[This is a big post, so I will split it into two...]

Finally we get to the kulmus, the quill – the real “beating heart” of safrus.

Becoming a sofer has more to do with cutting and maintaining the quill than it does with writing.  Similarly,  becoming a shochet has more to do with the technique of preparing and maintaining one’s blades than it does with the act of shechita.

Mastery of  cutting/maintaining a quill is ultimately what separates the professional scribe from the dilettante.

The sofer’s relationship to the kulmus is complex, to say the least.   If you treat your kulmus well, and pay close attention to what it needs,  then it will reward you.   Treat your kulmus poorly, and it will betray you.  Badly.  Very badly.

Soferim spend so much time caring and maintaining their quills, that the whole subject of kulmus becomes something of a personal one.  I know this sounds terribly romantic, but it is true:  that I am about to describe my cutting technique feels a little like baring my heart, like sharing some deep personal secret (I guess, in a way, that’s the purpose of this whole project…)

Every sofer develops their “secret” methods for preparing a kulmus.   It took me about a year-and-a-half of cutting two or more quills per-week (on average) until I found a cut that that really works for my hand.  Here is my method, but please understand that I’m currently re-evaluating my cutting technique at the moment because I want to make changes to my ksav (writing style), so this method may change:

Step 1 – Picking the Feather

• According to halacho, there are many materials from which one can make a pen. The custom of Ashkenazim is to write with a feather, while Sephardim use a reed.     Many of the poskim debate whether or not the feather must be from a kosher bird.   However, Sefer Mishnas ha-Sofer (a commentary on Kesses ha-Sofer, the main halachic guide for sofrim) says that the custom is not to be strict about this.

• The feather must be large enough so it can be easily cut and comfortably  maneuvered in the hand.   A 2  cm circumference is about as small as I like to go.   For this reason, turkey or goose feathers tend to be best because they are big.  While I prefer goose because it stays sharper longer, turkey feathers are still larger and more readily available.  Regardless of which bird they come from, we want first or second primary flight feathers because they are the longest and thickest on the wing.

• The cross section of the feather should be elliptical.  Specifically, it should be flatter on the sides where you would hold it when writing.

• An important rule: for a right-handed sofer, you want primary feathers from the bird’s left wing and vice-versa for a left-handed sofer.  The reason is that these feathers have a natural  curve to them.  Ideally, you want the shaft of the feather to curve slightly away from your body, other wise it is awkward to write with it.

A Nice Big Turkey Feather

[Step 1A - Curing the Quill - Optional]

• I put this step in as a parenthetical one because not everyone does it.   A quill fresh off the bird should be left to dry before cutting.  Otherwise it will be too soft to do anything with.  Even after drying, many soferim add other methods to prepare the feather for cutting.  The four most common are sand curing, water curing, acid curing, and microwave curing:

• Sand Curing – Take a coffee can and fill it with fine sand.  Put it in the oven at about 350 F for 25  minutes.  While heating, cut the tip off the quill and scoop out the interior.  When the sand is ready, remove it from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes.  Stir the sand about a bit with a metal spoon and then plunge the quill into it at  depth of 2 or 2.5 inches and leave it until the sand cools.  When you remove the quill, it will have changed color from opaque white to clearish yellow.  While this is a standard method for secular calligraphers,  I find that it makes the quill WAAAAY to brittle for safrus.   Even normal trimmig/sharpening can shatter or crack it.

• Water Curing – the same as sand curing, but you soak the quill in water for two or three hours before placing it into the sand.   I have tried it this way and found that sometimes it makes a better quill and sometimes makes for a very brittle quill.  Hit or miss.

• Acid Curing – cut off the tip of the quill and clean it out.  Mix 1 part water to 1 part vinegar and pour it into a tumbler at a depth of 3 cm.  Place the quill into the solution and let it soak for 48 hours.  When done, remove the quill, rinse, dry it and then it is ready for cutting.  Although I usually don’t use any of these curing methods, I am becoming a fan of acid curing.  It makes the quill very soft and much easier to cut, yet after a few hours, the quill returns to its proper hardness.  It may be my imagination, but I think that acid cured quills last longer than just-dried-out quills.  However, I notice that the tips warp a little over time.

• Microwave Curing – you just zap the quill for 10 second blasts multiple times until the color changes to a yellowish/clear.   Remember to cut the tip off first or else it will explode.   I’ve never tried this one, but the idea of it kind of scares me.

