4 ms·
While the colours and such do look very nice, the "writing samples" images show exactly why I hate using fountain pens. I'm left-handed, so if I try to write pr
by voidUpdate 1y ago
While the colours and such do look very nice, the "writing samples" images show exactly why I hate using fountain pens. I'm left-handed, so if I try to write prose then my hand will just smudge the writing. I've always found that cheap ballpoints are the least likely to smudge, even if they still leave residue on my hand, and as the pen gets more "premium", the worse the smudging problem gets.
I like to use as fine a pen as possible if I'm just trying to work something out (diagrams, small notes, etc), and I've found that a Unipin Fine Line (currently a 0.03) does work well, though I've been having some issues with ink flow recently (though the pen is probably nearing the end of its life at this point anyway). I have liked the feel of Uniball Eye pens in the past, though they have a similar smudging problem if used for prose. Other than that, the cheapest Bic ballpoints have been the most successful for me, since the ink dries super fast and they feel good enough to write with.
In school I was given a specific left handed fountain pen to write with, but I always had to write at wonky angles to try and keep it legible, and it never really worked very well anyway. Pushing the pen instead of pulling it generally gives bad results. I have experimented with trying to do mirror writing, like Leonardo da Vinci, but obviously nobody else can read it like that
- Al-Khwarizmi 1y agoAs a fountain pen enthusiast with some beautiful pens that will probably become rare in the future, it makes me somewhat sad that my only son is left-handed.
- uncircle 1y agoHoping not to be culturally-deaf, you have an arabic sounding username, so maybe there is still hope for him if he decides to learn the language
- skrebbel 1y agoFYI Al-Khwarizmi was a famous Persian mathematician from the Islamic Golden Age. The word "algorithm" is derived from his name.
- voidUpdate 1y agoHopefully you can impress on him that they are important to you, and rare, and while he may not use them, he can still respect them for what they are, and look after them
- bayindirh 1y agoDon't feel sad. I'm left handed, too and use fountain pens specifically. I hold my pens as a right handed person would, so my hand is very far from what I write, and I never smudge anything.
- _giorgio_ 1y agoI'm left handed and I never smudge at all. I use Iroshizuku Kon Peki, Oxford Optik paper, Pilot Prera and Kakuno in M width.
- voidUpdate 1y agoWhat hand position do you use? The equivalent of a right handed person, or a specialised one to move your hand away from the writing?
- doom2 1y agoThis is why I can't get into fountain pens (also left handed). I want to hold a pen like a right handed person does. I want to use the inks, pens, and papers that everyone else uses without taking special consideration for my being left handed. Why should I have to learn to write underhand or to hook my wrist or to tilt the paper when I write, just to avoid smudging? I don't see right handed people doing it.
- lagniappe 1y agoIt'd be easier to learn to write right handed. It takes about 3 months, speaking from personal experience, to change your dominant hand.
- _giorgio_ 1y agoMy pinky rests just above the line I'm currently writing on — the line I just finished. You'd expect that to cause the most smudging, since the ink is still fresh, but surprisingly, it doesn’t.
- _giorgio_ 1y agoI'm left handed, I use european fine pens with oxford optik paper and I never smudge. Probably it depends on the ink. I use mostly Iroshizuku inks.