Which Fountain Pen Will Fit Me Best?

[Himiko2023909]

This is my first post so I thought I try to share a thing I observe about choosing pens. Over the past 40 or more years, I bought many fountain pens without fully understanding them, how to best use and maintain them. These recent months, I have sat down to really understand my pens and write with them properly. One observation I made is that my handwriting is greatly influenced by my grip on the pen, around the neck. When the neck is too big or too small for a comfortable grip, my writing suffers. This is when I realised that there are many pens that I have bought but never really enjoyed writing with them. One pen, Montblanc 149 (I have 2 of these) is so uncomfortable that I just kept them in a box for years.

 

I felt that since the diameter of the neck affects how one grips the pen, that perhaps I should contribute with some measurements of a few pens that I have checked:

 

Montblanc 149 13.05mm

Montblanc 146 10.98mm

Pelikan M1000 11.70mm

Pelikan M600 9.86mm

Pelikan M200 9.40mm

Namiki Heritage 91 9.76mm

Caran D'arche 8.50mm

Lamy Safari 9.12mm to 9.98mm (triangular neck)

 

Personally, I now prefer a pen with a neck diameter of around 9.50mm to 10.00mm. Perhaps, for those buying pens online and have no chance to try the pen first - find a rod of plastic or wood and grip it like a pen. If you deem it the right size for you, then measure the rod diameter. Use that to guide you when buying pens online so that at least you won't have buyer's remorse due to not having the right sized pen when you receive it later.

 

I hope this will help and as I find time and more pens, I will measure them and update this list. Thank you.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2014 by Himiko2023909

[linearM]

Everyone will be different regarding what shape or size section that is most comfortable. A person with small hands may wish a smaller diameter section, a person with large hands may want a larger dimension. I have a friend with arthritis who is selling off the pens with small diameter sections. She found a Danitrio Cumlaude just right. Personally I'm finding a larger diameter grip portion of the section allows me to write longer without cramping. I enjoy using vintage pens which often have smaller diameter sections and manage to enjoy them because of the quality of the nibs, my letters are just a bit shorter. I think we are all looking for that perfect pen; with the right balance and weight, the perfect nib, something that appeals to our aesthetic sensibilities. That is part of the joy and challenge of fountain pens...finding that perfect pen.

 

Thanks for your measurements. They may help in selecting that perfect pen.

Edited July 20, 2014 by linearM

[Buzz_130]

Great first post. Even though I have large hands, I find myself enjoying the classic size of the Parker 51 and the modern Japanese pens. For me, I've also found that it's not only girth, but it's also overall weight.

 

Welcome to FPN!

 

Buzz

[Abstract]

I have tried out and owned many different fountain pens such as the lamy safari, Mont blanc Boehme and the parker sonnet to name a few. I was expecting there to be a perfect size of nib or grip but different sizes had different advantages and if you think that a the grip section will make the difference then try out pens with very thin and thick grips but also try odd looking grips as they may have strange but brilliant qualities for different people as we all hold and write with a pen differently.

I hope that this post has helped.

[Beckwith]

I always like a larger section for longer writing sessions - I find that my hand gets less tired. The problem, as that list partially demonstrates, is that pens with large sections tend to be larger pens overall. I always like a heavy, solid pen, but for hours of writing at a time I sometimes wish I had something with the section of a 149 and the weight of a Parker 45.

[Charles Rice]

I like to use larger diameter pens, but my handwriting seems to be better (it's still terrible) with Targa sized pens. I guess the point is, do you want to feel comfortable, or have better handwriting. Hopefully both.

[ac12]

For me it is both the diameter of the grip/section and the barrel/body.

Depending on the pen, I may end up holding the pen on the threads or the body. And if the body is FAT, I won't like it.

Example I end up holding the Parker IM with my thumb on the thickest part of the barrel, and it feels FAT.

 

As Buzz said, weight is another factor.

Most of my good writers are below about 15 grams. I can handle up to maybe 22 grams. Beyond that and the pen feels heavy.

 

Next is balance.

Some pens feel too tail heavy when posted, and become uncomfortable/difficult to write. The surprising part is that some of these pens are clearly designed to be posted, yet the balance moves too far to the tail when posted. Now the size of your hand and and where you grip the pen affects the balance of the pen in your hand. The smaller your hand and the closer to the nib you hold, the more important balance becomes. The caps on some pens are sooooo big and heavy that they cannot be posted, because the pen becomes grossly tail heavy.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Perhaps you can change how you grip the pen. Get away from the Classic Tripod to what I call the 'fore finger up' way of grasping a fountain pen. It is an automatic light grip, doing away with fatigue of the dreaded 'death grip' & killer Kung Fu thumb pinch.

 

Since changing over to the 'fore finger up', I find no problems with thick or thin sections, nor short posted or longer pens.http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0418.jpg

 

Thumb could be a tad straighter.

 

The thumb is a wall where the pen rests against, with no pressure. It is at 09:00. (not the 10-11:00 of the classic tripod.) There is a nice gap between thumb and forefinger.

When the pen is not posted, the thumb is up to 1/3 past the crease of the first index knuckle, posted I try to keep the thumb level at the crease.

 

The only pressure of the forefinger at 12:00-12:30-13:00 is to keep the pen from doing back flips...so no pressure is needed there either.

Let the pen find it's own point of balance, do not fore it to be at 45 just after the big knuckle, 40 at the start of the web of the thumb, or 35 degrees in the pit of the web of the thumb.

 

You do have to use more arm and shoulder instead of finger writing.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[Sasha Royale]

Now, I have a whole selection of sticks around the house. Some don't even feel like fountain pens.

Maybe I should go to a store and try some pens. That way I will know which size stick to buy.

[william2001]

I think Parker Sonnet will suite you the best.

That's what I think.

-William S. Park

[Runnin_Ute]

Creative idea - using different diameter dowels to figure out what works. I have a variety of different sized sections/grips - some work better than others, but I don't think there is a single characteristic that they all have though.

[Himiko2023909]

Just received my Platinum #3776 Century today. Measured the neck and updating list here:

 

Platinum #3776 10.16mm

Montblanc 149 13.05mm

Montblanc 146 10.98mm

Pelikan M1000 11.70mm

Pelikan M600 9.86mm

Pelikan M200 9.40mm

Namiki Heritage 91 9.76mm

Caran D'arche 8.50mm

Lamy Safari 9.12mm to 9.98mm (triangular neck)