Left-handedness And The Greatest Insult Of All

(Michelle Guo is a self-diagnosed pen addict ever since she charmed the Faber Castell stand at a stationery fair with her metallic ocean-scape at 9 years old. She ended up leaving with all their paraphernalia and now probably needs Hermione Granger's Undetectable Extension Charm for her pencil case. You can find Michelle on Twitter @misheyxxxooo.)

When I was at high school, I decided to enter a spoken word poetry competition. I loved the construction of a good poem; where the right word appeared at the right time, creating a melody of sounds and silences that are the poet’s gift to their audience as they show a side of themselves that is so deeply tied in with their own identity and perception of the world. During the workshops that were held prior to the competition, I was told to write what I know. As a 15 year old, I didn’t think there was much to me that was profound enough to turn into a poem. Spoken word poems tend to be loud and passionate, as if the words had jumped off the page and demanded to be heard. A good spoken word poem is must be personal enough so that it is uniquely yours, but broad enough to immerse your audience. Remember, I was 15 at the time, and I don’t think I or any of my peers had enough life experience to really appreciate and understand a poem on love, loss, legacy, death, the transience of life; the more common ideas found in most poems.

So I wrote about being left-handed.

Don’t get me wrong, handedness may seem like a petty and insignificant thing to write an entire poem on, but as a left-hander I do believe that it has an affect on the way I live my life; the way I hold things, the way I position myself in relation to others, the way I learn various activities that are led by right handed teachers. Apparently, left-handers make up 10% of the population, and I think that it is time that the other 90% get to know more about us and the way this trait can affect our lives. So from me to you, dear pen addict, let me share with you a part of me that was also once the greatest insult of all.

The Greatest Insult of All

Insults have boiled down to very shallow things recently
People get offended when you call them stupid, ugly, weird
But out of all physical qualities existing,
There is one that was once the ultimate insult
Which I embody

I am left-handed
Etymology tells me that I am awkward, tactless, weak and evil
In history I am a stigma of degeneracy
A sign of neurosis
The twin that would die in the womb
Unlucky, gay
I have not done anything wrong but I would have been burnt at the stake
Mistaken for the witch
As soon as I picked up a pen
With a palm ridden with scars from a whip left over from countless beatings
And fingers with newly cut wounds
 
This cursed hand turns compliments into insults
Toasts into curses of evil
Stripped me of my rights because my left-handedism has left me to take stand on my own
Ambidexterity has become a goal that I can never achieve
I will never be ambidextrous
Because I will never be right-handed on both sides
 
You may try to tell me that it doesn't matter anymore
That we have climbed right over the hurdle of handedism
And left it in the past
But try telling that to the smudges that are left on my page
From dragging my hand along it
My wrist, tired from its right angled position it takes to elevate my hand away from the whiteboard
So that my hand doesn't wipe off everything I have written
To the menacing binder on the left hand side
The non-existent computer with a left-handed mouse
To my body that has to twist awkwardly to reach anything on the right hand side
To that pair of scissors  that have been tailor made for people like you
But end up being left to people like me
And hinder my every move
Try explaining to my PE teacher,
That swinging the bat with my left hand
The way you do with your right hand just doesn't feel right
In fact
Nothing feels right
When I am trying to do something that I wasn't born to do
I am the ultimate victim of modern society
The only spot where I belong on a row of tables is at the end
I am the odd one out
 
People say that right-handers are always right
However
keep in mind that our brains work opposite to our bodies
So the truth is
We
left handers
are the only ones
in our right mind

I’d love to hear from fellow pen addicts about their experiences with or as a left-hander and the kind of stationery they find themselves gravitating towards because of it. I am always on the lookout for nifty tools and gadgets to make my life easier, although I must say I have adapted a lot already in their absence.

Sailor Specialty Nibs Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Ever since I discovered the Sailor Specialty Nibs page at Classic Fountain Pens, I spent hours looking at each nib and its characteristics, fascinated by the different shapes and styles. The prices always threw me for a loop, though, so I just looked and coveted.

I finally found a pretty good price on a Sailor Pro Gear with a Cross Point nib on Engeika. It took several weeks to arrive, but the wait was worth it.

I loved the lush broad lines it made–so glorious with sheening and shading inks. But I couldn't write with the nib upside down. You're supposed to be able to write fine lines with it, but mine just cuts into the paper.

I discovered why, after taking macro shots of the nib: the tines are misaligned. This doesn't affect the broad strokes, but it definitely makes the nib unusable for fine lines. I'm going to have to send the nib in for work.

In the meantime, a person on Fountain Pen Geeks offered a Sailor 1911 with a Cross Concord nib for a steal. I knew the Concord, with its beak-like nib, could write fine on one side and do the luscious lines on the other, so I bought the pen.

So, now I have two Sailor Specialty Nibs.

The two nibs are similar in what they can do: write fine strokes with the nib in one position and broad strokes in the other. The Cross Point nib in the normal position writes broad strokes.

Cross Point Nib

The Cross Concord is the opposite. Personally, I prefer the Cross Concord because I can pick it up and immediately use it like a normal fountain pen. If I want the broad strokes I turn it upside down. With the Cross Point, you have to hold the pen with the nib upside down if you want to write fine strokes.

Cross Concord Nib

Because my Cross Point's tines are misaligned, I can't compare the two pens' fine strokes. But I can compare the broad ones. They are similar in width (if not exactly the same). You can vary the width of the line of both nibs depending on the angle you hold the pen. If you wish, you can even mimic brush strokes with the nibs.

