Jeannette: I have never seen any quill pens which have a ballpoint inserted into the tip, so >that one can write with them without using liquid ink > available commercially. However, as a child I made them all the time. It is simple. Get any large nice looking feather, cut off the quill bulb end, ream out the shaft of the feather with a stick, a dab of glue on the ballpoint ink tube and assemble. Find a group of 8 year olds, provide the materials, and you'll have as many as you want. Do wash the feathers to remove any salmonella or other nasties. Feathers could be available from farms or abatoirs. ************************** Barbara J. Winter [log in to unmask] Curator, Department of Archaeology Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada "that kind of sex, with all that blowing and snorting, is like singing a madrigal, more fun to do than to watch." Robertson Davies, CBC National re-broadcast, Dec 4, 1995.