Acquiring
a Formal
Hand:
(i) Tools

to give full strokes. If the nib be left curved and
hollow underneath (e), it is apt to make hollow
strokes.

The pen may be made more pliant by scraping
it till it is thinner, or by cutting the “ shoulder ”
(a-b, fig. 29) longer, or stiffen by cutting the nib
back until the “ shoulder ” is short.

Goose and Crow Quills (see p. 138).

The main advantages of a quill over a metal pen
are that the former may be shaped exactly as the
writer desires, and be re-cut when it becomes blunt.

A metal pen may be sharpened on an oilstone,
but the process takes so much longer that there is no
saving in time : it is not easily cut to the exact shape,
and it lacks the pleasant elasticity of the quill.

A gold pen is probably the best substitute for a
quill, and if it were possible to have a sharp, “ chisel-
edged ” iridium tip on the gold nib, it would be an
extremely convenient form of pen. A “fountain
pen ” might be used with thin ink.

PEN-KNIFE, CUTTING-SLAB, &C.

THE KNIFE.—Quill makers use a special knife.
A surgical scalpel makes an excellent pen-knife.
The blade should be fairly stout, as the edge of a

^ » ГІ

Fig. 37.

thin blade is easily damaged. It should be ground
only on the right side of the blade and tapered to a
point (fig. 37) and be kept very sharp.

26

section I
of blade i

THE SLAB.—A piece of glass (preferably
white) may be used for fine quills; hard wood,
bone, or celluloid for reed and cane pens.

SHARPENING STONE.—An “India”
(coarse) & a “Turkey” (fine) stone. Use thin
lubricating oil.

MAGNIFYING GLASS*—A magnifying glass
(about I inch in diameter) is necessary for examin¬
ing fine pen nibs to see if they are “true.” A
“ pocket ” glass is the most suitable for general use,
and for the analysis of small writing, See.

RULE.—A 2, or 3-foot wood rule having brass
strips let in to protect the edges, or a metal rule.

LINEN PEN-JVIPER.—A piece of an old
linen handkerchief may be used to keep the pen
clean.

CHAPTER III

ACQUIRING A FORMAL HAND: (2) METHODS

Position of the Desk—The Writing Level—Use of the
Pen—Holding the Pen—Filling the Pen, &c.

POSITION OF THE DESK

Always write at a slope. This enables you to sit
up comfortably at your work, and to see the MS.
clearly as though it were on an easel—and, by the
resulting horizontal position of the pen, the ink is
kept under control. It may be seen from ancient
pictures that this was the method of the scribes
(see Frontispiece). Never write on a flat table; it
causes the writer to stoop, the MS. is seen fore¬
shortened, and the ink flows out of the pen too
rapidly.

27

Acquiring
a Formal
Hand:
(1) Tools

Acquiring
a Formal
Hand:

(2) Methods