As a lefty sidewriter who has been using fountain pens daily for a few years, here are my tips: -You mentioned finer nibs, for sidewriters, I find that fine or extra fine are really scratchy to me, I don't ever buy anything but medium or broad usually. My daily use pens are: Faber-Castell Loom , Faber-Castell Ondoro , and a Pilot Vanishing Point . The softer feeling nibs seem to be the best for me to keep a smooth feel and steady flow. -I also find wetter inks flow better for me as a "pusher" of the pen, Diamine, Akkerman, and J. Herbin are my go-to choices, although, wetter means it will smudge if you drag your hand in it. -To keep from smudging, rather than changing styles, I just try to use only narrow top bound notebooks. Favorites are: Rhodia pads that are 5.8" wide. I can reach across without dragging my hand through what I wrote. -Lastly, I'm super excited to see this new series, I haven't been paying much attention to my pen vloggers lately as I"m trying to let my pocketbook heal... I'm really interested to see how the flex nibs episode works because I found them to be almost unusable as a sidewriter.
Great tips, Lydia. As a leftie over-side writer, I just write with a small visconti sheet of blotter paper when I'm using an especially slow drying ink. (Lots of Noodlers inks are exceptionally slow, even though I love them) I find the regular J. Herbin inks to be great for fast drying without feathering. (In contrast to Noodler's severely feathering Bernanke inks.) Keep it up, Lydia. You are serving an info starved audience of lefties here. Thank You.
My daughter is a lefty, A few months ago, I bought my first fountain pen to write with, later on, she picked it up and started writing with it and she just lite up! She was so surprised by how smooth and easy it writes. Picked up a Kakuna for her and now she writes with it in middle school. She is a side writer but we are trying to turn her into an underwriter during summer vacation. Thank you for these videos. I know its just a beginning, but I would love a series about dry inks for lefties.
Any of the Pelikan 4001, Robert Oster, LAMY, or Graf von Faber-Castell inks are on the drier side and would be great options for lefties. :) So happy your daughter is loving her fountain pens. It really is an eye-opening experience for a lefty, when you find these pens. -Lydia
BurstAngel I am a lefty and have been writing with fountain pens since second grade. (I went to Catholic school and it was required.) I’m happy for your daughter.
unless she really wants to - don't turn her into an underwriter. It's uncomfortable and honestly quite painful to not let your hand flow the way it wants to. let her write as she wants. - a sidewriter who was forced to become an underwriter
@@lilyambrosia1416 I’m well into middle age, and I’ve been training myself to underwrite (and improve my penmanship generally) with good results. Far from being painful, pulling the pen across the page, albeit vertically, relieved the life long hand cramps that side writing caused. While it takes effort and persistence, re-learning how to write has been a surprisingly pleasurable experience.
I've been looking forward to this series and am glad to see it begin! I am an overwriter and have been for 60+ years. Before I started writing I used to draw pictures and am sure I have held my drawing or writing instruments the same way my entire life. Although my elementary school teachers either didn't notice or didn't know how to correct my hand position, fountain pens eventually became the best option for me. I have made a couple of attempts in recent years to switch to underwriting, but I just couldn't get it. If I were still having to take notes I probably would use a different kind of pen, probably a rollerball. As I am retired and not enrolled in classes, I can write more slowly and that minimizes smearing. I'd love to hear specific tips from anyone who has been able to retrain from over- to under-writing, though. Thanks, Lydia, for putting this series out there!
I'm a lefty and luckily the down writer and I've been using and loving fountain pens since childhood. For some reason I find them so elegant and beautiful .
this is great... i have been waiting for this... i have been using fountain pen since like primary school but since there are hardly any guidance for left handed user then i quit... thank you alot...
I'm a 58 year old leftie. When I was at school in England all students had to use fountain or cartridge pens. School rule. I still use fountain pens. But not how you demonstrate. I rotate paper 90 degrees clockwise from bottom dead centre. Then I am pulling the pen.... recreating a rightie. Worked for over 44 years for me.
Thanks so much for doing this for us lefties. I’m an underwriter and get very frustrated with stub and flex. Looking forward to any hand lettering tips you might have. I saw a video about using a brush pen to do lettering and they wrote everything out with a light pencil and then did the lettering with the paper upside down. Too confusing for the brain.
Thank you so much! I was following jetpens doing research and they and other sources kept preaching LH nibs or that fountain pens aren't for lefties, stick with ballpoint. Knowing that a fine tip will work makes me feel so much better and open to wanting to try a fountain pen. Thank you Lydia, you rock!
Great video...As a fellow Lefty I feel we are very much underrepresented, keep it up! I've found using the Lamy extra fine nibs in combination with writing blocks that have the spiral at the top makes life much easier for everyday writing.
I like the idea of Videos where your Team mentions what's important for them... So that when someone have an idea they go ahead and do a Video about it... It will probably increases the diversity :D
I'm an overwriting lefty. The main issue I have is smudging the lines above the one I'm writing on. It's almost as if the warmth of my hand re-wets the ink and makes it smudge even though enough time had passed for it to dry. Can be so frustrating!
I didn't even think of that! Good point. Have you tried using a sheet of blotting paper or a blank sheet of paper and keeping it under your writing hand as you go to avoid making contact with the lines above? -Lydia
I'm glad to see some attention given to lefties. I've just slogged along on my own until now. I've bought and trashed some inks I liked that just didn't dry fast enough. Generally, I've found it's not necessarily the pen that's the problem, it's finding the right ink. I'm devoted to Rhodia paper so I just try to find ink that behaves well with it and my pens. I tried underwriting, but it just felt awkward after being an overwriter for 60 years. I appreciate all of the drying examples Goulet pen offers on its website. That helps a lot when thinking about buying a new ink. Anyway, keep the Left Out videos coming.
thank you so much for making this video! and please continue to make the series :) i am a lefty who just, as you put it fell down the fountain pen rabbit hole and it's been a (fun) challenge but still a challenge working through some minor issues that righties just don't seem to have. thanks for the tips and looking forward to more :)
As a leftie I appreciate your video as smudging was my big problem in primary school ( 1950's ) and school dip pens were compulsory. I was the only one allowed a fountain pen in a class of 48 kids. I developed the hook / overhand style to beat the problem. It's no longer such a comfortable grip for long spells of writing as I get older and arthritic, but happily, my writing style with a Waterman Carene still gets compliments.
Finally! I’ve been holding back on buying a fountain pen for this very reason-I’m a lefty and have no idea what would be best for me. Looking forward to the entire series. 👍🏻
Hi Lydia, I am an overwriting lefty. I've found that fine points are very scratch. I use a medium nib, write slightly slower, angle the paper and use good paper. I am looking forward to more of your videos.
