Show Us Your Oblique Penholders!

[caliken]

I have a particular interest in oblique penholders and I know that others share this minor addiction.

This is part of my meagre collection at the moment. From top to bottom they are a Century Oblique Penholder, a Speedball Coloured Holder and a Zanerian Holder. I would be very interested to see other penholders and recommendations, if they are currently available. I believe that other members have been producing their own holders and it would be fascinating to see the results. I know that Mickey has been working on producing his own metal flanges which I’m sure would be of interest to others.

I know that there has been quite a lot of interest in nibs lately, and rightly so, as they are literally at the sharp end of writing. However, the holders are just as important. A great nib will be less effective if it’s in a poorly balanced, unadjustable holder.

Finally, the oblique holders can be things of beauty. They may not make us write any better, but they feel great in the hand.

FPN is marvellous for in-depth reviews and criticisms of fountain pens. Why not the same for their relatives, the dip penholder, and in particular the oblique variety?

 

Ken

 

 

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/pens600.jpg

Edited May 13, 2013 by caliken

[Stompie]

My current 4. The first one is a cheapie and you will see that it has been butchered so that the nib is almost underneath the holder. This gives me a flatter angle to the paper but I had to cut the back away to make space for my finger.

Then my Carrot, Century and for the life of me I can not recall the last one!

 

Then (this way of posting has changed and I can not get beneath this picture to write!!!) this is a picture of one that has been made up for me but is not yet finished. SHould arrive in a few weeks! It will have an oblique flange.

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/Popsjill/pens/LeopardwoodampWenge_zpseb97c709.jpg

 

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/Popsjill/DSCN1436_zpsd527ebc2.jpg

[Mickey]

I've got nine holders with a tenth due some time this week. I was going to wait until the new one arrived before posting, but maybe I'll go ahead (in a couple of hours) with at least some of the others to help get the ball rolling.

[caliken]

Stompie,

 

The last one is an Hourglass Adjustable Penholder . Thanks for posting.

 

Ken

[schin]

Such beautiful holders! I'm addicted to them, too. Here are mine.

 

 

from left:

 

Speedball/Hunt oblique penholder

Speedball Deluxe pen holder

Century oblique holder

Zanerian oblique holder

Bill Lilly oblique holder

Michael Sull holder 1 & 2

Carrot oblique holder

2 dip nibs

[smk]

A subject close to my heart - here are some of mine:

This is made from light walnut and I excavated most of the insides to get a really light holder. Pretty much all of the weight is at the front so it feels lighter than it looks. I don't have this any longer.



Then there is this group photo:



1. Hunt Oblique
2. Century Oblique (thicker version)
No.s 3 to 5 are my own designs. No. 3 is a favorite, I really like No. 5 for Spencerian practice.

The long one below is my attempt at replicating the Magnusson holders (it is 12" long). I liked the proportions of the grip a lot so made a shorter one with a similar grip.





Notice the difference in the flange on the shorter one - makes a big difference in 'adjustability' compared to the Magnusson copy.

I made this one for a friend.



This is it for the obliques - I have probably forgotten a couple but it covers most of them :-)

Salman

[Pterodactylus]

May I ask where to buy oblique holders online in Europe?

 

The only source I'm aware of is www.kallipos.de

They have one cheap plastic oblique holder (which I already ordered)

But the small nibs like a Gillott 170 does not fit in this holder.

I don't know the correct english term for these nibs.

In German this type of nibs is called Röhrchenfeder.

[Mickey]

These first three are all from Billy Lilly, AKA IAMPETH Master Penman #1. Bill's 86 years old and graduated from Zanerian College in 1952. Last Summer he bicycled 2000 miles and is presently debating whether it might be time to hang up his roller blades. Bill's a lot of fun to talk to on the phone.

 

The first pen was custom made for me. It is a larger diameter version of the 2nd pen, which Bill made around 20 years ago from South American Blood Wood. The third is more traditional shape. The idea behind the first two pens, which Bill called a modified natural grip style, is to position the fingers correctly and in the most relaxed position possible. It works.

 

Oh yea. The pen on top is a modern Aurora 88, supplied for reference.

 

 

The next four are a PIA Hourglass adjustable, a Buddy Blackwell, a Michael Sull, and the ever popular rosewood Zanerian Style.

 

 

The next two are a rosewood Oscar Magnusson, probably +60 years old, and a grail pen for a lot of pointed pen folks, and a Musinkman interpretation of the Magnusson, done from a piece of 100 year old reclaimed walnut and scaled up slightly for my hands. I made the flange this morning, based on the Zanerian Style holder. The pen is so neutral in my hand, that it is presently doing service as the test bed for my flange experiments. The authentic Magnusson is 11.75 inches long.

