Do you write with a fountain pen?

[wodin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If there is a "comfortable" way to write left-handed with a fountain pen without smudging the ink, I'd love to know what it is, because I've never found it .

The only way I ever discovered was what I think you are describing - "doubling your hand up" and effectively writing backwards, from above, which is very uncomfortable indeed.

My Dad was a leftie, and he always wrote that way. Even with a pencil or ball point. He learned it in grammar school. They had "penmanship" classes in those days where all they used were fountain pens, and he got into the habit and carried it for his entire life.

Also, everyone in his generation had their own personal fountain pen. No one else was allowed to use it. The belief was that the nib would get broken in to your style of writing, and if someone else used it it would mess up the wear pattern.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

Do you write with a fountain pen?

What else would you do with one?

[pking36330]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The only way I ever discovered was what I think you are describing - "doubling your hand up" and effectively writing backwards, from above, which is very uncomfortable indeed.

HarryT, I'm not second-guessing you and cannot presume to know what you may have suffered as a left-hander in a right-handed world, but as I look at my hand position on the page as I write, the pen nib extends beyond where my had rests on the page so that even if I were writing Arabic text (right-to-left) it would not smudge the text.

Does you normal writing postion (fingers, pen, hand as it rests on the page) place part of your hand in contact with the page above the level of the line you are writing? Mine doesn't and thus I don't understand how it would smear. But I have seen both lefties and righties that place their hand in a writing position that would smear.

Sorry to inquire if this is too personal.

[Mr. Dalliard]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

the name comes from the chemical element Osmium?
It's fascinating from the standpoint of the materials that have been used to manufacture fountain pens over time:

Yes! One of my favourite metals (yes, I have favourite metals).

They were bought out by Berol a while back; however, it seems the whole line has been discontinued.

[Bob Russell]

Got my fountain pen, and have enjoyed using it a lot. Too much ink on the page to smear, and sometimes scratchy on the page depending on the paper and the angle, so I won't use it for everything. But for creative brainstorming and list making, it's a lot of fun. I think I'll stick with it for quite a while.

Oddly, reminds me of writing in One Note on my tablet pc, but that Wacom pen feels "cleaner". Might also have to start using my tablet more with the pen. What holds me back is mostly just that it's a bit heavy and I haven't quite figured out how to organize my notes yet. I guess that just means that there will still be a place for the fountain pen!

[narbeauchamp]

I acquired the habit of writing with fountain pens from my grandfather...as well as starting my collection.For daily use I have a Montblanc "cartridge" fountain pen,but have traditional fountain pens on my desk at home and in office. As an aside,I absolutely ADORE almost all of the Levenger paper products-as there is no bleedthrough when writing on them.I do alot of my writing on the computer (all three of them),but I still write anywhere from 5-10 handwritten notes every week,and those are almost always done with my FP.