What angle do you hold the pen ?

[biffybeans]

Ok - this is very interesting. I just had a friend check me with the protractor. I'm about 30 - BUT that's when the paper is flat in a desk. Writing on my leg, or hand holding the tablet as I often do, the angle of the pen gets even lower than 30 degrees and I think THAT"S why some of my nibs end up writing thicker than they should - especially the L2K.

 

 

[Ondina]

30-35º here. Funny, never thought it was such a low angle. Just measured with the protractor.

Edited May 20, 2008 by Ondina

[dvorak]

put me in the 45 degree club...

[Eyerish]

Isn't that interesting... I'm apparently a "very disciplined" writer (I never really took to cursive though, always my own mix, sometimes within the same word) my hold is just like the photo from that website. I have no idea what kind of "style" I was taught or anything, but I draw the same way for the most part. Must have had something to do with all that strict teaching, uniforms, rulers on knuckles, that sort of thing... (j/k)

 

[calliej]

depends how I am holding the pen - in a normal grip I am 40-45 degrees

 

I have also started to use the other grip they show of the pen between the two fingers and with this is gets as low as 30 and yes, the 'yaw' changes by almost 90 degrees into the body - really helps prevent writers cramp for me as there is no real 'grip/hold' of the pen it is just naturally supported there.

[Randal6393]

My pen angle varies from 45 to 0 degrees, depending. And pen position changes from over the knuckle to into the flesh between thumb and forefinger. Since 90 % of my handwriting is Italic. most of the time the pen rides over the knuckle. The other 10 %, I am writing Roman capitals, Uncial, or Half-Uncial. That causes the pen angle to flatten and the pen to move back towards the thumb-forefinger fold. On occasion, I demonstrate German cursive -- that requires the pen over the knuckle. And, when doing Spanish Rotunda, the pen is constantly moving from knuckle to fold as I twist the pen to form each lettershape.

 

The more one practices various styles of writing, the more the pen angle changes.

 

Have fun,

 

Randal

[lak611]

I hold the pen at 45 degrees, as shown in Fig. 1.

[Robert Hughes]

When I use a fountain pen, I work the pen at about 30 to 45 degrees off the paper. interestingly, when I use a rollerball like th Uniball Vision Elite, the rollerball almost commands that I hold it at 90 degrees, otherwise the line is smudged and smeary. My handwriting looks quite different using a rollerball.

[ethernautrix]

My angle depends on the nib.

 

I like holding the pen at close to a 90-degree angle, though.

[Zeroblade]

I use a degree of anywhere between 30 to 45 degrees. I tend to lean toward using it at around 30 though, because it's a good angle which helps me better my penmanship (which is in sore need of improvement).

[offscott]

I write mostly any angle, but I'd probibly do 45 degrees most of the time.

[Sailor Kenshin]

  blueshadow_33 said:

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

 

I didn't vote because I can't do math.

 

But I am a hooker. :embarrassed_smile:

 

[Chimney]

  Sailor Kenshin said:

  blueshadow_33 said:

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

 

I didn't vote because I can't do math.

 

But I am a hooker. :embarrassed_smile:

 

Ha! I just found Paperpenalia through StumbleUpon - totally unrelated to this forum - and love it! It's great!

[shoppy]

I try to wrote at a 45 degrees, however I sometimes end up at a 90 degree angle.

[flaviano]

  Richard said:

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.

 

Your comment is very a propos of my most recent nib-related concern.

 

I have come to realize that my angle is pretty high, and certainly above 45° (maybe 65° in truth), partly because I have a combination of big hands and I hold the pen low, not on the barrel. I have to have a high angle because I don't want ring finger and pinky to drag as I write, especially since I write Pitman shorthand.

 

So ... I recently bought an old (1920s) Swan/Mabie Todd with EF flex nib. The pen has been reconditioned and is in excellent shape with nice (but not too soft) flex. Naturally I've been concerned about damaging the nib with too much pressure, and I have a light touch so this hasn't happened, I think. Nevertheless I have noticed that it the nib is scratchy when I try to do upstrokes, i.e. something like / written upwards. Sometimes it skips on these strokes. The problem seems to get better when I lower the pen angle. The same problem happens with my Waterman with medium flex nib: it's less scratchy but more liable to skip. I don't notice the problem with my other two flex pens, a Pitman/Waterman "Fono" with fine flex (or semi-flex) nib, and an Esterbrook with the EF flex shorthand nib.

 

This morning in writing an upstroke the Swan nib made a strange movement, and it looked like one side of the nib had moved above the other side. I was horrified, but the tines snapped back into place with only the slightest pressure. Is this, Richard, what you meant by "stubbing its toe"?

