left handed rulers etc Any good?

ailuro2

left handed rules, protractors etc, are a gimmick.

The only good left handed thing I never knew I needed till I bought them was left handed dress making scissors - I didn't know I struggled to use scissors till I got a pair that "work";)

debulition

ailuro2 wrote: »

The only good left handed thing I never knew I needed till I bought them was left handed dress making scissors - I didn't know I struggled to use scissors till I got a pair that "work";)

I love my left-handed scissors too. I can only use right-handed ones by holding them on my right side (about as far over as my right shoulder) and cutting with my left hand. It's awkward, but the only way I can see where the blade is cutting the paper.

nervousftb_3

I'm a leftie and have pretty much had to adapt to using everything right-handed. I had left-handed scissors as a child but to be honest this just confused me more as if I ever had to use right-handed ones it took me ages to work them out.

I also had a left-handed vegetable peeler which was actually quite useful when I was little as I had a bit of an obsession with eating raw carrots

I would love a left-handed tin opener - I cannot for the life of me open a tin properly! And I don't know if such a thing exists but I would also love a left-handed knife set - the blades on knives are angled slightly so if I cut cheese or bread left-handed (holding bread with right hand cutting with left) I can never get it straight and end up chopping a weird wedge shape instead :mad:

Blobby8_2

Does anyone know why left handed men sleep on the left side of the bed ?

DVardysShadow

LittleMissAspie wrote: »

Are you being sarcastic? What's a left handed screwdriver, screwdrivers are symmetrical.

Apart from scissors, I can't see why anything needs to be left handed. Most items can be used in either hand. I am right handed but slightly ambidextrous and I've never had any problem using things in my left hand. Except my toothbrush. Lack of fine motor control.

I think it was one of those things which needs explaining to aspies ...

drutt wrote: »

Aha, you really are right-handed in a right-handed world, huh?!

Screwdrivers aren't symmetrical. The standard screwdrivers you use screw clockwise to tighten and anti-clockwise to loosen. Left-handed screwdrivers are the other way round.

The same applies to left-handed corkscrews or can-openers. It's not a gimmick. There's a reason why left-handers have more accidents and it's because utensils are designed with right-handers in mind.

Most screwdrivers are agnostic about tightening and loosening screws. It is the screw which dictates which way the screwdriver must go to tighten up.

missnippy

My sister and I are both lefties, and have always used right-handed stuff - the one time I tried to use something designed for left-handed people, I couldn't work it and ended up going back to "normal"

emmaanddave

I am a lefty and so is one of my daughters. I grew up with all the usual things, nothing aimed at a left handed person. Only at school was I offered left handed scissors. Although since growing up and flying the nest I have found a peeler from Lakeland really good as the peeling part sits right across the top of the handle so left and righ handed can use!!:)

DVardysShadow

cheepskate wrote: »

Hi All

Our child is left handed. For all us right handed people its a bit difficult to imagine everything being the opposite way round- such as rulers etc.

So i was looking online and saw rulers , protractors and set squares to name just a few for left handies.

What im wondering is do they make life easier or more difficult for left handers- are they really needed and what benefits do they have.

Any left handers used these, your views would be appriciated before i go and buy them.

As a right hander, I would say that you need to think on a case by case basis. Scissors for example are handed, because right handed scissors don't work for left handers. Fountain pens optimised for right handers should come with a left hand variant.

But somewhere you need to break the symmetry of provision. Take the screwdriver subdiscussion to its logical conclusion. It is the screws which dictate the handedness of the screwdriver. So should left handed screws be sold? Or bolts? Should completely left handed versions of cars be made? And should lefthanders drive on the right side of the road? You need to break the symmetry before you start asking whether left handers should drive on the right.

When it comes to protractors, there are definite positive and negative directions in the measurement of angles - it is handed. There are also definite conventions in maps and all sorts of coordinate systems, which are handed. So it is better to have an ordinary ruler, rather than one he has to turn upside down to use - else it will confuse the hell out of him and any right handed teacher who tries to help.

I would say there are a few things where you can justify the left handed variant - scissors and fountain pens being obvious examples. But mostly you want to enable him to interface into a right handed world, which means keeping his handedness close to him rather than extending it out into the world with rulers and protractors which don't match convention.

lola34

I'm a leftie, grew up in the 70's/ 80's so never had anything left handed though I can remember a child not being able to cut material with scissors as I couldn't get the pressure right, or use a vegetable peeler!!!!! the only other problem was writing in books/ files as it was tricky getting into the margin. I have access to left handed scissors at work but as it has been metioned before, they are really difficult to cut where you need to.

Waffle_On

Everyone in my household is a leftie, as are about half of my immediate family. I have struggled with tin openers and scissors at times, but generally managed with 'standard' types. I have a Y shaped peeler, which can be used with either hand.

The one and only thing that I REALLY struggled with, and wanted to try and get a leftie version of was my school hockey stick!