Search the Community

Complete newbie here - and a lefty - wanting to learn about fountain pens. I'm currently a big user of gel pens, ranging from Pilot G-Tec 0.4 to Uni-Ball Signo (0.5mm to 1.0mm depending on use). I tend to write small, and I generally overwrite. I've been intrigued by the idea of using fountain pens, for the look and the possible control, and the fantastic choice of inks, but I'm not sure if it will work for me. Right now I am waiting on delivery of a Pilot Varsity (Med) as well as a Platinum Preppy (F). While reading up in recent days about FPs here and around the web I came across mention of left-handed nibs. If I like using fountain pens then the next step up in price-point would be along the line of a Lamy Safari, which I see is available in a left-handed nib (M only). I've come to learn that in order to reduce possible smearing, lefties might want to choose a finer nib (to lay down less ink so it will dry faster) as well as faster-drying inks. Would a left-handed nib also be useful, or is it more of a marketing gimmick? (And if it's not a gimmick why are they so rare, and only available as M by Lamy?)

Hello! I recently became interested in fountain pens and I'm considering purchasing one! I would most likely buy the Lamy Safari based on the high recommendation of them to new users, I also really like the design of them as well. However, I am unsure on which nib size to get with the Safari. I am a left-handed (I read that the left-handed Lamy nib doesn't really make a difference, but I might as well mention it) high school student. This means I would most likely be using cheap paper, like the Norcom 1 Subject Notebook (College Ruled), and blank copy paper as well. I am not sure whether to get the Safari with the F or M nib. Will the nib size affect the amount of bleed-through/feathering in the cheap paper? Which nib size do you recommend for my type of use? Also, if anyone uses rollerball pens (it's a fountain pen forum, I know haha), do you know the size of the F or M Lamy nibs compared to, say, an Energel .7mm refill? Like, what's the mm of a F or M Lamy nib? Thank you!

Howdy, So I did a quick search of the forum but wasn't able to readily find something akin to what I wanted to know. I went to school in NSW (Australia) in the 90's, where they were teaching a very basic linked style (I don't recall the name off hand) and didn't spend much time with me personally because I'm left handed and also my teacher during the years spent learning penmanship disliked me and spent no time with me at all (At one point, she yelled at me and berated me in front of the whole class for not knowing how to spell my last name, Brodhurst-Hill, despite being 6 and only recently taken up the name). I've basically had to cobble together my own style of (terrible) handwriting and I'm starting to really hate it. I can write quickly enough, but the terrible mess sometimes is barely even readable by me without a bit of effort, a few months down the line (thankfully, the samples I provided are at least readable. These are what I would consider a good day for my writing). I've just started an IT Diploma course where I'll be having to take a LOT of notes BY HAND. I was getting hand cramps with ballpoints in earlier courses and tried out an FP from a friend and noticed I was able to write for longer + loved the experience. So I did a bunch of research and bought a bunch of pens (Imperial IV Touchdown fine/med is on the way, I have a Parker 51 Aero with 14k fine nib atm, a fine Platinum Preppy and an EF Hero 616 which is going to my brother) and suddenly I have some kind of illness... Must have more pens... I've done some basic (an hour or two) searching around the internet and forums to try and find something that's more dedicated towards south-paws which includes some kind of structured learning + printable sheets for practice and drills, but I keep finding fragments of nothing much. I'm not really THAT fussed about what the style is, as long as it's "easy" to learn and it is catered (at least partly) towards lefties. I started reading the Palmers method, but that seems to be more designed around having a desk and sitting in the correct position, where normally I have a desk that is too high, or (in class) I have to turn 90 / 180 degrees to see the board + there are keyboards in the way. To say that I usually write in somewhat cramped conditions is an understatement Even if I got the lecture tables, they're designed around right handers and leave no room for my arm to rest using palmers. Is there anything a fellow leftie out there has used to improve their handwriting, preferably speedy and readable first and foremost, that isn't a bunch of cobbled together tidbits from across the web? I know there's plenty of free content for righties, but struggling to find stuff that's free for lefties Attached are two quick snaps of my handwriting ON A GOOD DAY from an earlier course. I didn't have any samples of a bad day on hand, but imagine a smaller and tighter together version of this: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/WirlWind494/20140109_133152.jpg This (top) is a short burst of writing, stays pretty readable thankfully. The issue is more like below when taking a lot of notes quickly. It tends to fall apart. http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/WirlWind494/20140109_133248.jpg And for those wondering, that 2nd one is for an assessment for the Cert 3 - Network Admin course. Had to keep written notes on every step required to reinstall windows XP. God, that class was boring XD

I'm right-handed when it comes to writing things down, but I've recently (past six months) noticed that my handwriting slopes to the left. It might be because of Bliblical Hebrew studies (probably not) but I can't imagine why it would have carried over into my normal handwriting. If I make the effort to slant to the right, I immediately fall into a faux-Copperplate style. Any other right-handers out there who write with a left-side slant? http://oi42.tinypic.com/5uerm9.jpg