Lefty Fountain Pen Trick: Try A Bridge

[@-jeff-]

Being a southpaw and an artist, I learned to use a few methods with pen and ink. Your idea works.

[@blahza12345]

Thanks, Fran! As a right-handed writer in a right-to-left language (and smudging all over the place), that's quite... handy ;)

[@blake_n]

Another problem I have as a lefty with a fountain pen is getting the ink to draw out from the nib properly. The nib is desiged to let ink onto the page and wick more ink from the internal well as you pull the pen along. But lefties push the pen, which tends to compress the split in the nib rather than spread it. So my cursive line tends to fade, even break, and come back as ink supply to the nib can't keep up. The scratching sensation as the ink fails to wet the page is not great. I think it would be possible to design a nib that draws ink while being pushed by a lefty. I imagine a sort of hooked nib so that the down force applied to the page splays the nib even when pushing. But from my searching, no such nib exists. I think that the 10% of lefties in an already niche market would mean such a nib may be close to 10x the cost of a standard pen.

[@TitianTopsyTurvy]

I agree. I'm a lefty and my issue with fountain pens is not just smudging what I've just written (that often happens with ball-points too or any slow drying ink). Fountain pens don't work well with the pushing applied from a lefty. They aren't designed to be pushed, they're designed to be pulled across the paper. Your design for a bridge could work I think for any pen with slower drying ink. However I think it would need to be attached to the pen (clipped on?) because we naturally obscure what we've written, meaning lefties often lift their writing hand a little to check what they've written. The 'bridge' would need to lift with the pen and hand to make peeking at previous writing possible without repositioning it every time. So fountain pens aren't a lefty's friend anyway and it's easy to get standard pens with fast drying ink (to overcome the smudging problem). I don't know about other lefties but I gave up hoping to learn naturally attractive handwriting decades ago. If it's legible, it's a win for me and I leave 'fancy writing' to the people with at least a chance of acquiring it (i.e. right-handed folk!).

[@19Edurne]

@@TitianTopsyTurvy The solution would be to glue the bridge to a kind of ring for you pinkie instead of just resting your hand on it. Lifting your hand would lift the bridge too and it would always be in the right position with respect to your hand.

[@gene_takavic57]

Such a simple fix! As a lefty (at least for writing, I am ambidextrous), I wish I had something like this back in elementary school in the 70's. It would have saved me from getting ink and pencil lead on the side of my hand!

[@NeoNorse]

Pen videos and techniques are a welcome subject to me.

[@jadeturtledesigns]

I'm a lefty and I love my fountain pens. The secret, for me, is to use the right type of ink and I hold the pen back a little from the nib so my hand isn't touching the paper. Never had a problem.

[@moxiebombshell]

Yeah, I just use ambidextrous or lefty nibs. That plus rotating my paper 90° and voila! Problem solved.

[@marjon1703]

3:00 You've decoded the Voynich manuscript with a bit of cardboard. Wow!

[@flymypg]

My Dad is a "hook-handed" leftie, writing with his hand above the line, his wrist bent inward at 90 degrees. This was the only way his cursive writing would "match" the examples used in class, something his teachers insisted upon for "proper penmanship". A simple device like this, along with some instructional latitude, could possibly have made his adult handwriting decipherable! Then again, this device does remind me of the "graphics glove" I wear when drawing on my tablet's touchscreen. Small world!

[@SeanBZA]

Same here, something I never knew about till the last video from Fran, where she mentioned this being a possibility.

[@AntonioBarba_TheKaneB]

uh, I never realized that you are a fountain pen enthusiast! I've watched a few videos of yours for the electronics engineering content, but I'm glad that you also cover one of my other hobbies!

[@goodun2974]

Eric Clapton's song "Badge" got the name because somebody looked at Eric's notes upside down as he was writing out the song and said, "what's that saying there? Badge?". Eric had written "bridge" inbetween the lyrics....

[@scottthomas3792]

You make the subject of something everyday and ordinary like pens and pencils interesting ...

[@horseshoe_nc]

Left handed fountain pen user here. I'm what is considered an underwriter. My hand is below the line. I tilt the paper a little clockwise to help make sure I don't smudge ink. My favorite pen is my Pilot Vanishing Point Decimo. Although, I may upgrade to the full size Vanishing Point. I caught the Decimo on the bottom shelf section of Goulet Pens, at a decent discount.

[@AafkeArt]

This is awesome for drawing! I use a tissue bit this is much better! Thanks a lot!

[@scottmiller2591]

"What are we doing tonight, Brain?" "Same thing we do every night, Pinky - trying to write left-handed with a fountain pen."

[@technomama1]

My greatest fountain pen, that is of cause Parker 51, one copy of which I got sometimes from Capetown, with the broadest nib I ever owned, and, it had left-hand tuning! No problem of cause, I just lightly balanced it back, but I could never guess that left hand writers has such a problem with smudging! Thank you!

[@tvelektron]

I can write with both hands - no problem at all. Especially mirror writing with my left hand is something i like to do just for fun every now and then... So i will give it a try for sure.

[@austinmetro6317]

Thats a great idea Fran! Thanks

[@kpanic23]

Back at school, most of my left-handed schoolmates would turn the paper by 90 degrees and write vertically. I was a bit envious, because this meant they were able to quickly copy the homework on their thigh while on the bus! :D

[@alextirrellRI]

Lefty here. I like the idea of the bridge, but I'm skeptical of how well it would work with certain kinds of paper/pads, especially if you want to start each line close to the left side of the paper. I do remember using fountain pens for a time, but I can't remember how much trouble I may have had with smudging -- I guess it might depend on the ink. These days I use rollerball pens and the ones I use seem to dry fast enough, thankfully!

