What's The Purpose Of Reverse Writing?

[sandy101]

Good grief, I sincerely hope, there's a better solution, at least for the U.S. embassy staff, like this one I presume:

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

In almost every pen review, I read/hear everywhere about people testing the ability of a pen to write upside down. What's the reason for this? I always wondered this as It's normally a fine line produced - is that the reason? I mean, if someone wanted a fine line, the "cheap" pilot penmanships/plumix/kakunos have fine lines, you also get the preppys and the (definetly cheap) jinhao sharky 993.

Is there some reason people look into this, or is it just to do with workmanship and the liking of the versatility idea?

 

Thanks

It's a two-for-one deal. I like it.

[inkstainedruth]

i misunderstood the origonal question and so was going to say so that one can read the writing in a mirror, or to demonstrate that one has dyslexia, but you aren't talking about that kind of reverse writing.

You are talking about writing with the side 180 degrees from the side you normally write with. Several pens through history were designed to be able to do this so as to allow for different line widths from the same pen and so testing this possibility out on pens not designed for that purpose is a mild bit of amusement.

 

I'll admit that I thought much the same thing when I saw the title of the thread, only in my case instead of mirror writing, I thought "upside down" (which, depending on the font size, I can actually sometimes read).

Ironically, though, my husband is dyslexic and also used to be ambidextrous. But he *never* mirror-wrote, apparently (although he does have problems with reading); he told me that when he was first learning to write, he drove teachers crazy because he'd pick up a pencil with whichever hand was closer to it, and then switch hands when the first one got tired.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mannyonpil]

I find it indispensable when I am writing on the train but facing the wrong way.

[rluka]

Is the reverse writing originally an intended design or it's just

someone, few centuries ago, be a deviant and write with the nib reversed, against the common practice

only to found out the pen can still write and with a thinner line

[txomsy]

It is well known and documented that it actually was Leonardo Da Vinci who discovered that, a few centuries back, using his Sailor-Namiki fountain pen. Which is also why he used to write mirror-wise.

 

(Sorry, couldn't resist).

 

More seriously, I'd bet that thousands of years ago people would do similar things with their stili and calami. And I wouldn't be surprised to learn that someone had reversed their hand before blowing pigments on a cave wall. Or even earlier, reversed a stone when using a stone to carve marks because it was less used and sharper. Reverting the finger to draw marks in soil would also have had an advantage (you'd use your nail which is harder). All that considered, if our monkey ancestors did it, it'd be surprising if we didn't too.

Edited February 20, 2020 by txomsy