Left Or Right Handed?

[Rockape]

My question may be blindingly obvious but Id appreciate the benefit of the assembled wisdom as I am relatively new to the world of pens. I have noticed that I frequently buy pens which are advertised as smooth writers only to find that they are often scratchy and require smoothing on fine micro mesh. My initial thoughts were that the sellers were perhaps being creative in their description of the goods. More recently Ive begun to wonder whether this is to do with the fact that Im left handed and the nibs are designed with a right handed writer in mind. Ive looked at many nibs through a loup but have not been able thus far to discern any particular cut. So my question is; Are nibs handed?

[hari317]

How do you hold your pen? Your hold will determine how the nib's tip contacts the paper. Most nibs are designed such that they offer a smooth glide when the pad on the tip is square to the paper. If one tends to rotate or elevate the pen, the feel may not be optimum. so a nib tech will observe your writing and put a pad on the nib tip which will feel very smooth to you when you write. Others using your pen might have a rough ride. HTH.

[Rockape]

Thanks, thats very helpful. So in essence what youre saying is that every nib is more of less specific to its user irrespective of whether they are left or right handed.

[pajaro]

Thanks, thats very helpful. So in essence what youre saying is that every nib is more of less specific to its user irrespective of whether they are left or right handed.

 

I am left handed. I line the nib up so the slit is straight on the paper in the middle of the tipping. Many of my pens are used, previously owned by someone else, and they work for me too. If they are scratchy I align the tines. Few need smoothing. Pens I have used for decades have become smoother, but I believe anyone could use them effectively. Then, again, some pens someone has used for a long time show wear patterns on the tipping, but I can use them, and they write smoothly. I just find the "sweet spot" where they write smoothly without rotating the pen more than minimally, which means very little.

Edited March 26, 2019 by pajaro

[Rockape]

Thanks very much. I do try to do the same as you in terms of rotating the pen to find the smooth spot but with limited success. Ive just bought a lovely Pelikan 140 but was disappointed to find it quite scratchy on the upstroke, causing the nib to stutter on the paper and the ink to flick off onto the page.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Let me try to say what Hari and Pajaro have said, in somewhat different words. For me, nibs have not been "handed." They're just nibs. They come to me, in some cases new from the factory, in more cases used by one or more other people.

 

I just write with them. Sometimes they are reluctant to write the way I would prefer. This has sometimes been because the tines are too close together, and if they are separated the supply of ink becomes satisfactory and I'm a happy user.

 

When I've brought a pen to an expert for some diagnosis and treatment, the expert will probably be right-handed but will find the same difficulties I do; moving a nib in different directions, at different angles to the paper, can turn up quite a few little defects.

 

There are also ink-flow problems caused by the nib being improperly fitted to the feed, or the other way around, however one thinks about it.

 

I have never had any trouble I could attribute to being left-handed. Then again, I never thought there was any particular difficulty with using fountain pens because I was left-handed. In elementary school I looked around me and tried to do what the other kids in the class were doing. That worked. I am what is called a left-handed underwriter. Others have clearly had different experiences.

 

Nibs can have all kinds of problems. People who write by hand can have all kinds of problems, even with ballpoints or rollerballs. Handedness has not been, in my experience, a source of difficulty. I just experiment a little, or in the more difficult case some helpful other person experiments, and then things get better.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Jerome Tarshis

[Rockape]

Thank very much Jerome for your response, which all makes sense. I conclude therefore that I may have been right that some of the pens Ive bought were never that smooth in the first instance.

[pajaro]

Let me try to say what Hari and Pajaro have said, in somewhat different words. For me, nibs have not been "handed." They're just nibs. They come to me, in some cases new from the factory, in more cases used by one or more other people.

 

I just write with them. Sometimes they are reluctant to write the way I would prefer. This has sometimes been because the tines are too close together, and if they are separated the supply of ink becomes satisfactory and I'm a happy user.

 

When I've brought a pen to an expert for some diagnosis and treatment, the expert will probably be right-handed but will find the same difficulties I do; moving a nib in different directions, at different angles to the paper, can turn up quite a few little defects.

 

There are also ink-flow problems caused by the nib being improperly fitted to the feed, or the other way around, however one thinks about it.

 

I have never had any trouble I could attribute to being left-handed. Then again, I never thought there was any particular difficulty with using fountain pens because I was left-handed. In elementary school I looked around me and tried to do what the other kids in the class were doing. That worked. I am what is called a left-handed underwriter. Others have clearly had different experiences.

 

Nibs can have all kinds of problems. People who write by hand can have all kinds of problems, even with ballpoints or rollerballs. Handedness has not been, in my experience, a source of difficulty. I just experiment a little, or in the more difficult case some helpful other person experiments, and then things get better.

 

Thanks, Jerome, for explaining this much better than I could.

[Misfit]

Just curious because I’m right-handed. Do Lamy and Nemosine nibs for left-handed people actually work better for lefties? Is it a gimmick?

 

I hope the tips others have posted help the OP.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Your 140 is a stubbed semi-flex....and often unless you become an underwriter semi-flex will not work for you....nor will classic '50-70- obliques which are also stubbed semi-flex.

 

You have to :crybaby:sell that pen and stay away from Vintage German pens. Unless you become a underwriter.

 

Often stiff obliques are good for left handers in it don't matter if you push pull like lefty or pull push like a righty........and being oblique..............the nib is canted..........many don't know that term, so call canting a nib, rotation.

