Don's Tripod Grip Theory

[DonLeone]

I have a theory about pen hold. I wish I could take pictures

 

Step 1: Put your elbow on the table, your forearm straight up like this: L

 

 

Step 2: Completely relax your hand and fingers. Just let them hang. Since your forearm is standing up straight, your hand itself will be hanging at a 90° angle. Like so: ˥

 

This is the natural "hang" or position of your fingers. No muscles are active whatsoever. The top of your hand will be parallel to the table you have your elbow on. This line, made up by the top of your hand, is what we'll use.

 

Step 3: Stop doing this for a moment. Look at your hand. At the bottom of your middle finger, on the inside of your hand. That's where we will push now. Put your hand back into position as described in 1 and 2. Top of hand parallel to table surface, completely relaxed.

 

Step 4: Push with your other hand, like with your index finger of the other hand, on the spot described in step 3. Push upwards until the top surface of your hand is 45° above its previous position, no longer parallel. It's not that far. You'll notice that the thumb, index and ring finger now come closer together, forming the tripod grip. Thumb and index may even touch.

 

Technically this is 135°

 

Step 5: Put a pen there and that's how you hold a pen.

 

Important notice: All fingers are completely relaxed yet holding the pen naturally.

 

This is just an idea I have. I haven't tried it on other people. Maybe my hand is shaped differently. It's why I'm trying this out.

 

 

 

Here's an awful attempt at drawing it in paint:

 

DON'T LAUGH

 

http://i.imgur.com/VMWBA5U.png

 

Yes, penguy has a beard.

 

Ok so I don't know if my anatomy is the same as everyone else's. Maybe it isn't and then this way of explaining won't do anything. If it is then it may be a cool trick to show people how to hold a pen without getting strain or even bone issues later in life.

 

Once my pc is repaired or I get a new one, and camera, etc. I may get better pictures.

 

Does it work for you?

[BookCat]

My thumb doesn't fall into the same position as yours, it stays drooped down. Maybe my fingers are more able to move independently, (they've been doing yoga on the quiet, or perhaps it's all that cat-tickling), so that they don't gather together when the middle finger is raised.

 

My favourite hold is the tripod, I've been doing it all my life.

[DonLeone]

My thumb doesn't fall into the same position as yours, it stays drooped down. Maybe my fingers are more able to move independently, (they've been doing yoga on the quiet, or perhaps it's all that cat-tickling), so that they don't gather together when the middle finger is raised.

 

My favourite hold is the tripod, I've been doing it all my life.

Got feedback from about 4 people now, including you. 3 it works, 1 it doesn't. All 4 have been doing the grip their entire life.

 

The middle finger isn't raised. It's the entire hand that is raised by pushing in the middle of it from below.

 

Maybe I should explain it without pushing:

 

- raise the hand to a 135° angle (angle is with the forearm) while keeping the fingers relaxed

 

Part of the problem is explaining it properly

 

Thank you for replying :3

[BookCat]

It works!!!

[AnneHW]

Please add photos when you can! I'm having issues with wrist pain and I know it's the way I'm holding my pen!

[Intellidepth]

That's really clever. Thanks for the diagrams too as they helped me. The principle works. My hand goes higher than 135 degrees, just beyond being level with my upper forearm before the tripod fully emerges - lay it all on a writing surface and it's my normal wrist/forearm position with the exception that the thumb is where it's supposed to be rather than my old death grip.

 

Having said that, I've been experimenting with grips on my 3 very different pens. I find that this works well with my Konrad when I don't need to flex and relieves a lot of strain from unconscious tensing required by the death grip. Flexing, however, needs my combined power in a death grip due to how stiff the nib is. I am looking forward to acquiring a vintage flex where I can take advantage of the correct grip and forefinger pressure alone.

 

The Lamy AL-Stars I find with their tripod sections are actually 'off' angle for this correct grip, so I revert to a loose death grip on those of necessity.

 

The final pen has Dayacom fittings with a slippery and narrow dia section. The death grip emerges here in force to keep my fingers from slipping down and to keep the somewhat unbalanced pen in contact with the page.

 

I'll recall your instructions for any additional pens that make it into my collection and for any newbies wanting to play with them, as it's a really easy way to find the right grip. Thanks.

[knarflj]

Don, thanks so much for posting this. I've always used a tripod grip, but it was tight, and although it's improved lately, some days I still struggle more than others to relax it. I read this thread a week or two ago, and started going through these steps every time I pick up a pen or find myself gripping hard. So far, it's really helped me start and stay relaxed when I write.

 

Jenny

[graystranger]

I'm not laughing at your drawings, I'm laughing at how my drawings would look! Great job of describing and illustrating your method. I think I know what you are saying, and I think it applies to me too.

 

It appears that this is how I hold my pens, and how I was taught to hold them 60 years ago.

 

Well thought out Don! Thanks.

[AnneHW]

I'm reading everything I can find on holding a pen correctly. Gradually, I think I'm starting to get it, but dammit, it's difficult to change. I feel so clumsy sometimes and my fingers don't want to cooperate!

