Quills, first used as pens in the sixth century, were a giant step forward. Go quills were the most popular, but the large ail or wing feathers of other birds were also used. Using a quills not a simple matter. First the quill was sharpened to a point Then the parchment was polished so that the ink would not run. Every desk of the day contained a small coal-burning stove for drying the ink. Quill users kept a pumice stone close at hand to erase the ink blots. A quill would last only a week or so before it had to be replaced. Despite these short comings, quill pens remained in general us for about twelve hundred years The next important step in the history of pens was the pen with a steel nib.