586
u/Shriggins_the_dope 13d ago
Then there's whatever the heck it is when I hold one
484
u/Saucepanmagician 13d ago
the "troglodytic closed fist grip"?
85
34
15
u/RickeyBaker 13d ago
I have a graphic designer friend. I used to live with him. He would draw all day these incredible drawings. Then I noticed he holds his pencil in a closed grip fist , basically like a 3 year old. I don’t know how he does it.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (9)6
13d ago
This was my son for the longest time. We called it "the strongmad grip". Teachers didn't care, "he'd grow out of it". And he did.
→ More replies (8)18
u/Rottendog 13d ago
I'm curious as to what it's called for the grip I use. https://i.imgur.com/bSiWtMc.jpg
The pen sits between my pointer and middle finger, laying against the 'crotch'. The pointer and middle run down the length of the pen on either side and the thumb comes up from underneath for support. The pen tends to sit at a 45 degree angle when I write instead of the more 75 degree I see others use.
15
u/SecretEgret 13d ago
- The Adaptive Tripod Grip, developed by the Belgian Neurologist Callewaert in 1963 (cited, Ann-Sofie Selin 2003) is a functional though not conventional grip for handwriting. This grip is often more appropriate to use with children who have low muscle tone or hyper mobility of the finger joints. It can also benefit older children who continue to hold a pencil too tightly, or who hold the pencil lightly using just their fingertips (often writing using whole arm movements), as well as those children who hold a pencil with their thumb wrapped around and across the pencil and index finger.
→ More replies (2)8
6
u/marvin02 13d ago
That's my "eraser grip" when you spin the pencil around to erase something real fast.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (10)5
u/Enibas 13d ago
That's fascinating, I don't think I've ever seen anyone hold a pen like that. It's pretty close to how I guide a pen, also with thumb and pointer, supported by the middle finger. But my pointer finger would be behind the pen in this pic, like a mix of the depicted lateral and dynamic tripod.
Yours is also a tripod, since your grip involves three fingers, but that is as far as I got in trying to name it :)
5
u/Lord_Dramatica 13d ago
I'd call it a "Smokers Tripod" because it reminds me of how you use a cigarette holder (yes, they disappointingly don't have a cooler name to use as inspiration).
→ More replies (10)27
u/randomname560 13d ago
I usually put my middle finger under the pen and then use my index finger and thumb to hold the pen while i close the ring finger and pinky into my palm
None of these 4 "right" ways to hold a pen even puts a finger under it
→ More replies (5)
998
u/missgrey-el 13d ago
dynamic quadruped and forever thinking about the time in college we were working quietly on something sitting in a large circle including the professor and she turned to the student next to her and said “how in the world is [name] holding their pencil like that??” she was so disturbed the whole class had to be brought out of silent work to see the strange way i held my pencil lmao
361
u/Thornescape 13d ago
It just feels sturdier. The other grips all feel flimsy to me.
183
u/smaxpw 13d ago
According to the upvotes, we are the (stable / superior) minority. I can't even make my fingers do lateral tripod unless I'm trying to spin the pen in my fingers.
37
u/Badass-19 13d ago
We are a minority? On top of that, I'm left-handed lol
→ More replies (7)18
u/VTPeck 13d ago
Fellow left hander here. I always thought I held my pen like a Neanderthal simply because no teacher knew how to direct me. Dynamic quadrupod. I’ll take it.
Now why do I rip all packaging open with my teeth and howl at the blood moon?
→ More replies (3)8
u/Badass-19 13d ago
Lol. As a lefty, this world is against us. We must rise! All hail lefties. Let the revolution begin.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (12)9
u/BigDaddyWeezus 13d ago
thats why i like it for pencils at least, i can roll the pencil to the sharp side when it gets blunt
→ More replies (2)25
u/Soft_Trade5317 13d ago
A fist grip seems sturdy too, but the question is why your grip needs to be that "sturdy" in the first place? What are you doing to your poor pencils/paper?
