Too picky!! I have fletched arrow with feathers from 3 different companies and they still flew fine. Shawn

Can't help feeling a little bemused. Those of us who shoot self bows and use a finger for a rest soon learn to trim the quills more or less like Killy described. Funny thing is, when everyone used a finger for a rest, everyone knew trimming the quill was part of fletching an arrow.

Now it's all a new idea.......

I think that Nick Nott showed me this.  After fletching the arrow, take a razor blade and trim off the sharp nub on the front of the feather.

Then take a Phillips screwdriver (or any one with a round shaft), and use it to smooth the front of the quill and press/burnish it down into the wood.  Then finish off with a drop of glue.  

Don't know if the look is perfect, but it keeps the quill out of my hand.

RonP

I do what VTer said: a dab of glue on the leading edge of the tip.

I trim that front point uniform with a razor blade with one cut at a 90 to the quil but 45ed out with the direction of the quil (left wing),  then bevel that to a 45 with a second cut.  Leaves em looking clean and smooths the transition.  I also use a touch of Platinum.   That and the fletch tape really anchors them down.

RonP, that is what I have been doing..burnishing that leading edge and then glue. I think I'll try the bevel with razor or/and the dremel too.

What Killy said, trim on the arrow....easy to do with aluminum shafts.....add a drop of glue and done.

i use a single edge razor blade to slope the quill angles of all fletches to be adhered to shafts, and afterwards burned to shape.  this is by far the most functionally accurate way of addressing the quill base shape.  you can see me doing this in my fletching video in the how-to forum.