Every day?

I don't think I should make a vow to post every day on this blog. I am happy to do so on the envelope blog, but, it will probably be easy to add a post here every time I have a comment from a reader. Amy responded that she has not settled in on any particular style, she is still getting acquainted with the nibs and ink. And having fun. That's a very good way to start.

Here is a fun bouncy pointed pen mane that I wrote. It is on that sparkle paper. Sparkle or shimmer papers are very popular and I find them to be very friendly to the pointed nib. The hairlines on this one are rather clunky, but it doesn't bother me. I love super fine hairlines but some paper and ink combinations do not yield fine hairlines....but if the nib feels good gliding along the paper, it doesn't bother me to have clunky hairlines once in a while. I like variety.

And, here is the tip of the day.
I am not sure how many books mention this and I do not have time to research today.
I'll just mention it as one of the things you need to know.

There are natural oils on your skin including that part of your hand that touches the paper when you write. So, if you are filling an entire page of lined notebook paper and your hand slides back and forth across the paper, by the time you get to the bottom, you may have trouble with the nib skipping. And that might be because of the oil. So, you may want to use a guard sheet under your hand. A few scribes wear fingerless gloves, but that sounds clumsy to me. Or maybe it is the best solution ever. I really should try it some time.

I mostly do envelopes, and so I usually do not have a problem with oily build up on the envelope. When Mr. Legend commented that he was having trouble with the nib skipping, I didn't include this as a possible problem because I forgot about it. If the skipping does not happen at the top of the page, but becomes a problem as you go down the page, then you might want to try a guard sheet.

Some people tape the guard sheet to the desk and then tuck the paper under the guard sheet and pull it up as they write. This is a really good idea because it keeps you writing in your optimal spot - vertically. Too often, people zone out and write line after line and eventually, their hand is at the very edge of the desk. There is a sweet spot, right in front of your nose where your writing will be better. If your hand is falling off the edge of the desk your writing will suffer.

It is also important to move the paper (to the left) if the line you are writing on is wider than about 4 inches. As your hand gets too far to the right, you do not have a direct line of vision and your arm is reaching out and it is harder to maintain consistency in anything. If you are writing LARGE, then you might be able to write longer lines. But for small writing, make sure that you keep the sweet spot right in front of you.

Another way to have a guard sheet is to place a blank sheet right under the line where you are writing. This works well, except when you jiggle and smear the ink. And, it is really important to know that the edge of the guard sheet will be much friendlier if it is a folded edge. The actual edge of a sheet of paper is rather sharp. Your hand will not glide smoothly when it moves up and down across the edge. So, fold the sheet of paper and put the folded edge under the line where you are writing and it will be a nice smooth edge. This seems like a very minor point, but I actually consider it a cardinal rule. If I ever need a guard sheet and I just grab a sheet, without folding the edge and try to get by with the sharp edge, I inevitably snag my hand on the edge and goof up the writing. So, you may take my advice or learn the hard way. Or maybe you have been using a sharp-edge guard sheet for decades and never have any problems. There are no absolutes to any of this. Just try everything and you will find what works for you.

I'll post a photo of my favorite type of guard sheet pretty soon. I have a couple actual jobs with deadlines to tend to today :-)

Spencerian tips

Mr. Legend left a comment and mentioned that he was having trouble with the nib skipping on the upstroke on his Spencerian. This style is one of my favorites. The image is from Bill Kemp's webpage
http://www.billscalligraphy.com/spencerian.html

Bill is a past president of IAMPETH.
I will do a post about IAMPETH at a later date. But you could Google it and surf around their website.

Possible problems - and all of these suggestions apply to any of the pointed nib styles:

1. Slant - of paper and pen

How much you slant your paper is something to consider with all styles.
Spencerian is sometimes referred to as a running hand and the books teach cross-drills which are fascinating exercises where you fill the page with rows and rows of rhythmic lines of the same letter
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee  only in script. IMHO, you need to find a slant that is comfortable
and then keep your nib rather *flat* - I do not have any success with Spencerian when I let the nib go up on its tippy toes - with the pen holder nearly vertical. To keep the nib rather *flat* you can't have your hand too close to the nib. If your nib holder is hour glass shaped it might be forcing your hand to be too close to the nib. You might need to get a straight holder so that your hand is a little further away from the nib.That is the advantage of a straight holder. Although, I like hour glass shapes and with practice, most people can make friends with both kinds of nib holders.

2. The nib.
The slit on the nib may be rotated to the left or right so that you are getting too much drag on one of the two prongs. The nib may be worn out or defective. The nib may need to be cleaned. I use windex and a lint free cloth. Old linen is my favorite. Or old cotton handkerchiefs or napkins.

3. The ink.
I can't think of a reason that the ink would be skipping, although, it never hurts to try a new ink.

4. The paper.
It could be the paper. Some papers that are for printing have a clay coating. I never have any problem with skipping on really good paper (William Arthur envelopes are my favorites) So, you might want to get some Rhodia or Clairfontaine paper. I have never heard anyone say that they have problems with either of those two papers.

5. Speed.
It is a delicate balance writing fast enough to get smooth lines, yet, not so fast that your nib skips.
Go back to the wavy lines and see if you can make them to your liking. If you can't, you have to keep trying options until you get pretty wavy lines and then move on to letters and words. Once in a while I find a paper that is just fine for words, but when I start throwing in some big flourishes, they skip. So, I have to write at one speed, but then slow down just a bit to make the flourishes.

It is very fussy work getting everything to your liking. If you calculate how many combinations there are in the 5 factors listed, you will see that technically there are an infinite number of options. But, you'll usually run across one that works after about 17 trials. 17 is my magic number. Do anything 17 times and you will either figure it out or you will decide to give up. But, you can give up knowing that you tried 17 things and that is an admirable number of attempts. Anything short of 17 and you are a *quitter.* After 17, you are just cutting your losses and moving on. You do get a lot of extra credit if you try 100 things before giving up.

Lemmekno if any of these tips work.


You could write with the paper square and level in front of you, but you will probably have better luck with the paper slanted and writing at an angle, heading towards 2 o'clock. Make sure your nib is clean. Nib cleaning deserves its own post.

Let me know what happens when you clean your nib, and try some different slants and possibly a different holder. Are you using an oblique holder?

P.S. Relax. IMHO, you really need to be relaxed to do Spencerian. Lots of wavy lines might be soothing. I'll go make an envelope with a lot of wavy lines and see what happens.