Please consider using the grip I introduce below.


A common way to hold a pen is with the thumb, index finger, and the last knuckle of the middle finger approximately the same distance from the tip, like this:


I find that this grip is not the most relaxed position. Allow me to elaborate.

After playing the piano for 30 minutes, I let my right hand hang at my side, using no energy. Here is my hand at its most relaxed state:



Notice that when I use no energy, the fingers are naturally curved, and the tip of the thumb is relatively far from the tip of the index finger.

If I put my right hand on a surface it falls into this shape:


If I put a pen in it, my right hand naturally holds the pen with this grip:


I feel that this grip puts the hand in a position closest to the most relaxed state. I can maintain this grip using no energy. The difference between this grip and the common grip is that in this grip, the thumb is placed farther away from the tip. Extending the thumb to where the common grip places it requires energy, and therefore does not yield the most relaxed grip.


Another thing one may try is simulating a longer nib by gripping higher with one's whole hand, like this:


This allows one to use less movement to write characters, and also lowers the writing angle.

Excellent! That's pretty much the grip that writing with the Bamboo taught me. The abrupt change from the barrel to the section makes it uncomfortable to try to put my thumb on the section, so I tried writing thumb-on-barrel and index-finger-on-section and found it to be a very comfortable grip for any of my pens.

This kind of grip also makes writing seem like pointing. The marks go on the paper where I point. Not only does that seem more natural, it encourages me not to "finger-write" and instead "shoulder-write" or write by moving my hand over the page rather than by twisting and tilting my hand to form the letters.

However, I'd never thought about why it is a more comfortable position. This is great!

I've got a left handed friend who's always written like that. He's developed a noticeable lump on the side of the middle finger though from the years of writing (it looks like a wart to be honest). Of course, that's with pencils and ball-points, so extra pressure compared to a FP.

Just something to think about.

My grip is as demonstrated in the first photo and
I have a callus on my middle finger.

Maybe I just write too much?



I'll give your recommended grip a shot, Renzhe.

With my arthritis making writing ever more
uncomfortable it can't hurt to try it.

Thanks for your post and photos. I monitor my various grips while I cycle through them trying to find the "best" grip and your post provides much help and "data." The arm/hand/finger mechanism is so full of angles and rotations it can get confusing... I have noticed that the angle of wrist rotation also makes a significant impact on my handwriting and ease of writing. The closer your elbows are to your body and the higher the paper surface, the more one has to twist the wrist toward the paper. I've found that playing with the height, distance, and angle of the paper to fit a more "natural" angle -- as your post suggests -- goes a long way toward to goal of effortless penmanship. Just sharing -- and again thanks for your post.

Doug

My grip is like this also. I, too, have a callus on my middle finger, although this is from before I changed my grip. I think it's not so much a callus as just the finger reforming itself (I've had this since the second grade -- I took more notes in second grade than in second year of college).

Thanks for the tip.
I'm always looking for ways to improve my grip and handwriting.

Do you also write by moving the arm/hand as well? I've read that is the recommended movement but it seems too unnatural for me.