Pen Recommendation: Comfortable Grip?

[dogfog]

Hello all,

 

I'm new here, and relatively new to fountain pens, and in my search for recommendations came across this forum. I apologize if this question has been asked already; I searched the forum to the best of my ability and didn't find anything.

 

My girlfriend, who also enjoys fountain pens, sometimes gets pain in her hands, and this can make writing very uncomfortable. I'm looking for a recommendation on a fountain pen with a large diameter grip that will hopefully be more comfortable and easier on her hands. I'm hoping for something under $100, but if it comes with a strong recommendation I could see spending more.

 

Thanks again!

Eric

[jmkeuning]

The first step towards comfort is to loosen the grip. Fountain pens are excellent at facilitating this because you do not need to hang on tight at all.

 

Try to really relax the hand and just let the pen rest.

 

After that, you just want to find a pen with easy ink flow so that only the slightest touch is required.

[dogfog]

The first step towards comfort is to loosen the grip. Fountain pens are excellent at facilitating this because you do not need to hang on tight at all.

 

Try to really relax the hand and just let the pen rest.

 

After that, you just want to find a pen with easy ink flow so that only the slightest touch is required.

 

Thanks for the tips! To clarify, I mean that from illness she gets pain in her hand, and so a pen with a wider grip may be more comfortable, but these ideas may help too.

[captnemo]

Well, you've come to the right place. People who have sore hands from writing all day, such as doctors and detectives, are rediscovering the advantages of fountain pens. Technically speaking, a fountain pen needs zero pressure to operate. As long as the nib contacts the paper this will break the surface tension of the ink and it will flow. After years of using ballpoints where one must press down and push the ink into the paper, it takes some conscious retraining to relax and stop holding the pen in a death-grip.

 

I personally use old Sheaffer school pens from the 50's and 60's that I pick up for $3 and refurbish, so I'm not recommending this for you. But one of the reasons I like those old pens, especially those from the 50's is their extremely light weight. My "main pen" I use as an "eyedropper filler" (meaning that I fill the barrel completely with ink using an eyedropper), and believe it or not, the ink weighs more than the empty pen! Between the feather lightness of the pen and the zero pressure required to write, the effort required is as low as it can possible get.

 

Fountain pens have no equal when it comes to natural feel, ease of writing, and versatility in terms of nib styles (sizes and shapes) and hundreds of inks to choose from.

 

Don't get stuck on price alone. Virtually any fountain pen (unless it's damaged beyond repair) can be made to write well by a person who knows what he's doing. And I guarantee you that there are big name $400 pens out there that brand new out of the box write more poorly than my $3 pens that have been tuned up properly. Of course, the $400 pen can also be tuned up to work well. So price alone is not a guaranteed measure of pen quality or how well it writes "brand new out of the box".

 

The nice thing is that fountain pens are really pretty simple devices. In your case, I would recommend choosing the pen based on how it feels. If it has problems writing well, this can be fixed by a skilled pen person. (There are several reputable ones who frequent this forum).

 

Good luck. Have fun. And I hope your girlfriend's pain is alleviated by use of a fountain pen.

 

[fatehbajwa]

Welcome to FPN!

 

Hang around and you will get all your answers.

[graceaj]

How about one with a rubber grip? I've never tried one myself, but there are a bunch out there. Of course some may feel that it 'cheapens the look'. Another alternative would be to buy rubber grips and find a pen that it'll fit on. I've seen a pack of these in my stationer's, although you could just steal one off a pen/pencil with such a grip.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

You might consider the Pelikano Jr. fountain pen. It's made for young kids who are learning to write. And it's wide. It also has cushioned grips that get your fingers into just the right places on the pen to make writing less stressful than it might be.

 

The Pelikano Jr. is a cheap fountain pen but it is as likely to write well as some of the very expensive pens.

 

The only possible downside is that they are not fancy pens. They're made for basic writing and will not impress royalty with their bling. It might be the very thing for your girlfriend's hand pain.

