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Ku lmus

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Tikkun fo r

Megi l lat

Hashoah

Care

o f

Your

Torah

ku lmus

(t he qui l l )

From Keset Hasofer - (The inkwell of the scribe): "On every occasion one must check that the

ku lmus is well-formed [lit. nice]. Some say that one must write [only] with a quill [made] from a reed

and not from a feather, but we do not adhere to this custom rather we write with a feather, and even

with a quill made of iron" (This is very strange ruling and not the case at all as one is not to use metals

that are used for warfare in sofrut , however Rashi also mentions the use of metal pens so this must

have permissible at some time in the past)" And there is some doubt as to if it permissible to write with

a feather from an unclean bird."

Scribes by and large

use quills (though

some Sefardi

scribes will use a

reed (which are

sometimes referred

to as "calamus")).

Below are the various stages in the preparation of a quill and writing with a quill is very different indeed

to any calligraphy pen one may have used. Most common are the leading edge feathers of the turkey,

the goose and the swan, though the latter is harder to source. One needs sharp cutting tools and

sharp steel "Stanley" knife, a scalpel and a loose knife blade for the final cut are pre-requisites. Some

people will heat their quills to harden and clarify them (remove the natural oils) but this is not

absolutely necessary. The simplest method is to position the quill about 5cms above a hot plate and

rotate it for about ten seconds (too long an exposure will render the quill too brittle). However there are

other methods involving plunging the quill into hot sand!

1. Strip the plumes with a firm grip and downward

pressure to remove them. (Sorry to spoil theillusions 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.

2. FIRST CUT

Slice off feather's tip

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

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kulmus

Thoroughly

Modern Moses

The Song of the

Wor ld photo book

East London

Synagogue

Megi l lat

HaYshuah(the

salvation scroll)

GIVE!

(tsdakah)

Sefer

Binsoa

- thebook of

Binsoa

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.

Quill front shown

9. Hebrew requires a cut sloping to the LEFTside. (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

tagg in ) you can trim and re-cut to maintain

the writing quality.

Mordechai

Pinchas

The quill must be one sixth the thickness of thegaps of the lines (sh i r tu t ) so that the Hebrew

character is usually three ku lmus im (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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