First things first, what a great video Lydia! I was a natural ambidextrous kid with all writing/drawing instruments due to hand cramping after about 5 minutes of holding anything that can put a line on paper. When I started to learn how to write at 6 years-old my teacher actually was glad I was an ambidextrous underwriter so I could write for more than just those 5 minutes at a time. Still able to write lefthanded being 35 but usually write right handed now. Especially since I have fountain pens that write as they should (in school I got horrible writing fountain pens and even a Parker Vector wasn't the right fountain pen for me, too scratchy so still had to switch a lot) We now know that Dystonia caused those cramps and I still have problems but now it's gone full-body and my left arm is the worst in both Dystonia symptoms and CRPS symptoms so my range of movement is now limited in my left arm and hand. So especially glad that with a smooth fountain pen I can write for longer periods of time right handed.
Lydia, Thank you for doing this series. I am new to fountain pens and just purchased my first 2 pens from Goulet. Thank you for all of the helpful tips. I look forward to your next video. Sincerely, Lauren S.
The Goulet Pen Company Hi Colin, I remember now that I ordered my pilot metropolitan on amazon and then remembered hearing about your company from boho berry so I went to your site and picked up my LAMY Al Star. Even though it feels like I am teaching myself to write in a whole new way, I am loving it. I can sense that once I get the hang of it that it will completely change my writing experience. Excited for the new video. Thanks again!
Every educator is either right or wrong. They might be, but they should be openminded about it. What matters is their influence. Their ability to shed light to those who don't know about it and in this video, you did very well. Thank you dear leftie. You're the best.
Thank you. Agree as a lefty the fountain pen made it easy to become an underwriter. I tried over writing the other day and it gave my cursive a perfect slant. So thank you for the drier ink tips I will try some of them!
Nice job, Lydia! These videos will be useful for we righties, too. First, to help me understand what challenges our left-handed (the creative people! :-) fountain pen users face. And second, I can use the tips to help an acquaintance who doesn’t think they can use an FP because they’re left-handed.
Thanks Lydia for starting this series! It looks like it will be popular. We lefties are not whiners but there is not a lot of material for us, so I appreciate it when it comes! I really love being left-handed but it can be frustrating sometimes. lol.
Love this series! My fiancée was a very strong leftie. His writing was interesting to see.he would slant the paper to the left, just as right handed person does. Then his hand positioned above the paper with his hand completely upside and. angled to the bottom of the paper and writing had a right slant. Sound confusing? It sure was..
Bleed through seems to be far more important to other people than to me. Since I left school about 66 billion years ago, I don't think I have ever handwritten on both sides of a page in a notepad. The only time I do this is when writing out music, but manuscript paper tends to be thicker and less prone to this. So as for normal doodling and scribbling notes in a pad, if it happens to bleed through a little then it doesn't bother me. It only becomes a problem if it is extreme enough to leave random splodges on the following page in the notebook, which is rare for me.
As a lefty I started out writing from the side and ended up smudging every line, over time I’ve just adapted to writing over the line so now the wetness of the ink and absorption of the paper doesn’t impact my writing as much and I hardly ever smudge my ink. I hope to see more of these videos in the future!
I recently subscribed to Goulet’s TH-cam channel. Did not know this series of videos were there. I just stumbled on this. What a blessing. I turn my page, but I turn it to write like a sidewriter, but at an almost 90 degree angle. It therefore corresponds with the natural angle of my hand, which is writing up and away from me (north of me, if I am seated facing north). It sounds strange, but that is how I have found that I have the least bit of smudging. It helps that the majority of my nibs are fine point, so I am happy for that. I use Chinese fountain pens (Baoer), and for the most part they are nice, but I recently got introduced to the TWSBI, by watching Mr. Goulet. So I think I will order one soon from your website, and will post a review soon.
I'm a southpaw writer as well. I jumped down the rabbit hole 15-20 years ago. I 100% agree with you that the main thing is to enjoy the journey. There are times I got frustrated and had to step back and regroup. Really excited about this new series. You did great! By the way, I now use wet stubs and cursive italics.
I did just like you said in your video. I started with ef and f nibs, absorbent paper, and quickly absorbed inks, all while training myself to be an underwriter. It was much easier than I thought. Keep on writing! Looking forward to your next video. (Btw. This is the first GPC video I've commented on.)
Interesting that you are the only leftie on the team. I was at another shop (Appelboom in the Netherlands) lately, and three of the five employees there are left-handed! Thanks for the video!
Wow! I just learned that i’m an underwriter! :D I use a Lamy Al Star and Safari and they work really well for my grip! :) No wonder i’ve never experienced the ”typical” leftie problems of smudging :’D
Pen twins! I’m a lefty and that was also my exact same first pen! I had to retrain myself to be an underwriter and I only underwrite with fountain pens! I’m still a side writer for everything else. Are there any specific pen/nib combinations that just don’t work for you as a lefty?
Twins! Hooray! I,too, only seem to underwrite with FPs. I avoid other pens and pencils as much as I can because I hate the smudgy hand even more now that it's not a part of everyday life anymore. As for pens that don't work, I really struggled with stub nibs at first (The TWSBI Vac700 was the first one I tried). In the next video, I touch on why. -Lydia
Hi Lydia! I love your Left Out videos. I'm actually right-handed, but I'm having my [left-handed] friend over for a fountain pen day later this week. I'm going to have ready several Pilot Metropolitan and Lamy pens (with a range of nibs). That way she can play around with different pens, nibs and inks to help her figure out which ones she prefers. (I'm planning to gift her one or two, if she likes them enough :) This series has helped me a lot in picking out a subset of items to start with. Thanks so much!
Glad to hear it! Whether a leftie or rightie, fountain pens are a hobby of trial and error, especially when starting out. So this is definitely a great idea to try and get them into it. - Colin
Lefty here, I am an over the line writer, and have a very high angle on the paper. Also I have found that the Noodlers Lubricating Inks work well for me, the dry time seems to be fast enough. I do blot when using a wet ink, wide or flex nibs and premium paper
Lydia, What a great series. Thanks so much. I love fountain pens and I'm enjoying trying to make my hand writting better. But I do have a question maybe you can help with. I tend to write Heavy. I'm an underwriter so I don't have problems with smearing. That's good. but boy no matter what nib I use the writting look Hughley wide. What gives. any guesses? I appreciate any feedback I could get.
