Lefties are used to adapting and over-coming in a right-biased world, so of course we can use fountain pens! There are numerous resources and discussions out there on the subject to help, though none are as fun as this. It was great seeing how much fun you two were having!

@user-ms1zf5ql6q

Жыл бұрын

Ура нам всем!! Ура левшам!!!

When my mom was in school in the south in the 30’s she was forced to stop writing with her left hand and learn to write with her right hand. I’m the youngest of three siblings. The only thing I do left handed is write. I’ve always thought it was a way of honoring my mom even though I had no idea she was forced to change till I was in high school. I’m an underwriter and never had issues with smearing ink.

@user-ms1zf5ql6q

Жыл бұрын

В СССР переучивали до 70 х, потом настали шариковые ручки и перестали. Но я в школу ходила уже при Горбачеве, был развал страны, над нами ставили опыты: я пишу правой. Это очень трудно! Но были у нас советские учителя и они отстояли мое право рисовать левой рукой! И я рисую уже 34 года.и очень благодарна простому советскому учителю Леониду Семеновичу Жойдику, который подарил мне Мир Творчества! Как говорит мой преподаватель по скрипке ( она левша и ее еще переучивали): Я же думала, что ВСЕМ так неудобно! Как хорошо, что сейчас в нашей стране вновь возвращаются к нормальной системе обучения и левши будут счастливы!

Thank you for doing this video. Every left hander, and I am one, has usually spent many years struggling to make the whole writing thing work. Nibs are now a lot better than those I could afford when young and I find that any good medium nib works very well indeed. Watches - Right handers don't think about this one - watches are worn on the left wrist because a righty will automatically want to use the right hand to pull any sleeve up to read it. Also for a right hander the watch get's less bashed on the left wrist. Many lefties wear the watch on their right wrist for this reason. My writing improved overnight when a family member encouraged me to sit square to the paper, sit upright and let my elbow come in to my side. You would refer to it as underwriting? I was 9 at the time, perhaps easier to learn then. Holding the pen higher on the grip and straightening the fingers holding the pen can help a lot too. Different muscles come into play. Let us not forget though. statistically left handers are somewhat less co-ordinated and so fine muscle movement can be another issue for us. Thumbs up on the Safari. The Safari left handed nib is really good. Though, I can see no difference in the nib grind from a Lamy medium (using a loupe). Lamy pens work very well for me... But then so does my Pilot 823. (Medium nib).

Thank you, Stephen and Peter. Very useful and shared with several left-handers.

I find it most easy to write normally and naturally by tilting the paper anywhere between 45 to 90 degrees. As a result, i very seldomly have problems of any kind with respect to writing angle and handedness. Any notebooks or hardcovers that have bulky spines relative to the area of the paper are troublesome for me, though, so sometimes I start books from the right rather than left.

I'm a lefty over writer but without the 'hook'. What I do that I've hardly seen done on 'lefty videos' is turn the page/journal 45° counter-clockwise. This allows me to a write a flowing cursive italic without the fear of smudging. Even with a 1.5 stub. I don't write straight up and down cursive, In those cases I just write block script, as I've done most of my working life.

As a die hard leftie and an underwriter along with a printer only, thank you for this video. Good Job

Here's a tip for all the lefties: Look up Palmer's method. The trick is to turn the paper about 90 degrees clockwise. Then you get the "pulling" motion of your pen just as a rightie would. As you write, your hand gets closer to your chest. No smudges, very comfortable, easy to keep the rightward slant. There's a video that helped me a ton, called "Left hand Palmer is easier" made by a guy who is ambidextrous.

@peterhofmann8292

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tip, will certainly look it up👍

I’m a lefthanded fountainpen user and I solved most of my writingproblems (smearing and cramps) by turning the paper 45 degrees counter clockwise. It’s like the overhanded writingstyle but without the clawgrip.

@peterhofmann8292

5 жыл бұрын

I was going to mention that, but only occurred to me after we did the video.