 

I'm starting to loosen my grip and sometimes I even manage to write a word that looks nice. But one thing that's happening is instead of the last two fingers on my hand touching the paper, I'm doing it with my supporting middle finger! So, my pen and the finger it's resting on are both on the paper. That's all. But I'm holding lightly and getting some decent results. I'm also trying to hold my pen back a little further since I know I was too close to the nib.

 

Anyway, I'm determined. This seems to be impossibly hard and I get so frustrated I want to give up. (My husband tells me I'm very impatient, and I know he's right.) What I wish is that I could find some really good videos of people who are having problems and someone else showing them what they need to change! Sometimes I feel like I need someone to physically place my fingers in the correct position and help me move my arm across the page!

[AnneHW]

Oh wait! Now I'm on the knuckle of my little finger!

[WirsPlm]

This doesn't work for me, my hands are small and perhaps that's why, the proportions are off for what you're trying to do, but I'm glad it works for other people! I just generally try to remember to stretch out my hands every half a page or so if I'm writing a lot and that generally works.

[AnneHW]

Here's something I'm wondering about, and it's probably been covered somewhere. When I joined FPN, I was using a Lamy Safari with a fine nib. I didn't much care for it. Then I got a Pilot Metropolitan and loved how smoothly the nib wrote. But, I was not holding my either of my pens correctly. Instead I was grasping tightly, close to the nib. I could get some nice results, but I was so uncomfortable.

 

FINALLY, I think I'm starting to understand how to just hold the pen and move my arm. My actual writing isn't the best right now, but I think it will get there.

 

Last night I was practicing with the Metropolitan and having the hardest time getting it balanced in my hand and keeping it in place without wanting to grip or rotate my fingers in odd ways. I decided to try the Safari and to my amazement that was a lot easier, and I felt like I was starting to "get it." Then I tried my TWSBI Mini and that was also much easier than the Metropolitan (and maybe even the Safari). I'm wondering if a lighter pen is what I need.

 

I know a lot of the accomplished writers can use a variety of pens, from fountain to ballpoint. Is that something that develops over time? Right now, I'm happy I can work with two of mine (although I feel bad about the Pilot because it is a nice pen).

[knarflj]

Anne, I'm no expert, but I suspect you'll eventually get to the point where you can use your Metro, too.

 

I'm also not sure whether it's necessarily a bad thing if it's the knuckle of your little finger that brushes the paper instead of the tips of the smallest fingers. I'm starting to find that some hands seem to work better if your palm is more or less parallel to the desktop, and others work better if the hand is rotated a little to its outer side. I hope someone will correct me if following through on this is going to lead to some life-long handicap.

 

And have you run into this post yet? https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/270659-spencerian-controlled-speed/?p=3148414 (post #73, in case the link doesn't take you directly to it)

I found the whole thread interesting and helpful even though I'm not particularly working on Spencerian script, but that particular post was a breakthrough moment for me. When I pick up the pen correctly (which Don here has helped me do more consistently) and keep this "hand and pen as unit" in mind when I write, everything seems to click. Well, okay, the letters don't always look the way I want them to, but at least my hand stays relaxed, and the rest is improving!

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

I was not taught to hold a pen in the steps that you showed but in the end that is how I was taught to grip a pencil.

 

Did that make any sense? Sometime thoughts can be so hard to express in writing.

[AnneHW]

Anne, I'm no expert, but I suspect you'll eventually get to the point where you can use your Metro, too.

 

I'm also not sure whether it's necessarily a bad thing if it's the knuckle of your little finger that brushes the paper instead of the tips of the smallest fingers. I'm starting to find that some hands seem to work better if your palm is more or less parallel to the desktop, and others work better if the hand is rotated a little to its outer side. I hope someone will correct me if following through on this is going to lead to some life-long handicap.

 

And have you run into this post yet? https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/270659-spencerian-controlled-speed/?p=3148414 (post #73, in case the link doesn't take you directly to it)

I found the whole thread interesting and helpful even though I'm not particularly working on Spencerian script, but that particular post was a breakthrough moment for me. When I pick up the pen correctly (which Don here has helped me do more consistently) and keep this "hand and pen as unit" in mind when I write, everything seems to click. Well, okay, the letters don't always look the way I want them to, but at least my hand stays relaxed, and the rest is improving!

Thank you! The link went to the right place. I'm going to try to keep that advice in mind because I'm still moving my fingers. Not all the time, but it's so easy to do it without noticing.

 

I can't believe all the time I've been putting into practice. I'm starting to do better with the circle exercises. Sometimes I'll just do a series of loops across the page and as I'm moving I'll notice how I'm holding my pen and make adjustments. But then I try to write an actual word and things fall apart. So, based on someone's advice on another post, I've tried writing very large and that's also helpful. I'm amazed at how difficult this is for me and wonder if I'll ever get it. I think if playing around with fountain pens and different inks wasn't so fascinating (and fun when I'm not frustrated), I'd give up. So, it's always nice to hear from others who have struggled and made progress!