Implements discovered from the Stone Age Era seem equally divided between left handed implements and right handed implements.

Studies of cave drawings during the same period indicates a preference for the left hand.

Later in history, when tools became more advanced, a right-hand preference was found to have emerged. The use of left hand products became less and less.

Sun worshipping was believed to be the reason for right hand preference. Those living in the Northern hemisphere had to face south to follow the sun and move from left to right until the suns sets in the west, which gave moving to the right and the right hand side a great significance.

There is another theory which states that as the heart is on the left hand side, a shield was needed in his left hand to defend it against enemy blows. Any weapon therefore had to be held in the right, which forced it to become the dominant hand.

Recent theories have included one that right is the normality and left-handedness, is a deficiency which result from a traumatic birth. This theory caused many left handed people to be shunned as a pariah.

The biggest difference between left-handers and right-handers when it comes to writing is, left-handers have to push their pens across the page rather than pulling, leading to bad ink flow and scratching nibs. Writing with a fountain pen can be a real problem for left-handers as they are pushing the pen across the page, rather than pulling it, which leads to difficulty with ink flow and the possibility of the nib digging into the paper.

The problem is greatly alleviated by the use of a left-handed pen which has the nib specially cut to avoid these problems. These are specially made fountain pens that are made to help compensate for this problem. These left handed fountain pens all have specially shaped nibs to write smoothly in the left hand. All of these pens feature fully left-handed nib units. Good posture and writing style are also important, as covered in our wide selection of teaching books. Follow this link for a of our left handed writing equipment.

Being forced to use the wrong tools cause left-handed children to have particular problems in learning their basic skills. These problems can be easily overcome with some sensible guidance and the use of some simple left-handed implements, but they often get neither and end up with an unfair reputation as being slow, awkward and clumsy as a result!

Difficulties include cutting out simple shapes using scissors. Left-handed scissors have the blades reversed so that the child can the cutting line and so that the natural squeezing movement of the left hand pushes the blades together to make them cut rather than pushing them apart so that the card or paper gets stuck sideways inside the blades.

Why right handed scissors do not work for left handers and the problems left handed children have at school with scissors. Guidance for children, parents and teachers on using left handed scissors.

A lot of people have asked us to explain this so we have created a video to show you the problems left handers face when using the wrong scissors and how easy they are to fix! Watch it below.

Use the links below to find out more about the different types of left handed scissors in our online shop.

General Purpose and Household Scissors, Children's Scissors with rounded blade tips for safety, Manicure Scissors, Dressmaking and Embroidery Scissors, Special Purpose Scissors - Haircutting, Kitchen, Medical

Here is a list of just some

George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford, Ben Franklin, James A. Garfield, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, Nelson D. Rockefeller, Harry S. Truman, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte

Douglas Adams, Hans Christian Andersen,Leo Tolstoy, Mark Twain, H.G. Wells

Eminem, Ludwig van Beethoven, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Natalie Cole, Phil Collins, 50 Cent, Art Garfunkel, Judy Garland, Bob Geldof, Jimi Hendrix, Faith Hill, Paul McCartney, George Michael, Mozart, Robert Plant, Lou Rawls, Seal, Paul Simon, Ringo Starr

Pierce Brosnan, George Burns, Drew Carey, Charlie Chaplin, Tom Cruise, Robert DeNiro, Richard Dreyfuss, Greta Garbo, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Shirley MacLaine, Steve McQueen, Richard Pryor, Keanu Reeves, Julia Roberts, Jerry Seinfeld, Christian Slater, Emma Thompson, Dick Van Dyke, Bruce Willis, Oprah Winfrey

Barry Bonds, Wade Boggs, Lou Brock, Lou Gehrig, Ken Griffey Jr., Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Paul O'Neill, Babe Ruth, Whitey Ford, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Andy Pettitte, Fernando Valenzuela, Frank Viola

Larry Bird, Gail Goodrich, Toni Kukoc, Bob Lanier

Marvin Hagler, Oscar de la Hoya, Mike Tyson

Jimmy Connors, Goran Ivanisevic, Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Guillermo Vila