Traditional Quills

As a bit of a lark, and because I'm old fashioned at heart, I set about a recent project of turning feathers into quills through traditional techniques. While its a fun hobby I was wondering if I were to open up a small shop during market fair if anyone would be interested in purchasing a quill or some ink for their character. While I'm not sure if its worth the effort of making it into a reoccurring business I'm curious to know who, if anyone, might be interested in equipping their character with the most IG quill they will ever use. Please let me know here if you are interested.

PS: I'm also playing around with sealing wax and sigil rings as a way to nuance those special IG documents. Likewise, please let me know if you would be interested in securing your own sigil ring and sealing wax.

Sending my best.
EB

I would be! I hope you go through with this!

YES .

I am somewhat tired of breaking the tips on my nibs, and would love a supply of something that I could re-sharpen as necessary.

As far as rings........are the customizable? or will they just be of the land symbols?

I would be very interested! I would need some OOG instruction on how to actually use such a quill though.

I would possibly be interested in the sigil rings and wax as long as its customizable and not prohibitively expensive.

Thanks guys for all the interest.

I'm going to keep experimenting with the sigil rings and wax to see if I can make it a viable/affordable option. As for the quills, I'm hoping to have a (very) small batch of tempered and finely carved ones available for the January event. If you are interested in possibly getting one, please send me a message before then so I can begin making your quill.

I would love it as well! Let us talk at the next feast!

As regards personalised signet rings: back home, I was acquainted with a craftsman who did something similar - his method began with blank brass rings, and involved the use of a masked acid etch to inscribe the recipient's mark upon them.

The rings he made weren't used to make wax seals, but certainly looked similar to the sort of ring you'd need for that kind of business. The only problem I'd foresee is that the etched surface can be a bit rough, so you might need to smooth them off with your favourite fine abrasive tool.

If you'd like to experiment with this method, I believe the etchant can be made from two parts dilute hydrochloric acid to one part hydrogen peroxide. Concentrations of commercial chemicals are likely different in the US and the UK, so you might like to play around a bit with the proportions to find what works for you. I'm not sure how he did the mask, but you could google "DIY printed circuit boards" - there's a toner transfer technique that electronics hobbyists use for masking copper-backed boards that will probably work for your project too.

As a final word, the etchant can be quite nasty stuff - obviously, remember to wear protective gear and to not inhale the fumes. It doesn't play well with aluminium either, so don't put the two together.

I hope that's helpful! Happy crafting

I can teach people calligraphic skills with really any sort of nib, including traditional quills. I'd also love to help out as needed for this!

Elias, I'll commit to a signet ring for Carlos. We can talk details when you're ready.

I may be interested in a signet ring but I'm good on quills right now.

Joe H.

Cory/Goggs, thanks for all the helpful advice. I'm going to look into that.

I'll get back to you all at a later date if I am able to make signet rings a purchasable possibility. Geoff, I'm sure I'll run into you sooner or later and we'll talk then.

For now I'm going to keep carving some quills and readying a stockpile for January.

I already have a signet ring, make the old fashioned way. If you have access to a CNC milling machine (doesn't everyone) the design possibilities are limitless. I imagine an ECD machine would also work as well. :huh:

I'll take a quill - writing with them is not that difficult once one experiments a bit. The trick is not to have someone take your nicely written stuff OOG

We can speak about ink.

There's multiple Black Walnut trees in camp, if someone wants to make ink the old fashioned way...

I would most definitely be interested in a quill.

Shh... Geoff, you're giving away the ink surprise (I was fooling around with the blackwalnut tree in my backyard...with varying [read catastrophic] results).

I have to say, I'm totally blown away by how interested people are in these sorts of things.

and for those of you not brave enough to try a traditional quill I will still have my modern take on the traditional quill on hand.