This knife is used by Islamic calligraphers for cutting reed pens. The reed pen or the ‘qalam’, is hollow and needs to be trimmed before it can be used. Islamic calligraphers use reed pens as their main writing instruments although bamboo or carved wooden pens are used for larger scripts. Calligraphy has always been considered the noblest and the most featured art in the Islamic world. The pious desire to beautify the Qur’an, was a central factor in the development of calligraphy in the Islamic world.
