I've actually learned how to hold a pen ergonomically by Taylor Swift. [1] Sounds crazy, but I use the grip with a drawing tablet pen and it just feels natural.<p>I hold the pen between index finger and middle finger and use the thumb to click buttons.<p>I started to get some RSI pain using a normal mouse, because I believe the hand seems to rest too flat on the table. I first switched to one of those crazy ergonomic mice [2] without much success, because I think, there the hand position is just too steep/vertical. Then I completely switch from a mouse to a drawing tablet and I fully recovered. I also think, that you don't need as much force to move around your hand compared to a mouse.<p>[1] <a href="http://spdrdng.com/posts/how-to-hold-your-pen-in-the-most-ergonomic-way" rel="nofollow">http://spdrdng.com/posts/how-to-hold-your-pen-in-the-most-er...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/CSL-Wireless-Vertical-Ergonomic-Buttons/dp/B00JODVD5K" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.co.uk/CSL-Wireless-Vertical-Ergonomic-But...</a>
As a left hander, writing is difficult. Western writing favours right handers; from the direction of flow, down to the formation of letters.<p>That coupled with mild dyspraxia, meant that I have a death grip on a pen - I grip it so hard the ends of my fingers turn white, all the while trying to control my movement as if an invisible force is constantly tugging the nib in random directions.<p>And don't get me started on fountain pens - they are explicitly designed to be 'dragged' across the page. As a left hander you mostly 'push' - I broke so many fountain pen nibs, until I eventually gave up using them.<p>Changing my grip on a pen now, would probably make all my issues worse, not better!
In Japan I believe the (true and only correct) way to hold a pen is taught and emphasized from a young age, while the United States maintains a "do it your way" mentality about it. It may have to do with chopsticks requiring similar precision or that it is difficult to follow the detailed prescriptions for writing Chinese characters otherwise - I'm just speculating here.
I love how the Escher's work "Drawing hands" shows the "correct" way to hold a pen: <a href="https://moa.byu.edu/wp-content/uploads/lw355.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://moa.byu.edu/wp-content/uploads/lw355.jpg</a><p>I think I changed my grip after seeing the painting.
I’m surprised they don’t teach this in US schools. I just Saturday had a large stack of documents notarized and I observed the poor notary getting hand cramps. Then I saw her grip on her pen and it was no wonder. I felt sorry for her.
The most important thing I did to "ease" my pen grip was to stop using ball-point pens. They require a <i>lot</i> more pressure in order to put ink to paper than, say, a gel pen. My hands thank me!
Somewhere online (maybe here) I read the suggestion to hold the pen between the index and middle fingers (with the thumb slightly below and to the side, where it will naturally fall). I've done it this way ever since - it's much more comfortable, and I find it easier to control the pen.
I've used the dynamic quadrupod grip my entire life, fingers very close to the tip of the pen by the way. I used to draw a lot as a kid and I think this grip gives good precision. It's not ideal for extended periods of writing perhaps, but it's not too bad of a compromise.
I use what they call the "dynamic quadrupod" grip. I've tried the "correct" grip but I find that either the pen is at a lower angle or I have to turn my wrist more to get it at a higher angle. Maybe it is because I'm left handed but neither of those options work as well for me.<p>I try not to judge but when I see someone hold a pen between their index and middle finger I find it hard not to. A few years ago Taylor Swift was in a Coke commercial where she was writing lyrics. The first thing I noticed was how she holds her pen and it drove me crazy. <a href="https://imgur.com/QyTQpre" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/QyTQpre</a>
Grip matters a great deal for a calligraphic hand. Take a chisel-tip felt pen and try to write sensibly with the broad part of the chisel, and you’ll quickly discover a few things: why calligraphic hands look like they do, how to form letters with a mixture of line widths, and how your hand has to hold the pen in order to produce legible text.<p>Incidentally there’s this often implicit belief that people’s handwriting was better in the
past than it is now. I mostly don’t believe this—there’s just a sample bias towards only showing the nice writing that was often made by professional scribes. And some scribes had shitty hands, too.
I was just discussing this with my wife as my 6-year old daughter developed an interesting grip (not shown in any of those pictures). With humans being creatures of habit, I'm curious if there is generally a certain age where the grip should be corrected, especially if it looks like a straining one. I remember having a co-worker who held her pen in her fist, like she was writing with a boxing glove on (puts all the strain in the arm, elbow & shoulder).
I have crazy hitchhiker's thumb, so much so that I can bend my thumb almost straight backwards. When I hold a pen I cradle it with my index, middle, and ring finger all opposite my thumb, which is angled backwards and applies the pressure onto the pen. I don't think I've ever seen anyone else who holds a pen like I do. I get comments on it all the time.
