I finally acquired some pre-prepped quills. The seller cut his own idea of a nib on the quill which was basically a long taper. These didn't work so well for me so I started experimenting with cutting my own. (he also drills a hole in the nib with the idea that somehow it holds more ink, it doesn't)
The process has been most illuminating. One lesson which should have been obvious to me, but wasn't until I started this, is that each quill is unique. These feathers are the results of natural processes so some quills are thicker, some thinner, some stiffer, some softer. The trick is to take advantage of the positive qualities, compensate for the negative, and then find what kind of cut works best for you.
I've basically got three different quills at this point. The first is the pretty standard small "stub" type of cut. This seems to lay down a line most like the old letters I've seen. It's fast, smooth and durable. I suspect this was the type of cut most often used for everyday writing.
The second was my first attempt at making a sharper, more flexible point. It's definitely finer, and slightly flexible, but also more difficult to control, especially ink flow. This could be the nature of the ink I'm using, which is standard iron gall ink. Perhaps a thicker ink would work better.
The third was when I found a softer quill and decided to push limits. It's much sharper and so lays down a very fine line. It also flexes tremendously. I call this my Spencerian cut because it has such a contrast between thick and thin. This is much better at getting closer to squared off tops than the less flexible second type. (would most likely be better in the hands of someone better at this skill than I)
Anyway, I just thought I'd share. It's actually quite fun to play around with nib shapes. Working with so many types of steel nibs helps me better understand what kind of shape will have what kind of characteristics. I'm still just cutting the nibs with a big old box cutter. I need to get a finer, and sharper x-acto or pen knife to make them more elegant. But even this playing around has given me confidence to keep going.
Next steps are learning how to dry the quills myself and prep them from step 1, and then play around with an ideal shape for my writing.
Andrew
