How to choose an oblique penholder

Oblique penholders with nib attached off-center are an American invention. They were created to facilitate writing when the slope of writing is very extreme as in the Spencerian hand (52°).

Oblique penholders with nib attached off-center are an American invention. They were created to facilitate writing when the slope of writing is very extreme as in the Spencerian hand (52°). As we know, it is difficult to maintain the correct position of the hand to write letterforms when they are so slanted to the right, because the wrist itself must follow the same direction. Hence the idea of off setting the nib so that it is in line with the angle of handwriting.

This type of penholder is used instead of the elbow nib (like the Mitchell elbow nib which is still in production while those of other brands now belong to the world of vintage). Those oblique nibs, however, can only be considered as a starting point, they are sturdy and not very flexible; fortunately, better nibs can be fixed on the oblique penholder, i.e. more flexible and with elongated and fine tips for a better contrast.

For copperplate it is in fact crucial to contrast the strokes as much as possible starting from thin lines (the ascending strokes) which are truly very fine, and are a challenge when scanning and printing. In Europe such penholders were exclusively imported from the United States until Handwritmic (an italian company) began their production and diffusion in 2015.

The Americans therefore have a long tradition and are specialized in very elongated and extremely fine penholders, complex from the point of view of wood turning and assembling different hardwoods. They were typical tools of the Golden Age of calligraphy, necessary for writing the Spencerian or the American cursive.

We now use oblique penholders for copperplate even though they were traditionally not used for this style.

But since they are extremely comfortable, we recommended them for everyone, beginners as well as experts.

Handwritmic has produced a beautiful and functional penholder, with an affordable price despite craftsmanship and refined and improved details compared to similar products on the market. It is important to note some characteristics that these penholders must have: the tip of the nib must reach the center of the penholder and the nib must point upwards; you can adjust the flange by hand (pulling and bending it towards you) to further tilt the nib upwards, so that during writing the angle of incidence of the nib to the paper is reduced to prevent the nib from scratching. This is done only if there are writing problems. In the image below you can see the flange that is already in the correct position and, next to it, the flange that has been tilted upwards.

The popular black plastic penholder is not suitable for long nibs like the Nikko G, because the tip of the nib is well over the center of the penholder. With this penholder you can only use smaller nibs such as Hunt or Gillott. Furthermore, since the penholder is made of plastic, by continuous use, it can crack. Some interesting penholders are “universal” because they allow the use of nibs of various lenght and diameter on a flange with a screw adjustment. To overcome the difference in length of the nibs, it is necessary to find their correct position and then tighten the screw.

Calligraphystore currently sells the universal oblique penholder made by The Pen Artisan in its store. The Handwritmic penholder has the flange made for a specific type of nib (the nib is supplied and is always mounted, so beginners find it easy to start writing straight away).

Since we can distinguish pointed nibs into two main groups, the larger ones such as the Nikko G and Zebra G (easy nibs for beginners) and the smaller ones such as the Hunt or Gillott (finer and more flexible), Handwritmic has chosen to produce all its oblique penholders with two types of flange. Therefore, you need to choose the penholder according to the nib you want to use.

For beginners, the Classic oblique penholder fitted with the Nikko G is recommended. The flange for Nikko G can be adapted to a different type of nib, pinching the flat edge of the flange with pliers if the nib is smaller and not firmly fixed.

The set of two Handwritmic Classic penholders is offered at a special price, one is suitable for Nikko G nibs and the other for the smaller type (Hunt and Gillott).

The flange is made of thin metal and is rather elastic, it reacts to pressure when writing. It is gold plated at 24 kt, while normally other penholders have a brass flange that tarnishes over time.

It is important to say that lefthanded people do not need a different oblique penholder, perhaps with the flange mounted on the other side. On Youtube and Instagram you can find videos of expert lefthanded calligraphers demonstrating with the usual oblique penholder.