 

I haven't noticed any lasting effects of this accident, but now I am worried I may ruin the nib somehow if this happens again and that maybe I should stop using the pen.

 

Does my angle of writing have to be changed or could the nib could be adjusted to accommodate the high angle?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[caliken]

To work properly, flex nibs have to point at the line of the stroke, or as near as possible, so that the tines open evenly. It sounds as thought your problem with the Swan nib, could be because you're using the nib at the wrong angle, exerting uneven pressure on one side of the nib.

 

As a fountain pen is straight, I turn the paper so that the slope line is at right angles to the edge of the desk, and hold my elbow to my side, cocking the wrist a little to the right.

 

In flex writing, a lot of the problems can be eliminated simply by lowering the angle of pen-to-paper.

With a fountain pen, approximately 40 degrees is good, if you can manage it.

 

I find that it helps to extend the fingers fairly straight down the barrel. This has two beneficial effects - firstly, the pen-to-paper angle is lowered and the strength of grip is lessened.

 

All of the above, lessens the risk of nib damage.

 

caliken

Edited September 25, 2008 by caliken

[flaviano]

  caliken said:

To work properly, flex nibs have to point at the line of the stroke, or as near as possible, so that the tines open evenly. It sounds as thought your problem with the Swan nib, could be because you're using the nib at the wrong angle, exerting uneven pressure on one side of the nib.

 

As a fountain pen is straight, I turn the paper so that the slope line is at right angles to the edge of the desk, and hold my elbow to my side, cocking the wrist a little to the right.

 

In flex writing, a lot of the problems can be eliminated simply by lowering the angle of pen-to-paper.

With a fountain pen, approximately 40 degrees is good, if you can manage it.

 

I find that it helps to extend the fingers fairly straight down the barrel. This has two beneficial effects - firstly, the pen-to-paper angle is lowered and the strength of grip is lessened.

 

All of the above, lessens the risk of nib damage.

 

caliken

 

Thanks for your advice. I have begun trying to lower my pen angle, and as you say, I think I can do that by straightening my fingers a little more. The idea that that will loosen the grip as well is interesting and I will see what I notice.

 

I am still wondering if my nibs could be adjusted by a nibmeister to accomodate a slightly higher angle. My Waterman Ideal has significant line variation but demands an angle much lower than I think I can be comfortable at.

 

Thanks again for your suggestions!

[aNONIEmous]

  Randal6393 said:

My pen angle varies from 45 to 0 degrees, depending. And pen position changes from over the knuckle to into the flesh between thumb and forefinger. Since 90 % of my handwriting is Italic. most of the time the pen rides over the knuckle. The other 10 %, I am writing Roman capitals, Uncial, or Half-Uncial. That causes the pen angle to flatten and the pen to move back towards the thumb-forefinger fold. On occasion, I demonstrate German cursive -- that requires the pen over the knuckle. And, when doing Spanish Rotunda, the pen is constantly moving from knuckle to fold as I twist the pen to form each lettershape.

 

The more one practices various styles of writing, the more the pen angle changes.

 

Have fun,

 

Randal

 

This post was very reassuring. After years of using ballpoint pens and eventually learning how to control them like I was able to control a fountain pen and never using a fountain pen in over 10 years, I tried my hand at writing with a dip pen yesterday (Italic style, which is what my handwriting is based on) and it was a total nightmare! I found it very hard to get the right angle--yet I have no problem with disposable felt Italic pens. Go figure. It was such a rude awakening at how much work I have to do before I'm ready for Copperplate Script. I mean, if I can't even write my normal writing with a fountain pen, how am I going to learn a whole new style with a whole new writing instrument?

 

It used to bug me that I couldn't write with a ballpoint pen, as I always believed that if could control that slippery nib that used to seem to have a mind of its own, then I could write with anything. Now that I have got that down pat, I discover I have to re-learn how to use a fountain pen.

 

The thought of giving up one for the other was rather unsettling for me. I love how I write with a ballpoint pen. So finding that it's possible to be able to change angles the more styles you practice was very encouraging. Thank you, Randal.

[Titivillus]

It depends on the writing I am doing

 

Kurt

[KateGladstone]

"Sailor Kenshin," a hooked writer, notes that s/he can't do math.

 

"Sailor," are you male or female?

And are you left-handed, or do you belong to the rare 1% - 2% of right-handed "hooked" writers?

 

(I ask this for reasons related to some of the brain research into handedness and its inter-relations with hemispheric dominance and hooked/non-hooked writing position -- once "Sailor" answers, I'll give the details to explain why I asked, and will probably start a poll related to the findings.)