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How to Make a Feather Quill Pen
This is a tutorial on how to make a pen out of a feather just like they used to use in medieaval times. This type of pen is called a Quill. It is quite easy to do and it works quite well.
You just need a turkey feather and a sharp knife. Other types of feathers work also.
I also have a video tutorial for this at the bottom of the page.
You don't need a whole lot of supplies other than a feather (large) and a hobby knife or x-acto knife. And when it comes time to write you need an ink well. For this tutorial we use turkey feathers.
The big thing about making a quill pen is the shaping of the tip of the feather for the ink. This is called a Nib and it is specially shaped to hold ink and to deliver ink as you write. The thing about the split right down the middle is that as you press on the paper that split opens delivering more ink to the paper.
This graphic shows the steps you take when cutting the nib out of the feather tip.
Step 1: You cut the end off the feather at an angle.
Step 2: You cut the end flat and perpendicular
Step 3: You cut a slit down the middle of it.
Step 4: you cut away some of the sides of the feather
Image 5: Shows what we have so far.
Step 6: You cut the tip away at an angle. We end up with what is shown in the nex two drawings.
Let's go ahead and make one by the numbers!
Let's trim away some of the excess feathering on it. Make it so there is plenty of room for you to hold it comfortably without the feathers or down getting in the way of your hand.
Sand it smooth just a little bit.
Step 1: Cut the feather at an angle
Step 2: Cut the end flat and perpendicular like this.
Step 3: Cut the slot right down the middle.
Step 4: Cut the sides down a bit like this.
Technically there is no step 5, the illustration at the top of the page just shows the progress at 5.
So, step 6 is where you trim the nib at the very end close to a point.
This picture shows it completed. The arrow shows that final pair of cuts on the very end.
And that's it! Your feather pen is ready to go! Have fun writing old fashioned style! (Or watch the video down below)
Don't have a feather? Can't get one? That is ok! You can still make a basic quill with a straw. Yup! Sure can. It doesn't last as long and you have to dip it more often. Check out my mini tutorial here.
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