat to fit so this inkwell has never seen much action.

[jbb]

Thanks for all the advice and insight. I think I had a fantasy that feather quill pens would be even more expressive than steel dip pens but now I think that steel dip pens may be the ultimate writing experience.... at least for me.

[fountainpen7]

I have been writing with dip pens for a very long time, but I also used to use feathers and ink. I moved past them and went to dip pens because I found that my writing was much nicer with a dip pen. Since then, I have moved on to a fountain pen. I still use my dip pen for writing, but I rarely touch my quills due to the scratchy and squeaky feelings you described. That is what I most dislike about them. You will find that your writing will not be as nice. Some tips that I can give you for writing with quills are, you can only write few words on one dip of ink, so every three or four words, depending on how long they are I encourage you to dip the pen so that you don't get faint lines. Also, when you cut the nib of your quill, which you will have to do frequently, you should make a small slit about half way up the quill, so that the ink flows, just like a dip pen (that's just how I prefer it). The quills you got look to be good and strong, I am not sure which kind of bird they came from, but they look like they will not break often. Just remember that these types of "pens" require much less pressure than any other type, because they are most susceptible to breakage. Hope this helps. Write on.

[jbb]

I have been writing with dip pens for a very long time, but I also used to use feathers and ink. I moved past them and went to dip pens because I found that my writing was much nicer with a dip pen. Since then, I have moved on to a fountain pen. I still use my dip pen for writing, but I rarely touch my quills due to the scratchy and squeaky feelings you described. That is what I most dislike about them. You will find that your writing will not be as nice. Some tips that I can give you for writing with quills are, you can only write few words on one dip of ink, so every three or four words, depending on how long they are I encourage you to dip the pen so that you don't get faint lines. Also, when you cut the nib of your quill, which you will have to do frequently, you should make a small slit about half way up the quill, so that the ink flows, just like a dip pen (that's just how I prefer it). The quills you got look to be good and strong, I am not sure which kind of bird they came from, but they look like they will not break often. Just remember that these types of "pens" require much less pressure than any other type, because they are most susceptible to breakage. Hope this helps. Write on.

 

Thank you fountainpen7.