@commonlongfield

5 жыл бұрын

That's been my solution too. I've been able to use wetter pens and ink with only the occasional smear. An added benefit is that I can see what I'm writing most of the time.

@benjaminvleugels5609

2 жыл бұрын

I know I'm a little late to this but yeah I do the same not a lot of people mention this tho

Fascinating. I've recently retrained myself to be an underwriter. My writing is still a little shaky but is improving - oh & I LOVE red inks!

Thanks for addressing some of our LH writing issues. As a sidewriter for over 60 yrs., a comfortable combination of F nibs and Lamy blue inks on quality paper works for me. Contoured section grips have always been a curse (OUCH). I have always worn my wristwatch on my R hand since it interferes with other tasks as well. Very interesting videos for the FP community. Keep it up!

Last comment Pelican, Pilot and Sailor are dry fast drying inks, simple and cheap They are old inks been around a long time These brands the blue/black are water resistant so that helps a lot to stop smudging if your hand goes over the writing

Thank you for this video

what was the zucchini with a nib jammed in it?

@sbrebrown

5 жыл бұрын

A custom pen by William Shakour. Instagram ordering only

thanks, gents. My Dad was a natural leftie, but writing with his left hand was beaten out of him at school. His writing was amazing, very consistent, slanted strongly to the right - and almost totally illegible unless you were a blood relative - somehow we were inculcated to the cult without noticing! Before the biro he must have used fountain pens, but I never saw him do so - he would have used his right hand anyway. His writing would have been WILD in an PF and Proper Ink. He used a knife, to filet anything, with his right hand, and because he did so much (brought up as a trawlerman) it was like watching a ballet, but he would sometimes, just pick up and use something with is left and. In a way he became ambidextrous. He was very intelligent anyway, but being forced to use the wrong hand probably developed centres of his brain which most of us never use.

As a lefty I was a "hooker" then upon discovering fountain pens I went to under writing. Finally I have been practicing with my right hand. I thought it would take a week, it took 3 months... but now I am ambidextrous as far as writing goes. Weird fact, my handedness has totally different writing styles, I thought except for slant it would look the same, nope; looks like two different people did the writing.

@theinkperator8804

5 жыл бұрын

What hand do you prefer to write with?

@1952Obiwan

2 жыл бұрын

As a lefty overwriter, an important pen feature for me is a short grip to tip ratio. Huge nibs and long grips are impossible with my grip.

@jacknemo8021

2 жыл бұрын

@@1952Obiwan with the so called "calligrapher's grip" I find the ratio less important to the hand.

One other small point is to sit somewhat to the right side of a desk rather than the middle. This gives more elbow room if you are a side or over writer.

I'm left handed but am an under-writer. I used to be an over writer but it was uncomfortable and not very satisfying to use a fountain pen. I generally used a ballpoint or later a gel pen. After rediscovering fountain pens - an Elysee in my case I started writing under-writer manner and have adopted this. I also started using a sloping writing desk which made writing much easier. So far as nibs are concerned, I prefer a fine nib to a medium or broad but this is a personal preference. I would also add that paying attention to the angle of the paper and your own angle to the desk when sitting can make a big difference to the comfort of writing. Wildly off subject you can also write in shorthand vertically down the page and work from the right side to the inner side of the paper. Writing in shorthand also has the added benefit that few people can read shorthand these days and so it functions as a kind of encryption.

It took me 70 years but I have discovered finally that I can just write with my right hand-its slower, I have to print, but its beautiful to me and SO much more comfortable. With a little practice anybody can do it. Free at last! Forget about all these left hand issues and 'solutions.' Just switch!

