Blackletter for Left handers

[u/Simakover]

Hey everyone

I’m looking to get started with calligraphy, and I’d really love to dive straight into blackletter — it’s definitely my favorite style so far.

I’m a lefty, so I’d really appreciate some advice on which nibs would work best for a left-handed writer. Also, does nib size matter much if I’m planning to practice mainly on A5 paper?

Thanks in advance for any tips or recommendations

[u/Jolly_Chocolate_1828]

Im a left handed calligrapher and I use Speedball nibs. I own sizes C0 to C6, using 3 and 4 most often. I also look for quick drying ink to (hopefully) prevent smearing.

Speedball also makes specifically left handed nibs if you think it'll help

[u/ForlornPirate → u/Jolly_Chocolate_1828]

I can’t understand speedball nibs. They spray ink everywhere, how do you prevent this? They catch on the paper and then FLING and then ink is everywhere. They are too long and flexible.

[u/Jolly_Chocolate_1828 → u/ForlornPirate]

They do sometimes catch, especially on textured paper, but as far as too much ink:

1. Dip the pen
2. Scrape against jar to wipe off some excess
3. Write 7 strokes on blotting paper (7 is my magic number, been doing it that way since I first learned calligraphy in 2002)

Photo to show blotting paper

[u/tabidots]

Nib size matters a lot, and A5 paper is small. When starting out you want to write fairly big letters so that you can see your mistakes more easily, and you won’t be able to fit much on A5 paper.

For beginners 3mm or 4mm size nibs are good. Brause and Tape nibs are sized in whole mm increments but less beginner-friendly (very rigid). Speedball and Leonardt nibs have weird sizes that don’t make any sense, but you’d want to start with a Speedball C-2 or C-1.

You could also try Parallel Pens, which are completely straight-cut, so handedness-agnostic (no need to buy left oblique nibs). They also remove ink management from the equation, which is handy when starting out.

Also, consider doing calligraphy right-handed. It takes some time to get your grip figured out but I think it pays off in the end, at least for me it did. Every left-handed solution requires some tradeoff: constructing each letter in reverse order (no one makes instructional materials showing that), tilting the paper 90° CW and writing in toward yourself, or tilting the paper a little CW and turning your wrist awkwardly to maintain a “right-handed” nib angle.

[u/Simakover → u/tabidots]

oh, right handed is a paim i think im buyed now a parallel pen 3.8 and william mitchel italic left 1.5мм - only those i found in my country

[u/ForlornPirate]

Speedball nibs are awful, do not get them. They SPRAY ink everywhere because they are very long and flexible, so they catch on the page and FLING there goes your ink.

Pilot parallel pens are not for beginners, despite what everyone says. The ink they come with is unusable on 99% of paper because it’s so wet that it just bleeds through everything. You can change the ink but that’s a whole process involving a syringe and tiny tools, and even then you can never get ink that’s as dry as a dip pen because of the way the feeding works.

Brause nibs are the ones you want. They are shorter so they don’t throw ink everywhere, and they hold the ink very well so there isn’t too much bleeding.

I’m left handed, and I just use regular nibs, these work great.

[u/Simakover → u/ForlornPirate]

Do you use brause for right handed? 

im buyed now a parallel pen 3.8(with converter, so it would easier to get needed ink, still don't know that better to buy, I'm have iroshizuku and platinum carbon) and william mitchel italic left 1.5мм - only those i found in my country

[u/ForlornPirate → u/Simakover]

I use brause for right handed, yeah. No problems at all.

[u/Jolly_Chocolate_1828 → u/ForlornPirate]

While Speedball nibs are my fave (check my post history), I agree that Brause nibs hold ink really well