The Sailor Specialty Nibs are clearly designed for Japanese calligraphy, not western writing. But, I've found they work great for writing Hebrew. I'm no calligrapher, but I love the nice thick lines I can make for Hebrew lettering.

Yes, there are Hebrew/Arabic nib grinds for this purpose, but they aren't all that versatile if you write primarily in cursive. With the Sailor nibs, I can write Hebrew letters with the broad side and turn the nib over and write cursive English.

These nibs are also great for drawing. I'm no artist, but I could see how people who like to sketch with ink would love these pens. You can paint with the broad side and sketch details with the fine.

The nibs themselves are works of art. The double-layer nibs, the scroll work, the beautiful 21K gold, all combine to make for an exquisite nib. You can get the specialty nibs with an extra bar on top that increases the ink flow, but I think it ruins the aesthetic of the nib. So far, I've had no need for increased ink flow.

The one negative about these nibs is that they are limited to Sailor pens. It's not that I have anything against Sailors, it's just that their converters are tiny. They just don't hold much ink (0.5ml). Even the Sailor Realo (a piston fill pen) doesn't hold much more (0.9ml). When you're doing broad, juicy strokes, you can blow through a small converter of ink very quickly.

Another limitation of Sailor pens is the lack of choices in pen color. Finding a Sailor with a specialty nib in any color other than black is difficult, and you have to be willing to pay a premium. If you want one of the fancier Sailors with a specialty nib expect to pay close to $1,000.

I purchased my boring black Pro Gear from Engeika for $390. The Sailor 1911 with a Cross Concord would normally be $535, but I got it for around $300 as well.

Pros

• These specialty nibs really are special. No other manufacturer makes anything like them.
• They are extremely versatile. You can write fine and broad and in between and use them for sketching.
• These nibs are great for certain types of calligraphy and even for Hebrew (which I know is very important to most people).
• Sailor specialty nibs make great ink testers because they show off the ink in both fine and super broad strokes.

Cons

• The nibs are only available on Sailor pens which have small ink capacity.
• Sailor pens with specialty nibs are quite expensive.
• You don't have much choice in colors unless you're willing to pay almost $1,000.
• Sailor recently suspended orders on these nibs so quantities are currently limited.

What Makes The Stationery Community Great

That time when the Nock Co. party turned into a show and tell.

(Daniel Lemay is an analog tool enthusiast and enjoys pondering over many things. You can find him on Twitter at @dslemay and his blog at Circumspect Reverie)

Less than 18 months ago I was on the outside looking in. I wasn't into pens or stationery, but decided to try out a fountain pen to see if it would help remediate growing RSI issues. I listened to the most recent Pen Addict fountain pen primer episode. Since then I have fallen deep into the pen, and other stationery, rabbit holes. Beyond that I have discovered what an amazing community there is here. As many have mentioned previously, the stationery community has been the best community that I have been a part of.

At the heart of a good community is a focus on the health of the people, the relationships therein, and an empathetic basis. The stationery community has this in spades. The welcoming and inclusive attitude of the community, even to an introverted fledgling such as myself, is one of its shining characteristics. Regardless of your current knowledge of stationery, people in this community have always been ready to help you find out what work best for you and troubleshoot problems. People are open and willing to share their knowledge and experience, and are overall excited to share and spread the love of good writing instruments.

Something that has always struck me as significant about the community is the care people have for each other and how giving they are. This is not a group of people whose connection to each other ends at the discussion of one's latest acquisition. They truly care about the people in it and come alongside both in the positive and more difficult moments. On one such occasion last year the community secretly orchestrated the funding, purchase, and delivery of a Nakaya for Mary Collis after she received news of her MS diagnosis. The accompanying note sums up the heart of this compassionate and caring community: "...This pen doesn't fix anything, but hopefully every time you use it it will put a smile on your face as you tackle all that lies ahead." Such care and support are something to be cherished.

I too experienced the sheer generosity of the people here. After saving up for months fairly early in my pen addiction I finally was able to purchase a Franklin Christoph Model 40. Less than two months into owning it, I somehow lost it (my most expensive pen at the time and the only one I ever lost). After sharing the sad news in the Pen Addict Slack Group I got an unexpected message from Thomas Hall offering to give me his Model 40 because he wasn't using it much. That was something that totally caught me off guard--that I, a nobody in my perspective, would be the recipient of such generosity from someone I didn't even know. The generosity of this community shows itself regularly through freely offering ink samples, picking up and shipping of Field Notes only found locally, etc.

Additionally, the stationery community is a great place where we can challenge each other and disagreements don't devolve into the normal internet vitriol. Conversations include TWSBI's build quality, the temporary transition of Noodler's ink to plastic bottles, Kickstarter snafus, the renewal of the Esterbrook brand, and more. Most recently, Ian Hedley began a great discussion about Pilot's product availability and significant price difference between the USA and the UK. It has continued with an official response from Pilot and Ian sharing some additional thoughts on Pilot's response here. Even amidst disagreement, conversations remain productive and respectful, which is the best we can ask for. A community where everyone agrees lacks diversity and the opportunity for growth.

The stationery community is not just a place where people share their nerdy obsession. Rather, that serves as the societal impetus bringing us all together. The community is much more than that. It is a place that is welcoming and works to cast off the notion of societal cliques. It is a place which avoids myopic behavior, where people care about each other deeply and are giving in spirit. It is a place where disagreement and civil discourse can take place. Ultimately, the stationery community is a place to be welcomed into, to belong, and to call home.