Until recently, I was convinced that the writing experience was a function of (the combination of) paper, ink, and nib. In other words, the penholder was not relevant — to be sure, it’s pleasant, and perhaps motivating, to pick up a beautiful penholder, but I was convinced that the basic plastic/black holder wrote just as well as any of its more expensive colleagues.
I gradually realised that, when using nibs that are somewhat stiff (such as the Zebra or the Nikko G, as compared to nibs such as the Lenny Principal, Hunt 101, or the Gillott 303), it does make a difference to use a penholder that is a bit more rigid than the basic plastic version.
Now, as I’m sure you know, basic plastic holders are quite cheap (they can be bought from EU websites at less than 5 EUR), and (but) more sophisticated holders are significantly more expensive (wooden holders start from approx. EUR 15 and go all the way up to EUR 100 or above).
Since most of the nicer oblique holders are offered by non-EU vendors, they need to be “imported” into our Union… which recently decided to “crack down” on supposedly false custom declarations (a USD 100 item being declared as having a value of USD 5, etc.). So, at present, all items coming into the Union are subject to customs duties. And to VAT (20% or ore, unless sold by a webshop that pre registered within the EU and pays the VAT itself). And to… customs clearance charges. For example, in Belgium, the postal operator charges the equivalent of USD 20 for “clearing” your parcel (i.e. for charging you customs duties and VAT on that parcel). In short, ordering from non-EU suppliers is often unattractive for EU residents.
That’s why I thought that I would signal my discovery of a European vendor of a oblique penholder that (based on my experience) writes significantly better than the basic plastic model… and is sold at a quite reasonable EUR 7 (approx. USD 7.5 at current exchange rates).
What I like about this penholder is that it is significantly more rigid than it’s plastic colleague, that it has a bit more girth (resulting in a better grip, at least for me), while being *very* light - the weight difference with the plastic holder is almost imperceptible, at least for me.
The item is sold by lecalligraphe(dot)com, a French webshop.
I have enclosed a few pictures. In the picture with the five holders, the le calligraphe item is the second one from the left.
To be clear, I have no affiliation with this vendor whatsoever, I’m merely an impressed customer.
