Jump to content

To what extent does the pen you use affect your handwriting?


nanahcub

Recommended Posts

My handwriting changes depending on what pen I use. This isn’t a conscious thing, but I have noticed that when I use my Pelikan (EF), my writing leans forward. When I use my Kaweco Sport (Fine) or my Jinhao 911 (EF) my writing is very upright. Nib width aside, I can clearly tell what I have written using the Kaweco and what I have written using the Jinhao. There is a noticable difference in the writing style and in the formation of some of the letters. As I siad, this is not a conscious thing, and is something I have sort of been aware of, but only realised the extent to which it happened recently.

With the Kaweco Sport and the Jinhao, there are clear differences in the pens - one has a fine nib, the other extra fine. One is a short, pocket pen, one is full length. So that  would affect the way I hold it, which in turn would affect the way I write.  But the Pelikan and the Jinhao are a similar size, the nibs are a similar width (the Jinhao is quite a bit wetter, but I doubt that would make much difference)… Why is my writing upright with one and slanted with the other? Much plainer with one, ‘fancier’ with the other I supppose other factors come into play, like the weight and feel of a pen, but I was surprised at just how different my writing is with different pens. I would expect some difference with the different feel of a pen, but not a total change in character.

Is this normal? Do other people experience something similar? Just curious about whether it is just me or whether other people also find this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 6
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Nellie

    1

  • nanahcub

    1

  • txomsy

    1

  • Mark from Yorkshire

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

I find it is the opposite: my handwriting determines the pen I use: depending on whether I want to use italic or copperplate-derived, or quick notes or else I'll use a pen with a stub, flexible, EF or else nib.

If you are to be ephemeral, leave a good scent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rbuchanan said:

My handwriting changes depending on what pen I use. This isn’t a conscious thing, but I have noticed that when I use my Pelikan (EF), my writing leans forward. When I use my Kaweco Sport (Fine) or my Jinhao 911 (EF) my writing is very upright. Nib width aside, I can clearly tell what I have written using the Kaweco and what I have written using the Jinhao. There is a noticable difference in the writing style and in the formation of some of the letters. As I siad, this is not a conscious thing, and is something I have sort of been aware of, but only realised the extent to which it happened recently.

With the Kaweco Sport and the Jinhao, there are clear differences in the pens - one has a fine nib, the other extra fine. One is a short, pocket pen, one is full length. So that  would affect the way I hold it, which in turn would affect the way I write.  But the Pelikan and the Jinhao are a similar size, the nibs are a similar width (the Jinhao is quite a bit wetter, but I doubt that would make much difference)… Why is my writing upright with one and slanted with the other? Much plainer with one, ‘fancier’ with the other I supppose other factors come into play, like the weight and feel of a pen, but I was surprised at just how different my writing is with different pens. I would expect some difference with the different feel of a pen, but not a total change in character.

Is this normal? Do other people experience something similar? Just curious about whether it is just me or whether other people also find this.

Yes if i use a fountain pen or ball pen depending on length and thickness/ nib size my writing is generally neater than if i use a gel pen or rollerball pen

Mark from the Latin Marcus follower of mars, the god of war.

 

Yorkshire Born, Yorkshire Bred. 
 

my current favourite author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

largebronze-letter-exc.pngflying-letter-exc.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A lot! That is why I'm so pen-obsessed! A badly-writing pen even destroys my concentration, so that I start making mistakes because I get distracted by even the slightest skips, e.g.

Any round-nibbed Sheaffer makes my handwriting come out tidier than it is with other brands (yes, I know, it's still nowhere near tidy 😆). I looked through my uni-notes the other day and I could see a marked difference between my writing with my first ever Sheaffer (a NoNonsense 'Vintage') and the Pelikan piston filler I had mostly used up to then - although both pens had M nibs! Sheaffers (through some unknown magic) control my scrawl, as do some italics/stubs and architect-style nibs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Using a different pen puts me into a different mood. The pen used alters my writing angle, neatness, and the style of letter forms.

Ink colour also has an effect.

 

Looking back through old and recent notebooks, I enjoy the look of my handriting wherever I have used a fine flex nib, or a narrow cursive italic. With other nib types my handwriting is often an ugly scribble.

 

The effects seem linked to nib softness and line width variations, and nib tip feel on the paper.

Pen length and weight seems to make little difference. Similar writing is seen with a lightweight wood pen holder carrying a flexy dip pen, or with a heavier, fatter grip, metal body Pilot Falcon.

 

With some pens I write with larger letters - for no obvious reason. Currently using a Moonman C1 with a FPRevn Ultraflex nib. Writes a western "fine" to "medium" line with a light touch.

Previous pen, for the last few weeks, was a Preppy with M nib ground to be a cursive italic.

Both nibs give attractive line variation. But, without any conscious intent, the Moonman written letter forms are over 50% larger than the Preppy.

 

Both pens do make me feel happy though! 🤗🤗🤗.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like Dipper, my pen use is governed by my mental state/what mood I am in and then I choose a pen/nib accordingly.

It also depends on what I am looking to present to the reader of my, mostly letters that I write for.

 

Quick notes and stuff are often, at work, with a ball point pen but I do occasionally use a fountain pen that I keep in my pocket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Pen you use is the instrument that you use for lettering.

There are so many pens or writing tools. So your writing you achive  depends  on the tip/ nib/ you use for  your writing varies. Ex. If you use a brush to write which  called brush pen you're writing is different.

If you use a pen for daily jotting that is also a different  way of using for note taking. The pen dosen't change your style. It is you who change the writing. According to your pen / the length or tine size you do the wring and then the pen gives what you hand movement you transmit  through the pen to the paper. So the result of the writing is the choice between the tool and the writing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...