How to make a feather quill pen

After learning more about them, you may now be wanting to know how to make a feather quill pen of your own. You’ll be pleased to hear that it is straightforward — just follow the steps below.

SOURCE A FEATHER

There are several ways to source a feather for this project. If you happen to own a large bird yourself, you can collect a dropped feather.

Alternatively, you can head to somewhere where large birds are kept and procure a feather from the floor there.

If you buy a feather online, please make sure it was shed naturally, as methods of feather extraction can be very cruel.

CLEAN THE FEATHER

Even if your feather looks clean, it can harbour bacteria, so give it a good wash and scrub with soapy water and a toothbrush.

Don’t worry about damaging the feather — they are stronger than you think.

Leave it to dry, and the original fluffy appearance will return.

CREATE THE NIB

When discussing how to cut a quill pen’s nib, it’s worth noting here that a feather’s calamus (hollow shaft) is incredibly strong and curved and therefore difficult to cut.

Soaking the tip of the calamus in water overnight may help soften it a little, but it will still be difficult.

Firstly, you need to cut the very end of the calamus off neatly to create a fresh end to work with. Do this carefully, as the hollow shaft can easily split and will then be of no use as a quill.

Next, hold your feather like you would a pen and mark the end of the shaft up with a nib shape — just like a fountain pen nib.

Using a very sharp craft knife and a cutting mat, carefully cut small sections off the calamus at a time to avoid causing unwanted damage.

Once you have a nib shape you are happy with, make the final cut — a slit up the middle of the nib, which will create two tines.

Your quill pen is now ready for use!