Mechanical quill cutters were developed in the late 17th century to solve the problem of trimming a feather into a useable pen. In 1729, Isaac de la Chaumette recorded a patent for ‘a pen knife yt make ye pen at once’ although no details survive. This French quill cutter works by screwing the blades down onto the scoop of the quill to cut and slit the nib. [20/06/2013]