There is a common misconception that fountain pens are problematic for left-handers. The truth is that lefties love fountain pens. In fact, left-handers tend to own fountain pens at a higher rate than their percentage of the population might otherwise indicate.

The 8 Best Pens for Lefties in 2021

• Best Overall: Uni-Ball Jetstream Ballpoint Pen.
• Best Ink: Fisher Bullet Space Pen.
• Best Gel: Zebra Sarasa Gel Pens.
• Best for Wet Paper: Uni-Ball Power Tank Ballpoint Pens.
• Best Highlighter: Uni Propus Double-Sided Highlighter.
• Best Fountain Pen: Pelikan Pelikano Fountain Pen.

Yes – you can use a fountain pen if you’re left-handed! Left-handed people are often discouraged from using fountain pens because there’s a common belief that they’ll just smudge the ink everywhere. If you’re left-handed, you may have even tried to write with fountain pens in the past and experienced this result!

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen
Lamy Safari Fountain Pen Fountain pens are regarded as the smoothest writing pen, and the Lamy Safari is no exception.

Not so for lefties. Left handed writing is hard. Lefties have to push the pen away from their hand while simultaneously creating legible loops and slants, crossing ‘t’s and dotting ‘i’s. Pushing means it’s more likely that the pen tip skips and the line gets broken.

Lefties need smooth ink to help with the weird physics of writing as a leftie. Less pressure is required for ink flow, meaning more comfort and less exertion while writing. The words “low viscosity” and “best pens for lefties” go hand in hand (er, left hand in left hand). Quick drying ink.

Since print typically goes from left to right across the page and lefties have a tendency to push down harder on their pens, they’re more likely to smear their writing and experience hand cramps. As a result, the best pens for lefties are both quick-drying and smooth-flowing, not to mention comfortable.

Left handed people face a lot of difficulties in everyday life. Teaching left handed people to write the same way as right handed people can make handwriting slow, uncomfortable and messy. This can be a hindrance throughout adult life if not taught correctly as a child.

There is still one significant issue facing most left-handed fountain pen users. When you’re writing from left to right, such as with the English language, left-handed writers need to avoid dragging their hand through the drying ink.

This calligraphy pen set is designed for left-handed artists, allowing the ink to flow more smoothly for them than a typical calligraphy pen. Included with the pen holder are six nibs and an instruction booklet with helpful tips on lettering and drawing methods.

Any left-hander knows that when you’re writing left-handed with an ink pen, the position of your hand tends to drag the ink if it doesn’t dry quickly enough. And no one loves ink smudges — not on the page and not on your writing hand.

It may simply be that your natural writing tendencies are working against the pen and causing it to twist loose. I get less ink ink on me with a fountain pen than I do with a roller ball, which is always darker, harder to remove and a boring color.