August 13th is International Left-handers Day! According to insider.com, lefties make up only about 10% of the world’s population.
Being a lefty has always had its ups and downs throughout my life, but it’s never held me back from being creative. When I first learned how to write, I was taught with my right hand. My mom explained that around age 5 I asked her if I could use my left hand instead. Of course, she said yes, and I’ve been a southpaw ever since.
There are challenges to being a lefty in a right-handed world. For example, just the simple act of writing in a spiral notebook or 3-ring binder can be frustrating. The spiral or ring is always in the way of writing. My notebook fix is to begin at the back or flip it so that the spiral is on the right. For a binder, I write on the backside of the page or remove the paper from the rings all together. (left: normal notebook with spiral on the left; middle: beginning the notebook from the back and working forward puts the spiral on the right; right: from the front flipping the notebook upside down puts the spiral on the right)
I can remember years ago staying in a hotel where the coffee maker had a carafe with a pour spout on the left side instead of directly across from the handle. Try pouring piping hot coffee with your non-dominate hand or better yet, backwards with your dominate hand. Of course, it does have its advantages when it requires the coffee to be poured for you! I consider it an added luxury of left-handed travel! (By the way, I tried to find an image online of this unique carafe and apparently they are no longer in existence. Looks like lefties won this battle!)
And while I was growing up, I could never find a pair of scissors that were comfortable and didn’t understand why my hand always hurt after using them. Eventually, I discovered left-handed scissors and crafting became so much more fun.
I could go on, but you get the idea. Needless to say, we lefties must adapt in many ways. Although, when it comes to calligraphy, I found it was actually easier because I’m a lefty! Finally a win for southpaws!
Just between you and me, I have a slight obsession with calligraphy pens and nibs, with cost being the only deterrent. I have to remind myself that I don’t need that many pens to make art. I still have flashbacks of my dad asking me how I could need so many shoes, when I could only wear one pair at a time.
When I first ventured into pen shopping, I found so many beautiful and unique dip pens: traditional straight pens made of wood or plastic and even glass pens.
But then I came across an oblique pen. I’d never seen anything like it and I was fascinated. Immediately, I started researching for how to use this type of pen. It turns out that righties use the oblique pen to draw calligraphy letters at the correct angle.
When holding a pen with the right hand, the nib is angled toward the left (see first image below). In order to hold the pen at the proper angle, it requires quite a twist of the wrist or moving the paper (see second image below). The oblique pen has a flange that holds the nib an extra 30 or so degrees to the right. So if the pen is held at 90 degrees (or pointed at 12 o’clock) to your guideline, the nib is about 110 degrees (or pointed toward 1 o’clock) (see third image below).
A lefty is already writing at approximately that angle and thus an oblique pen may not even be needed. If you are a lefty in search of an oblique pen, they are extremely difficult to find unless you have it custom made. However, I found that the best inexpensive option is a Speedball oblique pen because the flange holder is round instead of crescent, allowing for a nib to be placed anywhere within the circle opening.
Below is a comparison of oblique holders. The image below on the left is a side-by-side comparison of a pen for right handers and the universal Speedball oblique set up for left handers. The middle image shows the crescent flange so the nib can only be placed into the holder in one direction. The last image shows the circular flange that allows for the nib to be placed anywhere within the circle, allowing for a nib to be angled for a left hander.
Of course, each person is as unique as their handwriting so this will vary, but overall, I have found that being a left-handed calligrapher has been an advantage!
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