_SLANTED SHAFT, &c._--Most people are accustomed to holding a pen slanted away from the right shoulder. The nib therefore is cut at [p066] an oblique angle[13] to the shaft, so that, while the shaft is slanted, _the edge of the nib is parallel with the horizontal line of the paper_, and will therefore produce a horizontal thin stroke and a vertical thick stroke. For example: if the shaft is held slanted at an angle of 70° with the horizontal, the nib is cut at an angle of 70° with the shaft (fig. 42). The angle of the nib with the shaft may vary from 90° (at right angles) to about 70°, according to the slant at which the shaft is held (fig. 43).
If the writer prefers an extremely slanted shaft, to cut the nib correspondingly obliquely would weaken it, so it is better to counteract the slant by slightly tilting the paper (fig. 44).
To produce the _horizontal thin stroke_, therefore:
_The slant at which the shaft is held_, _The angle at which the nib is cut_, and _The tilt which may be given to the paper_: [p067]
must be so adjusted, one to another, that the chisel edge of the nib is parallel to the horizontal line of the paper. Before writing, make trial strokes on a scrap of paper to see that this is so: the vertical thick strokes should be square ended and the full width of the nib, the horizontal strokes as fine as possible.
_HORIZONTAL SHAFT, &c._--_The pen shaft is held approximately horizontal._ This will be found the natural position for it when the slope [p068] of the desk is about 50° or 60°. It gives complete control of the ink in the pen, which can be made to run faster or slower by slightly elevating or depressing the shaft (fig. 45).
_The writing-board may be slightly lowered or raised_ with the object of elevating or depressing the pen shaft (fig. 46 & p. 118).
_The pen makes a considerable angle with the writing surface_, so that the ink, which is held in the hollow of the nib, comes in contact with the paper at the very extremity of the nib, making very fine strokes (_a_, fig. 47).
_The spring is adjusted carefully_, the tip being approximately 1/16 inch from the tip of the nib. The nearer the spring is to the end of the nib, the faster the ink flows. The loop must be kept flattish in order to hold the ink well (see fig. 35). [p069]