Reed pen
Videos
A reed pen or bamboo pen is a writing implement made by cutting and shaping a single reed straw or length of bamboo.
The inkstained cut tips of reed pens
Varying diameters
Egyptian reed pens inside ivory and wooden palettes, the Louvre
Three views of a narrow tip
Qalam
Videos
A qalam is a type of reed pen. It is made from a cut, dried reed, and used for Islamic calligraphy. The pen is seen as an important symbol of wisdom in Islam, and references the emphasis on knowledge
Reed pen
…the best were obtained from Egypt. The stem was first softened, then dried, and cut and split with a knife, as quill pens are made. Reed pens known as qalams (Arabic: قلم) are still widely used to write Islamic calligraphy. To make a reed pen, scribes would take an undamaged piece of reed about 20 centimetres…
Different kinds of handmade wooden calligraphy pens (Qalam) made of different reeds and bamboos
Qalams as used in calligraphy
A Turkish penbox and inkwell that would have been used by calligraphers