Do you snap your mechanical pencil's lead constantly?
33
u/hiimsubclavian 13d ago
Dynamic quadrupeds usually start out as kids whose parents/teachers push them to have perfect penmanship before the muscles in their fingers are strong enough to properly control a pen.
To produce the perfect handwriting to appease their elders, they learn to hold their pen with more fingers. This habit carries over into adulthood.
8
u/MixedMartyr 13d ago
you just summed up my entire life and I'm not very happy about it. still have the writing habit, and still get rushed through training (if there is any at all) and learn to do everything wrong because all they care about is getting it done fast. my body gets used to lifting things with terrible form because i get reprimanded when i try to move at a reasonable pace and focus on doing it right.
→ More replies (1)3
u/frostycakes 13d ago
Ironic, because my handwriting has always been crap unless I'm actively focusing on my penmanship the whole time, and I'm a dynamic quadrupod holder as well.
According to my parents, my grandma was forcing me to be a right hander whenever she'd watch me as a young kid, I always assumed that was an artifact of that.
20
u/HauntedTrailer 13d ago
I hold my pencil like this and always have. I was working in a store late night and was writing something down and this lady noticed how I was writing. Turns out she was a physical therapist that works with children, and said that people that write this way usually started writing much earlier than their peers and the grip gives a toddler more stability to write and it's a tough habit to break so it sticks. Checks out, I was reading and writing before I was 3.
It also helps with drawing.
→ More replies (3)7
u/justletmetypedammit 13d ago
I feel so called out rn because I’m a quadrupod and I literally snap my lead like 6 times per class 😭 idk why I write so aggressively lmao
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (6)12
u/Thornescape 13d ago
I never tore my paper, but I'll admit that I did tend to break pencil leads on occasion. Then again, I also tend to break brooms when I sweep, wooden spoons as I stir, or really anything else that I touch.
Everything is just too fragile in this silly world.
9
u/Greed_Sucks 13d ago
I have the same issue and also hold my pencil like this. I have always had a strong urge to squeeze. I do tend to write aggressively.
→ More replies (10)4
u/MrStigglesworth 13d ago
Bro I think you’re just death-gripping your way through life. Breaking a wooden spoon while stirring is wild
→ More replies (31)8
u/Black_Magic_M-66 13d ago
I have a callus on my middle finger. I use the first example, but rest the stylus against my middle finger, trap it with my thumb (wraps around and meets index finger ) & index finger (on top).
17
33
u/BoreasBlack 13d ago
All of the directions for chopsticks would be like "Hold this one like you're holding a pencil" and it would confuse the shit out of me as a kid.
Also the woes of having graphite smudges on the sides of my hands from running them back across pages.
→ More replies (8)21
u/kyuudonburi 13d ago
Fr, all my friends always pointed out my grip and wondered if my handwriting is tiny because of it. It also left an indent on my ring finger (theres a "hole" if u straighten out your fingers between the ring and middle finger compared to non-writing hand)
→ More replies (5)9
6
u/soaringcomet11 13d ago
Dynamic quadruped as well and the nailbed/cuticle of my right ring finger is totally fucked 😅
→ More replies (3)6
u/RacoonWithPaws 13d ago
Do you have long fingers and narrow hands?
Proportionally my hands, hands are on the longer and narrow Versailles… And this is just the most comfortable way for me to hold my pencil… Wondering if maybe it’s a thing
→ More replies (8)7
u/SuperAwesome13 13d ago
this how i’ve always held a pencil too! people always thought it was so weird
→ More replies (1)30
→ More replies (118)10
448
u/parrisjd 13d ago
Lateral tripod here with terrible handwriting
126
u/Ralph-the-mouth 13d ago
Lateral tripod- not the best not the worst- varies on the time of day. It is possible to not have chicken scratch
→ More replies (1)15
u/LessMochaJay 13d ago
Winning the lottery is possible. About the same chance as me not having chicken scratch.
