Pen Tricks - Thumb Spinning, Forward and Reverse

I just recently learned how to spin a pen around my thumb in reverse so I thought I'd post this up for anyone that ever wanted to learn how to spin a pen around their thumb. I know there's a few here on how to spin it forward, but none in reverse. I hope you can find this helpful. As always, please rate this instructable if you like it.

You will learn to spin a pen (any ordinary pen, none of that weighted stuff) around your thumb toward your hand, catch it, then send it back in reverse. These tricks normally take a long time to master. You will drop your pen a lot, but don't give up. After enough practice you will find yourself spinning away and not even realizing it. I find myself doing this all day during school.

What you will need:

Any pen or pencil* (just in case you didn't know)
Your thumb, index, and middle finger

*Note you can do this with other objects as well, For example, a putty knife.

I'm not sure if this trick has an official name. I just call it the forward spin, simple enough. With that said, let's begin.

Finger Position: You'll want to hold the pen between your thumb and index finger as seen in the photo. Also, you'll want to place your middle finger on the pen slightly behind the index finger.

Pen Position: You'll want to place the pen in your fingers at a point where once spun it will be balanced on the backside of your thumb. Find this mark by balancing the pen on the back of your thumb, then rotate it around to it's starting position.

Middle Finger Push: Here's the tricky part. Simultaneously push the pen with your middle finger and move your index finger back off of the pen. You'll want to put just enough force behind your middle finger to cause the pen to rotate around your thumb and back into your fingers. Too hard and it will fly off into the air. Too soft and it will fall to the ground. Watch the video if you're having trouble with this.

Once you've completed a forward spin, and have the pen back in starting position you can readjust the pen to spin forward again, or you can send it back where it came from. This one is a little trickier to learn (for me anyways). You'll note from the video that I have yet to master this one.

Finger Position: You'll want to hold the pen just as you do when writing.

Pen Position: Just as in the forward spin you'll want to place the pen in your fingers at a point where once spun it will be balanced on the backside of your thumb. Find this mark by balancing the pen on the back of your thumb, then rotate it around to it's starting position.

Index Drop: Once everything is set you'll want to squeeze the pen slightly between your thumb and index finger. Then slide and drop your index finger off of the pen, this motion will push the pen back around your thumb ready to be spun back again.

Ending Notes:

Try not to get too frustrated when you drop your pen for the one thousandth time.

Have control of your pen, don't go too fast while sitting next to someone. It may fly off your thumb and hit them to your embarrassment.

There are many more tricks you can do with your pen, google Pen Tricks to learn these as well

And again, If you found this Instructable helpful please rate it

Good Luck, and Happy Spinning