Would be interested to know your thoughts on Waverly nibs. Will Goulet ever carry the top bound Webbie? Under writer that holds the pen just short of vertical so Japanese pens are my favorite.
Primary school pretty much scarred me for life becusse of fountain pens. We wrote with them in year five and six and because I was left handed and impatient I could never figure out how to write without smudging but wasn’t allowed to use another pen and got told off for not taking care with my penmanship. Glad I looked this up now 8 years later to see if it was actually possible, I did like how the pen looked when I hadn’t smudged it after all 😂
Fellow lefty! Loving this series so far. I’m an underwriter (usually), so I don’t have many problems with the lefty smudge. We have 2 lefties on my team and I just found out one of my VPs Is a lefty!
Thank you for the lefty bit! I am a lefty, with multiple Metropolitans, a couple Lamy’s, and Jinhao’s. She nailed it with the drier inks and finer nibs!! I’ve found that with the Japanese f and ef nibs using Lamy inks on Rhodia paper is brilliant. I absolutely love Noodlers 54th Mass color, but have yet to find a pen it works well in on Rhodia paper or Leuchtturm paper. But I will keep looking...
My Pilot Metro fine makes 54th Mass usable with basically any paper for me. You may also want to check out Graf von Faber-Castell Midnight Blue or Robert Oster Great Southern Ocean for drier options with the same color. -Lydia
Thank you Lydia! My problem might be that I am comparing Lamy black lines next to the 54th Mass lines, both Metropolitans with EF nibs. The 54th Mass bleeds a lot more...one thing I will do is put away the Lamy black for a couple of weeks and see if that help my perception of the ink. If not I will try the inks you suggested. Thank you again,,!
I appreciate this video, it provides some good basic tips and guidance for lefties who just got into fountain pens. As a sidewriter, that tends to write quite fast as well, i have found some issues with finer nibs. I‘ve been using fountain pens all my life, right now primarily for school, hence the (fored) fast writing style. I love my old, cheap fountain pen to death and I‘d never switch to a ballpoint, however it has been not easy to find the right pen (and ink) for what i need. I tried my luck with TWISBI (just ordered a vac 700R) and I look forward to hopefully finding a good upscale pen that fits me. Also, do any of you have some good „erasable ink“ (idk what the specific term is in english, but i need some because i can’t gable on the fact that I‘ll write 100% errorless)?
As a lefty, practicing calligraphy with an italic nib forced me to become an overwriter, now looking forward for flex nibs advice. Well, about the ideas that worked for me... I have sweaty hands, therefore even dry ink may become a problem for me if it's not permanent. After writing a few lines my hand goes over and over again through the already dry lines and it may come off a bit after a few times. The solution I found is a yoga glove (one of those fabric gloves with the tip of the fingers cut) It avoids the smearing in addition to maintaining a good sensitivity.
At 70 I went from a fumbling lefty overwriter who only used the "2ed third" of the page, so now I tilt the paper to the right and have switched to _underhand_ writing, great for forgeries. mike
I'm a lefty overwritter. I don't hook hand at all, I actually keep my arm and wrist quite straight coming out from my body and I turn the paper 90 counter clockwise to get my whole hand above the line. So my arm moves forward and back like sawing a log, rather than left to right across my body. Everyone says it looks like I'm writing upside down! I love stub nibs! Can wait to see the next video. I find when I use them that all my vertical lines are fat on the way up or down, and everything else is thin due to how I hold the pen.
Not sure if this is constructive, but I'm curious: why do you sometimes write with a three finger grip, and sometimes in a two finger grip, like in the examples of underwriting and sidewriting? I haven't seen anyone do it since first grade, when our teacher buried our resident leftie in left-handed pencil grips until she learned the triangle hold.
Just fell into this as I’m trying to be more conscious of not being so wasteful with pens. And trying to find a refillable (and not an insert) ball point was just not happening. I took calligraphy in high school and while I enjoyed it. I did find it difficult. I’m a lefty side-writer, but I don’t have issues with smudging. Maybe because of how sideways I put my paper 😅. Or because of how I hold my pen? My wedding finger holds the pen, my pinky supports my wedding finger. And then my middle finger is on the top of the pen and my index is also on the pen, but above my middle. then my thumb lays over my index and middle. To simplify things I hold my pen up straight (I really hope that makes sense). But I look forward to this little series.
As an overwriter, I don't usually have problems with the line I'm writing, but I smudge a couple of lines up sometimes. I've learnt to just be conscious of where I place my hand
First of all THANK YOU! I have been looking forward to this since it was announced in WN. I do notice that the pen is held almost straight do you feel that this makes it easier to be an "underwriter"? Just asking as I tend to hold my pen at more of a 45 degree angle to the paper, and so tend to side write. Agree that paper and ink is super important, it was thanks to GPC that I found "dry" inks and then was introduced to Rhodia paper. Once again thanks for putting this together and so looking forward to the next episode. Congrats!
So glad you enjoyed it, Peter! I find my pen angle varies depending on the pen. I have larger hands so I can sometimes get bunched up when trying to hold my pen on the grip section, which would account for the steeper angle. For me, it has less to do with the angle of the pen and more that I cannot picture writing with the pen unless the nib is lined up perpendicular to the line. My focus when writing is always to maintain that alignment. -Lydia
I hold mine between 45 and 65 degrees, depending on the pen. I tend to grip high on the pen as it suits my thick hands better. Most of the time I'm gripping on the lower barrel or top of the section, so friendly threads are important to me.
Great stuff Lydia. I'm a lefty and the trick of using a finer nib did not do it for me... I used to press to hard on the paper. Now I prefer broad nib and i've learned , with practice , to let the pen glide on the paper...
Really good tips! I'm a over-writer(? I tend to curl over my writing) just starting to get into fountain pens and prior to using them I've been using Uni-ball Impact 207, which is a broad, wet ball-point. The type of paper and the style of the book are really important. Absorbant papers work best for me, and though I do most of my writing in hardcover journals & planners, I have some difficulty balancing my hand along the edge of the book when I'm at the extreme beginning or end (you know, trying to make your hand "levitate" along the left side of the page, haha.)
Here's my addition to the subject (tip 4.1 if you will): Just don't give a shit. I have been a lefty for the past 25 years now and I write with fountain pens since I'm 5. I don't and never did give consideration to what I write with. I have double broads, wet inks, whatever, you name it; I buy what I want and don't let my leftyness hold me back. So far I made it work every time, it is very rare that I smudge something. I might add for completeness sake, I have a bit of a particular writing style. I'm an over-writer, but I lay my elbow at the height of my wrist. I am _very_ heavy handed, so I prefer medium and broad nibs, and I like them to be actually a little bit overpolished, but the latter is something I can do at home with some chrome paste.
