How do you hold your vintage flex-nib pens?

[rwilsonedn]

What a fascinating essay. Thank you!

Just recently I've been getting acquainted with a huge Ratnamson ED pen. Out of curiosity I looked at the point with a magnifier, and discovered that it had been ground so that there was a perfect flat plane in the tipping material that would just rest on the paper if you held the pen at about 25 degrees below vertical. That is rather a steeper angle than I have been used to, but if I comply the pen writes on roller bearings. Interestingly, given what you've written, the pen is so large and heavy that the grip you describe almost doesn't work in my hand.

But today I received an apparently very old Royal piston-filler that is very light and narrow, with a very flexible nib. It feels entirely natural with this grip, and as you state the tines flex with hardly any conscious pressure.

Now for something chronologically in between. I also have inked a tiny old Welsh combo, so small that when I hold it in your suggested grip the tip of the pencil-end barely reaches the webbing of my hand. It has some flex, but also what I thought was a viciously scratchy nib that would only work on very smooth paper. Unless I hold it "properly." Now it fits my hand without fatigue, flexes on demand with little additional pressure, and does not catch or scratch.

I think you have just taught me a great deal! Unfortunately, I am going to have to learn an entire second method of writing in order to enjoy the pens I love most. Ah, well, I'd have had to do it for dip pens anyway, I suppose ...

ron

[antoniosz]

Since my old image disappeared let me repost it:

 

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

[AmA]

Until I started using fountain pens seriously, I held my pens in a something of a cross between number 1 and number 10 on the chart. With a fountain pen, this led to the nib being sideways on to the page, facing to the left, and not very good performance. I still hold paintbrushes like that, moving my thumb up and down my index finger depending on how much expression I want inthe brush stroke!

 

I'm also trying to ignore the instructions on writing with a flex-nib, mostly as I'm trying to avoid looking for one to buy!

[ZeissIkon]

I've never used a flex nib, but I pretty much taught myself the #1 grip from the chart after getting my first fountain pen, just four or five years after learning cursive writing (so it wasn't decades of reflex I was modifying, just a few years of habit). After thirty years of using only mechanical pencils and ball points, when I got a fountain pen again a few weeks ago, I found myself naturally falling right back into the low-angle grip -- it's just the natural way a fountain pen nib wants to contact the paper...

[Buzz J]

Great post; I'm glad it got revived!

 

[Ernst Bitterman]

I'm slightly horrified at all three "Corect" positions on the chart above. That index finger needs to relax! Have a look at this recent post in the Penmanship forum for a brilliant example and description of my what I agree is the proper grip.

[Garageboy]

Funny thing is, I've always used the #1 grip and that has been too low for certain Ballpoints and Rollerballs, causing me to wear down the sockets and the pen to seep ink

[piplup]

Huffman - Thank you for that the well written analysis of pen holds/grips/handwriting. I've been struggling with this issue for a while now. I am going to retrain myself to write without using my customary "death grip" by following your recommendations,

 

Antoniosz - Thanks for sharing your notes on the subject. Fabulous handwriting! Is there a name for that style?

[kiavonne]

I would love to see a "sticky" being just a page to reference these wonderful threads on grip and angles and improving penmanship in general. We let them get buried all too often, and I need a reminder once in a while as well as being able to point new FP enthusiasts to the right places.

[Shangas]

My angle of holding the pen doesn't change with flex nibs. Roughly 30-40 degrees. But I'd like to think that I relax my grip and writing-pressure when I use vintage flex pens.

[RevAaron]

In general, I hold all pens around 40-45 degrees. The one exception is when I'm writing standing up, holding a notebook in one hand and writing with the other- I'll have the pen at a higher angle, maybe 50-65 degrees. I can still use flex nibs like that, but obviously I can't safely use much flex, but with a light hand it works fine.

 

However, it isn't always easy to have a light hand. In a car, on the bus, walking and writing etc- which is why I'm also a big fan of nail firm nibs. Give me a nail, or give me flex- I don't have much use for nibs that are soft but have no flex. Sort of the worst of both worlds- doesn't have the hardiness of a firm nib or the line variation of a flexible nib.

 

I do think this sort of topic is good to bring up once in a whie- it's common to hear folks talk about flexible nibs being scratchy by neccesity. It isn't so. With a little self-training and the common sense tips shared by Antonios and others will go a long way.

[pixelsnbytes]

We were taught to use ballpoints in school. We HAD to have the "Bic Stic" pens. I hated them. Blobs of ink everywhere. I developed the death grip to the point that my index finger naturally concaves when I hold a pen or pencil. I buy BPs with the grip as close to the tip as possible.

 

Lately I've been working with a dip pen, and an old Mabie Todd. It was an exercise in frustration until I got an oblique holder, and modified my pen hold. Now, the Esterbrook I thought was unbearably scratchy is a delight to write with, and the Swan is not only fun, but will probably hold up much longer than if I continued to abuse it. My handwriting is suffering, but I'm pretty sure it will come around with practice.

 

Deb

[jar]

Feed side down.

[Dickkooty2]

I laerned the Palmer Method the hard way … 3rd - 6th grade, 1943-1946.

 

All of the above concerns were addressed, and in no uncertain terms.

 

If you'd like a first-hand look, if not experience, Amazon has the original book available on Kindle for 99¢, and in paperback for $6.45. To add more verisimilitude, equip yourself with a stick pen, a steel nib, an ink well with school black, and a pen-wiper. Then have someone with a nagging voice say "Take out your pen and writing equipment".