[Denny]

Pelikano Junior would be my choice as a first FP. It has a good rubber grip and it is an excellent writer and it is very affordable. From my collection the best light writer I have met would be Waterman Charleston. It is over $100, but it is worth it. And the lightest weight pen from my collecion is a White Feather, a Chinese hooded nib pen - the picture is bellow with my signiture, but the nib is not so smooth as the Charleston.

[jmkeuning]

There is a Rotring that had a big, fat, spongy section. What was it called? It was U.G.L.Y. (but that is not the name)

[Henrik]

I think the E- motion by Faber Castell might help - it has a very wide body. It is affordable (about 110 $) - It is my experience, that the big ones also can be rather expensive. My only concern would be that it is heavy weight - so go for the resin version, not the wooden ones.

 

Henrik

[wks0120]

There is a Rotring that had a big, fat, spongy section. What was it called? It was U.G.L.Y. (but that is not the name)

 

Hi everyone; I'm pretty new here, but thought I'd chime in on this one. I think the pen you mention is the Rotring Skynn - I had one and can't recommend it. The flow was very uneven, nothing I tried really improved it. The mushy part was uncomfortable to write with as well - I felt like I needed a firmer grip to "control" the pen.

[ramshacklemann]

You could try a Parker Frontier. The grip is wide and soft and all the Parker Frontiers I have owned have been wonderfully smooth straight out of the box. The best part, you can get them for as little as $15, leaving you with $85 to spend on paper and inks!

[rorschah]

Hey - I found my way into the fountain pen world because of severe RSI. I was looking for something that was even better for my extended writing sessions than a Pilot Dr. Grip rollerball. And, indeed, there's plenty - stuff that's as fat, lighter, and requiring far less pressure. Here's what I've figured out:

 

1. Anybody with wrist problems should, as soon as they get a fountain pen, switch to a proper old-style grip. That means that pen comes in at, say, 45 degrees or lower. You don't have to hold the weight of the pen up with your fingers - it can rest in the crook between your thumb and forefinger, or along your thumb. There's a long post on it somewhere.

 

2. Once you get that down, you don't need a rubber grip. The rubber grip is there if you're pinching on the pen. Between a proper fountain pen hold, and the fact that a nice pen needs no pressure to write, you're not really gripping.

 

3. You don't need a triangular grip - a la a Pelikano Jr. or a Lamy Safari. It felt weird to me, and I read up on it at some CTS and RSI sites - it may be good for regular folks, but something about the triangular grip screws with people that already have wrist damage. They universally recommend: fat and round.

 

4. You want fat. Fat, fat, fat. I find that, with my hands, at least 1/2 " diameter. And look at the pens. Some pens really narrow down where you're going to grip them. Which depends on the person, of course. But I hold 'em right up close to the nib, and a very bullet-shaped pens will lose width right where an RSI-sufferer needs it.

 

I actually found an old "recommendations" sheet from my physical therapist - "FAT PENS" is written in all caps and circled in the middle of the page.

 

5. You want a nib that's smooth, and sufficiently wet that you can write with no pressure. This is a big deal, and the wonder of fountain pens. It helps a lot. This will push you towards expensive pens.

 

6. You want light. I find that my wrist is very sensitive to mild changes in weight - two pens that everybody else thinks of as almost identically light will show up as very different once you hold them in a pen grip with a sensitive wrist. This fact will push you towards cheap pens, made of light plastic, and without all that pretty, heavy metal. Avoid any metal pen - go for plastic, resin, or cellulose.

 

What's worked for me (keep in mind that I have pretty big hands - octave hand, in piano):

Wality 69L and Wality 52 (check isellpens.com and retrodesk.com for best prices). These $5-$15 cheapies have pretty shockingly nice nibs, but they're so fat and made of such nicely light plastic - that they're among the best ergonomically.

Pelikan

Danitrio Cumlaude - hugely fat, and relatively light for the size. I mean, huge. What is it, like 3/4" fat? It's really, really comfortable to hold. The Densho is supposed to have the same proportions.

Pelikan 600 and 800 - the 600 is a little small, but beautifully light - feels like almost nothing - the 800 is nicely fat, but a little too heavy. Both are nice - neither is perfect for me, but a slightly different hand size might love one.

