Should I Exchange My Thick Pen For A Slim?

[swtlilsoni]

I am a first time FP user. I was given a Waterman Expert as a gift. The person who gave it to me asked me if I would like to exchange it for a Waterman perspective, or anything else of my choice. While browsing online, I noticed many slim pens (especially various styles from Caran D'Ache). I am very girly and feminine and found those pens to be pretty and delicate looking. However I am doubtful about whether I should get a slim pen. I have read many things about thicker pens being more comfortable. I know it depends on user preference but could anyone explain the difference in feel/comfort or pros and cons of thick vs thin pens so that I can get a better idea and decide what is best for me? Also in your opinion do thin pens look as classy and special or do they look more commonplace and normal.

[pkoko]

A lot of it depends on the size of your hands... Those with big hands prefer wider pens. Another factor is how you grip the pen; especially if you have an unorthodox grip like me. Personally, I would hold this pen for a while and see if my hands feel fine and not cramped. If I am not sure; I would then try a thinner pen and see if it is more comfortable.

[Number3124]

Admittedly I've large hands so I find thin pens uncomfortable. That's one of the reasons I like FPs, they tend to be thicker than BPs and RBPs. You should definitely experiment to find out what works best for you. If your hands are smaller maybe you should think about starting out thinner. It's just a guess.

[pamsc]

I like thin pens even though I have large hands for a woman and a tomboy personal style. I hold my pen low, resting along my thumb, which means I don't have to grip it as hard.

[Ghost Plane]

Small hands for a woman and prefer big pens to avoid hand cramps and for ease of use.

 

Go for the performance, not the looks.

[dashreeve]

I have some thick and thin that I like a lot...so get some thick ones and some thin ones

[Parse Error]

I've got small hands and I like my pens oversized.

[Parc Monceau]

I am a first time FP user. I was given a Waterman Expert as a gift. The person who gave it to me asked me if I would like to exchange it for a Waterman perspective, or anything else of my choice. While browsing online, I noticed many slim pens (especially various styles from Caran D'Ache). I am very girly and feminine and found those pens to be pretty and delicate looking. However I am doubtful about whether I should get a slim pen. I have read many things about thicker pens being more comfortable. I know it depends on user preference but could anyone explain the difference in feel/comfort or pros and cons of thick vs thin pens so that I can get a better idea and decide what is best for me? Also in your opinion do thin pens look as classy and special or do they look more commonplace and normal.

 

 

I much prefer slim pens. I find them much more comfortable to write with. Thick pens, to me, at least, also look ungainly. My favorite pen is a Caran d'ache retro. It's slim, has beautiful balance, writes beautifully, and, in my opinion, looks great. So too a Dupont classique.

 

Now this winter I bought a Levenger True Writer as an everyday work pen because of the looks and the way it writes. It looks great, writes great, but I was never crazy about the thickness of it. In the end, I've found it just too thick. I won't leave the house with my Caran d'ache, Dupont, or Mont blancs, all slim, so I think I'm just going to go back to my Cross medalist as my everyday pen for work. It's slimmer, and in the end, that's important for me.

[Discordianist]

I've handled a large range of pens in different sizes, how ever I feel that the weight of the pen is a more important factor in ease of use then thickness (not taking extreme cases in account here). I used to love pens roughly the size of Waterman Phileas / MB 146 / Pelikan M600, but since I loved vintage (and do still love vintage) I got my self used to using pens roughly the size of Pelikan 400 / Pelikan 140 and so on. Now days I have pens in both sizes and use both, but my favorite writers for longer passages are in the size roughly of Pelikan 400 (with my personal favorite writer being Filcao Columbia with 0,6mm binder stub). Mainly since it's good size, not too thick and it's very light weight pen. Something I personally value on a pen when I need to write for pages and pages.

 

I do love to sign with heavy Mont Blanc or light but roughly the same size (bit smaller but still) Sailor 1911.

 

Take your time with pens and get to know your tools. You'll find the right one eventually. I used to keep tons of pens inked just to feel them out. Now days I have two pens inked at this moment and at most it's three (with third one being something really wide to write addresses on envelopes).

[icecrystal]

Ah, yes...I wondered if anyone would bring up the weight issue. I agree with discordianist on this.