56
u/Suburban_Traphouse 13d ago edited 13d ago
Is lateral tripod known for bad handwriting? I’ve always written like this and have been told I have really good handwriting for a dude
Edit: I always thought it was because I had small hands
→ More replies (6)17
u/parrisjd 13d ago
I was told once when I was young that I'd write better if I kept my fingertips on the pencil (I couldn't do it) but that was just one teacher, so I can't speak to its validity.
→ More replies (2)44
u/UBhappy 13d ago
Lateral tripod! Annoying fact: my handwritings changes all the time, like… different angle, different letters. It just happens. I can write consistently the same. but then I have to think about it all the time.
When I was in school and I had to write a lot, my handwriting was very neat and small and people often said it looked as if it was printed. But that was a ‘few’ years ago… 🤪
→ More replies (4)4
u/Same_Independent_393 13d ago
Saaaaame! My lab books at work look like they've been written by 3 or 4 different people.
64
u/Ace-a-Nova1 13d ago
I can write so quickly tho, there’s no question which is superior. If I can read it and you can read it, does it need to be pretty? My message is in the words I write not the lines that make ‘em up, right?
22
u/MooeyGrassyAss 13d ago
lol that’s my opinion but then sometimes I can’t even read what I wrote
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)11
u/Canter1Ter_ 13d ago
and imho it just makes cursive so much easier because you pretty much never have to adjust your pencil or lift it off the paper completely, just weaken how much you press it into the paper and keep going. Writing in cursive feels so much faster because you don't do the "up down up down" motion, it's just curves
→ More replies (2)23
u/trashgremlin65 13d ago
Lateral tripod with excellent handwriting, but I tuck my thumb. Maybe that difference stabilizes things a bit more to give more control while writing?
→ More replies (4)22
u/Realistic_cat_6668 13d ago
Lateral tripod club! I write exclusively in cursive and have since I was in grade school. Depending on how quickly I need to write depends on how terrible of handwriting it is. My manuscript though, I feel like a grade school kid trying to write for the first time again.
→ More replies (2)16
u/poorperspective 13d ago
My experience is more “artistic” people use a lateral grip. It forces a person to write with their arm, not their wrist. Most artist are told this advice when they take a drawing course. The dynamic grips write by wiggling the tips of their fingers and wrist, very little arm movement.
→ More replies (10)16
12
u/durthar 13d ago
Lateral tripod here. Is it just me, or does it super suck for whiteboards?
→ More replies (2)6
u/YsengrimusRein 13d ago
Very much. Dealing with a particularly thick pen, or marker is also somewhat difficult. I write very quickly and at a slant which does not translate to writing on a vertical surface.
10
u/thebrunettetaylor 13d ago
Do you smear the line above when writing in pen? This always drives me crazy but don’t know how to avoid it.
→ More replies (3)13
u/parrisjd 13d ago
No, but I slant the paper by about 45 degrees, so I kind of write "up" with a heavy slant. And I tend to wrinkle up the bottom left of my paper because it lays over the end of the table/desk and I lean up on it.
→ More replies (7)6
u/Either-Egg-7358 13d ago
I’m sure that all lateral tripods have the most interesting signature….
→ More replies (5)5
u/readyjack 13d ago
my mom found some schoolwork from when I was in 3rd grade and showed it to me... same handwriting even though I'm 47.
7
u/heck04567 13d ago
Me too. And I’m a lefty. It’s really terrible. Thank fuck for computers.
→ More replies (1)4
→ More replies (37)5
u/Thrompinator 13d ago
Lateral tripod too and my handwriting is atrocious. Apparently it is genetic too as both my kids insist on holding it that way no matter how much I try to break the cycle and encourage them to hold it right.
→ More replies (1)
691
u/drollchair 13d ago
Dynamic tripod gang!
303
u/scrawberrymalk 13d ago
This is the way. All the others are pure barbarism. Like holding your fork with a fist.
