The writing equipment that dominated the past for many years is the quill. Its usage started in 700 AD and was even then used after the invention of the fountain pen. The quill pens are prepared from the bird plumes so they tend to be light in weight, however they surely show a reading on some scales such as the digital scale. When we talk about writing, the quills that prove to be the toughest are the ones drawn from living birds. For perfect results, the feather is taken during spring from the five outer left-wing plumes. A right-handed writer would like to have such a quill that is drawn from the left feather because they are turned outwards and away from the writer. Depending upon the kind of writing you need, there is a range of various types of feather that are taken from birds.

For instance, goose plumes were most commonly used whereas the premium grade swan plumes were uncommon and more expensive. As for the crow plumes, they were thought to be the best for creating fine lines. Other species of birds whose plumes were employed for preparing quills, include eagles, owls, turkeys and hawks.

You can’t start writing with a feather soon after plucking it, it has to be carved to turn it into a quill. The people of older times used to carve the barrel or shaft of the feather that they required a pointed knife which was known as the pen knife. The scribes along with stationers of that time used to sharpen and slit the point region to make a nib for writing. It’s simply fascinating to observe how the writing of each quill differs. This difference results from the development of the wing shaft along with the carving of the quill maker. So every quill is unique just as the writer or the maker of that quill. The choice, trimming, carving of a quill is quite tedious, but is also an art at the same time.

The individuals of earlier times used to believe that plumes belonging to a goose were the best for preparing quills. Sometimes, only two or three plumes are the correct ones among the whole lot. For good writing, the nib has to be shaped to a very fine point. A slit is then cut at the bottom of the shaft. This slit allows the smooth movement of ink. Only the goose feather’s shaft has this feature to hold the ink until when light force is applied. The force makes the ink to reach to the nib in the desired amount.

Quills have a great role to the initial scribes who used to write and adorn their writings using these equipment. This is why the earlier writings of the Bible and the Magna Carta were penned by quills. Furthermore, this instrument was used to make great works of literature, books along with other historical documents that had a great impact on this world. Conversely, quills have left a great impact on history throughout their period of rule.