I have both thin and thick, also some tapered pens. Thick is definitely better if it's a "working" pen but some of these are ridiculously heavy and they become uncomfortable after a short while.

I have a wonderful old Shaeffer Targa, fabulous nib but just too heavy to use for the long haul.

Perhaps you should keep looking to find what suits you, and don't spend too much on a pen until you're sure. :hmm1:

[dickydotcom]

It has to be personal choice.

My wife prefers fatter pens because she has some arthritis and finds it difficult to grip a slim pen.

What I don't understand is why manufacturers make sets with ball points much slimmer than their matching fountain pen.

I have a Parker Sonnet set where the difference is quite noticeable and a Sheaffer Imperial where the fountain pen must be twice the width of the ball point.

Dick D

[Bo Bo Olson]

If you put your forefinger up on top, at 12-13:00 and rest it there, along with bracing your pen against the flat of the pad of your thumb; instead of the nail and pressing, you will find, a thin pen or a thicker pen will not matter.

A pen should be behind the forefinger knuckle if you don't post or in the web of your thumb if do post. The heavier the pen or more back weighted it is the deeper in the web of your thumb it will rest.

 

The key is not to grab/grip the pen hard, like plowing the south forty with a ball point, but let the pen rest lightly in your grasp.

 

 

Grip

The Tripod (or Triangular) Pen Hold

"Tripod grip" thread here: http://www.fountainp...gular-pen-hold/

 

In advanced search

holgalee…Death….writing instruments

 

 

I find there is two versions of that, one for those who don't post and another version for those who post.

 

I have no problem grasping narrow or wide pens, long or short makes no difference. I'm not fighting the fountain pen, but letting it rest in my hand, sliding over the little puddle of ink at the tip.

[Ghost Plane]

................

Go for the performance, not the looks.

So true.

:roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho:

[jar]

Remember that there are few pens as thin as a quill and folk wrote with quills for some considerable time.

 

If I were you I'd ask for a rain check and actually fondle as many pens as possible. Wander down to the meetings section and see if there is goind to be a meeting or event in your area anytime soon.

[BrandonA]

My original MBs were slim classiques. I loved them and used them daily. Now I can't stand them as they are too slim and am going to give them to my mother at Easter. A starwalker is as slim as I can go. Now I like 146 size. The key is to try both fat and slim and see which you prefer. Fat will suit some, thin others.

[Richard]

Thick or thin is entirely a personal choice, and you should not let anyone tell you what to get. I'm 6'2" tall, and I have average-to-big hands. In my pocket today are these two pens (small pix to illustrate size together):

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/coll/hundred_year_1943.jpg

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/coll/wwii_vf_carmine.jpg

 

To give you an idea of how big they are, here's a Pelikan M800:

 

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/pens/pelikan/M800.jpg

 

So which one do I reach for? The red one. Why? Because I like its slender profile.

[ashbridg]

I am doubtful about whether I should get a slim pen.

Hand size doesn’t always determine pen thickness. We don’t buy pens the way we buy shoes. Pen fit has more to do with the tendencies of your grip, how the finger-tip joints bend, and whether you’re loosely ligamented. My tip joints, for example, tend to collapse inward, like a sort of quasi hyper extension, so I get a lot of flesh on the pen barrel. My gripping style keeps a skinny pen from trying to wiggle to the inside of my hand. In fact, I can write with a skinny pen all day, and no strain. Fat pens are good, too. I enjoy both.

 

Don’t forget other factors like barrel and section shape, and whether the section ring has threads that interfere with your grip. I don’t like a step on the nib section. It bruises my finger. Heavy caps are also a problem when posted. They make me fight to hold the nib on the paper.

 

Pen thickness doesn’t bother me, but weight does. Heavy pens make my hand tired. Yet some people prefer them. Heavy pens do tend to stay in place better, and they’re more stable. It’s a matter of preference.

 

You can’t tell much by just holding a pen. The best way to find a comfortable writer is to use it daily. So, do you choose thin or thick? Since you like the Caran D'Ache, why not try it? That makes more sense to me than keeping a Waterman that appeals to you less.

 

Ashby

Edited April 15, 2011 by ashbridg