For The Love Of Pens, Please Stop Doing This.

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This needs to be addressed.

And I guess I’m here to address it. But let’s get something straight first.

I’m a lover. I’m not a fighter. I’m not here to call anyone out. 

I’m just here to share. That’s all any of us should be here to do anyway.

So, now that we’ve got that all cleared up...

For the love of pens, please stop doing this.

If you’re part of our little SPF fam, aka Sweet Pen Friend community here on my channel then you may know that I used to have this terrible, like truly atrocious habit of death-gripping my fountain pen.

You might be wondering to yourself what in the world am I talking about and if that’s the case, well, that’s good because it probably means you never gripped your pen the way I did. Essentially, I would nest the grip of the pen on my ring finger (I’ve formed a bit of a permanent callous because of this) and I would wrap my middle and index finger around the top like this, entrapping the pen and myself in this ridiculous makeshift torture chamber.

This is how I held my pen for most of my life. I just didn’t know any better. No one ever corrected me in school or in any other setting, so I went on with this lobster-claw like massacre straining ever single muscle and ligament in my right arm anytime I wanted to write which was pretty much all the freaking time.

It wasn’t until I found the faithful, curative, and fantastical fountain pen and this community of the most kind-hearted folk that I realized that all this pain and strain I was setting upon myself through this super constricting pen grip was 100% unnecessary and entirely avoidable. Specifically, I came upon the Lamy LX and Lamy Safari fountain pens and while I know that their triangular grips can be incredibly polarizing within the fountain pen community, I am REALLY grateful for it. With the forced grip and the importance of keeping a fountain pen’s nib facing up, I re-learned how to hold my pen and write. It wasn’t pretty and it took a long while for me to get used it, but it was worth it.

Look, I really want to sympathize with those of you who like me, just didn’t know any better. I wrote with that horrific pen grip up until about 2-3 years ago. But when I see others suffering from the same mistake, I have to admit it really grinds my gears and makes me so sad. Writing, in my opinion, should feel wonderful! It should feel freeing and cathartic! How can you enter that beautiful state of flow when you’re clutching onto that pen for dear life?

So, if you are one of the unfortunate few like myself who acquired this awful habit of a death pen grip and you want to relieve yourself of the needless suffering, some things I would encourage you to do is:

• Explore other grip options. It’s all gonna feel freaking weird and uncomfortable at first. You might think to yourself it’s easier to just keep chugging along as you always have, but trust me, for the health of your arm, hand, and mind - it’s a necessary discomfort that will yield dividends of relief.
  
  In the book, The Lost Art of Handwriting, Brenna Jordan covers a variety of pen grasps that you may find suitable for your writing style. Additionally, you can check out The Art Of Cursive by Michael R. Sull.
  
  
• I’d also recommend, getting a fountain pen. I mean, if you’re watching this video and you don’t have a fountain pen, why are you even here? I’m just kidding! Haha, but I really do think having a fountain pen is beneficial in helping you change your pen grip. You can opt for something like the Lamy Safari or Kaweco Perkeo with its pronounced triangular grip as I mentioned earlier or something more fun like the Pilot Kakuno with it’s smiley face nib can be a friendly reminder to always write with the nib facing up.
  
  
• I think it’s also worth it to mention a quick little hand and arm massage can go a long way. This is a tip I recommend to everyone, not just those of us who are recovering death pen grippers. We can carry so much tension through our arms throughout the day whether we’re writing, typing, or scrolling. We ask so much of our limbs, so just remember to give yourself a break every now and then. Squeeze a bit of gratitude back into your arms and hands with a little massage. (:

Just know that this probably isn’t going to change overnight, but actively working on and re-learning a healthier and more comfortable approach to holding your pen will allow you to keep enjoying stationery for many years to come. 

Did you ever suffer from your pen grip or have you always handled your writing instruments with ease and comfort? Let us know in the comments below!

xo,
Dev