[@lachlan1971]

I've never had a problem using a fountain pen left handed. When I was at school I would sometimes get ballpoint ink on the side of my pinky but I just adjusted the way I held the pen.

[@dl7281]

Great idea! Thanks!

[@92angelguzman]

I use the Sharpie Quick Dry pen for cursive!!! As a lefty!!!!

[@dhpbear2]

When I solve crossword puzzles (yes, I use ink!), I start from the lower-right of the grid and end at the upper-left!

[@spumonihusky]

I used to use an 00 technical pen with fast drying India ink

[@charles.coslor]

Ooh, i have to try this

[@jeffreybarton1297]

Love the Parker 51. Can't afford one, but I've used one.

[@dhpbear2]

"Keep your paws off my Parker!"

[@jeffreybarton1297]

@@dhpbear2 Only if you keep your Mittens off my Mont Blanc 😄

[@Sno_opy_ten_14_29]

Oh yes, darn got me started on lefty stuff, and trying to use a right handed mouse when left handed. As a gamer I also run into games that only favor righthanded people when their settings don't allow for changing control keys. But nice tool.

[@cimmerian100]

I feel your pain. I open up any mouse I buy and permanently hard wire the buttons the other way, because of this very reason. I also use the numpad for playing games which I think works great , I would recommend a break out numpad for right handers as well because WASD seems very clumsy to me on the hand. Only thing is some devs seem to not support the numpad properly

[@kaasmeester5903]

I went the other way when I felt the onset of overstrained tendons in my right hand, gave that hand a rest and learned how to mouse with my left hand. I now manage fine with either hand, but I never bothered (or felt the need to) switch the buttons around as well.

[@snoballuk]

I'm left handed and I never really had problems writing with a fountain pen because I hold the pen further up the barrel.

[@lachlan1971]

Kinda what I do.

[@lv_woodturner3899]

I write with my left hand and have never had an issue with my hand messing up the ink. I hold the pen like a right handed person with the pen nib above my hand. Most left handed people seem to hook the left hand and have the nib pointing down. I can imagine such position could mess up when using fountain pens. I have always liked my Parker Flighter 45 pen.

[@goodun2974]

Robert Plant: " Where's the bridge? Where's the bridge? Has anybody seen the bridge? I'm just looking for the bridge......(different voice) 'Where is that confounded bridge?' ".

[@grantm902]

Are you an MD?! Can you write me a prescription?

[@romanelli9999]

Or you could write from right to left like Da Vinci did, that solved the problem.

[@ShughaKane]

Neat. 3D printed ones might scratch the paper though, unlike a card one.

[@JessicaFEREM]

I bet if you used something like mouse skates and coated the top with a rubber it would be excellent

[@gristlevonraben]

wow, Fran, if you could make this in a glove form, you'd get rich! 🙂

[@FranLab]

Glue it to the glove of your choice, and you're set.

[@goodun2974]

​@@FranLab, in the Philly spirit of Ben Franklin, you send your ideas out into the world unpatented, and tell everyone to have at it! 👍👏

[@gristlevonraben]

@@FranLab 😄that probably works! Fran, i have a question, I'm right handed and hold my pencils at an angle away from me, fountain pens even more so. i noticed that many left handed people curl their hand, and sometimes their whole arm across the paper when they write, almost as if hiding their writing from others, do you know why many do that?

[@sandevieira5674]

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't know why a lefty needs a bridge? Right handers tilt their paper to the left when writing and lefties tilt the paper to the right. Whatever hand you use doesn't matter as long as the paper is placed correctly.

[@dylanakent]

I have a pen like a Parker 51. Does anyone know how to fix/replace those internal valves?

[@eternaldoorman5228]

Brilliant! 😂❤

[@KeritechElectronics]

Clever! And could be applied not just to fountain pens.

[@SeanBZA]

Yes, opens a whole new world of uses, like gel pens, and even crayons as well. Plus also pencil.

[@jamesgriffin958]

I interrup this video to remind anyone taught by nuns in the 1950’s and 60’s that Sister Zoe was going to flick your earlob as she patrolled the classroom if you smeared your paper. Being lefty was not a sure sign you were going to hell but you were certainly on the road to it. And yes, there were inkwells in the desks at my elementery school and yes, I’m a lefty.

[@dhpbear2]

All I have to do know is fine a left-handed fountain pen. :)

[@hippynurd]

Im mostly a lefty, but I write/draw with my right hand

[@004Black]

SOUTHPAWS UNITE! Thanks, Fran, for considering those blessed to be sinisters.

[@P-Mouse]

learn to write your signature right to left, starting with the last letter

[@WeedMIC]

In Hebrew, it's the righties who suffer...

[@franklittle8124]

Arabic too.

[@GUCR44]

I love your videos. You are an amazing person. Peace and love luv Rolfie

[@cadenswain158]

I'm a right hander. Interestingly, I write like a leftie. What I mean by this is that I bend my wrist at a 90 degree angle. My hand makes a hook shape naturally, and its rather difficult and uncomfortable to do so otherwise. Sometimes this poses issues with my letter shape and drawing. Does anyone else suffer my same problem?