Sailor 1911:slightly smaller than ideal, but this is made up for by the incredibly smooth nib and the balance somehow makes up for it. This turns out to be very comfortable for writing for me. It's relatively more fat than it is long, which helps - gives you the width, but cuts down on the extra weight from length.

 

What hasn't worked:

Waterman Phileas: very light, but too thin for me. If your girlfriend has very small hands, this might work. I don't know about the regular versions, but the demonstrator versions are very, very light.

Vanishing Point: marginally too heavy.

 

Anyway - this is all just my personal experience, from my hand size and writing style.

 

Others have recommended the pricier Omas Ogiva, Aurora 88, And Aurora Optima. And a vintage Sheaffer PFM. I'm hoping to check them out someday.

 

(I've heard that a few people get worse wrist pain from fat pens - but i think it's more common to find them easier on the wrist.)

 

-thi

Edited November 17, 2007 by rorschah

[Sazerac]

Another FAT pen that is under a hundred bucks that comes to mind is the Laban Mento (also at isellpens.com and other places). Although I do not have one, I believe that it can be used as an eyedropper.

[captnemo]

What hasn't worked:

Waterman Phileas: very light, but too thin for me. If your girlfriend has very small hands, this might work. I don't know about the regular versions, but the demonstrator versions are very, very light.

Vanishing Point: marginally too heavy.

 

It's fascinating how human perceptions are different. I consider my Phileas to be too heavy. It's the heaviest pen I own.

 

Back to the OP's question, Sheaffer made some No Nonsense style pens with rubber grips--comfortable to hold.

[jmkeuning]

There is a Rotring that had a big, fat, spongy section. What was it called? It was U.G.L.Y. (but that is not the name)

 

Hi everyone; I'm pretty new here, but thought I'd chime in on this one. I think the pen you mention is the Rotring Skynn - I had one and can't recommend it. The flow was very uneven, nothing I tried really improved it. The mushy part was uncomfortable to write with as well - I felt like I needed a firmer grip to "control" the pen.

 

 

Skynn! That's it.

 

Man, that thing looks horrible, and I have no problem believing that it is a poor writer.

 

BUT:

 

1. It is possible that this pen could cure the ailment, and if so,

2. An expert could make it write like a dream!

 

 

That said: if all the OP is after is a large section, this will do it. Personally, I see no use for soft sections on fountain pens. You should barely be holding on anyway, if you need a sponge, you are hanging on too tight.

[rorschah]

What hasn't worked:

Waterman Phileas: very light, but too thin for me. If your girlfriend has very small hands, this might work. I don't know about the regular versions, but the demonstrator versions are very, very light.

Vanishing Point: marginally too heavy.

 

It's fascinating how human perceptions are different. I consider my Phileas to be too heavy. It's the heaviest pen I own.

 

 

I have a suspicion that there's a major weight difference between the regular Phileas, and the clear plastic demonstrator I own.

 

[ericthered2004]

The Skynn is, I believe, currently on sale at Overstock.com, if you're interested. The Lamy Smile is fat, light and rubberized, and is/was available at The Writing Desk (usual disclaimer). And Wality's are, indeed, amongst the most ergonomic pens I, for one, have used.

 

Cheers,

Eric.

 

Edited for grammar

Edited November 17, 2007 by ericthered2004

[captnemo]

What hasn't worked:

Waterman Phileas: very light, but too thin for me. If your girlfriend has very small hands, this might work. I don't know about the regular versions, but the demonstrator versions are very, very light.

Vanishing Point: marginally too heavy.

 

It's fascinating how human perceptions are different. I consider my Phileas to be too heavy. It's the heaviest pen I own.

 

 

I have a suspicion that there's a major weight difference between the regular Phileas, and the clear plastic demonstrator I own.

 

Oh my yes! I have two standard Phileas and three demonstrators. TOTALLY different pens. The demos are lightweight, scratchy stainless steel, non-iridium tipped nibs. There is NO comparison between the two, so yeah, you've hit the nail on the head.

[hardyb]

Leban Mento is good, Sensa Meridan (gel grip), Levengers Sea series (different color named after various ocean and seas), School pen already recommended. Go on line and look at the stock or request catalogs to see what looks good to you and your girlfriend.