As much as I have enjoyed writing with pencils during my newfound left-handedness, I have struggled with using fountain pens. Why is that?
For starters, fountain pens are a more rigid writing experience. There are rules - such as the angle of attack with the nib, and the correct amount of pressure on the tines - that other writing instruments don't have.
In my case specifically, my preference for very fine nibs and nibs with a sharp edge (think cursive italic) work against me as I try to learn to write with my left hand. Now, life-long lefties should have no trouble with fountain pen nibs on the far ends of the writing spectrum. But coming in fresh, after decades of opposite hand writing, is more of a challenge for me given my current nib inventory.
So, how do I make my left-handed fountain pen writing experience more enjoyable? Use bigger nibs.
I knew exactly which one I'd go for too, seeing how I own so few of them. It's hard to beat Pelikan nibs when you are looking for an ultra-smooth, wide line, so I grabbed my M800 Demonstrator with a medium stub nib and inked it up with Akkerman Dutch Masters 05 Israel's Zeeblauw to play around with.
For comparison, I matched it up against my Leonardo Momento Zero Grande with a stock extra fine nib, inked with Akkerman 28 for good measure. This is normally one of my favorite all-around writing nibs when writing righty, but I haven't gotten along with it as well from the opposite side.
The difference was immediately clear to me. My extra fine lines were shaky, and my medium stub lines had that nice “I’m just learning to write left-handed” look that I've come to enjoy. Like my pencils.
My writing state requires larger nibs for now. That's why pencils work so well, and why wider tipped fountain pen nibs do too.
I do miss my regular handwriting, and I hope to get back to it around the New Year. But until then, I'll keep learning about what works well for me now, and why. Maybe I'll try out gel pens next?
