Writing left-handed: what's the problem?

View our YouTube video about the Swan Neck Pen.

Fact: left-handers suffer more using standard pens designed for right handers than they do using any other right-handed tool.

That's because there are two big problems that make left-handed writing especially difficult:

Problem One
A left hand immediately obscures the letters and words just written - making it hard for the writer to keep track, especially when it's a child learning to write.

Problem Two
A left-handed writer can easily smudge ballpoint, roller ball, felt tip and other inks - making a mess of school work, letters and other important documents.

"Recent Left-handers Club research among 1000 left-handers shows that 99% of those surveyed have experienced difficulty with their writing".

The Problems Illustrated
Our photos on the right illustrate the main left-handed writing traits:

'The Fist' - clutches pen in whole fist, obscuring most of what is written.

'The Hooker' - tries hard to see what he or she is writing by tilting the paper to the left. If not dealt with early, the hooking problem can make a left hander's writing both slow and hard to read.

'The Underwriter' - tilts the paper to the left, adopting a downward sloping writing line. Letters and words then tend to lean annoyingly forward.

'The Overwriter' - writes following a steep rising line from left to right, sometimes at a full 90 degrees to the body.

The Impact

  • A slow start for left-handed children
    Many children learning to write left-handed find themselves embarrassed and discouraged - just at a time when they need all the confidence they can get.
  • Uncomfortable, awkward writing posture
    Left-handed writers often find themselves forced to tilt the paper at all kinds of awkward angles - contributing to illegible 'sloping' styles, calluses, even muscular pain.
  • Reversed letters
    A common issue for young left handers - who frequently confuse lowercase d's and b's, as well as their p's and q's.

The Swan Neck solution
Swan Neck Pens represent a revolution in left-handed ballpoint pen design that's not only ergonomic, it looks great too.

Extensive trials show that our easy-to-hold Swan Neck profile generates nothing but a positive response, both from children and older writers who've long been frustrated by conventional right-handed pens.

You can now buy Swan Neck Pens here!