I was never taught how to hold a pen correctly as a child, and self-taught the first bad method from the chart (index finger overlapping thumb). I assumed writing was supposed to hurt, and never questioned this until I was an adult because it was consistent with my perception that the main purpose of school was to inflict suffering on children.<p>I think this might have contributed to my interest in computers. I starting typing all assignments as early as possible, because it was so much faster and less painful. I later taught myself conventional pen grip, and then switched to a Lamy Safari fountain pen. The Lamy Safari has an approximately triangular section grip part, which forces conventional grip. I think all pens and pencils used in schools should have this design.
I have never able to hold a pen like I'm "supposed" to, or really how I've seen described. I hold my pen between the pad of my thumb and the side of my index finger in the neighborhood of the first knuckle.
Hmm, I seem to do a hybrid of the dynamic tripod and the lateral tripod. I hold "grip" the pen using the side of my thumb like in the lateral tripod, but I guide the tip with my index finger like in the dynamic tripod.<p>I also don't rest any of my fingers on the paper. Instead I rest the side of my hand on the paper.<p>I remember as a child I didn't like the feeling of pulling on the pad of my index finger when I gripped with my fingers (e.g. the dynamic grips) which is why I used the lateral style grip.
There's a very interesting adjustable pen, the Yoropen [0]. I haven't tried and I am not left handed but it might be interesting to try.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IYUO3EM?tag=aboutcom02thebalancesmb-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=4156552%7Cn5cdbfda5abcc45c7b005903b8f74e79d15" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IYUO3EM?tag=aboutcom02thebalanc...</a>
I have always used the dynamic tripod grip (the same grip shown in Escher’s “Drawing Hands” drawing). I am right-handed but I write “away” from me, at a 60° angle or more. I wonder how common this is. While writing with the Apple “pencil” on the iPad, I typically have to use the orientation lock! Some apps such as Goodnotes allow you to control the angle but not Apple’s own Notes.
Then there is this funky avant garde grip:<p><a href="http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/236206-alternative-grip/" rel="nofollow">http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/236206-alterna...</a>
What I've noticed among my friends and family is that the people with the ugliest pen grip also have the prettiest writing. My grip is beautiful but I write like a meth-addicted gorilla.
OK, so you hold a pen like a child. Props for noticing and improving your technique -- ingrained habits are difficult to change, takes a lot of mindfulness at first.
Weird that this post came up and I missed it before. My last few comments were on my trials and tribulations with handwriting.<p>In kindergarten my teacher had the students use these, they helped guide proper form (in the US like 25+ years ago): <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Universal-Ergonomic-TPG-11106/dp/B001SN8HOY" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Universal-Ergonomic-TPG-1...</a>
I write with both hands, so maybe I can explain some of the issues that I run into with left-handed writing, and how it differs from my experience with my right hand. This is a topic I have thought about greatly.<p>Left-handed writing, as a core difference from which all other differences stem, has you pushing on the page, which would make a right-handed writer feel uncomfortable since it is never a muscle that needs to be used for the latter. This results in shaky or crooked writing.<p>Another experience I have from pushing during left-handed writing is that my hand tires faster, as I try to switch between "bent-inward" index finger and relaxed index finger, which I use interchangeably depending on how much fine control I need. Using the bipod or "index and thumb" grip helps for fatigue, but it loses precision.<p>Finally there is the angle of the palm which varies greatly among left-handed writers, which is how do I rotate the paper so that I don't smudge my writing, or so that I can see my writing as I go? The more the paper is rotated, the more uncomfortable it gets, but it has utility. Here are some nice diagrams on the variations: <a href="http://www.musanim.com/mam/lefthand.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.musanim.com/mam/lefthand.htm</a><p>For right-handed writing, most of these are never a concern for me. My right hand "pulls" on the page in the rightward direction and I never have to rotate the page in order to align with the writing line. Writing comes by pointing the pencil where I want it to go and then "moving" it right, rather than for left-handed writing I have to push "right and forward".<p>The rise of writing on tablet computers has improved the writing experience for left-handed writers by a significant amount because it can pan, zoom, and rotate as necessary. Still there remains the issue of having to push.<p>So if I can choose to use my right hand to write at all, why would I use my left hand? This may be a placebo effect, but I find that using my left hand to write allowed me to soak in concepts and let them ruminate as I write the notes. It becomes a more "personal" attachment to the notes I'm taking, whereas right-handed helped produce as much writing as needed.<p>One advantage with left-handed writing comes when using a tablet. Many notetaking apps such as "Goodnotes 5" do not present a color wheel to appear at where your pencil is pointing. The color palette stays fixed at the top right corner. Having to change color rapidly but keep the pencil in the same place is possible by using my right finger to change the color. And if I have to use the tools stuck at the top left corner, I switch to writing with my right hand and use my left hand for tool selection.<p>Finally, one nichr benefit from using both hands to write is simultaneous two-handed writing. Once can produce writing faster by using both hands to write at the same time if you can visualize ahead fast enough. It also helps when using two different pen colors (red + blue) simultaneously. It would be great if I could think in parallel and write notes in two different topics or languages at once.<p>I wonder if there are any other ambidextrous writers on here who can also weigh in with their experience.