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Calligraphy Tutorial: how to make a calamus pen

by Joaquín Seguí @joaquinsegui

Learn, step by step, how to make this old calligraphy tool, with Joaquín Seguí

You may never have heard of calamos, but the truth is that they are one of the oldest handwriting tools in existence. In essence, a calamus is a hollow reed, cut obliquely at one end, which is used for writing thanks to its ability to accumulate ink and allow us to draw on the sheet.

Its usefulness in calligraphic writing forms such as the uncial is key, as it allows us to generate compact but organic shapes on the sheet, and also using a callus will allow us to let our hand free if we want to get started in calligraphy. So, if you want to know how to build your own homemade calligraphy callus using just a handful of cheap materials, don't miss the following video tutorial by graphic designer specialized in calligraphy Joaquín Seguí (@joaquinsegui):

What materials do I need?

- A reed or reed cane. It is better not to use bamboo: it is too resistant a material and it will be difficult to work with.
- A box cutter.
- A metallic soda can.
- A sandpaper.

You can make your calamus using only these simple materials

1. Sharpen the cane

The first thing we have to do is, using the cutter, sharpen one of the ends of the cane. You can see the process in the following pictures:

Here you can see the carved cane and the unworked cane. The idea is that it looks like the one on the left.

Work the end of the cane with the cutter until it has this form

Finally, you will have to flatten the end of the shank, so that the bend is straight both inside and out.

This is how the rod tip should look like

2. Make a reservoir

The reservoir is the piece where we will store the ink. To make it, you need to cut a rectangle out of the soda can and hook it onto the tip of the cane we just worked on. Once cut out, you need to make some slits in the tip of the cane, deep enough to hold the piece of can. Finally, you will have to bend the piece of can and fit it into the slits, so that it can hold the ink. You can see the process in the following images:

Practice two indentations on the sharp part of the shank...

...checks that the piece of can is held in the slit...

...and fold it in half so that it can be hooked together folded in half.

3. Sand the tip

The last step in the construction of our calamus is to sand the tip of the sharpened edge, to make sure it makes perfect contact with the page we are going to work on.

Our calamus is now ready to use! All you have to do is load the tip with ink, smear the brush on the bottom of the can... and start lettering!

We sand the tip by resting the sandpaper on the table.

If you liked this tutorial, remember that you can learn with Joaquín Seguí to create letters with a modern style and a lot of personality in his online course 'Uncial calligraphy for beginners'.

You may be interested in.

- Introduction to Italic Calligraphy, a course by Belén La Rivera.
- Calligraphy and Rock'n'Roll, a course by Iván Castro.
- Calligraphy with calligraphy with calligraphy strips, a course by Silvia Cordero.