Hand position for copperplate.

[antoniosz]

To begin with, lets see what people did in the past. Here we have a generic quill holding position:

 

http://saulwick.alphalink.com.au/gifs/quill.gif

(http://saulwick.alphalink.com.au/gifs/quill.gif)

 

and the next one is from Mr. Pickering's site. This position is perfect for italic calligraphy because it places the pen at the 45 degree angle that is suggested for italic.

 

http://www.jp29.org/cal104.JPGhttp://www.jp29.org/cal107.JPG

(http://www.jp29.org/cal104.JPG and http://www.jp29.org/cal107.JPG)

 

 

Copperplate(-ish) work is different. As you can see from my suggestion below, to achieve maximum flex with minimum force, the nib slit has to line up with the slope of the letters.

 

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/azavalia/howtoflex.jpg

 

 

This is "difficult" in the "classic" position because the pen is at a relatively large angle with respect to the slope of the letters:

 

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/azavalia/pos1.jpg

 

 

To avoid this problem the copperplate practitioners employed the oblique holder that was correcting the angle of the nib with respect to the slope of the letters:

 

http://www.zanerian.com//ZillerObl_files/image001.jpg

 

 

One possibility is to rotate further the paper like this:

 

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/azavalia/pos3.jpg

 

 

What I usually like is this one. I like it because: (1) it make the holding position of the pen even lower (and this reduces the force needed for flexing - the lower the easier to flex), and (2) my index finger is quite strong if I really have to press hard. For everyone else - whatever works

 

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/azavalia/pos2.jpg

Edited February 17, 2007 by antoniosz

[grasshopper]

Many thanks, Antonios.

 

Will try to post my first attempt at flexing my pen soon.

[KCat]

Thanks much antonios - I've been holding my pen (the flex one that is) very close to the position shown in the last picture.

 

I tried some larger letterforms yesterday and it wasn't bad... i'll never flourish like a pro... but i was able to keep the forms fairly consistent.

[wimg]

Hi Antonios,

 

Thank you for sharing that. For some reason I never thought of rotating the paper, while I always have the greatest problems to get maximum flex in the direction of the descenders. I have tried to locate one of those off-set nib holders over here, locally, but not been able to find one yet.

 

I'll try rotating the paper a little later this coming week.

 

Thanks again!

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Leslie J.]

I actually always write with my paper turned that far CCW. My only flex nib is a WM Ideal No. 2 on a WM 52V, but what I really can't do is get the extra fine line out of it. Just too wet noodly perhaps? It really doesn't require much pressure at all to get the flex, but the regular line is not fine enough I think.

 

I think my other flaw is that my natural grip is angled too high. This is not easy stuff!

Edited June 12, 2005 by Leslie J.

[antoniosz]

To get the fine line you need no pressure at all. Essentially the pen should only have its own weight. If that does not do it could be that the nib is not fine or that it is too wet. The paper also plays a role.

[Gran]

Antonio, thanks very much for such a lovely explanation.!

[Ondina]

I'll just add to the choir of thank yous, Antoniosz. So very practical and well explained.

[Lemonshark]

I just purchased a Waterman 52 with the Waterman Ideal No. 2 nib. This is my first flex pen and I've searched online but couldn't find anything about the nib. My question is, do flex pens generally lack tipping material? Or is my nib just really worn down?