Clever Pen Tricks

Pentix - Tricks: "Here, you will find all the secrets to the tricks that pen spinners are so proud of."

(Via LifeHacker: How to do Pen Tricks.)

Following the list at LifeHacker, I have mastered 5 of the 6 that are advertised. I did not know that they even have names for such tricks. I learned my first trick when I was 14. Someone in school taught the 360 normal to me. After I had mastered that, I learned the the Charge Normal, Sonic Normal, 360 Degree Reverse and the Sonic Reversal. And then today I stumble across the Index Spin. I spent a few minutes trying it out and it seems pretty doable for me. So I hope to master it by tomorrow. It gets easier as you master more tricks.

I am right handed, but the surprising thing is that I am able to reproduce the same tricks (albeit not as beautifully executed) on my left hand without any training at all! This seems really weird but maybe after you teach yourself how to do it, your left hand just imitates it. Seems to be that way for other games that I have tried: badminton and table tennis.

Anyway, just nice to see that someone has actually put up a website to teach people pen tricks. Unfortunately, I was not able to play the videos on my powerbook. I wonder if anyone can actually pick these tricks up by reading. Seems a lot easier when someone just shows you how and you figure out what to do yourself. Some of the instructions are very lengthy and too mechanical. Most of the time, just by practicing, your fingers can figure things out.