3 ms·

Any tips for lefties? I find in very difficult to avoid complete smudgification of everything I write with a fountain pen, since it takes so much longer for the

Any tips for lefties? I find in very difficult to avoid complete smudgification of everything I write with a fountain pen, since it takes so much longer for the ink to dry.

tenuousemphasis 1y ago
Try writing right to left!
- benrutter 1y ago
  This is the kind of solution I'm looking for! Should I: - Write in mirror image form? - Learn to predict my line length so I can write right to left, but have the text read left to right? - Learn arabic or herbrew? I'm leaning towards all three personally.
  - Dilettante_ 1y ago
    You're being facetious, but Da Vinci famously wrote mirrored script. If it's just for your personal notes and such, I feel this is actually the obvious smart solution, seeing as the flow of the writing will be aligned with the direction you're coming from.
  - rightbyte 1y ago
    Writing with mirrored letters would be a awesome party trick. Counting line length before writing it seems harder to get fluent in than arabic or hebrew scripts...
- nvader 1y ago
  Why not https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boustrophedon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boustrophedon
foo42 1y ago
I write with my hand below the line to avoid smudging. A consequence of this is my pen meets the page at quite a shallow angle which I find is perfect for fountain pens but scratchy with ball points. These days I do very little hand writing and find my traditional pose (described above) causes hand cramps, but I don't know if that's specific to the odd way I write or if all poses would when so out of practice
- graboid 1y ago
  Did you learn that handwriting pose already as a child? If not, how hard was it to teach yourself writing that way?
postepowanieadm 1y ago
Try different inks.
elros 1y ago
What I’ve seen being done before, not only by lefties but actually by quite a few people, is to shift your paper 45~90°, so that you’re effectively writing bottom up (right handed) or top to bottom (left handed). It can get a moment to get used to it but it alleviates the smudging significantly. For what it’s worth, personally, I don’t like it so much, but I know people who swear by it; and had fast, clear, legible notes to back it up.
nvader 1y ago
I recommend using a sheet of tissue, napkin or old school blotting paper under your writing hand. This advice is not just for lefties. Although I'm right-handed myself, I like to use a tissue paper under my palm when scribing Wedding Cards, to avoid smudges.

Any tips for lefties? I find in very difficult to avoid complete smudgification of everything I write with a fountain pen, since it takes so much longer for the ink to dry.

tenuousemphasis 1y ago

Try writing right to left!

benrutter 1y ago
This is the kind of solution I'm looking for! Should I: - Write in mirror image form? - Learn to predict my line length so I can write right to left, but have the text read left to right? - Learn arabic or herbrew? I'm leaning towards all three personally.
- Dilettante_ 1y ago
  You're being facetious, but Da Vinci famously wrote mirrored script. If it's just for your personal notes and such, I feel this is actually the obvious smart solution, seeing as the flow of the writing will be aligned with the direction you're coming from.
- rightbyte 1y ago
  Writing with mirrored letters would be a awesome party trick. Counting line length before writing it seems harder to get fluent in than arabic or hebrew scripts...
nvader 1y ago
Why not https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boustrophedon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boustrophedon

foo42 1y ago

I write with my hand below the line to avoid smudging. A consequence of this is my pen meets the page at quite a shallow angle which I find is perfect for fountain pens but scratchy with ball points. These days I do very little hand writing and find my traditional pose (described above) causes hand cramps, but I don't know if that's specific to the odd way I write or if all poses would when so out of practice

graboid 1y ago
Did you learn that handwriting pose already as a child? If not, how hard was it to teach yourself writing that way?

postepowanieadm 1y ago

Try different inks.

elros 1y ago

What I’ve seen being done before, not only by lefties but actually by quite a few people, is to shift your paper 45~90°, so that you’re effectively writing bottom up (right handed) or top to bottom (left handed). It can get a moment to get used to it but it alleviates the smudging significantly. For what it’s worth, personally, I don’t like it so much, but I know people who swear by it; and had fast, clear, legible notes to back it up.

nvader 1y ago

I recommend using a sheet of tissue, napkin or old school blotting paper under your writing hand. This advice is not just for lefties. Although I'm right-handed myself, I like to use a tissue paper under my palm when scribing Wedding Cards, to avoid smudges.