Does it feel like something is missing as you write your Elizabethan sonnets on a laptop computer? Impress all the other poets at the coffee shop by writing them with a quill pen. First you'll need to make one, but mastering the art of the pen is not difficult after a little practice.
Instructions
Preparing the Quills
1. Buy quills. Usually either turkey or goose feathers can be bought at craft shops or online.
2. Place a can of sand in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the sand is hot.
3. Remove the can of sand from the oven and place the quills point down in the sand.
4. Leave the quills in the sand until it cools.
5. Strip some of the feathers off the quills to clear a space for your hand.
Cutting the Quill Pen
6. Measure how you'd like to hold the quill pen. The quills tend to be curved so decide which quill fits your hand the most comfortably.
7. Cut the end of the quill off with a sharp knife. The cut should be diagonal, down and away from the top.
8. Use the knife to make a slit in the top of the pen at the tip. This slit should run the vertical length of the tip.
9. Slice a scoop from the underside of the pen. It should be about half the pen's diameter, centered under the slit.
10. Carve out slivers on both sides of the slit at the tip of the quill to make the point. It should look like the tip of a fountain pen.
11. Dip the quill tip in ink and start writing.
Tags: your hand