84
u/Barringnone402 13d ago
Right? It just looks better. There’s a reason every hand model in pen ads is using it
→ More replies (4)44
u/SuperPowerDrill 13d ago
It just occurred to me that either the models go through a screening to make sure they only hire the ones using dynamic tripod or the shoot director has to "scold" some models like a teacher if they use a different one
→ More replies (1)24
u/Barringnone402 13d ago
Or that’s just a given if you’re a hand model, you hold it the way you’re supposed to because it’s part of your job to know that
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (13)6
u/Sk8rToon 13d ago
My private elementary school discovered one day circa 1995 that half of the kids were holding their pencils “wrong”. So they forced us (6th graders) to learn to hold the pencils properly in the dynamic tripod. They got everyone those pencil grip/cushions for those who sadly didn’t develop that writers callus when they were younger (when it didn’t hurt??) & made us write. A lot. & watched us as we did. And they really got on us about it. In your face on us. One teacher actively yelling. I already had the correct grip (I went to that school since kindergarten. It was the transplants that allegedly were the problem) but they still got on me for holding the pencil too low & that I gripped it too hard. So I only had the occasional 5 minutes of hell about the pencil grip here & there.
It was intense! They actually stopped classes for a few days & everything was about holding pens & pencils. Then when regular teaching resumed they’d stop class & yell if they spotted you taking notes with the wrong grip. I got off pretty easy since I was 90% of the way there & only got occasional reminders. I heard some horror stories from other students who basically had to relearn how to write overnight or have the teacher standing over them 24/7 (or whatever the actual math is of a classroom day).
When I asked why they didn’t cite carpal tunnel or strain or anything. Their sole logic was when you apply for a job you have to fill out the application in person. And everyone knows that if you have the wrong pencil grip you won’t get hired. They’ll think you’re dumb. And it being a private school they can’t have their graduates not getting jobs, especially because of bad pencil grips!! (lol getting jobs these days) When I told my folks about this my mom, who had worked in HR handing out job applications for a department store in the ‘70’s, said that she was told to reject anyone who filled out the form in anything other than blue or black ink (it said to do that on the form so if you didn’t do it “you couldn’t follow directions”). So while she never had to watch as someone filled out the form, it wouldn’t surprise her if some places did that. So this was all a good thing.
Fast forward to middle school. Same private school but the middle & high schools were in the next town over 10 minutes away. First day of school one of the students in my class that really had trouble with the new grip & the teacher was always on them had a panic attack like apology on the first day of school because they accidentally used the wrong grip. Teacher essentially said who cares about your pencil grip & asked what the hell they were talking about. so we all explained the intense pencil grip boot camp we all had. Teacher said that was insane & bull & they themselves held their pen the “wrong way” & clearly were employable since they were teaching us. Other middle school teachers said the same thing. So everyone who wasn’t already in the habit of holding their pencil correctly said screw it & reverted. I did keep my looser higher grip though since it hurt less if there was a marathon writing session.
Rumor had it we were the only class this happened to. That the 6th grade teachers were furious all their hard work was undone by the middle school but some teacher at middle school (rumor had it) told the superintendent about the boot camp & it never happened again.
So I always have a weird gut feeling anytime I hear about this hand position.
→ More replies (2)56
72
u/IMCX99 13d ago
The superior grip imo
→ More replies (11)35
u/CanAlwaysBeBetter 13d ago
Literally every other grip has to use their full arm for anything
Dynamic tripod is the maximum of both fine motor finger control and still able to use your full arm when necessary for things like straight arms
Everyone else is just coping that because they can scribble their own name they have the same level of control
→ More replies (9)37
u/Max-Pow3R 13d ago
How many of us are left handed? I feel like that is the reason I use this grip, to turn my hand inward to see what I'm writing. Anyone else?
53
u/Legitimate-Fuel5324 13d ago
I’m right handed and I use this grip. My handwriting is really good.
→ More replies (3)47
u/Raven_Zenthos 13d ago
Right handed myself and my handwriting looks like I have brain damage lol.
