Learning To Underwrite

[Microminx]

I'm a lefty overwriter trying to convert to underwriting for obvious reasons (inky hands). I've been practicing for a few weeks now.

 

Pen: Noodler's Ahab

Ink: Noodler's X-feather

 

 

Overwriting:

 

Underwriting:

 

When undewriting i try to mimic John DeCollibus from his videos on IAMPETH, such as turning the page 90 degrees clock-wise and writing with a side to side motion to mimic upstrokes.

 

Any suggestions on how i could improve?

[vidalia11]

I have the paper at 45 degrees clockwise. Try that.

 

Karen

[Biber]

Good for you - looks like you're well on your way to success!

[smk]

FWIW I find the less severe slant in the underwritten example easier to read.

 

Since you are learning a new way of writing anyway, this might be a great time to practice a new hand e.g. Business Hand or even Spencerian.

 

Salman

[torstar]

we will always welcome another lefty underwriter into our club, even if a convert

[Andrew H]

How's your grip? You should not be exerting any pressure onto the section of the pen when you write.

[ajzeller]

I'm in the same boat as you. I've either been using my blotter a lot, or accepting smeared ink and messy hands (however, having ink on my hand, did give me a name for my blog ) I also have quite a slant when overwriting and usually put my paper at a slant while writing to compensate. I feel like I'm learning to write all over again when I practice underwriting! Until I get decent at it, though, my blotter will continue to get some serious mileage

[fiberdrunk]

I'm a hook-over leftie, too. I homeschool and one of my kids is left-handed and the other right-handed. It's been an interesting experience trying to teach the both of them to write correctly. This video by the Left Handers Club gave me a few ideas to try. It never occurred to me that I wasn't given enough direction as a child, that I've been writing wrong all these years. I think when a right handed teacher comes across a leftie, they more or less leave it up to the lefty to work out how to write.

 

I'm currently working on trying to learn Palmer, myself, with the hope of one day learning Spencerian-- my hook-over is a real stumbling block for Spencerian, much to my dismay. I'm a huge admirer of nice penmanship and wish my own was nicer. I'm teaching my kids italic (which I've also tried for myself).

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZGyDtQ3S1M

Edited October 5, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[1hookedsmudgyfish]

John decollibus uses a right handed oblate pen holder. To create the slant that should come naturally if you simply turn the paper to 45 degrees. Do natural skuiggly lines playing around with the angle until they're at 51°. Then try underhand.

[1hookedsmudgyfish]

Also, the pilot metropolitan fine nib gives much finer lines if you're interested in learning spencarian on colledge ruled paper

[Chmara]

Kudos on switching up to down under. My attempts to do that more than 50 years ago left me an illegible underwriter with moral strictures to overwriting. Therefore I was forced to use keyboards if I wished to communicate and only decided to write with fountain pens and do calligraphy on my 76th birthday 3.5 months ago. I too have learned that fine nibs make for clarity of hand on script, but have a lot more character than ballpoints. and

 

I am attempting flex writing (Spencerian and Copperplate inspired) but find downstroke wide nib control is a problem as I come out of upwards into the paper slanted stroke problematic as a lefty sine we are pusing the sharp nib toward the paper, not dragging it lightly along the line as a right handed person does.

 

On the calligraphy side using broad nibs to form gothic letters I learned that underwriter lefties' wrist do not bend the proper way to control the nib's width-slant on the paper.

 

As of yet I have found almost no real system or set of resources allowing tip to lefties to at least mock the results or motions of a righty to get similar widths and joints in the lettering. For Gothic I am using Pilot Parallel pens - otherwise i have tried Frankenpen Jinhaos, fine Jinhaos, Wing Sun Extra Fines, and Zebra G nibs in an Ackerman overfeed G Manga pen.

 

I am in hopes that through proper tuning the Ackerman may solve some problems and I am corresponding with Mr. Ackerman on that. But I do remain stumped with the parallels and Gothic.\ lettering with its wrist angle problems.

 

Oh yes, my handwriting for everyday with the Wing Sun and Jinhao fine has improved from that of a delinquent 5th grader to that of a careless second semester 7th grader.. Given a month or two I might have writing as nice as yours.

 

Gc

Edited January 27, 2018 by Chmara

[sidthecat]

Im just a contrarian. What Ive been doing is based on a backwards position called Flourishing Hand, which allows you to pull your letters instead of pushing them. I have a couple of really small pens with dip nibs, so I can take advantage of their flex. It just looks strange.

Edited January 27, 2018 by sidthecat

[Chmara]

Purely my personal taste and opinion Antique -- but every time I see this right handed process picture from Spencerian days when lefties were hit with rulers or worse for using the "wrong hand" my ire rises along with my blood pressure. And flipping this picture does not solve the real anatomical wrist problems faced by lefties in holding the two parts of pen angle needed for drag in the same way.

 

Let me suggest you post pictures of LEFT handed pen drags for the edification of those of us who are right/left visual brain challenged.

 

For me, a lefty to drag the nib, one must either turn into a curled overhand writer, or turn the paper 90 degrees and write top to bottom as does John D.

 

I am sorry if this annoys you, and i know as a mature adult your diagram should not annoy me -- but emotionally it gets my dander up.

 

Respectfully,

 

GC

[sidthecat]

Fair enough - I only point out that one can get good results with this position, given a short pen and a fast-drying ink.