Ivo Trausch I hold my hand the same way - my wrist is almost completely straight, and I angle the paper only very slightly down on the left. I have found that using a nail buffer (NOT a nail file! A buffer that polishes and makes the nails shiny) works well for taking off the scratchyness. I only use the finest two parts of a nail buffer that has 4 different grits.
Commented on another Goulet video just now, explaining that I am a rightie training himself to use his left hand. Fortunately I seem to have fallen into the underwriter category naturally without even knowing the terminology or knowing there were other options. As a result I've been fortunate to not experience most of these issues. The weirdest thing I've found is that writing the Danish lowercase æ feels much much easier and more natural left handed than with the right. It's a character with a great variety of motion and direction, much as with the number 8, so when smoothing nibs on micromesh and Mylar paper I've begun writing an æ more than the more commonly employed 8. Fun useless trivia there!
Hi Alan! I have the Lamy LH nib. Its result doesn't seem terribly different from their 1.1mm stub, only subtly. However, the LH nib looks medium width. It glides incredibly easily as a lefty haha.
Hi Roderick. Thanks for the LH info. Is it higher on the left side of the nib, meaning if the pen was leaning to the left a little the nib would be flat on the paper? Maybe I should get one to try it.
figured its too hard to write as a sidewriter without smudging, ended up just starting at the bottom and because of the metal spiral on notebooks, I start from the back of the notebook and from the bottom up. great for writing stuff for yourself, not so much when you're sharing notes.
Paper and ink combos are so key...I use Tomroe River paper in my journals and find it works well with all but the wettest of inks and nibs. That said, for my bullet journaling (which is almost constant at work, I can go through 6-8 pages easily in a work day of just tasks and meeting notes) I use a vanishing point with Noodler's American Aristocracy (which dries like a Bernanke). For actual journaling I can get by with more normal ink...Colorverse Gravity Wave is a currently favorite.
I’m an over-writer Lettie and I can’t go under a medium nib. Fine and extra fine scratch too much and I can’t get a clean line. I usually go with broad or extra broad and just use noodles bernnake or kaweco ink. I dabbled in graffiti as a rebellious teen so coming to a fountain pen wasn’t too difficult to me but underwriting in graffiti would get you coated in drips so I think that’s why I overwrite.
I am mixed handed and I am learning how to write left-handed. Writing left-handed is for sure more challenging but I very much it; much more so than writing right-handed. I have progressed so much that my left-handed handwriting look better than my right-hand writing and I might end up making it my primary way of writing.
Hello! I am very new to fountain pens. I have noticed that I always have ink on my nib after writing just a few words. Do any other lefties have this problem? I clean off the nib after filling, but the ink appears again quickly.
Hi, Billy. Nib creep is fairly common depending on the ink you are using. It could also happen as a result of leftover water in the feed of your pen that dilutes the ink a little bit. I personally tend to just embrace the nib creep as normal but if you want to avoid it, you might need to try a drier ink. -Lydia
As a kid we used to write with fountain pens all the time and it was horrible as a lefty. Later in gymnasium i switched to rollerball and felt tip pen, much more enjoyable. Modern gel pen refills in my oldschool rotring 600 is where its at for me:)
I have zero problems with smudging I have all the problems with skipping and outright stopping of the ink flow. It is very frustrating. I feel like I've heard positive things about writing left handed with a fountain pen, but this is far less fun than a roller ball or brushpen. Even a cheap ballpoint doesn't skip half my strokes.
I'm an underwriter type lefty. My cursive particularly slants very much to the left ("backhand" I've heard it called). I've tried writing with the letters slanting to the right but I can't seem to make it. However, I think my cursive looks nice anyway. Any other lefties find that to be true?
Lefty underwritter here too. This often causes me not to stay on lines. So frustrating. I just keep writing and not caring about it. I'm totally fasinated with pens. Enjoy
thanks for this for years i knew it wasn't me. i think back to grade school failing pen and ink and the stupid teacher never considered the fact i was left handed. i'm still not sure what to do i'm a side writer and can't seem to adapt to under or overwriting process.
What's great is that this series could also help us right-handed folk who write from right to left like in Hebrew or Arabic, so I'm glad :)
Thanks!
As a lefty I feel jealous of your writing mechanism lol
@Walter Clements honestly I gave up, I don't need fancy pens anyways, I'm a college student I need to be able to write without worrying about smudges
lol the only thing being leftie is good for is writing arabic scripts (urdu, persian etc.)
Im lefty, finally someone speak for lefty ink pen users, good video!👍
Ya writing with left hand is hard when sitting with a right handed so hard
also me YaeY 🤝🏻
As a lefty sidewriter who has been using fountain pens daily for a few years, here are my tips:
-You mentioned finer nibs, for sidewriters, I find that fine or extra fine are really scratchy to me, I don't ever buy anything but medium or broad usually. My daily use pens are: Faber-Castell Loom , Faber-Castell Ondoro , and a Pilot Vanishing Point . The softer feeling nibs seem to be the best for me to keep a smooth feel and steady flow.
-I also find wetter inks flow better for me as a "pusher" of the pen, Diamine, Akkerman, and J. Herbin are my go-to choices, although, wetter means it will smudge if you drag your hand in it.
-To keep from smudging, rather than changing styles, I just try to use only narrow top bound notebooks. Favorites are: Rhodia pads that are 5.8" wide. I can reach across without dragging my hand through what I wrote.
-Lastly, I'm super excited to see this new series, I haven't been paying much attention to my pen vloggers lately as I"m trying to let my pocketbook heal... I'm really interested to see how the flex nibs episode works because I found them to be almost unusable as a sidewriter.
Agreed! Medium/broad is a must for me too.
Great tips, Lydia. As a leftie over-side writer, I just write with a small visconti sheet of blotter paper when I'm using an especially slow drying ink. (Lots of Noodlers inks are exceptionally slow, even though I love them) I find the regular J. Herbin inks to be great for fast drying without feathering. (In contrast to Noodler's severely feathering Bernanke inks.)
Keep it up, Lydia. You are serving an info starved audience of lefties here. Thank You.
My daughter is a lefty, A few months ago, I bought my first fountain pen to write with, later on, she picked it up and started writing with it and she just lite up! She was so surprised by how smooth and easy it writes. Picked up a Kakuna for her and now she writes with it in middle school. She is a side writer but we are trying to turn her into an underwriter during summer vacation. Thank you for these videos. I know its just a beginning, but I would love a series about dry inks for lefties.