• Doing Nothing – Usually, by the time your quills arrive in the mail, or after you let them dry for a few weeks after getting them from the farm, they can be cut into great-writing quills without messing around with sand, acid or microwaves.   This is what most people do.

• The rest of this post is written assuming that the quills have merely been allowed to dry.

Step 2 – Strip the Plumes

• While they may be pretty, the plumes get in the way when writing.  For this reason, most soferim strip the plumes from one or both sides.  There is an idea to leave some plumes on the quill to beautify it in the spirit of zeh keli ve-anveihu, “This is my G-D and I will beautify him,” but many soferim do this only for the siyum ha-torah.

• Grasp the plumes firmly near the top and pull straight down to the tip. Stop before you get all the way down, lest the shaft tear, and then gently cut them away.

Stripping the Plume

Step 3 – Cleaning off the Membranes

• There is a thin, waxy membrane on the surface of the shaft that has to be removed.  First, I lightly scrape the surface with the back of a utility blade to remove the bulk of the membrane.

• Having done this, I scrape my thumbnail all over the surface of the rachis to remove any lingering pieces and to even out the surface of the quill.

Removing the Remaining Bits with my Thumbnail

Step 4 – Sizing the Quill

• A long quill is unwieldy, so it is a good idea to trim it to a comfortable size for your hand.   About a year ago, I was shown a neat trick for measuring the quill that matches it perfectly to the hand.

• Grasp the quill like so, spreading the thumb and little finger nice and wide, and lining up the tip of the quill with the tip of the thumb:

Measuring the Quill with a Zeres

• Cut off the excess overhanging the pinky finger.

Cutting Away the Excess

• The resulting size is perfect.  While I don’t know who came up with this method, it reminds me of the posuk in Yeshaya 40:12 that states  Ha-Shem “measured the heavens with a zeres.” A zeres is the span of the hand from little-finger to thumb.

Step 5 – Cutting the Tip

• If you used one of the curing methods in Step 1a, then you have already cut the tip.   Otherwise, then use a utility knife to carefully cut off the tip at a clean 45 degree angle. Be gently, ontherwise the quill could crack near the tip.  If that happens then you will have a lot of work to do to salvage the quill. DON’T CRACK THE TIP!

Cutting the Tip

After the Cut

Step 6 – Clean the Interior

• The inside of the quill has a bunch of parallel, loose, crinkly membranes – called kashkeshes ha-krumim in Hebrew, that must be removed before going further.

The Interior Membranes are Visible When the Rachis is Held to a Light

• Use a long  thin screw driver to clean out as much as you can.  Anything that you can’t get out should be pushed as far up the barrel as possible.

Step 7 – The Pesach ha-Chetzi

• At this point, measure 2.5 cm from the tip and mark the circumference of the quill.

• Then flip the quill over and rotate it about to find the exact center line and then make a mark parallel to it near on the tip.

• Then draw lines on the side of the quill dividing it at the halfway point, and extend these lines  to the tip.

• Turn the quill over with the opening facing upwards.  Gently shave from the circumference mark down to the opening like this:

• This opening is called the pesach ha-chetzi.  Note that the shape of the cut is a “scoop,” and that it doesn’t start with a right angle:

Step 8 – Marking Guidelines for the Nib

• Draw a circumference line 1 cm from the tip.

• From where this line meets the edge of the pesach ha-chetzi, draw two gently arching lines over the top to the center-line mark at the tip:

• It is very important that the slope of these lines be proper.  Their cut will determine the degree of spring at the tip of the nib.  This affects ink flow and the amount of pressure needed to write.  The narrower these lines, the more flexible the quill, the better the ink flow, and you will get finer lines.  However, you will have less control and the writing will not be so sharp.   If the cut is broader, you will have more control and a sharper ksav (at least at first), but the ink flow will be awkward and you will have to press hard.  This pressure dull the quill quickly.

In the next post we’ll start the actual cutting of the nib.   Please check back tomorrow for more!

1 Comment »

1. 

   Amazing! I had no idea of the skill, dedication, and love that goes into even preparing the quill for writing a Sefer Torah. No wonder G-d loves His Chosen People so much; the effort some of us go to, to fulfil His commands brings tears to my eyes.
   Many blessings be upon you, dear Rabbi Bloomenstiel, for abundant material and spiritual kindness from HaShem. Thank you deeply for letting us in on your secret, sacred art form. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.
   Shalom
   Ezza

   Comment by Ezza Amitai — July 8, 2009 @ 1:07 pm

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