First of all I want to thank You guys for your brilliant work :-) This is great and useful episode! I’m lefty and I use fountain pens as my primary writing instrument for quite few years. All my studies was with my first fountain pen Parker Jotter M nib. All that Peter said I figured out by my own and sometimes messy experience. ;-) My writing position is similar as Peter’s but I’m slightly more over-writer.And also when I'm wearing a watch it is always on my _right_ hand ;-) In my opinion paper is the most important!(fore years i was using Pelikans brilliant black ink and i almost didn’t know about fascinating ink world around me. ;-) I’m discovering it now along with other fantastic fountain pens) Thank You Mr Stephen! ;-) :-)

I, too, am left-handed. Thanks so much for this video. I'm an overwriter who holds his pen at about a 45 degree angle. For a long time, I used a Waterman pen (unknown model because it was a gift) with Waterman Blue Black ink and a Parker Sonnet (both fine points) with Parker Quink (blue) ink on cheap, government-provided paper with no feathering, bleed-through or smearing. As I proceeded down the rabbit hole of this hobby and bought different pens and inks, I found the government paper didn't work so well anymore, so I bought Rhodia paper to use at work, which worked well for me. Some inks I've bought with longer drying times have been a disaster, so I've focused on buying faster-drying inks. Many of the Pilot Iroshizuku and Diamine inks have worked well for me, even with a 1.1 stub nib. Writing right-handed definitely creates fewer problems, but lefties shouldn't be deterred from using fountain pens, trust me.

writing with the left makes a lot more sense, since you have the right to handle the mouse in your computer, while you can still be writing with your left. Most right handed people can´t use the mouse with the left - but left handed can use it with the right

@_Michiel_

5 жыл бұрын

Um, sorry, not all lefties can. I for one can't use a mouse with my right hand. At all. It would be nice if I could.

@endi3386

4 жыл бұрын

Michiel van der Meulen Well most can I’d say because most computers are set up like that

I am left-handed and I use European EF nibs and Japanese F nibs. And I love them, M and B nibs are not for me. I don't find them scratchy at all. I am on the over-writing and side-writing side and yes, I always get mi hand stained with ink (well, that's not an actual issue form me), the problem is that sometimes part of the ink on my hand gets transferred to the paper I am writing on. I use an extra piece of paper as a shield to prevent it from happening. All that I can say is that I love fountain pens and, as any right-handed writer, you just have to find the perfect match of nib, ink and paper that fits your writing style.

Great information

Thanks your good information for lefties , I'm also lefty

I was very much attracted to the beauty and style of fountain pens as a young boy at school 11-12 years of age. But as a left hander, with a terrible technique and horrendous smudging I gave up on it. Now 55 years old, I think I am inspired enough to have another crack at it!! Thankyou.

I love your fathers handwriting, it so Nice.

what works for me lefty underwriter, is the placement of my paper, it's alwyas shifted to the left ...

When we got to high school at 11 years old we had to stop writing in copperplate We were taken by the art master and were taught italic We had to write in italic for the first two years of high school I held my pen two ways, the regular grip and a grip through my first and second fingers held in position by my thumb This gave a very high angle to the pen and accentuated the italic and had my hand below the writing line When we no longer had to write italic I reverted to a regular grip Fast forward many years I write Hebrew with a fountain pen Hebrew is right to left So functional it is the same problems of writing english left handed I went back to my two finger grip (first and second with the thumb to stabilize) I can write hebrew with no problem Kawako have good ball point nibs that are very smooth

I'm a lefty and I basically turn the page so that instead of writing from left to right, I write up to down (towards me) and that way you can under write so your wrist is totally relaxed and you have no chance of getting ink on you no matter what ink you use also you can see what your writing. Also it's good for keeping a consistent slant to your writing. Great video keep up the good work boys.

I am a longtime fountain pen user and a left handed overwriter. Like most lefties, I learned to adapt to a righthanded world. I use regular nibs, usually Mediums. I tried a left handed Lamy leftie nib, but did not enjoy it, mainly because of my overwriter hand position and way that the nib lays down a lime. I tilt my paper way to the left. And the paper I use is fairly absorbent, but not a sponge. I prefer sugar-cane fiber paper from Franklin-Christoph and Office Depot. The latter is very reasonably priced. I have ordered the dry inks, but I can never remember what they are. So, I just use all of the inks out there and seem to deal with it okay.