Any of the Pelikan 4001, Robert Oster, LAMY, or Graf von Faber-Castell inks are on the drier side and would be great options for lefties. :) So happy your daughter is loving her fountain pens. It really is an eye-opening experience for a lefty, when you find these pens. -Lydia
BurstAngel I am a lefty and have been writing with fountain pens since second grade. (I went to Catholic school and it was required.) I’m happy for your daughter.
unless she really wants to - don't turn her into an underwriter. It's uncomfortable and honestly quite painful to not let your hand flow the way it wants to. let her write as she wants.
- a sidewriter who was forced to become an underwriter
@@lilyambrosia1416 I’m well into middle age, and I’ve been training myself to underwrite (and improve my penmanship generally) with good results. Far from being painful, pulling the pen across the page, albeit vertically, relieved the life long hand cramps that side writing caused. While it takes effort and persistence, re-learning how to write has been a surprisingly pleasurable experience.
I've been looking forward to this series and am glad to see it begin! I am an overwriter and have been for 60+ years. Before I started writing I used to draw pictures and am sure I have held my drawing or writing instruments the same way my entire life. Although my elementary school teachers either didn't notice or didn't know how to correct my hand position, fountain pens eventually became the best option for me. I have made a couple of attempts in recent years to switch to underwriting, but I just couldn't get it. If I were still having to take notes I probably would use a different kind of pen, probably a rollerball. As I am retired and not enrolled in classes, I can write more slowly and that minimizes smearing. I'd love to hear specific tips from anyone who has been able to retrain from over- to under-writing, though.
Thanks, Lydia, for putting this series out there!
finally, lefty advice from a lefty!
can't wait for the next one, esp. since I have a hard time with stubs and want to use them.
Well done Lydia! My son is a lefty and this will surely help him fall down the fountain pen rabbit hole.
Is that like the vintage razor rabbit hole? 🤔😁 I find that I enjoy the heft and feel of higher end pens!
I'm a lefty and luckily the down writer and I've been using and loving fountain pens since childhood. For some reason I find them so elegant and beautiful .
this is great... i have been waiting for this... i have been using fountain pen since like primary school but since there are hardly any guidance for left handed user then i quit... thank you alot...
So it’s not just customers that fall down the rabbit hole. It’s employees too! Great idea for a series.
Hooray for lefty love! Thanks for putting this together, Lydia!
Thank you Lydia. A welcomed new video series. I look forward to more in the future!
I'm a 58 year old leftie. When I was at school in England all students had to use fountain or cartridge pens. School rule. I still use fountain pens. But not how you demonstrate. I rotate paper 90 degrees clockwise from bottom dead centre. Then I am pulling the pen.... recreating a rightie. Worked for over 44 years for me.
Thanks so much for doing this for us lefties. I’m an underwriter and get very frustrated with stub and flex. Looking forward to any hand lettering tips you might have.
I saw a video about using a brush pen to do lettering and they wrote everything out with a light pencil and then did the lettering with the paper upside down. Too confusing for the brain.
This was brilliantly helpful, thank you so much
Thank you so much! I was following jetpens doing research and they and other sources kept preaching LH nibs or that fountain pens aren't for lefties, stick with ballpoint. Knowing that a fine tip will work makes me feel so much better and open to wanting to try a fountain pen. Thank you Lydia, you rock!
I’m a rightie but I thoroughly enjoyed your video and look forward to the next episode. Thanks.
Great video...As a fellow Lefty I feel we are very much underrepresented, keep it up!
I've found using the Lamy extra fine nibs in combination with writing blocks that have the spiral at the top makes life much easier for everyday writing.
Top bound notebooks are a game changer for me! Love them. -Lydia
I like the idea of Videos where your Team mentions what's important for them... So that when someone have an idea they go ahead and do a Video about it... It will probably increases the diversity :D
I'm an overwriting lefty. The main issue I have is smudging the lines above the one I'm writing on. It's almost as if the warmth of my hand re-wets the ink and makes it smudge even though enough time had passed for it to dry. Can be so frustrating!
I didn't even think of that! Good point. Have you tried using a sheet of blotting paper or a blank sheet of paper and keeping it under your writing hand as you go to avoid making contact with the lines above? -Lydia
The Goulet Pen Company I've never tried that. To be honest that sounds like a pain hahaha maybe a glove of some sort could help
Same, I gave up on fountain pens for this reason... no tip seems to work, it’s just a big all smudging story whatever I do 😭😢
@@britthau you should definitely try using a sticky pad or scrap piece of paper - its way less of a hassle than you may think
I'm glad to see some attention given to lefties. I've just slogged along on my own until now. I've bought and trashed some inks I liked that just didn't dry fast enough. Generally, I've found it's not necessarily the pen that's the problem, it's finding the right ink. I'm devoted to Rhodia paper so I just try to find ink that behaves well with it and my pens. I tried underwriting, but it just felt awkward after being an overwriter for 60 years. I appreciate all of the drying examples Goulet pen offers on its website. That helps a lot when thinking about buying a new ink. Anyway, keep the Left Out videos coming.
thank you so much for making this video! and please continue to make the series :) i am a lefty who just, as you put it fell down the fountain pen rabbit hole and it's been a (fun) challenge but still a challenge working through some minor issues that righties just don't seem to have. thanks for the tips and looking forward to more :)
As new and lefty fountain pen user I really appreciate these tip--thank you!
As a leftie I appreciate your video as smudging was my big problem in primary school ( 1950's ) and school dip pens were compulsory. I was the only one allowed a fountain pen in a class of 48 kids. I developed the hook / overhand style to beat the problem. It's no longer such a comfortable grip for long spells of writing as I get older and arthritic, but happily, my writing style with a Waterman Carene still gets compliments.
Finally! I’ve been holding back on buying a fountain pen for this very reason-I’m a lefty and have no idea what would be best for me. Looking forward to the entire series. 👍🏻
They sell multipack Pilot Varsity pens. 7 kind of weird colors, but for 20 buck what the heck try it.
Hi, Lefty here.. love the new series :D please keep doing it :D Thanks for the advice
Lefty underwriter here. Fountain pens helped me get rid of hand fatigue and start to enjoy writing again. Thanks for doing this series!
Hi Lydia, I am an overwriting lefty. I've found that fine points are very scratch. I use a medium nib, write slightly slower, angle the paper and use good paper. I am looking forward to more of your videos.
That was a fantastic video presentation on how left-handed people could successfully use a fountain pen. Thank you very much. 😊
First things first, what a great video Lydia!
