Maximum Comfortable Barrel Diameter?

[bluesboy]

I have seen pens with quite large barrel diameters, what would you consider to be the maximum comfortable barrel diameter?

[eharriett]

Barrel? Or section/grip? Everyone holds a pen at a different spot, but for me, the barrel can be as wide as a turkey as long as the section is the right size, I'm good.

 

And it depends on hand size. For me, the most comfortable is 10.5mm at the section and pens like it. I prefer a good balance too, which may change that opinion. To me, the perfect grip is an Esterbrook LJ. However, the SJ, while perfect to grasp, is off-weighted to me and even a bit uncomfortable.

 

The Sheaffer TM series is also perfect, one of the reasons I love writing with them. They're longer, but weighted differently and also balanced perfectly.

 

YMMV. But I don't have very large hands. So that's my perfect measurement.

[sirgilbert357]

I prefer my grip sections to be 11.0 mm. But I use pens with a wider range than that. As for balance and length, etc, a Pelikan M800 is perfect in all respects for me. I could probably handle up to a 12.0 mm or 12.5 mm grip section, but I'm not sure it would be OK for longer writing sessions...never tried one that size for that long.

[Karmachanic]

What works for me is not necessarily going to work for you.

Beside which, there are, for me, other considerations to take into account. For instance, I'll tollerate a sub optimal grip in favour of a soft bouncy nib. Pelikan M2xx over M8xx, for example. I prefer the M8xx size but will never purchase one as I have no interest in nail nibs.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Karmachanic

[NinthSphere]

I think the largest I own is 15-16mm at the widest point on the barrel. I would have no problem going larger.

[Arkanabar]

I prefer a section around 9.5-11mm, and probably would rather have a barrel under 13mm -- I know that the 14mm barrel of the Noodler's Ahab is too big for me.

[Tseg]

My Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear is 12.7mm and I find it very comfortable. I recently got the Montblanc 149 that starts at 12.8mm and expands over to 13mm and I'm still struggling to consider it "comfortable". So I guess I'll say 12.7mm is my max of "comfortableness".

Edited March 25, 2019 by Tseg

[Honeybadgers]

a MB 149 is the largest I can comfortably use. But honestly, I really prefer extremly thin pens like the CP1.

[gyasko]

I'm OK with big pens like the MB 149, OS Sheaffers and Indian eyedroppers, but the pen I'll forget i have in my hand is the Parker 51.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I started with standard width pens of the B&W TV days....Esterbrook/Wearever---P-75 sized. P-51 in width.

 

I have a wider than standard MB 234 1/2 Deluxe ('52-54 only)...a couple medium large Osmia 76's and a Pelikan 600 that have nice 'wider' girth that is comfortable. (German no name Pewado war pen....Degussa superflex nib.

 

I did not grow up in the Large Pen era so find them fat.............I do have some, Townsend, Lamy Persona and a couple more.

The 1000 was not as fat as I feared....but is a fat pen.

 

For real fat ...unusable fat, I have a LOOM 828, made in Tombow, Japan. It makes every pen I have look skinny. Is 4 1/4 inch short......two pen widths fat....... Could think of it as a Jumbo extra extra fat, Kaweco Sport...........

It was an unwanted part of a live auction lot, and there are folks that will pay a lot of money for it..........that was a pleasant surprise.

 

I prefer pens with great balance and that means a posted pen. Medium small, like a Pelikan 140 or Geha 760, standard sized or medium-large/long.

The large thin Snorkel is one of the few pens that has perfect balanced....and I do like it posted...............being thin allows for the great balance.

 

Back when I was a 20 pen 'noobie' I did a balance test and the top three were all so different.

That MB 234 1/2 back weighted because of brass guts, and thicker than standard girth.

Geha 725 a thin, medium-long pen and the standard sized P-75 came in 1-2&3....# 4 was a Pelikan 400nn.

That was per-Snorkel.

 

Since then I changed my grip from Tripod to Forefinger Up.....so have a difference there too.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[Lloyd]

12mm-14mm is my favorite grip diameter

[JakobS]

I waver between 8mm-12mm, I actually have never measured my pen's section diameter before, and so had to look up the pen models I use to figure this out. If I haven't used the larger diameter pens in a while, I do have to adjust how I hold the pen for awhile before it becomes as comfortable as the smaller diameter pens.

 

As far as barrel size, I have no preference what size it is, it has no effect on my use of a pen.

Edited March 27, 2019 by JakobS

[bluesboy]

Thanks for the replies. I meant the barrel, not section

 

I have seen some with thick barrel diameters, like 19mm. Do you have a point where the barrel diameter becomes too much?

[georges zaslavsky]

14 to 20mm is fine by me.

[4lex]

Barrel diameter doesn’t really have much impact on how comfortable the pen is. Grip section diameter is more important.

What really matters is overall design and weight . I think light pens are more comfortable although many swear by heavy pen. I think because people associate weight with quality.

I find Delta Dolcevita Oversize with its 14.9mm section diameter very comfortable. But the most comfortable design for me is Lamy Ratio with grip section around 7mm.

To summarise: it depends on weight, shape, balance and your preference.