Thanks for this video, Peter and dr Brown. A left handed overwriter since 1964 . The best writer from my experience is the parker vp...made with the dialable .nib. They were made between 1962 and 64. The parker 75 had the same twist ability of the nib. They were a bit shorter and a bit thinner. They're great writers if you keep the cap posted but for a person with a larger hand go for a vp.

I am an over writer but my wrist stays neutral and I slant the paper about 45 degrees to the left. This means my hand does not touch the wet ink.

Such a nice location!! Way better that your usual off-white sliding closet doors 😆

I am able to write backwards, as Leonardo. It's a fun party trick. But more interesting is that my left-handed backwards writing is very similar to my normal right-handed style. (I'm ambidextrous for most everything.) I believe my mother pushed me to be right-handed when I was young. As I matured, I found I could use both hands equally well (or bad). I don't have problems with smearing, as I am an underwriter. However, I do write with a slight backwards slant with my left hand.

@tonycrayford3893

Ай бұрын

Yes, I've found one of my mirror script brothers. I learnt about di Vinci doing it when I was 13 and taught myself and as a rebellious teen refused to write in any other way. I used a Sharpie bleeding through the page to make it readable to "normies." My script now is the same whether I write L2R or R2L, R2L is mostly reserved for my journals and the occasional party trick. My signature is always mirrored. One weird quirk I've picked up is no matter the direction of writing my cursive f is always backwards.

I am a lefty / side writer. I don't really have any issue smudging. I use fine and extra fine nibs with Noodler's Heart of Darkness or Pilot Syo Ro. I use a Taroko Mystique and Leuchtturm. Drying time, nib size, and paper need to be considered but it's definitely possible. Buffing nibs with a little micro mesh makes most scratchiness go away.

That green one isn’t a pen, it’s a cucumber! Always glad to see the lefty perspective on fountain pens, the only thing I haven’t quite figured out is flex nibs.

My wife is a lefty underwriter with beautiful handwriting, and she never smudges. So it can be done. Of course, it probably helps if you have Catholic school nuns "guiding" you, as she did.

@VoxUrania

5 жыл бұрын

Or your Mother was a school teacher and Insisted. That was my incentive. 🙃

@DitasVeg

4 жыл бұрын

I am also a lefhander, underwriter, happy user of fountain pens! I belong to the first Spanish generation of left handers who were not forced to write (and hold a spoon) with their right hands (BTW our Catholic nuns resorted to tie their left hands to the back of the chair). But this was a lot of years ago, back to Franco's regime...It's curious, because all my life I've been able to know, when spotting a left-hander, that they are approximately my age. If they write with their left hand, they cannot be much older. Except, of course, if they have been raised abroad. The only active left handers my parents were able to see were actors and foreign politicians on TV.

The Noodler's Bernanke series of inks are made for lefties... Gave a couple bottles to a left-handed friend starting out w fountain pens

Very useful, though I am a writey (see what I did there?). Excellent video to help all of my lefty friends.

As a leftie, I’ve been writing with a fountain pen since I was about 8 (taught to use a fountain pen), and I’m now 50. If I try to write with a roller ball or ballpoint, my writing looks considerably worse, so it’s a bit of a necessity. I can attest to the ink on the back of the hand. Parker and Waterman inks are very good for lefties, as they dry pretty quickly and I’ve always preferred a medium nib. Definitely a side writer.

Most of the left handlers I know wear a watch on the right wrist, the reason being that in the old days, and coming back again, is using the left hand to wind the watch or to reset it.

Hey Have You seen the New WingSung 3013 which is VacFiller. I am waiting for your Review on the pen.

