Left Handers And Italic Nibs?

[steveycrow]

Hi all.

 

Firstly excuse my ignorance, I'm learning and don't honestly understand the difference between italic/stub/oblique despite having a cursory read on Richards Pens. I only know (or think I know) that they all lay down an italic style line of ink. Or thick to thin and vice versa lines for a layman such as myself. 😊

 

Anyway, I fancy trying something different and was thinking about a pen with an italic nib.

 

I'm a left handed over writer. Any advice?

 

Many thanks.

[pajaro]

I am a left handed over writer. I sometimes use italic nibs, cursive italic or sharp italic. The line variation seems to be different when these are used by a left handed person. The stubs are usually more blunt, and the obliques as well. Stubs and obliques, left oblique and right oblique, are a matter of individual taste. Left oblique is cut at a slant like the toes of the left foot, right oblique like the toes of the right foot.

 

Try them. You might like them. The way your writing looks with them might be different from the way right handed writing looks with the same nib.

[cattar]

+1 what pajaro said.

I'm another lefty. One of my favorite nibs is a cursive italic.

 

It's like doorknobs or screwdrivers, handedness doesn't matter.

 

Italic can have sharp edges, great for calligraphy,

Cursive italic can have slightly rounded edges and be used for daily writing.

Stubs can have a wide tipping blob as a writing edge.

Some folks use the words 'italic' and 'stub' interchangeably.

 

Write with a light hand, and find the pens, nibs, inks you like to use.

Edited April 12, 2018 by cattar

[Maccabeus]

 

I'm a left handed over writer. Any advice?

 

Many thanks.

Work at becoming an under-writer. It'll make your life a whole lot easier. It sure did for me. Three of my 4 regular-use pens have italic or stub italic nibs (.6mm, .8mm, and 1.1mm) and I've no problem with any of them.

[southpaw]

Work at becoming an under-writer. It'll make your life a whole lot easier. It sure did for me. Three of my 4 regular-use pens have italic or stub italic nibs (.6mm, .8mm, and 1.1mm) and I've no problem with any of them.

I'm another overwriter that converted to under, and I agree. It's easier than you'd think and another reason to play with your pens and inks.

 

Also, oblique changes the angle the nib hits the paper - that's all. It does not produce line variation. Now, you can have oblique stubs and cursive italics. I

[Torrilin]

The entire reason I use fountain pens as a lefty is italic calligraphy. So yeah, italic nibs work. The main issue with overwriting is dry time. A lot of popular inks have horrific dry time. I’ve seen right handed ink reviews describe a 60+ second dry time as “a bit long”. I’d describe that as illegible or perhaps as not ink. You’ll figure out pretty quickly what you can tolerate. (20-30s on Rhodia is about the max I can tolerate)

 

I’ve definitely seen people claiming that lefties get different results with an italic, but in my experience that isn’t true. If you hold the nib funny, it’ll do weird stuff. Happens to righties too. An italic nib is designed for about 45 degrees off vertical, so the horizontal and vertical lines will be about the same size. You get the thinnest and thickest lines only at specific points. And of course if you don’t know that the nib is supposed to be angled so precisely, you’ll not hit on it by accident.

[steveycrow]

Thanks for the replies. I'll order a nib for one of my existing pens then.

 

As for the over writing thing. I have tried under writing but just can't figure out how to get the letters to slant to the right. They always slant backwards and I hate the way it looks. I've tried tilting the page.

 

In any event, I kind of like being different. It's like I'm being a bit rebellious by over writing! 😁 Though it's not exactly rebellious for left handers since a lot of us do it. 🤔

Edited April 13, 2018 by steveycrow

[Maccabeus]

In any event, I kind of like being different. It's like I'm being a bit rebellious by over writing! Though it's not exactly rebellious for left handers since a lot of us do it.

Yes, it's a bit like being rebellious by disregarding signs that say, "mind the gap."

[steveycrow]

Yes, it's a bit like being rebellious by disregarding signs that say, "mind the gap."

Watertight analogy right there, because as we all know, over writing can lead to severe injury or even death. 😉

[pajaro]

Thanks for the replies. I'll order a nib for one of my existing pens then.

 

As for the over writing thing. I have tried under writing but just can't figure out how to get the letters to slant to the right. They always slant backwards and I hate the way it looks. I've tried tilting the page.

 

In any event, I kind of like being different. It's like I'm being a bit rebellious by over writing! Though it's not exactly rebellious for left handers since a lot of us do it.

 

I have always liked being different. My mother used to buy me things from a Left Handed Shop in Boston. I have left handed notebooks with the spiral binding on the right side so you don't have to start your writing hand on it.

[Torrilin]

Just a (super mild) warning... if you’re trying to learn proper italic hand (or any other edged pen hand really), it’s easier with a big fat nib. Think about 2-3mm. And a lot of fountain pen brands prefer to stick to narrower nibs. The big fat nibs are fussy about how you use them, and will flat out refuse to write if you make a lot of common mistakes. So to a degree, the nib will teach you, if you care to listen.

 

If you just want a touch of line variation tho, the common narrow widths will work.

[sidthecat]

Despite my continuing dalliance with pointy dip pen nibs, I’ve been enjoying a Waterman ringtop with an italic nib - maybe .5 mm. It’s got a lovely way of dancing on the page.

[mitto]

Dancing on the page! What a beautiful expression!

 

I have a MB 24 that has a flexible broadish medium oblique nib that does dance on the page.

[pajaro]

A 2 to 3 mm nib would overwhelm me. I have a Lamy Safari 1.9 italic that is too much. A 1.0 to 1.2 CI is about right for me. Have a Sonnet and a Parker 51 in that range. After the initial glow, I rarely use them.

 

Got four boxes of Hunt Speedball nibs in the mail. Something else to ignore.