 

 

Finally, a holder I haven't yet seen in person, another holder from Musinkman. The dark wood is Wenge - front, middle, and finial -, the burl grip is red-yellow dyed Buckeye, and the shaft is Argentinian Osage Orange. The red rings are padauk. Pretty flashy. What?

 

Edited May 13, 2013 by Mickey

[DanF]

Here are a few holders that I've made - the top two from Australian burls, the bottom from polyresin.

 

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/DSC_0817_2.jpg

 

Dan

Edited May 13, 2013 by DanF

[DanF]

  On 5/13/2013 at 5:45 PM, Mickey said:

Under revision.

Mickey - get a Photobucket account, store your pics there, then drag and drop the "IMG" image code into your text on your post. The picture will magically appear. It's a bit of a PIA, but it will get around the upload limit.

 

Dan

[Mickey]

  On 5/13/2013 at 5:59 PM, DanF said:

Mickey - get a Photobucket account, store your pics there, then drag and drop the "IMG" image code into your text on your post. The picture will magically appear. It's a bit of a PIA, but it will get around the upload limit.

 

Dan

Thanks. Got it done using the upload tab. Seems a lot of bother. Bits is bits.

[JonSzanto]

Ok, so... has anyone ever made an oblique pen holder for a left-handed writer that puts the nib in orientation to the paper the way a right-hander would? Almost as if the nib is writing backwards from the hand (I'm an under-writer)?

[tdzb36]

Wo ！ everyone‘s holders are so nice，I have only one Hunt Oblique！

[smk]

Mickey, you can use the Upload tab at the top of the page for as many uploads as you want. The limit on direct attachments is fairly low.

 

Salman

[Mickey]

  On 5/13/2013 at 6:59 PM, smk said:

Mickey, you can use the Upload tab at the top of the page for as many uploads as you want. The limit on direct attachments is fairly low.

 

Salman

Thanks. I figured it out. The limit's probably another one of those relics from the days of 8 inch floppies and Tops 20. I'm surprised we didn't escape it with the upgrade.

[AD356]

Mickey

  Quote

The idea behind the first two pens, which Bill called a modified natural grip style, is to position the fingers correctly and in the most relaxed position possible. It works.

I am curious about this. First are you holding the pen in the normal way or are you using a modified grip? I see that the pen gets larger on the side that is away from your palm and towards where your fingers grip it. It also looks like the opposite side has a bit of a curve on the seconded pen but not so much the first one. Is that made to fit the thumb? You like this offset style better than a symmetrical one?

 

[caliken]

I've opened up a real treasure trove here, and I'm staggered by the result!

There are so many truly beautiful pens here - I'm green with envy!

 

Ken

[Mickey]

  On 5/13/2013 at 8:31 PM, AD356 said:

Mickey

 

 

I am curious about this. First are you holding the pen in the normal way or are you using a modified grip? I see that the pen gets larger on the side that is away from your palm and towards where your fingers grip it. It also looks like the opposite side has a bit of a curve on the seconded pen but not so much the first one. Is that made to fit the thumb? You like this offset style better than a symmetrical one?

 

Speaking about the new pen, though the older pen is similar: once you account for all the indentations, the grip diameter is hardly more than normal, about .4" (The blood wood pen is even smaller.) You can see two indentation in the photo. There is one other dent not seen in the photo. (It's facing down). The top dent is where the holder lays against the side of my middle finger, near the root of the nail. This is the same place where other holders (and FPs) touch that finger. The difference is that this holder is shaped to accept the finger, not push against it. The lower indentation in photo is for the index finger, but it's part of an arc which supports the entire index finger in a relaxed, comfortable position. There is a third indentation, by far the deepest of the 3 for the thumb. It's probably easier to show how it fits in the hand.

 

 

My thumb is on the dent not visible in the original photo. Notice, there almost no tension evident in the forefinger or thumb. They simply lock the pen into the hand. Small shades can be applied by simply squeezing one finger or the other towards the thumb, the forefinger for anti-clockwise shades and the middle finger for clockwise.

 

In answer to your question, there is no offset. The holder centers exactly where all the other holders do, with the point in line with my index finger.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Mickey

[MusinkMan]

Here are some that I made. I'm kind of on one of my obsessive compulsions; making custom oblique holders. Cool thread!

 

 

 

 

 

[Stompie]

Some great holders here!

I have also been playing with some Yew wood and making a couple of holders - had to go and buy some Germolene New Skin Liquid Plaster yesterday and Iodine as those Stanley knives fight back!