Lefties and fountain pens don’t mix too well. Unfortunately, the alphabet we use was developed by righties, for righties. All you lefties know the result of a long day of taking notes in school; a nice stained side of your hand. Fountain pens are worse because you lay down more ink and it dries slower than your usual ballpoint pen.
Here’s how you can deal with that whilst using a fountain pen:
1. Quick drying ink – if you’re smearing the ink as you write, try a quick drying ink like Parker’s Quink.
2. Use a sacrifical piece of paper – Fold an 8″ x11″ piece of paper in half and use it under your hand. This is easy for lefties because most have the lefty curl while writing. This will blot the ink its sitting on top of and keep your hand out of what you’re writing.
3. Don’t let others use your fountain pen – once you use your fountain pen for long enough you start to wear the nib down to the angle that you write. If someone else uses your pen for too long they’ll ruin your angle and make your nib feel scratchy.
Your only other choice is to pull a DaVinci and write in mirror script. Oh, and lefties, don’t forget the meeting to pick the next US president next month, sshhh.
Another helpful site: Lefthanded Writing Page
[tags]lefthanded, left, handed, lifehack, fountain pen, writing[/tags]
