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1. Strip the plumes with a firm grip and downward pressure to remove them. (Sorry to spoil the illusions but those pictures of scribes using barbed quills are misleading. Leaving the barbs there makes the quill very difficult to use). Scrape off the outside quill sheathing that coats the feather with the back of a knife. Try to get it all off the cutting end or it will not cut cleanly.
3. SECOND CUT From the upper wall slice down and horizontally about half way
4. THIRD CUT Cut down to the feather lower wall. Clean out debris in feather - using a wire brush or (the sort used to clean shavers are best) or pipe cleaner.
kulmus
5. FOURTH CUT Flatten lower wall on glass or perspex and cut a nick in it.
6. Push gently upwards at nick to split the feather for the ink canal.
7. If you press your thumb on the quill the ink canal split should stop at the thumb pressure. A length of 6mms is more than adequate.
8. FIFTH CUT Turn over the quill and cut end with an even pressure on the glass/perspex. A loud "click" confirms a good sharp cut and thus a clean edge. East London Synagogue 9. Hebrew requires a cut sloping to the LEFT side. (English is written best with an even cut or one sloping to the right). You may want to pare the nib further to complete the quill to obtain the fine lines. 10. As the edge wears down (you need a shaper point to drag up the ink for the taggin) you can trim and re-cut to maintain the writing quality.
GIVE!
(tsdakah) Mordechai Pinchas Sefer Binsoa - the book of Binsoa
The quill must be one sixth the thickness of the gaps of the lines (shirtut) so that the Hebrew character is usually three kulmusim (nib widths) tall - wit the obvious exceptions where there are ascenders and descenders involved. Further rules for the quill can be found in 'Likut Sifrey Stam Seder K'tivat Ha-otiyot, Ofen Asiyt Hakulmus (How the quill is made).
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