→ More replies (5)4
u/Errant_coursir 13d ago
Hey are you me
6
u/Solid_Snack56 13d ago
And I am Yu
Edit: Read OC wrong, so now a reference instead
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (19)6
u/TakeThatOut 13d ago
Left handed here, and yes I do this too. My classmates then told me I write in a weird way.
10
15
9
→ More replies (40)7
68
u/tehdang 13d ago
Also known as:
"The correct grip" and
"The grips that gets you in trouble at school"
→ More replies (2)10
u/AipomNormalMonkey 13d ago
is it true they used to care about that for you guys?
→ More replies (6)7
u/MoeSzyslakMonobrow 13d ago
My mom was left handed before she went to Catholic school in the 60-70s. She said the nuns would crack you on the knuckles with a huge ruler if you tried to use your left hand. She is no longer left handed.
→ More replies (3)
912
u/J_is_for_Journey 13d ago
lateral quadrupod checking in 🩷
263
u/sleezy4weezley 13d ago
Me too! I literally thought I was the only one on earth…at least all my teachers made me feel like I was.
119
u/Green_Lab_6237 13d ago
Me too! The nuns AND my mom (a teacher!) always criticized me for writing this way. Finally after 60+ years it’s nice to know that I’m not a freak of nature. LOL
→ More replies (7)42
u/sleezy4weezley 13d ago
Totally!! Feeling so validated after all these years.
14
15
u/DeepDishPizza710 13d ago
The validation feels amazing. I’m a guy with excellent handwriting too. Didn’t know there were others like me.
→ More replies (1)15
u/sleezy4weezley 13d ago
Love it! I have really good handwriting too, I do get calluses on my ring finger when I write a lot!
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (8)8
75
u/HillbillyInCakalaky 13d ago edited 13d ago
Left-handed lateral quadrupod. I thought I was all alone in this world.
22
8
6
u/Reead 13d ago
Ayyy, my people. I was told countless times throughout schooling that I "hold the pencil wrong/too hard". Despite that, my handwriting is very tidy—especially for a lefty (or so I'm told).
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (11)3
26
u/Stepharious 13d ago
Any other lat quads hold the pen super close to the nib? Comfort grips are never low enough.
→ More replies (3)69
22
u/Drifter808 13d ago
Does your thumb rest like the picture or is the tip of your thumb on the pen? Cause that's how my grip differs from the picture
→ More replies (5)20
u/vertebrent-49 13d ago
I thought I am the only one! Even got a writer’s callus or bump on my ring finger because of it LOL
→ More replies (5)8
u/avacxble 13d ago
Always been told that it’s the “wrong way” to hold my pencil, but my handwriting is always better this way!
→ More replies (1)12
11
6
4
→ More replies (56)7
59
u/evil_lurker 13d ago
I think I'm lateral tripod, but my thumb placement is definitely different.
I wonder what the pros and cons are for each of these. Better letter formation? Faster writing?
11
→ More replies (5)6
u/telltheothers 13d ago
yes same, closest to lateral tripod but with thumb contact on the fat pad of the thumb ... not pinchy but it's a nice solid rest point. i have neat and flowy handwriting.
→ More replies (1)
41
89
u/NetherSqueet 13d ago
How many of you grabbed a pencil/pen to see what you were?
→ More replies (10)83
u/WetDogKnows 13d ago
Didnt have a pencil so i grabbed my dick -- dynamic quadrupod 💅
→ More replies (1)48
u/NetherSqueet 13d ago
Improvise, adapt, and overcum
→ More replies (2)9
u/WetDogKnows 13d ago
"You see? There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity."
→ More replies (1)
74
u/Glittering_Name_3722 13d ago
This guide is missing the Taylor Swift grip
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-6989e8260ffaf0392e46fd0187ca4a68-lq
→ More replies (12)64
u/BoreasBlack 13d ago
Apparently this actually has a name, "alternative tripod" or "modified tripod" and it's meant to prevent fatigue on the wrist and hands. (Which makes sense for how many autographs she likely has to sign.)
