I'm new to the Fountain pen world but I received a MB Starwalker for Christmas and figured I'd jump in with that as my starter pen. I'm a little concerned though that I am not holding the pen correctly.

Is there a certain angle to the paper or relative to my body that I should be aware of? Or should I be adjusting the angle as I write? I don't want to damage the nib.

I would suggest a Lamy Al-Star to teach the correct holding position. To get the most out of an FP it is important not to treat them like a ballpoint, trial and error on the Lamy will assist because the grip is shaped in such a way so as to effect correct use.

Plus they are a great pen anyway!

There is more than one angle to notice. One is whether the pen is closer to standing straight up or closer to lying down. With a ballpoint, you can possibly write with your pen sticking straight up; but a fountain pen has to be lying down more (so the nib is shiny side up, not shiny side forwards). This is important for successful writing.


There are more angles to consider - which one were you talking about?

Fountain pens are happiest when held at about a 45° angle to the paper, but most of them can be adjusted to work well up to about 80° if you want to pay for custom tuning. Note that you really cannot use a flex nib successfully at angles higher than about 50°.

Start with the basics. Firstly, make sure you're sitting comfortably and that the paper is set at a distance which allows you to stay relaxed: particularly your shoulders, arms and wrists. To facilitate this, you may like to set the paper at an angle. Follow your natural inclination here, because free movement of the hand and wrist is more important than any notion of technical correctness.

David has given you sound advice regarding the relationship of nib to paper in the 'vertical plane'; I would only add that the finer the nib, the more important the correct angle becomes. The relationship in the 'horizontal plane' is more open to individual tendencies, I think. For example, when I was writing with a fountain at school, I developed a style which involved having my exercise book set at right angles, and writing upwards and away from myself.

I don't do that now, but I mention it because I think it's important to feel free to experiment. Above all though, be relaxed and enjoy it.

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Col

Generally, in normal writing, the pen stays at about the same angle all the time. You need to be flexible rather than rigid, but trying to change the angle while you write is difficult and unnecessary.

Since Richard has specifically suggested an angle of somewhere around 45 degrees between the pen barrel and the desktop, the other angle that is easy and useful to control is the angle of the pen point relative to the ruled lines on the paper. This also is usually best around 45 degrees, though there is much more choice with this angle depending on your writing style. It is absolutely not necessary or helpful to force it to 90 degrees, or to zero (unless you are doing specialized types of calligraphy). Both extremes tend to be clumsy and uncomfortable for everyday writing.

And with all such pen angles, get them within reason according to the instructions first, and then let comfort be your guide for fine-tuning. Your goal is to end up with a stable and comfortable way of writing, that sort of more-or-less conforms to the ideal. If you find yourself comfortable at 52 degrees upright or 30 degrees to the writing line, fair enough. If you are at 85 degrees upright or 2 degrees to the writing line, consider changing something.

A ballpoint pen, by the way, will work perfectly with those recommendations as well - so you don't need to keep up two ways of writing.

My daughter, age 12, has been, and is being, taught cursive writing that is straight up and down - no "traditional" slant (around 45 degrees, if I remember 5th grade correctly). I have no idea at what point Those Who Change Education decided this. If you were taught the up-and-down method, you may find that somewhat awkward for fountain pen use (at least my daughter does); trying a more slanted approach may help.

Joan

Lisanti - we are talking about how to hold the pen. Are you? I don't quite understand, but it sounds like you are talking about how to make the letters - which is a different thing.

Beautiful pen! I hope it gives you many years of happiness. It is very well made, from what I hear (despite the overhype of Montblanc), and it is glorious in its bold industrial design.

Don't fear the nib. But of course, don't use it with undue pressure. You will discover the right pressure as you see the nib perform. If you press quite firmly, you'll get very thick lines (depending on nib flex). Back off from that and you should find that the nib glides nicely across the paper leaving the right amount of ink behind.

For these types of nibs, ~45 degrees seems right. You can experiment and try to hold it at a higher angle than that. Try it out--the nib will take it, and you'll eventually find what works best for you (your hand and writing style is unique).

Enjoy, and welcome to the wondeful world of fountain pens!

David-
I was talking about holding the pen. It seems, watching my daughter, that the pen is held both in the hand and relative to the paper differently when not writing script at an angle. I apologize if this was unclear.