I was a natural ambidextrous kid with all writing/drawing instruments due to hand cramping after about 5 minutes of holding anything that can put a line on paper. When I started to learn how to write at 6 years-old my teacher actually was glad I was an ambidextrous underwriter so I could write for more than just those 5 minutes at a time. Still able to write lefthanded being 35 but usually write right handed now. Especially since I have fountain pens that write as they should (in school I got horrible writing fountain pens and even a Parker Vector wasn't the right fountain pen for me, too scratchy so still had to switch a lot)
We now know that Dystonia caused those cramps and I still have problems but now it's gone full-body and my left arm is the worst in both Dystonia symptoms and CRPS symptoms so my range of movement is now limited in my left arm and hand. So especially glad that with a smooth fountain pen I can write for longer periods of time right handed.
Lydia,
Thank you for doing this series.
I am new to fountain pens and just purchased my first 2 pens from Goulet.
Thank you for all of the helpful tips.
I look forward to your next video.
Sincerely, Lauren S.
Should have Part 2 in the next few weeks! Which pens did you go with? - Colin
The Goulet Pen Company
Hi Colin,
I remember now that I ordered my pilot metropolitan on amazon and then remembered hearing about your company from boho berry so I went to your site and picked up my LAMY Al Star.
Even though it feels like I am teaching myself to write in a whole new way, I am loving it.
I can sense that once I get the hang of it that it will completely change my writing experience.
Excited for the new video.
Thanks again!
Every educator is either right or wrong. They might be, but they should be openminded about it. What matters is their influence. Their ability to shed light to those who don't know about it and in this video, you did very well. Thank you dear leftie. You're the best.
Thank you. Agree as a lefty the fountain pen made it easy to become an underwriter. I tried over writing the other day and it gave my cursive a perfect slant. So thank you for the drier ink tips I will try some of them!
Thank you Lydia! Lefty here with lefty kids! This is awesome!
Great info! I have left-handed students and a son and never realized the different types of writing they do.
Nice job, Lydia! These videos will be useful for we righties, too. First, to help me understand what challenges our left-handed (the creative people! :-) fountain pen users face. And second, I can use the tips to help an acquaintance who doesn’t think they can use an FP because they’re left-handed.
Thanks Lydia for starting this series! It looks like it will be popular. We lefties are not whiners but there is not a lot of material for us, so I appreciate it when it comes! I really love being left-handed but it can be frustrating sometimes. lol.
So glad you tuned it and enjoyed the first episode :) -Margaret
Love this series! My fiancée was a very strong leftie. His writing was interesting to see.he would slant the paper to the left, just as right handed person does. Then his hand positioned above the paper with his hand completely upside and. angled to the bottom of the paper and writing had a right slant. Sound confusing? It sure was..
I understand, because I write exactly like your fiancé 😅😅😅
I write that same way... I just realized it. lol
OMG! I am sooooo excited to watch this!
Yay! As a lefty I'm super excited! I love stub nibs so I can't wait for the next video :)
More absorbent paper, less smearing, that's a revelation. Usually with paper, I am mostly concerned with bleed-through.
Bleed through seems to be far more important to other people than to me. Since I left school about 66 billion years ago, I don't think I have ever handwritten on both sides of a page in a notepad. The only time I do this is when writing out music, but manuscript paper tends to be thicker and less prone to this. So as for normal doodling and scribbling notes in a pad, if it happens to bleed through a little then it doesn't bother me. It only becomes a problem if it is extreme enough to leave random splodges on the following page in the notebook, which is rare for me.
Love your video and look forward to the next chapter. Thank you!
As a lefty I started out writing from the side and ended up smudging every line, over time I’ve just adapted to writing over the line so now the wetness of the ink and absorption of the paper doesn’t impact my writing as much and I hardly ever smudge my ink. I hope to see more of these videos in the future!
Thank you, that was truly motivating!
I love Lidia's approach
I recently subscribed to Goulet’s TH-cam channel. Did not know this series of videos were there. I just stumbled on this. What a blessing. I turn my page, but I turn it to write like a sidewriter, but at an almost 90 degree angle. It therefore corresponds with the natural angle of my hand, which is writing up and away from me (north of me, if I am seated facing north). It sounds strange, but that is how I have found that I have the least bit of smudging. It helps that the majority of my nibs are fine point, so I am happy for that. I use Chinese fountain pens (Baoer), and for the most part they are nice, but I recently got introduced to the TWSBI, by watching Mr. Goulet. So I think I will order one soon from your website, and will post a review soon.
I'm a southpaw writer as well. I jumped down the rabbit hole 15-20 years ago. I 100% agree with you that the main thing is to enjoy the journey. There are times I got frustrated and had to step back and regroup. Really excited about this new series. You did great! By the way, I now use wet stubs and cursive italics.
There is hope for the rest of us! I am still working up to a love of stubs and italics but I'm getting there slowly. -Lydia
I did just like you said in your video. I started with ef and f nibs, absorbent paper, and quickly absorbed inks, all while training myself to be an underwriter. It was much easier than I thought. Keep on writing! Looking forward to your next video. (Btw. This is the first GPC video I've commented on.)
Interesting that you are the only leftie on the team. I was at another shop (Appelboom in the Netherlands) lately, and three of the five employees there are left-handed! Thanks for the video!
Thank you Lydia.
Wow! I just learned that i’m an underwriter! :D I use a Lamy Al Star and Safari and they work really well for my grip! :)
No wonder i’ve never experienced the ”typical” leftie problems of smudging :’D
Pen twins! I’m a lefty and that was also my exact same first pen! I had to retrain myself to be an underwriter and I only underwrite with fountain pens! I’m still a side writer for everything else.
Are there any specific pen/nib combinations that just don’t work for you as a lefty?
Twins! Hooray! I,too, only seem to underwrite with FPs. I avoid other pens and pencils as much as I can because I hate the smudgy hand even more now that it's not a part of everyday life anymore. As for pens that don't work, I really struggled with stub nibs at first (The TWSBI Vac700 was the first one I tried). In the next video, I touch on why. -Lydia
I always have a fp on me and have forsaken other writing instruments for these very reasons!
I can’t wait to see the next one! :)
Hi Lydia! I love your Left Out videos. I'm actually right-handed, but I'm having my [left-handed] friend over for a fountain pen day later this week. I'm going to have ready several Pilot Metropolitan and Lamy pens (with a range of nibs). That way she can play around with different pens, nibs and inks to help her figure out which ones she prefers. (I'm planning to gift her one or two, if she likes them enough :) This series has helped me a lot in picking out a subset of items to start with. Thanks so much!
