2007-07-01 02:24:18 · 5 answers · asked by nice person 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
you know how a liquid has a skin. that is why when you look at it in a test tube it has a curve. ever seen an ant get stuck in a dew/rain drop. it got trapped in the skin.
when you dip the feather in ink. it punctures the skin and the extra fluid goes up in the feather providing ink for writing. as you write it is drawn back out because of the absorbing of the paper. it can get quite annoying because you constantly have to keep re-dipping it. oh yeah you should cut it at a slant. ever had blood drawn. that slanted thing that the blood rushes into. same concept with the feather.
2007-07-01 02:40:16 · answer #1 · answered by Kristenite’s Back! 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A quill pen is made from a flight feather (preferably a primary) of a large bird, most often a goose. Quills were used as instruments for writing with ink before the metal dip pen, the fountain pen, and eventually the ball point pen came into use. The hand-cut goose quill is still a superior calligraphy tool, providing a sharp stroke and flexibility unmatched in steel pens. The shaft of the feather acts as an ink reservoir and ink flows to the tip by capillary action.
Common writing equipment in medieval times were the quill and parchment or paper. The quill eventually replaced the reed pen. The quill pen was introduced around 700 CE. The strongest quills were those taken from living birds in the spring from the five outer left wing feathers. The left wing was favored because the feathers curved outward and away when used by a right-handed writer. Goose feathers were most common; swan feathers were of a premium grade being scarcer and more expensive. For making fine lines, crow feathers were the best, and then came the feathers of the eagle, owl, hawk and turkey.
2007-07-01 09:33:22 · answer #2 · answered by Michael N 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the feather must be big enough. Cut the end of the stalk in a slant or oblique, then dip into a jar of ink, take out excess ink and voila! you can now now use it as pen. When it run outs of ink, just dip it again. good luck!
2007-07-01 09:37:48 · answer #3 · answered by Lovely 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they use the pointy end of the feather to write with.
2007-07-03 00:10:43 · answer #4 · answered by atlantismeditation@sbcglobal.net 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
with your hand, and some ink?
2007-07-01 09:30:35 · answer #5 · answered by cherica 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