Pen Recommendation: Comfortable Grip?

[PAKMAN]

Maybe what you need is a Michaels Fat Boy pen made of aluminum and very fat where you hold the pen!

[dogfog]

Thank you so much to all of you! Rorschah especially, your experience is very valuable to me. We also think that a really fat pen is likely to help her, and it's great to hear from someone with similar troubles and the same idea for a solution.

 

I think for initial tests the cheap ones like the Wality pens and the Rotring Skynn/Rotring Core are good choices. Then once we can begin to pinpoint the size, shape, and weight we can move on to a pricier option.

 

Thanks again to all the responses! I definitely glad to have found this site and look forward to reading more and getting more involved.

[wiglaf]

Not trying to be an iconoclast here, but I've had arthritis in my hands for the past several years and I have found that "fat" does not always do the trick- the easiest pens I have used when the hands are a'hurtin' are the Lamy Safari and the Vanishing Point- the VP's clip keeps my fingers where they should be, rather than re-gripping to become more comfortable- and the weight of the VP lets it lay down a nice wet line.

Good luck to you and you GF-

 

Tony

[aunt rebecca]

hi,

 

i am recovering from carpel tunnel surgery, so i know the pain. a bic stick is impossible for me to use. so i look for a large diameter pen. the michael fat boy is too heavy. i enjoy the lightness of the lamy safari, but i am unable to write for more than 1/2 hour with it or any pen.

 

my ergonomist suggested that i use several pens -- one after another. i own more than 300 so it is not hard. i use esterbrooks, mont blancs, sheaffers--the balances, the tucky, etc. i use each for 15-20 minutes and switch to another. so your girl friend needs more than one pen.

[captnemo]

hi,

 

i am recovering from carpel tunnel surgery, so i know the pain. a bic stick is impossible for me to use. so i look for a large diameter pen. the michael fat boy is too heavy. i enjoy the lightness of the lamy safari, but i am unable to write for more than 1/2 hour with it or any pen.

 

my ergonomist suggested that i use several pens -- one after another. i own more than 300 so it is not hard. i use esterbrooks, mont blancs, sheaffers--the balances, the tucky, etc. i use each for 15-20 minutes and switch to another. so your girl friend needs more than one pen.

 

I'm glad you mentioned this. Switching pens is what I do when my hand gets tired from writing, say, a long letter for example. This makes absolutely NO sense to me but it works.

[*david*]

Switching pens is what I do when my hand gets tired from writing, say, a long letter for example. This makes absolutely NO sense to me but it works.

The muscles tire of staying in one position. Changing the position a little allows the muscles to work in a different direction, and so they get to tire out in a whole new way.

[FrankB]

Hi, dogfog. Welcome to FPN. I would be really interested to hear what the source of your moniker is.

 

I am yet another middle aged FP user with arthritis. I think aunt rebecca's suggestion to switch around using several pens is right on. I do the same thing. By switching pens with some regularity, I vary the shape of the instrument I must hold and it helps my poor old hand a lot.

 

I think the Pelikano Junior is a very nice large pen that can give one an idea of what large FP's are about without breaking the bank. I have two Danitrio Cumlaudes that are very comfortable, but to my knowledge Danitrio has stopped making them. I find my Laban "Mento" to be very comfortable, light weight and visually attractive. It just doesn't write very well. There is a problem with the nib drying out very quickly. The holes around the clip attachment in the cap are too large and need to be pluged up. I am going to try silicone glue. Some folks advocate nail polish, but I understand nail polish can harm the pen's surface if any spills out.

 

Taccia is making some nice pens that are large, though not oversized. I have an Imperial Portuguese, a Continental and a Staccato. All of them are about pelikan M-800 or Duofold Centennial size, and very comfortable for me to hold and use for long periods. The Taccia pens I have are writing very well and have been problem free. These pens are available on the Internet for under $100 and they write as well as many pens costing a lot more.

 

When you decide to go over the $100 mark, there are a number of oversize pens that are delightful to use. But first your friend needs to try fountain pens.

[dogfog]

Well, I know it's been a while (a year actually), but I remembered this post and thought people might like to know what ended up working. I tried a few options (the big ugly Rotring was one of them) and the best one ended up being the Taccia - Portugese Burgundy FP that I got from isellpens.com. Thanks again for all of the advice!

[Rob G]

my ergonomist suggested that i use several pens -- one after another. i own more than 300 so it is not hard. i use esterbrooks, mont blancs, sheaffers--the balances, the tucky, etc. i use each for 15-20 minutes and switch to another. so your girl friend needs more than one pen.

 

Oh, my God -- we now can cite medical reasons for having large collections of pens. "Yeah, but, honey, the doctor said..."

 

[kiavonne]

Well, I know it's been a while (a year actually), but I remembered this post and thought people might like to know what ended up working. I tried a few options (the big ugly Rotring was one of them) and the best one ended up being the Taccia - Portugese Burgundy FP that I got from isellpens.com. Thanks again for all of the advice!

 

 

Thanks for the update! I'm glad you found a pen that works!

 

I, too, have pained hands, particularly right now. Rotating the pens really helps, which is why I take a 12-pen case with assorted pens to work with me every day. Although a little on the heavy side, my VP's really help me with the finger positioning (call this ironic), and my Pelikan M600 is always easy on my hands. I've been a member here less than a year, and I'm still struggling with the correct hold on the pen, as I'm 40 years out of practice from ballpoints. It is getting better, though.

[thibaulthalpern]

I have to concur that the Rotring Core is an EXCELLENT pen for your girlfriend's issues. Or so I think. Unlike some other FPN members here, I don't think the Rotring Core is that ugly. It looks fine. For some, the grip might take a little while to get used to. For me, it took no more than a few minutes and it's still one of the most comfortable pen to write with. And, it's not expensive. When I first bought it 6 years ago, it was around $40. Now, you can have it for $10. I believe they are no longer being made so the new ones you get are new old stock

 

[calvin82]

I think Parker Frontier and Lamy Studio with rubber grip are quite comfortable.