Glad to hear it! Whether a leftie or rightie, fountain pens are a hobby of trial and error, especially when starting out. So this is definitely a great idea to try and get them into it. - Colin
Lefty here, I am an over the line writer, and have a very high angle on the paper. Also I have found that the Noodlers Lubricating Inks work well for me, the dry time seems to be fast enough. I do blot when using a wet ink, wide or flex nibs and premium paper
THANK YOU!!!!!! THANK YOU!!
I AM A LEFTY AND THIS IS A GODSEND!
Lydia, What a great series. Thanks so much. I love fountain pens and I'm enjoying trying to make my hand writting better. But I do have a question maybe you can help with. I tend to write Heavy. I'm an underwriter so I don't have problems with smearing. That's good. but boy no matter what nib I use the writting look Hughley wide. What gives. any guesses?
I appreciate any feedback I could get.
Would be interested to know your thoughts on Waverly nibs. Will Goulet ever carry the top bound Webbie? Under writer that holds the pen just short of vertical so Japanese pens are my favorite.
Another lefty here. Great video, can't wait for more!! Thank you!! :)
Primary school pretty much scarred me for life becusse of fountain pens. We wrote with them in year five and six and because I was left handed and impatient I could never figure out how to write without smudging but wasn’t allowed to use another pen and got told off for not taking care with my penmanship. Glad I looked this up now 8 years later to see if it was actually possible, I did like how the pen looked when I hadn’t smudged it after all 😂
Fellow lefty! Loving this series so far. I’m an underwriter (usually), so I don’t have many problems with the lefty smudge. We have 2 lefties on my team and I just found out one of my VPs Is a lefty!
This is awesome! I've had trouble finding useful information to keep me from smudging. :)
Thank you for the lefty bit! I am a lefty, with multiple Metropolitans, a couple Lamy’s, and Jinhao’s. She nailed it with the drier inks and finer nibs!! I’ve found that with the Japanese f and ef nibs using Lamy inks on Rhodia paper is brilliant. I absolutely love Noodlers 54th Mass color, but have yet to find a pen it works well in on Rhodia paper or Leuchtturm paper. But I will keep looking...
My Pilot Metro fine makes 54th Mass usable with basically any paper for me. You may also want to check out Graf von Faber-Castell Midnight Blue or Robert Oster Great Southern Ocean for drier options with the same color. -Lydia
Thank you Lydia! My problem might be that I am comparing Lamy black lines next to the 54th Mass lines, both Metropolitans with EF nibs. The 54th Mass bleeds a lot more...one thing I will do is put away the Lamy black for a couple of weeks and see if that help my perception of the ink. If not I will try the inks you suggested. Thank you again,,!
I appreciate this video, it provides some good basic tips and guidance for lefties who just got into fountain pens.
As a sidewriter, that tends to write quite fast as well, i have found some issues with finer nibs. I‘ve been using fountain pens all my life, right now primarily for school, hence the (fored) fast writing style.
I love my old, cheap fountain pen to death and I‘d never switch to a ballpoint, however it has been not easy to find the right pen (and ink) for what i need. I tried my luck with TWISBI (just ordered a vac 700R) and I look forward to hopefully finding a good upscale pen that fits me.
Also, do any of you have some good „erasable ink“ (idk what the specific term is in english, but i need some because i can’t gable on the fact that I‘ll write 100% errorless)?
As a lefty, practicing calligraphy with an italic nib forced me to become an overwriter, now looking forward for flex nibs advice.
Well, about the ideas that worked for me... I have sweaty hands, therefore even dry ink may become a problem for me if it's not permanent. After writing a few lines my hand goes over and over again through the already dry lines and it may come off a bit after a few times. The solution I found is a yoga glove (one of those fabric gloves with the tip of the fingers cut) It avoids the smearing in addition to maintaining a good sensitivity.
At 70 I went from a fumbling lefty overwriter who only used the "2ed third" of the page, so now I tilt the paper to the right and have switched to _underhand_ writing, great for forgeries.
mike
I'm a lefty overwritter. I don't hook hand at all, I actually keep my arm and wrist quite straight coming out from my body and I turn the paper 90 counter clockwise to get my whole hand above the line. So my arm moves forward and back like sawing a log, rather than left to right across my body. Everyone says it looks like I'm writing upside down! I love stub nibs! Can wait to see the next video. I find when I use them that all my vertical lines are fat on the way up or down, and everything else is thin due to how I hold the pen.
Not sure if this is constructive, but I'm curious: why do you sometimes write with a three finger grip, and sometimes in a two finger grip, like in the examples of underwriting and sidewriting?
I haven't seen anyone do it since first grade, when our teacher buried our resident leftie in left-handed pencil grips until she learned the triangle hold.
Just fell into this as I’m trying to be more conscious of not being so wasteful with pens. And trying to find a refillable (and not an insert) ball point was just not happening. I took calligraphy in high school and while I enjoyed it. I did find it difficult. I’m a lefty side-writer, but I don’t have issues with smudging. Maybe because of how sideways I put my paper 😅. Or because of how I hold my pen? My wedding finger holds the pen, my pinky supports my wedding finger. And then my middle finger is on the top of the pen and my index is also on the pen, but above my middle. then my thumb lays over my index and middle. To simplify things I hold my pen up straight (I really hope that makes sense). But I look forward to this little series.
As an overwriter, I don't usually have problems with the line I'm writing, but I smudge a couple of lines up sometimes. I've learnt to just be conscious of where I place my hand
First of all THANK YOU! I have been looking forward to this since it was announced in WN.
I do notice that the pen is held almost straight do you feel that this makes it easier to be an "underwriter"? Just asking as I tend to hold my pen at more of a 45 degree angle to the paper, and so tend to side write.
Agree that paper and ink is super important, it was thanks to GPC that I found "dry" inks and then was introduced to Rhodia paper.
Once again thanks for putting this together and so looking forward to the next episode. Congrats!
So glad you enjoyed it, Peter! I find my pen angle varies depending on the pen. I have larger hands so I can sometimes get bunched up when trying to hold my pen on the grip section, which would account for the steeper angle. For me, it has less to do with the angle of the pen and more that I cannot picture writing with the pen unless the nib is lined up perpendicular to the line. My focus when writing is always to maintain that alignment. -Lydia
Lydia, ok that makes sense. Will test this out.
I hold mine between 45 and 65 degrees, depending on the pen. I tend to grip high on the pen as it suits my thick hands better. Most of the time I'm gripping on the lower barrel or top of the section, so friendly threads are important to me.
