High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A quill pen is a writing implement made from a flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, metal-nibbed pens, the fountain pen, and, eventually, the ballpoint pen. The hand-cut goose quill is still used as a calligraphy tool, however rarely because many papers are derived from wood pulp and wear down the quill very quickly. Nevertheless, it is still the tool of choice for a few professionals and provides a sharp stroke as well as greater flexibility than a steel pen. The hollow shaft of the feather (the calamus) acts as an ink reservoir and ink flows to the tip by capillary action.