Fig. 19.
Fig. 20.
The outside faces of the pen should be slightly curved, so that when held vertically, as in Figure 20 (the dotted line representing the centre of the length of the instrument), and against the square blade S, the point will meet the paper a short distance from the lower edge of S as shown. By this means it is not necessary to adjust the square edge exactly coincident with the line, but a little way from it. This is an advantage for two reasons: first, the trouble of setting the square-edge exactly coincident is avoided, and, secondly, the liability of the ink to adhere to the edge of the square-blade and flow on to the paper and make a thick, ragged line, is prevented.
The square being set as near to the line as desired, the handle may be held at such an angle that the pen-point will just meet the line when sloped either as in Figure 21 or 22. If, however, the slope be too much in the direction shown in Figure 21, practice is necessary to enable the drawing of straight lines if they be long ones, because any variation in the angle of the instrument to the paper obviously vitiates the straightness of the line. If, on the other hand, the square be too close to the line, and the pen therefore requires to be sloped as in Figure 22, the ink flowing from the pen-point is apt to adhere to the square-edge, and the result will be a ragged, thick line, as shown in Figure 23.
Fig. 21.