Great stuff Lydia. I'm a lefty and the trick of using a finer nib did not do it for me... I used to press to hard on the paper. Now I prefer broad nib and i've learned , with practice , to let the pen glide on the paper...
This is really helpful! Thank you
I have a question for over-writers. Do you ever hurt your hand/wrist while writing? Because it seems like such an awkward angle to hold your pen at.
correct me if i‘m wrong, but wouldn‘t overwriter tend to hooked wrists?
Really good tips! I'm a over-writer(? I tend to curl over my writing) just starting to get into fountain pens and prior to using them I've been using Uni-ball Impact 207, which is a broad, wet ball-point. The type of paper and the style of the book are really important. Absorbant papers work best for me, and though I do most of my writing in hardcover journals & planners, I have some difficulty balancing my hand along the edge of the book when I'm at the extreme beginning or end (you know, trying to make your hand "levitate" along the left side of the page, haha.)
Omg Finally! A much needed video!
Thank you!!
Here's my addition to the subject (tip 4.1 if you will): Just don't give a shit.
I have been a lefty for the past 25 years now and I write with fountain pens since I'm 5. I don't and never did give consideration to what I write with.
I have double broads, wet inks, whatever, you name it; I buy what I want and don't let my leftyness hold me back. So far I made it work every time, it is very rare that I smudge something.
I might add for completeness sake, I have a bit of a particular writing style. I'm an over-writer, but I lay my elbow at the height of my wrist. I am _very_ heavy handed, so I prefer medium and broad nibs, and I like them to be actually a little bit overpolished, but the latter is something I can do at home with some chrome paste.
Ivo Trausch I hold my hand the same way - my wrist is almost completely straight, and I angle the paper only very slightly down on the left.
I have found that using a nail buffer (NOT a nail file! A buffer that polishes and makes the nails shiny) works well for taking off the scratchyness. I only use the finest two parts of a nail buffer that has 4 different grits.
Thank you for this!
Commented on another Goulet video just now, explaining that I am a rightie training himself to use his left hand. Fortunately I seem to have fallen into the underwriter category naturally without even knowing the terminology or knowing there were other options. As a result I've been fortunate to not experience most of these issues. The weirdest thing I've found is that writing the Danish lowercase æ feels much much easier and more natural left handed than with the right. It's a character with a great variety of motion and direction, much as with the number 8, so when smoothing nibs on micromesh and Mylar paper I've begun writing an æ more than the more commonly employed 8. Fun useless trivia there!
THANK YOU FOR THIS SERIES
Hope it was helpful :) -margaret
Hi Lydia. I'm a leftie. Have you tried the Lamy leftie nib? Is it a fine, medium or ? Do you recommend the Lamy LH nib for us lefties?
Hi Alan! I have the Lamy LH nib. Its result doesn't seem terribly different from their 1.1mm stub, only subtly. However, the LH nib looks medium width. It glides incredibly easily as a lefty haha.
Hi Roderick. Thanks for the LH info. Is it higher on the left side of the nib, meaning if the pen was leaning to the left a little the nib would be flat on the paper? Maybe I should get one to try it.
figured its too hard to write as a sidewriter without smudging, ended up just starting at the bottom and because of the metal spiral on notebooks, I start from the back of the notebook and from the bottom up. great for writing stuff for yourself, not so much when you're sharing notes.
Paper and ink combos are so key...I use Tomroe River paper in my journals and find it works well with all but the wettest of inks and nibs. That said, for my bullet journaling (which is almost constant at work, I can go through 6-8 pages easily in a work day of just tasks and meeting notes) I use a vanishing point with Noodler's American Aristocracy (which dries like a Bernanke). For actual journaling I can get by with more normal ink...Colorverse Gravity Wave is a currently favorite.
Thanks for remembering about us. Goulet pens is the best! 😃
This video was really close to Lydia's heart :) -margaret
Love your tips Thanks!
Not a lefty, but what a great idea for a series of videos.
I’m an over-writer Lettie and I can’t go under a medium nib. Fine and extra fine scratch too much and I can’t get a clean line. I usually go with broad or extra broad and just use noodles bernnake or kaweco ink. I dabbled in graffiti as a rebellious teen so coming to a fountain pen wasn’t too difficult to me but underwriting in graffiti would get you coated in drips so I think that’s why I overwrite.
Thanks for this!
I am mixed handed and I am learning how to write left-handed. Writing left-handed is for sure more challenging but I very much it; much more so than writing right-handed. I have progressed so much that my left-handed handwriting look better than my right-hand writing and I might end up making it my primary way of writing.
Finally I found a video to help me! Yay
As a sidewriter lefty, this is really a helpful series!
Should have another episode later this week! - Colin
Does anyone know where I can find a replacement dominant writing hand? Mines defective and now mostly black ink
Hello! I am very new to fountain pens. I have noticed that I always have ink on my nib after writing just a few words. Do any other lefties have this problem? I clean off the nib after filling, but the ink appears again quickly.
Hi, Billy. Nib creep is fairly common depending on the ink you are using. It could also happen as a result of leftover water in the feed of your pen that dilutes the ink a little bit. I personally tend to just embrace the nib creep as normal but if you want to avoid it, you might need to try a drier ink. -Lydia
Thank you very very much!!
As a kid we used to write with fountain pens all the time and it was horrible as a lefty. Later in gymnasium i switched to rollerball and felt tip pen, much more enjoyable. Modern gel pen refills in my oldschool rotring 600 is where its at for me:)
hilarious name for the segment
I have zero problems with smudging I have all the problems with skipping and outright stopping of the ink flow. It is very frustrating. I feel like I've heard positive things about writing left handed with a fountain pen, but this is far less fun than a roller ball or brushpen. Even a cheap ballpoint doesn't skip half my strokes.
@@Gouletpens Thank you very much for the response; I honestly didn't expect one. I'm using a Pilot Varsity and I will try different positions.
Right-handed personally but still a very good video
I'm an underwriter type lefty. My cursive particularly slants very much to the left ("backhand" I've heard it called). I've tried writing with the letters slanting to the right but I can't seem to make it. However, I think my cursive looks nice anyway. Any other lefties find that to be true?
Lefty underwritter here too. This often causes me not to stay on lines. So frustrating. I just keep writing and not caring about it. I'm totally fasinated with pens. Enjoy
thanks for this for years i knew it wasn't me. i think back to grade school failing pen and ink and the stupid teacher never considered the fact i was left handed. i'm still not sure what to do i'm a side writer and can't seem to adapt to under or overwriting process.