Resting a Fountain Pen at the Correct Angle

[Easigraf]

Fountain pen beginner here! I just wanted to get the assurance of more advanced fountain pen users to affirm whether this is a good angle to rest my fountain pen at (I believe it is around the 40 degree range). 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Easigraf
Rest not hold

[Bo Bo Olson]

Rested is the key...not held.

45 degrees is right after the big index knuckle and is ok.

40 degrees is at the start of the web of the thumb...is ok.

35 degrees if for long or heavy pens, and is the pit of the web of the thumb. Heavy pens rested there, will make the nib lighter than if the heavy pen is held at a higher angle.

I prefer the 'forefinger up' hold which is an automatic light grip. Can be learned in 3 minutes. IMO Better for posted medium-small, standard, or medium long/large pens.

 

The classic tripod, encourages excess pressure and takes up to 6 months to learn how to lighten one's grip.

.............................. old post.................

 

On 7/24/2023 at 1:58 AM, ParramattaPaul said:

Relax your grip..............

A very old post.....I call the classic tripod, the Death Grip.

REST THE PEN ,DON'T GRIP IT.

 

I call what Ernst uses, the 'forefinger-up' version of the tripod.

The thumb is flat at 09:00 (8:30 is better).... it does not press, as little bend as possible.

The thumb is a dam....a brace....no pressure at all. It is up barrel from the section. If you do not post, it is even with the last 1/3 of the first index knuckle. If you post try it being even with the crease of the first finger joint.

The forefinger lays between 12:00-12:30-13:00 as you wish.

 

The pen lays there....nothing presses anything....hold it like a featherless baby bird.

Do not make baby bird paste.

 

I had the 'death grip' for 45 years...a painful dent in my nail root of the middle finger joint....it hurt to write.

After learning that 'fore-finger-up' it stopped hurting....in I had no longer the 'death grip' ....common in the classic tripod, it no longer hurt....Well, I did move the pen down 1/3 of an inch below the nail junction.

 

Took me three minutes to learn...(3-4 days of switching before  forefinger up becoming my standard way to holding a pen.). I never go back unless I'm using a Safari or an American P-75.

 

Many say it takes months to learn a light grip with the classic tripod.....in three minutes you can have an automatic light way of grasping a fountain pen with the 'forefinger-up.'

 

Look up the thread 'death grip' in the advanced search section for this sub section.

 

I let the pen rest where it wants from weight or posting, at 45 degrees just behind the index knuckle, to 40 degrees at the start of the web of the thumb, or at 35 degrees resting in the pit of the web of the thumb...if a very heavy or extra long pen.

That is controlled by where your thumb is to the crease of the first joint in your index finger.....what is comfortable to you...with what pen. a shorter pen or a longer pen might held nicer, with the thumb tip before or after the first knuckle forefinger crease. Or at it.

What ever is comfortable....due to posting; length and or weight of the pen.

It don't have to be exact...just near.

 

You can control where the pen rests..45-40 degrees by how close the end of your thumb is to your forefinger first joint crease and or just before it, levers how high the end of the pen will sit...45 or 40 degrees. So you can manipulate that if you wish.

A tad too much bend on the right forefinger.

A bit better.

•  

 

[inkstainedruth]

@Orlando1  I'm presuming you mean angle to the page surface, rather than how the tipping is to the page left or right as you're holding the pen (which does make a difference particularly with oblique nibs; think "a stub where the tipping is at a slant, and not straight across as you're looking at the nib from above" -- i.e., where the imprint and any engraved design shows).

In addition to what BoBo said, there are some nibs that Sailor Pens makes, called "zoom nibs" that are designed to be used at different angles to the page surface, to get different line widths.  

When I got my first Sailor pen, a Pro Gear Slim special edition color, a friend of mine, who collects different Sailor models, had me try his zoom nib to see if I could get used to writing with it.  So my husband and I drove up to meet him, and he took us to a local restaurant and sat there over dinner with me playing with the pen (he was also going to have me try his pen with the music nib on it, but couldn't find it).  And while I don't use that pen a lot, I figured it would be GREAT for drawing with.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[gone]

Looks good. 
 

Most pens are quite forgiving. 

[Easigraf]

@Bo Bo OlsonThanks for the tips. I am sorry my photograph didn’t show the full view of my grip. I actually do exactly what you said, coming from a 5 finger grip, I retrained my grip. The pen rests at the start of my thumb web, and I raise my thumb higher up the pen for more control. It’s a great grip, you can go so light! I think, in comparison to yours, my thumb is on the topside of the pen a bit too much, I will try moving it more to the side of the grip section. I learnt this grip from a Barbara Nichol video, if you are aware of her. 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Orlando1

[Easigraf]

@inkstainedruthThanks for the extra information!

[Easigraf]

@Prawnheed

[A Smug Dill]

17 hours ago, Orlando1 said:

… whether this is a good angle to hold my fountain pen at …

 

If your pen writes consistently without skipping (i.e. sporadic breaking of the ink trail), and it doesn't cause your hand pain or fatigue in the process of writing when holding your pen at that angle, then it's perfectly fine.

 

On the page at https://www.pilot-custom.jp/en/feature/nib.html, Pilot has given advisory as to how each type of nib is designed to be best used, in terms of the way (or angle at which) the pen should be held. So, as you can see, what makes for a “good angle” depends on the pen (and, to an extent, the script and style of writing), without a universally applicable “standard” or rule of thumb.

 

Platinum published a chart of the expected line width ranges for each of its nib types and width grades, based on testing (using a machine, no doubt) conditions of applying 50g downward pressure and holding the pen at 60° consistently; so holding a fountain pen more steeply than ~40° is certainly not “wrong” or “improper”, either.

[Easigraf]

@A Smug Dill That makes sense. It writes without any skipping, and feels smooth enough (Lamy feedback) when writing.