User:Chimpoo1000

Quill Pens
Quill pens were used before the pens we use today. They were mostly goose flight feathers. Quill pens were used in the 1800and 1700s. They were used for colonial children and adults writing. The skill only came with lots of practice.

Structure

The tip of the quill pen is what makes it work. Without the correct tip, the pen would not function properly. A tip of a quill pen is different from pen to pen but they all follow the same rules: A pointy tip with two sides (to let the ink out), a curved shape to the end of the pen, a hole right above the tip, and a spot to put your fingers. In some pens, the end it made of the feather itself or rather medal. It all depends on the pen.

The feathers are sometimes cut off at the tip so that the feathers don't get ink on them. In some cases, it is not needed. Turkey, goose, and other large feathers are usually chose to be quill pens.

[[File:The parts of a quill pen|thumbnail|Here is a drawing of all the parts of a quill pen. Although alll pens have a different feel, they all feel relatively the same.

Making a quill pen

To make a quill pen, you will need a strong feather, such as Turkey or Goose. Then, you cut off some of the feather to make it more usable. And, so the ink doesn't get on the feather.

Then, you'd soak the feather in some hot sand of a certain amount of time. This helps to make the shaft stronger and less brittle. It also makes the feather more flexible and easer to bend.

Then a knife was used to cut away the point of the quill pen. The part that was cut away was put face up and the knife was inserted into the making a slit by pushing the blade upward. The the other side of the slit was cut in a scooped shape. Now the quill is starting to look more like a pen. Now you cut away the sides of the scooped area of the. You make the inside flat by scraping it. Then you cut the tip into a point by making an angle around the tip. The pen can be sharpened many times. It can vary depending on how well the quill pen was made.



Writing with a quill pen

Writing with a quill pen can take a lot of practice. You need to make sure you take proper care of it and don't push it too hard while writing. To begin writing, you dip the end of the into a bottle of ink. Usually the ink is stored in something called an. You don't want to dip the in too far so that you don't get ink on your hand! While writing, give a little pressure to ensure that the ink comes out. But don't put too much pressure or you might dull the tip. The tip should be pointy to let the ink out. Not dull. Be carful not to tip the pen upside down or all the ink will leak out.