Leftie underwriter: changed my grip to more conventional tripod-style at end of secondary to get better control; not at all sure ‘let them write with whichever hand they prefer’ pedagogy did me any favours: doing things right handedly always feels awkward and wrong-way-round to me but eventually I get used to it!: inspired by your leftie commenter who got so frustrated by challenges that s/he became ambidextrous :)

Will you be reviewing the wing sung 3013? It looks really good for the price

Whoops well done too Stephen.

I know the pain of left handed writing in college I’m meant to use a fountain pen but they let me use a ball point as the pens never work so I’m working in ball point atm

Underwriting with big slope to the page! Works every time

I am sinister. Started proper with a BIC tri grip cheapie and moved on to Parker Vector and Urban after that. Since those simple years I have disappeared down the rabbit hole and have too many pens. FPN is occasionally helpful.

Well done Peter, I do more of a hoooker style of overwriting and will turn my papers. Plus my slants change with my style of writing. As a side writer I naturally slant to the left.....after a few ruler knuckle wraps in my grade 5 class on cursive from my teacher in AB I adapted to hooker style to create a right handed slope to mirror the books used in class.

It took me five minutes to realise that they aren't in two screens haha

I underwrite when I print and side write when I am using cursive. I cannot get comfortable with cursive and a fountain pen, always pushing into the paper. I've tried turning the page (I end up turning my whole body to compensate which makes it a waste of time) and underwriting with no luck so I just stick to printing instead and signing my name with a ballpoint/rollerball. I'm going to start trying broader nibs to see if the increased surface area on the page makes a difference. I've found stubs/italics to be no good as they're like a blade.

I grew up in England in the 60s Fountain pens were compulsory Ball points were forbidden and work would be rejected The pen company Osmiroid made fountain pens specifically for the school student They had a selection of 7 nibs for regular writing and 5 italic nibs They also had nibs specially for left hand writers, 2 regular and 5 italic The left hand nibs were cranked to the left so they wouldn’t scratch So this helped the left handers Of course the only ink available was Parker Quicks ink which dried very quickly

@peterhofmann8292

5 жыл бұрын

Osmiroid, brings back memories. I started using FP's in the mid 70's at the boarding school attended. Like you ball points (biro's) were not tolerated and the only other option was pencil.

I’m interested in his watch lol. It looked like a Tissot (forgot the name but it’s ani-digi or a Breitling Aerospace. 🤔😂

@peterhofmann8292

5 жыл бұрын

It is actually a Breitling Chronospace 😊 HTH

I thought watches were always worn on the off hand, to protect the watch?

What is that red pen & nib? I would like to purchase one.

@sbrebrown

4 жыл бұрын

It is a Classic Pens LB5

Quink was named as it was considered a Qui drying Ink. Hence Quink

What was the giant green pen?

Left handed side writer here. No real issues in day to day writing on copy paper as it soaks up the ink so fast but I over write when I use Tomoe River or Clarifontain or I smear the paper a ton. I love the shimmer and sheening inks and those look the best on good paper so the lefty struggle is real. I want to learn to be an under writer but so far I'm failing terribly. I think I need a higher chair or lower writing surface. I can't figure out what to do with my left arm. Any suggestions?

@peterhofmann8292

5 жыл бұрын

Have you tried rotating the paper 45 degrees to your right? It was something I was going to mention but forgot. The shimmer / sheening inks I am currently using are Nemosine Blue Snowball Nebula and Coalsack Nebula, Diamine moon dust, and a couple of the J Herbin inks (Emerald de Chivor). I find that writing slower (as opposed to what I do in the video) helps with ink absorption, and reduces the smear. HTH

@gertahnstrom784

5 жыл бұрын

Try twisting the paper so that your customary side write position becomes slightly under. It requires some space at the surface used to write on, but is worth experimenting with. Also try inverting every stroke that a rightie would do, as in write an "a" but do every stroke the opposite direction from what is taught to right handed people. Here you can use a calligraphy guide, with arrows and possibly even numbers of strokes, which can also be experimented with.

