[HPforGrownups] Quills and Writing (Was: Knight Bus and Electricity)

[EnsTren at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 79091

In a message dated 8/28/2003 1:27:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk writes:

> Unless, of course, Hogwarts school rules don't *allow* Harry to 
> write school essays with anything other than a quill.
> 
> Entirely possible. You can tell the difference between quill written 
> and fountain pen written. Biro (ball point pen) is even easier to 
> spot. If the Wizarding World uses quills and looks down on those 
> muggle born who know what a biro is and how to use it, they might 
> insist on 'quill-written essays'. That way, they know their students 
> have learnt to use a quill properly.
> 
> One of my schools did something similar. After a certain point, 
> pencil was not allowed (learn to use ink). After a higher point, 
> anything other than a black or blue ink pen was not allowed (learn 
> to use fountain pen). The only place you could use biro's were mock 
> exams/exams, where speed was essential.
> 
> They weren't being stupid, just making sure that we could write with 
> the 'upper class' fountain pen if we needed to. Hogwarts might have 
> a 'quill' rule for similar reasons - so their muggle born students 
> don't give themselves away to the nearest DE whenever they pick up a 
> pen ;-)
> 
> Pip!Squeak
> 

That's a very intresting point you brought up.  My own school only went up to 
the "Black or blue" stage, never to the fountain pen.  I have used it though, 
and taught myself the basics of using an old fashion fountain pen/nub like 
they use with quills.

I do caligraphy sometimes.

Intresting thought, would they also insist on caligraphy like writing?  Not 
the extreamly fancy stuff, but rather certain strokes and the way of holding 
the quill?   I think it's most likely I think, as I found when using the nubs 
(the writing bit of a quill) it was easier to do caligraphy strokes and hold the 
thing a certain way.

For those of you who don't know, and as near as I can tell, a nub works on 
the same principal as pouring water nearly side ways down a wet string, or 
letting water slid down your arm and drip off your fingers, cohesive and adhesive 
molocules in the ink.

The circle and the line, which is most likely a trademark some where, is 
actually a "fork."  The little circle thing gathers the ink and then channles it 
down the split.  If you press too hard the tines open up and you get a split 
line or a mess.  Turning and tilting the thing diffrent ways makes this harder 
and easier to avoid.

However, the only nubs I used were nonenchanted and top loaded, that is to 
say I took a pain brush and manually loaded the ink into the well.  So the 
physics I know of old fashion writing might not apply to something that is 
"dunked."

However, that doesn't mean harry simpply can strip the barbs off the feather 
cut it short, and load it into a faux pen.  I've seen them in art stores with 
a collection of nubs.  Basically you take the thing, which looks rather like a 
normal pen, and pop in and out the nub you want.


Nemi, babbling
       --Black Dragon
       --Slasher and Yaoist
       --Utterly Psycotic


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