What angle do you hold the pen ?

[blueshadow_33]

Curious about what angle people hold their fountain pens when they are writing? I was reading some info on the internet - the following article says to hold the pen forward of the knuckle....Pretty high angle for me!

 

http://www.paperpenalia.com/handwriting.html

 

Mike

Edited November 3, 2006 by blueshadow_33

[Hobo Bob]

It's not terribly consistent, usually when I'm taking notes and such I'm writing too fast to focus, but when I slow my writing down, it winds up at about 45 degrees.

[lisa]

somewhere in between 30 and 45 degrees.

[OldGriz]

Because I have a wide hand it ends up somewhere between 30-45 degrees, but closer to 45

[James Pickering]

As depicted in my avatar.

[Leslie J.]

Higher than 60 degrees for me. I hold the pen properly according to that article. The problem with holding the pen so upright is I have trouble with some custom nibs--they need to be customized to the high angle to work best for me.

[Mary P]

I indicated 30 degrees in the poll. When my right thumb absolutely refuses to bend, the angle can be closer to 25.

 

I have had the sweet spot adjusted in a number of my pens to accomodate my hold. I don't usually have a problem with vintage nibs. Modern pens are often designed for writers with the near vertical holds. I often have the "iridium" on my modern pens reshaped.

 

When I can't use a fountain pen, I use pencil, felt tip or roller ball. Few ballpoint pens will write at the angle I need to use.

[Scribbles]

I'd say its somewhere between 40-45 degrees for me. Its hard for me to eyeball it exactly but I don't think its much more than 45 degrees (half way to vertical). I'll have to pay closer attention now just to be sure.

[jpolaski]

As a southpaw, forward of the knuckle doesn't really mean much to me, however, I usually hold my pens at about a 45 degree angle...

[Richard]

The article Mike refers to isn't really quite clear about how the angle of elevation relates to handwriting -- the high angle it seems to advocate is for calligraphy, which is drawing, not writing. (The article does not make this essential distinction.) All of the classic U.S. handwriting methods (Spencerian, Zanerian, Palmer) instruct the student to use an angle of about 45°; typically these days, it rides a little higher. I was trained in Palmer, and while I voted 45° I actually run closer to 50°.

 

For flex work, holding your pen higher than about 45° will cause the pen to stub its toe frequently; while I appreciate the retipping and straightening work I get from these sorts of thing I'd really prefer not to see nibs injured.

Edited November 12, 2006 by Richard

[Phthalo]

Somewhere around 35° for me.

[RLTodd]

Usually around 40, 45 degrees for a nib point but up to 60 degrees for a ball point.

[KateGladstone]

I hold it at about 45 degrees.

[bernardo]

I assume you mean the angle should be measured upwards from the horizontal (ground) level. Then, mine would be somewhere between 45 and 60 degrees.

[KateGladstone]

Yes.

 

;-)

[georges zaslavsky]

45 degrees for me

[Emil]

Between 30 and 45 degrees

[Andrew T]

The angle which I think the question refers to varies for me with the pen and the nib from about 30 to 70 degrees.

 

However, I would like to suggest that there are 3 angles that should be measured rather like describing the attitude of an aircraft in flight: pitch (the one described above), roll (the extent to which you need an oblique nib) and yaw (is your pen in line with your forearm or rotated towards your body?).

 

The combination of these 3 angles should give a universal measure of how a user holds a fountain pen.

 

Does anyone think this is a good idea?

 

Andrew T

 

 

 

[Ray-Vigo]

I have a more perpendicular angle (pen straighter up), but then again it also is pointing me partly at the same time and being pushed a bit because I'm a lefty over writer.

[Latro21]

for me it varies widely depending on the writing surface [large paper on a desk, a large notebook, pocket moleskine, etc], the pen, and mostly just whatever i feel is comfortable at the moment. it could be anywhere from 30 degrees or so to 90 degrees.