@peterhofmann8292

5 жыл бұрын

@@gertahnstrom784 appreciate the tip👍

@Ryan_H22

5 жыл бұрын

@@peterhofmann8292 Thanks! I've tried rotating the paper but maybe not far enough. I'll work with that some more and see what happens!

@Ryan_H22

5 жыл бұрын

@@gertahnstrom784 Thanks for the tips! I appreciate it!

i had a stroke and i have to figure out how to write again. proud leftie. i believe im an underwriter

I really thought they were at different houses and the screen divided by that line that actually isn't a line

Great topic, even though I’m righty. Seems that lefties would be even more fussy about nib smoothness than right handers. And geez...having to at times consider where you wear your watch? Well I guess we do what we gotta do to pursue our interests. Peter...not sure if it is the color itself, or its typical bad behavior, but if you haven’t tried it already, you may want to give Schaefer Skrip red a try. It’s a true red and lightning fast to dry. But best of all, it cleans out very easily.

I knew a girl in high school that loved to write but got so frustrated with writing left handed that she had taught herself to write right handed. A bit extreme for most people but it worked for her.

Noodler´s Bernanke dries super super fast.

peter check out MICK L's channel he is a left hand reviewer who seems to have no problems

My mom was a lefty and she would turn her paper upside down to write.

I can't overwrite, but I can sidewrite and underwrite. I no longer care about smudging, it is a feature of my writing.

Peter: yes yes, yes Stephen: yes... Yes yes

Thank you both. I just discovered that I am a lefty underwriter. apparently. New taxonomy.

Almost every stroke of his is a side stroke. That flex nib was useless for his style. I’ve taught myself to underwrite and that’s the only way to get line variation. He should try turning his paper clockwise just a hair to see if he can get a more up and downstroke angle.

I am left handed and really dtruggle wit smearing so I know why it’s like

I'm a left handed and it is so funny when people think I am gay cause I wear my watch on the right wrist. This is a dumb cultural belief in mexico, but I prefer to be comfy instead of following odd social conventions. Talking about pens, I'd never seen a LH nib in any stores here in mexico, which makes me sad. But I'm used to normal nibs

Здравствуйте! Большое спасибо за то, что делитесь опытом! Нелегко нам, левшам, в этом праворуком мире, пора объединятся🤪😊 и творить красоту! Ведь зачем-то же нас послали в этом мир? Сердечный привет из Сибири 😊♥️☘️🍀

Thank God for non-underwriters out there..

Combine the facts there are lots of "Israeli" pens and that Hebrew is written from right to left and you'll conclude that lefties shouldn't have any problem to use a fountain pen (unless they are holding it wrong :-) ).

It just hurts seeing over or side writing, I just don’t understand why lefty cannot be good underwriters like most of rightys.

@BIBLEBELIEVERSVIDEO

5 жыл бұрын

I agree... it hurts to watch overwriting and side writing. Underwriting just takes a little discipline to learn, and the payoff is great. As a lefty underwriter, I never worry about inks or nibs, but use what I need for the occasion.

As a fellow sinistral I can't believe what I have just watched. I assume that the reason you write the way you do is because that was how you were taught. And if it was, your teaching was wrong, and you would now find it very difficult to correct. It is obvious that you have either been taught to hold the pen the way you do, or, have seen how right handed people held pens and just adopted a mirror image of it. Wrong. That would only work if you were writing right to left- which after all a large proportion of the worlds population does. It's no wonder that this myth of lefties smudging their writing has grown up. It's obvious watching you that you can't even see what you are writing. And this shows in your writing. I would suggest that you take a look at how people who write from right to left hold their pens. After all most of them are right handed. You will notice that they hold their writing instruments in an upright position- as I do as a sinistral- not with the bent wrist as you do. I have seen in other demonstrations of left handed writing the bizarre over the top writing- Obama style- and the turn the paper sideways style, neither of which are necessary if the pen is held in the correct left handed position.

I find both of your handwriting skills to be terrible. But I'm happy you enjoyed your little sleepover.