As a latecomer to quills, I am now a concert, I currently have two favorites- a small feather from a Canada goose and a large one I found on a beach (possibly from a Pelican). I strip off the feathers by simply pulling them down the quill and til the stem at the narrow end. This is the end that I use to pick the strings. One disadvantage of the quill is that they don’t produce the volume that a plastic pick would.