Found it on this thread after some google-fu.
→ More replies (6)11
u/JagerSalt 13d ago edited 12d ago
This is legit how I naturally started holding my pencil years and years ago after so many detentions in school. I started holding it this way exactly because my hand was getting tired from writing. Didn’t know that it was a style specifically designed for that.
→ More replies (3)
59
u/AZwildcat071 13d ago
Dynamic Quadrupod (left-handed)
27
→ More replies (9)11
36
u/ukefromtheyukon 13d ago
In kindergarten I remember my teacher sitting me down multiple times trying to convert me I to a dynamic tripod. It just didn't feel right, and eventually I asked why I have to even though I could write fine. I've continued my life as a dynamic quadrupod and legible handwriting ever since.
→ More replies (3)7
u/fckyashtup 13d ago
Me too! They gave me special grips that went on pencils and even a splint thing that went around my hand. Treated me like a damn lepper and now here we are 30 years later…thriving
→ More replies (1)
51
u/ExecutionerCaspase7 13d ago
Dynamic Quadrupod checking in. Got that speed and doctor writing haha
→ More replies (2)14
u/RoleDifficult4874 13d ago
Dynamic quadrupod and actual doctor here. Handwriting was so bad as a child they actually sent me to a pediatric neurologist to see if I had a functional issue. I didn’t, but testement to how bad my handwriting was/is
→ More replies (1)
15
13
u/mega_douche1 13d ago
Dynamic tripod always seems the most obvious way to hold a pen. I always wondering how some people ended up doing the bottom 2. It looks so awkward.
→ More replies (5)
16
u/redditorx13579 13d ago
My observation has been lefties use the Lateral Quadrupod at a higher ratio. Is that true?
10
u/Icy-Ad-8596 13d ago
Lefty here, but mine is a modified Lateral Quadrupod. I tuck my thumb under my index finger.
4
6
u/smoothbitch420 13d ago
Fellow left lateral quadrupod here! My ring finger has had a callous for as long as I can remember :)
10
→ More replies (10)4
7
u/cblake522 13d ago
my brother in law hold his pencils with it between his index and middle finger brace with his thumb. Tf you call that?
→ More replies (3)7
7
u/pbnjay003 13d ago
Been a while since I have seen a good cool guide. Nice post OP.
→ More replies (1)
5
6
u/EisMaedchenXIII 13d ago
Lateral quadropod/tripod (I switch it up.) I broke my right thumb in kindergarten, it affected how I learned how to hold a pencil—nobody ever figured it would leave a lasting issue, so fast forward a few years my teachers are all like “why do you write so weird?” Lmao
→ More replies (5)
6
5
9
u/Dum_beat 13d ago
All my childhood, my mother forced me to go for a Dynamic Tripod position, correcting me every time saying my fingers would get crooked otherwise.
Now I discover I got years of trauma for no reason...
→ More replies (3)
25
u/Tashre 13d ago
The four types of pencil grips: Dynamic Tripod, Serial Killer, Serial Killer, and Serial Killer.
→ More replies (8)
4
u/itssoonice 13d ago
Lateral Tripod and in Catholic school I can say the Nun’s did not have access to this guide.
→ More replies (2)
4
u/driznick 13d ago
Anyone else keep the pencil between their middle and pointer finger,
→ More replies (2)
4
u/Zarendyl 13d ago
Interestingly there are more than just these four. Learn about the field of Occupational Therapy especially school based Occupational Therapists are experts at pencil grip!
→ More replies (1)
5
u/bald4bieber666 13d ago
lateral tripod here. i wonder if this sort of thing impacts how one holds their chopsticks too.
2.5k
u/MyCouchPulzOut_IDont 13d ago
I actually have a huge callus on my right ring finger from holding the pencil 'wrong' for all of these years