I don't know how to tell a left hander how to cant the pen...........first there appears to be at least three ways left handers are forced to hold a pen.

 

If you were right handed............post the cap so it's aligned in the middle between the slit and the right shoulder of the nib. Grasp the pen in air, put down on the paper and write.

 

A left handere got to fiddle to get the oblique canted the way he needs it..........aim the clip somewhere else until it becomes ingrained.

[torstar]

Thanks, thats very helpful. So in essence what youre saying is that every nib is more of less specific to its user irrespective of whether they are left or right handed.

 

I'm a lefty "underwriter" and have never had a major problem with the 60 or so pens I have handled.

 

A left-footed oblique nib has been a minor problem as I have had to take a few hours to hit the "sweet spot" without thinking of it. I have not tried a right-footed oblique nib, no plans to either.

 

Your mileage ALWAYS varies with FPs....

[Rockape]

At the risk of asking a dumb question, (in the context of pens) what is an underwriter?

[hari317]

A writer who holds his pen below the line being written. Some people have hooked grips which makes them overwriters.

[Rockape]

A-ha. Thanks for the clarification. I am therefore a left-handed underwriter.

[torstar]

At the risk of asking a dumb question, (in the context of pens) what is an underwriter?

 

my left hand touches the page from 1 to 6 inches below the ink hitting the page.

 

With a 149 I write holding the pen at the end of the posted cap, a nice feature of this masterpiece of a pen...

 

[torstar]

A-ha. Thanks for the clarification. I am therefore a left-handed underwriter.

 

 

does your hand work across the page smoothly or do you stretch your fingers and then slide your hand across and stretch the fingers again?

[WLSpec]

From my knowledge, no nibs are "right-handed." In saying that, some nibs might work slightly better for a right-handed user, as lefties push the nib across the paper as opposed to pulling (I'm a lefty so this affects me) while righties pull the nib. It would be like pushing an X-Acto knife across cardboard to cut it as opposed to pulling (though not nearly as extreme); the pulling would be smoother. Therefore, lefties might prefer smoother nibs, as feedbacky nibs will provide an especially scratchy writing experience for lefties. Lefties also tend to side-write, which means that we keep our hands on the left side of our writing and drag our hands across our writing as our hand moves further right on the page. This will result in smearing with fountain pens because of their liquid-based ink. Solutions: 1. Become an overwriter (hook your hand over the writing as not to smear). 2. Become an underwriter (which is what you already are-- --an easier solution, where you keep your hand under the writing as you drag your hand across the page. Righties naturally write this way or side write. My choice). 3. Get a finer nib. Now, this last point will allow you to continue being a side writer, as finer nibs lay down less ink and the ink will dry much faster. However, finer nibs have more feedback. Therefore you would have to find the perfect balance of not too feedbacky but fine enough so you can continue side-writing (not necessarily applicable to you because you are an underwriter.

 

Whew. So those are some of the downsides for lefties using fountain pens. So, although not made for righties, fountain pens might be slightly easier to use or more natural for righties at the beginning. Us lefties just might need a little more practice, and we can make fountain pens work just fine. I love my fountain pens, I just needed to find what was right for me as a lefty.

 

Now there are a select few fountain pens that are made for lefties. Based on feedback I've heard, though, they don't really do much to benefit lefties. There are Sailor lefty nibs, the Pelikan Pelikano has one, and I believe Lamy make a lefty nib. However, these tend not to have a huge difference from the regular nibs, so they are probably not worth it (my opinion).

 

So there are some upsides to being a righty and some lefty nibs, but overall lefties can learn to use any fountain pen. Because you are an underwriter, you are probably okay using most pens, you just might see a little more skipping (when the pen doesn't write for a letter or two) because you push the nib across the paper, but this can be fixed by a nibmeister if you really want to fix the issue. Getting nibs ground by a nibmeister is also great for lefties because they can grind the nib to your writing style. You can find them at pen shows and online.

 

Good luck with your pen adventures! I know you can make being a lefty work (I did). It takes some testing out pens and possibly practice, but it can be done fairly easily.

[Bo Bo Olson]

There are a couple left handers that like semi-flex like your 140, but I think they are rare......................I'm sad for you, in I really like semi&maxi-semi-flex nibbed pens having some 40 or so, counting obliques.

But at least you are an underwriter so all is not lost............modern Pelikan is semi-nail for the 400/600, and nail for the 800.................nails are easy to find.

I'd also stay away from the Pelikan 200 and any Japanese "soft" nib in they are regular flex.

 

Perhaps some of the left handed underwriters can chime in with what they feel about regular flex nibs.

I don't care much for obliques in that flex but could be used in they don't have quite as easy tine spread as semi-flex.

I do like the springy comfortable ride of a regular flex.

[pajaro]

As an over writer, my "hooked grip" makes the nib face me, and I can see the attitude of the nib relative to the paper. So, all is not lost. Part of the motion of making characters is pushing and part is pulling, whether you are left handed or right handed. A lot of hypotheses are mistaken, and a nib is a nib and handedness is not important unless it makes it hard on the writer.

 

I have seen right handed over writers.

[Rockape]

Thanks to all for the comprehensive replies. As a lefty forced to use a fountain pen at school in the 1960s I hated it because I smeared the ink as described above. I adapted my writing style out of necessity to be what i now learn is described as an underwriter. I have had good experiences with Sheaffers and Conway Stewarts but do find some nibs need a little light honing and polishing to make them glide over the paper.