Oblique Pen Holders

[calligriphiophile]

Why is it that there are so few different Oblique Pen Holders on the Market?

 

I have bought, maybe, one of all of them- for no good reason. My personal favorites are the Zanerian Del Tysdale, and the PaperInkArts Hourglass Oblique Pen Holder. The rest of the holders seem to vary only in appearance.

 

Also, does anyone know who manufactures the oblique holders (Pen Artisan, and Hunt excluded)?

[PAKMAN]

I've never found one for sale anywhere.

[Randal6393]

There are a number of oblique holders at John Neal Bookseller. And several sources provide oblique holders -- just Google it. My favorite is the Blackwell wooden oblique Holder -- runs about $40.00 but will work well with just about any size pen nib. Also comes in plastic, for about $20.00.

 

Enjoy,

Edited November 23, 2011 by Randal6393

[Mickey]

Why is it that there are so few different Oblique Pen Holders on the Market?

 

I have bought, maybe, one of all of them- for no good reason. My personal favorites are the Zanerian Del Tysdale, and the PaperInkArts Hourglass Oblique Pen Holder. The rest of the holders seem to vary only in appearance.

 

Also, does anyone know who manufactures the oblique holders (Pen Artisan, and Hunt excluded)?

 

How do you like the Tysdal? I just got a Michael Sull holder and am loving it. (I've also got a couple of Blackwells and a PIA Hourglass.)

[Chevalier]

I thought you had a Tysdale holder Mickey, it's the H59. Zanerian. I think it's a great holder, it's light and slim but still provides a good control. I expected it to bend over time, because the barrel is that slim, but it's really made well. I have mine 4 or 5 years now (can't remember exactly) and I use it daily, but it's still in perfect shape.

Edited November 25, 2011 by Chevalier

[calligriphiophile]

Why is it that there are so few different Oblique Pen Holders on the Market?

 

I have bought, maybe, one of all of them- for no good reason. My personal favorites are the Zanerian Del Tysdale, and the PaperInkArts Hourglass Oblique Pen Holder. The rest of the holders seem to vary only in appearance.

 

Also, does anyone know who manufactures the oblique holders (Pen Artisan, and Hunt excluded)?

 

How do you like the Tysdal? I just got a Michael Sull holder and am loving it. (I've also got a couple of Blackwells and a PIA Hourglass.)

 

I am quite sorry, Mickey, for taking so long to post a reply. As to the Tysdal holder; I like it more than the other models that JNB stocks, but not quite as much as the PaperInkArts holder. For me, and some idiotic reason, I like having a screw on the flange. When I first started, I went through flanges like crazy. So much so, I inquired to JNB as to where I might purchase flanges only. It started to get expensive, having to re-buy a holder every time I broke a flange.

 

In all, the Tysdal runs a close 2nd to the PaperInkArts model.

[smk]

I quite like the Century Oblique from JNB and want to try the Zanerian holder from PaperInkArts.

 

I'm surprised at your breaking the flanges. Did you use nibs that required excessive force?

 

I ordered some plastic ones which turned out to be a mistake. The ones I got have a ridge right where I like to put my thumb which forces me to rotate the holder a little - just enough to put the nib out of alignment - very irritating.

 

I made a couple that turned out to be a bit more interesting (for me at least!) here and here.

 

Salman

[Chevalier]

@Salman

 

Are you talking about the speedball-like holders (Hunt oblique) or the Peerless/Ziller oblique pen holder?

 

We talked about this flange problem in another thread already. You need to be careful with the first adjustment already, or they might break under intensive use. It would be nice to be able to buy ready made brass flanges, but making them seems to be the only alternative (it's cheap and not that difficult, just annoying). I don't like the heavier holders with screw-flanges that much, at least not for small scale work.

[smk]

@Salman

 

Are you talking about the speedball-like holders (Hunt oblique) or the Peerless/Ziller oblique pen holder?

 

We talked about this flange problem in another thread already. You need to be careful with the first adjustment already, or they might break under intensive use. It would be nice to be able to buy ready made brass flanges, but making them seems to be the only alternative (it's cheap and not that difficult, just annoying). I don't like the heavier holders with screw-flanges that much, at least not for small scale work.

 

I have the Hunt oblique which is ok except I'd like the nib angle to be a bit flatter. The Peerless/Ziller ones have an edge where I don't want one.

 

I must have missed the breaking flanges problem discussed previously. I can see how needing new flanges would be annoying. I'm lucky to have never broken one yet. What thickness of brass sheet is used in making them?

 

Salman

 

Edit: spelling

Edited November 30, 2011 by smk

[Chevalier]

Oh, the thickness is different. I bought a couple of different sheets because I made some folded pens a while ago. Important is that the outcome fits the slit tightly (it shouldn't be too thick, or it might break the wood).

