quill risha

Quote: Originally posted by billkilpatrick

my-my ... been aeons since i've visited and had to use a complex and instantly forgettable password to do so. never mind ... anyone know where (online) i might discover how to make a quill plectrum? i have what i think is a buzzard feather. graziemille - bill

Ciao Bill,There are different ways to make a quill plectrum. One is the Iraqi where you store the half-finished quill plectrum in olive oil for about 6 months. I do remember that I would demonstrate how to make such a plectrum but unfortunately things got in the way and it was forgotten. But because you have what you think is a buzzard feather that is considerably smaller in size than an equivalent feather of an golden eagle you have to use a different part of the quill because of the smaller size. See the photo of a primary wing-feather of a golden eagle (legally bought in the EU with CITES) next to the finished plectrum. What is the length of the buzzard feather? There is an article somewhere online but I can not find it at the moment, which shows how to make a what I recall a medieval plectrum of a bird of prey feather.

I also had the idea of making my own eagle's risha. I asked at a bird's of prey park nearby, they wanted from 10 up tp 75 Euro for one feather. So I thought I'd better stick to horn rishas . . .

Quote: Originally posted by billkilpatrick

my-my ... been aeons since i've visited and had to use a complex and instantly forgettable password to do so. never mind ... anyone know where (online) i might discover how to make a quill plectrum? i have what i think is a buzzard feather. graziemille - bill

Bill wherever you are, it's this article I had in mind. Found it by chance today when I was going through old papers and it showed that I had printed it.