Scribes needed writing tools just as much as they needed ink if they were going to make a manuscript. Most scribes used quill pens made from bird feathers. The feathers would be plucked from geese and then was cut with a penknife to have a tapered point for writing.

The penknife was a knife used by scribes like a pencil sharpener is today. When the quill pen’s tip would become unusable, the penknife was there to cut it back into a smooth point. It also doubled as a way to erase errors in the writing. A scribe could use it to scrap a mistake off the leaf.  The leaf pictured on the right has a smudge in it about half way down the text.  This smudge is from a pen knife being used to erase a mistake.

The final tool a scribe need was a surface to write on. A scribe could use a lap board or a desk that they could lean upon as the wrote.