Death Grip Everything I Write With, Any Tips?

[josiah]

When I write, it only takes a few lines for me to subconsciously start to death grip the pen, so much so that if I don't release my hand and start over, it starts to physically hurt. I really want to try writing with a fountain pen, but I am scared to for this reason. I have been practicing with a rollerball lately to try to write without developing the "death grip", since rollers generally don't require pressure to write, but I am finding it very difficult.

Good on trying to improve your handwriting, and it's good that you see that reducing the death grip is a part of that. I would suggest getting a dip pen and nibs; a Speedball C-3 or a Brause 1mm (or wider) nib, basically medium wide chisel-pointed nibs with a reservoir. Maybe some Walnut Ink or something like it that is easy to clean and works well with dip nibs (but don't put it in a fountain pen!!!), but most fountain pen inks should work well, too. And then do some simple handwriting exercises, such as those you might find at briem.net and other pages. Focus, as others have said, on relaxation, and try changing your hand/finger/pen/nib/paper angles to see what works for you.

 

Also, check out Jacqueline Svaren's Written Letters: 33 Alphabets for Calligraphers. Aside from being a great book to aid learning calligraphy, Svaren gives some exemplary advice on relaxation near the end of the book.

 

I still have my death grip, especially when I write d'nealian. Seems to require much more finger movement leading to the tight grip.

 

1. Grip higher up, away from the nib. Smaller motions are needed (magnified by the increased distance to the paper) so I don't need to grip as much to maintain control.

 

2. Change style. Business hand (Palmer, Spencer) is more flowing and uses more arm, shoulder, chest motion.

D'Nealian has always scared me; every example I've seen of it has looked cramped and tense.[1] I would also strongly suggest learning new handwriting styles. I favor Italic, and, as I express above, think learning some basic skills with a chisel nib (you don't have to be a great calligrapher!) makes our Roman-based system of writing make much more sense. Even if you favor a more conventional cursive, learning those elegant shapes, and the feel and flow of a chisel-nib pen, will ultimately benefit your handwriting immensely. Likewise, I believe that learning to use a nibbed pen (including fountain pens) can help handwriting simply due to the subtle directional quality of the nib: it feels different on a down-stroke than a side- or up-stroke.

 

The "Death Grip" appears to be common amongst a generation being used to using ballpoint pens.

Incidentally, I've found that I write with much more pressure with a ballpoint than with a fountain pen. Part of this has to do with the qualities of the ink: ballpoints use a very thick, viscous ink that must be pressed onto the page. Gel rollers and some better ball pens don't take much pressure, but it still takes a different kind of pressure than fountain pens do. When I use a fountain pen and find myself using pressure, it's a matter of pulling the pen across the page, rather than pushing it into the page (as I would with a ball pen). Also, there is, as I mentioned above, the issue of directionality. With a ball pen, there is no sense of directionality, so to counteract the sensation that the point could go in any direction, my hand tenses up to feel like I've got more control. This is subconscious, and can be corrected, but I think the directional feeling of a nib helps counteract that.

 

[1]. I recall meeting an attractive person a year or so ago with whom I had some fun flirting. When I was outed as something of a handwriting nut and calligrapher, they bragged about their handwriting, and how beautiful D'Nealian an be. I was speechless: this meticulously-produced handwriting certainly displayed skill, but the form was unpleasing to my eye, and looked, well, cramped, tense, and inelegant—traits shared with every example I've seen of D'Nealian writing. I don't like being negative, but D'Nealian has always looked very ugly to me.</rant>