 

I simply rotate the hunt a little (lowering the nib unit), the horizontal angle changes as well this way but it's still better than a straight holder. Sure, it's not optimal and any wooden holder should be better, because the flange is adjustable and rotating the pen in order to change the angle isn't necessary.

[calligriphiophile]

Regarding the broken flanges: I actually broke them out of carelessness, and neglect for my nibs. I forgot to clean them off when I was first using the oblique holder, and naturally, the ink caused the nib to become more or less glued to the flange. Then, I did use too much force removing the nib.

 

By the way, I absolutely love the holder/holders you made! I wish I had that kind of talent.

[smk]

Thanks for the explanation and the appreciation Calligriphiophile. I believe anyone can make them with a bit of elbow grease and patience. Just give it a go if you feel like it. When you break it down its just shaving off bits of wood and one small hole in the end of a stick :-) It takes me anywhere from 8 to 12 hours of work to make one.

 

S.

[Mickey]

I finally got around to taking a couple pictures of my holders. They are from bottom to top

 

Michael Sull (with Zebra G nib)

 

Pen and Ink Hourglass Adjustable (with Hunt 56)

 

Blackwell, wood handle (with Leonardt Principal)

 

Blackwell, plastic handle (with Nikko G)

 

 

The same order, left to right

 

 

The are all well made and roughly the same weight. Though the grips appear quite different, none are uncomfortable for me. (I have large hands.)

 

Of the four, the Sull holder's balance point is the farthest back, but because the bulk of the mass balancing the nib and flange is right behind my grip, this holder feels lightest in my hand and consequently the most responsive. The flange is of the conventional brass design. This is now my go-to pen.

 

The wooden handled Blackwell is my next favorite. I like the feel of brass under my fingers (former tuba player, don't you know) and this flange will accept nearly any nib you're likely to find from large vintage nibs to tiny mapping nibs. It does not accept crow quills nor does it hold G nibs particularly well. It is pre-adjusted to a desirably low rake angle and I would be hesitant to try to alter the default position. (I don't consider this a negative.) This holder was, until I got the Sull, my favorite.

 

The PIA Hourglass is next in line. It probably has the most versatile flange (it even accepts crow quills) but I've found it a little finicky to fine tune. It is difficult to adjust the rake and inward cant on this holder, but not impossible, and the out of the box adjustment is pretty near spot on for most nibs. If you buy this holder, clean the flange religiously after each use.

 

The plastic Blackwell is a bargain. It has the same great flange as its more expensive stablemate, but I could never quite warm up to either the material or the balance. Still, if the Speedball holder works well for you, this is a great upgrade.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Mickey

[andybiotic]

I finally got around to taking a couple pictures of my holders. They are from bottom to top

 

Michael Sull (with Zebra G nib)

 

Pen and Ink Hourglass Adjustable (with Hunt 56)

 

Blackwell, wood handle (with Leonardt Principal)

 

Blackwell, plastic handle (with Nikko G)

 

 

 

Hi Mickey

 

Where did you get the Michael Sull, and the Pen and Ink Hourglass adjustable holder? All I can find anywhere are the blackwell ones...

 

I like the shape of hourglass and I also prefer it made of wood so they are perfect for me and that is also the reasons I've been puttin off getting the blackwells...

 

EDIT: I found the pen and ink hourglass holder but still no Michael Sull... I fount this "http://www.zanerian.com/SullObl.html" which is labelled as Sull's oblique holder but it doesn't look like your one...

 

Cheers

Edited December 7, 2011 by andybiotic

[Mickey]

I finally got around to taking a couple pictures of my holders. They are from bottom to top

 

Michael Sull (with Zebra G nib)

 

Pen and Ink Hourglass Adjustable (with Hunt 56)

 

Blackwell, wood handle (with Leonardt Principal)

 

Blackwell, plastic handle (with Nikko G)

 

 

 

Hi Mickey

 

Where did you get the Michale Sull, and the Pen and Ink Hourglass adjustable holder? All I can find anywhere are the blackwell ones...

 

I like the shape of hourglass and I also prefer it made of wood so they are perfect for me and that is also the reasons I've been puttin off getting the blackwells...

 

Cheers

 

I got the Sull holder directly from Michael. (I requested a large diameter grip and this was the largest he had.) BTW, the wood is honey locust. You can order from him at

 

http://www.spencerian.com

 

The Hourglass Adjustable I got from Pen and Ink Arts. The wood is actually a wood laminate. So it should be stable in the long term. The company just changed hands and location, but they still give the same great service.

 

http://www.paperinkarts.com/

 

Added: Some of the stuff at the Zanerian site is out of date. For example, Del Tysdal no longer sells the holders shown there, though the style is available elsewhere.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Mickey

[andybiotic]

Thanks for that Mickey, Just love that Micheal Sull one... may have to contact him in the near future... I like thick pens as well.

 

Cheers

[Chevalier]

I need to get some new ones for me as well. Most of my flanges are in a really bad shape. I am usually careful when adjusting them, but they have marks from the pliers anyway.