Pens that improve your penmanship

[OutlawJosey]

As a lefty I have a few different ways of approaching the page -- an overhand "hook" that I use for print letterforms when I'm scribbling quick grocery lists, a pseudo-underhand for cursive when I care about how it looks for the reader, and an unholy 90-degree rotation when I'm pretending to be fancy with calligraphy practice. I'm finding that certain pens/nibs can significantly improve my cursive penmanship, and I'm not certain what exactly causes that change. Is it the section grip? The balance/weight? The nib? I've been experimenting with different pens trying to isolate the variables that affect my penmanship, and while I suspect the answer is very personal and user-specific, I'm curious what other more experienced pen users have found with their own writing.

Pens that produce a legible overhand print for me can give a sloppy, unreadable underhand cursive and vice versa. So far my most reliable underhand cursive pen has been a TWSBI Eco with a stub nib; at first I thought its secret was the lighter weight since most of my other pens are heavier metal bodies. But then I picked up a very light Sailor Pro Gear Slim, and wrote an astonishingly sloppy letter with it. So I decided the secret was the nib, but then I bought a Franklin-Christoph Libertas with a SIG nib that gives me gorgeous grocery lists but mediocre cursive. So I'm still experimenting.

What have y'all found to be your "sweet spot" for pens that improve your penmanship?

[A Smug Dill]

A stub nib, or oblong-shaped tipping, preferably with not-too-rounded corners. Something that puts down 0.2mm-wide cross-strokes and 0.4mm-wide downstrokes. A gripping section that is warmer and slightly soft to hold, like that on the Lamy Studio Lx All Black, with a tapering or concave profile (as opposed to convex or bulging, like on the regular Lamy Studio models with the glossy chrome sections, or — even worse — the one on a Cross Peerless 125), and without a subjectively annoying step-down where it joins the barrel.

[Uncial]

Are there really pens that make it better, or just some that make it worse?

[readytotalk]

1 hour ago, Uncial said:

Are there really pens that make it better, or just some that make it worse?

As one of my colleagues said - "I can make your best nibs write like worst ones - that`s my talent")))

 

Seriously, its necessary for lefty to try reverse oblique, it`s made for such hand position.

Actually, any handwriting looks better being done with variable line - stub/italic/oblique.

 

 

[Temenos]

Pens that "improve" your penmanship probably makes your actual penmanship worse.

 

Find a pen that makes your handwriting "look" bad - that's what your handwriting actually looks like.

 

Now, improve your handwriitng proper, starting with how to grip a writing instrument.

[TgeekB]

For me it’s the grip. It’s important to have a pen that fits my hand properly, like riding a bike that fits me properly. 

[agentdaffy007]

On 5/14/2021 at 10:27 AM, TgeekB said:

For me it’s the grip. It’s important to have a pen that fits my hand properly, like riding a bike that fits me properly. 

Totally true. I find that my regular ST Dupont Olympio F nib makes my handwriting beautiful. I could seriously write with that pen for hours, unlike with my MB 149 Calligraphy or my MB JP Morgan Cursive Smooth Italic.

[Azkim Rikschum]

Maybe I think it's also a matter of habit.
If you use the same one for a month, you will adapt to use it in the best way even in the beginning was the one you knew how to drive "worse".
It's like going from a Japanese car with four-wheel drive and very precise cornering, to an American muscle car with a much more dynamic rear end that has a completely different way of managing mass in the corners. If you go from one to the other they are very different, but if you use the same car every day you will drive it in the best way without any problems.

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Azkim Rikschum

[Uncial]

I tend to look at writing as an art and anything in that department needs training and discipline to improve. Certain nibs will suit your hand and style of writing better to bring out the natural beauty of your writing at whatever level it's at, but I'm still not so sure that a nib or pen can improve your writing without you having put in the ground work first.

 

When you look at posts (usually elsewhere rather than here for some reason) where someone has bought a flexible vintage nib because they believed it would make them write copperplate without ever having tried it before, they usually end up as threads of bitter disappointment. 

[readytotalk]

1 hour ago, Uncial said:

I tend to look at writing as an art and anything in that department needs training and discipline to improve. Certain nibs will suit your hand and style of writing better to bring out the natural beauty of your writing at whatever level it's at, but I'm still not so sure that a nib or pen can improve your writing without you having put in the ground work first.

 

When you look at posts (usually elsewhere rather than here for some reason) where someone has bought a flexible vintage nib because they believed it would make them write copperplate without ever having tried it before, they usually end up as threads of bitter disappointment. 

That is so true!👍

[MoriartyR]

I think my handwriting looks best using a Sailor 1911 with a fine nib.

 

The pen’s very light weight and moderate size sort of take the pen itself out of the equation and I get a sense of freedom and feel that nothing is in the way when I write. The nib just goes exactly where my brain intends it to. My Sailor nibs all have perfectly reliable inkflow, so I don’t have to think about that either. The fine nib is beautifully precise and I can see exactly where it touches the paper at the point of the nib. And, finally, as another leftie, the fine nib means that ink dries quickly on the page and doesn’t smudge, so I don’t think as much about where I place my hand.

 

The Sailor just frees me to write without thinking about it, and it seems to improve my writing as a result. I do notice it every time I use a 1911.

 

[sidthecat]

I’m also a lefty, and I’ve been working on my handwriting for something like ten years. I finally started using a backhand slant because I was tired of my letterforms leaning over like an old fence. I use the most flexible nibs I can find and achieve something that can be called...individual.

[ext23]

As a lefty who is too afraid to try any stub/italic nibs, I am interested in this topic. What would be a good cheap sub/italic that I could practice with?

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, ext23 said:

What would be a good cheap sub/italic that I could practice with?

 

Pilot Plumix. Sailor HighAce neo clear calligraphy pen. Lamy calligraphy nibs fitted onto your cheap(er) Lamy pen model of choice.

[TheDutchGuy]

On 5/14/2021 at 4:27 PM, TgeekB said:

For me it’s the grip. It’s important to have a pen that fits my hand properly

 

On 5/18/2021 at 10:18 AM, Azkim Rikschum said:

If you use the same one for a month, you will adapt to use it in the best way even in the beginning was the one you knew how to drive "worse".

 

On 5/18/2021 at 11:03 AM, Uncial said:

I tend to look at writing as an art and anything in that department needs training and discipline to improve.

 

^—All so very true.

 

On 5/18/2021 at 8:08 PM, MoriartyR said:

The pen’s very light weight and moderate size sort of take the pen itself out of the equation and I get a sense of freedom and feel that nothing is in the way when I write.

 

^— +1. That’s what musicians tend to say about their instrument. And that’s what I aim for with my guitar as well as a pen. Due some physical limitations, I rarely achieve that blissful state. But when I do, that’s heaven.

[MuddyWaters]

I think the twsbi pens are good candidates for this because they are light and long, without a step down, allowing one to keep one's relaxed while writing. I often find my handwriting gets poor after a few words if my hand is strained holding the pen.