The term “Lefthanded Products” covers a wide variety of items, and those products can generally be divided into two main categories…practical products and novelty items.

Practical products for lefthanders are tools or utensils designed to work better in a persons left hand. These products include lefthanded scissors, spiral notebooks, binders and other school and office supplies, can openers, peelers, and other kitchen utensils, various hand tools and power tools, golf clubs, baseball gloves and other sporting goods, and books and information for lefthanders.

Novelty items for lefthanders are regular everyday products like t-shirts, sweatshirts and other clothing items, pens and pencils, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, magnets, and plaques, etc…anything that can be printed with slogans meant to brag about being lefthanded, create lefty pride, or in some cases...to insult righthanded people. Coffee mugs have slogans are printed on the opposite of the normal side, pens and pencils have slogans printed in the opposite direction, so that lefthanded people can read the slogans when holding these items.

Starting in the early 1970's and continuing for the next fifteen to twenty years, there were a hundred or more small business around the world that sold products for lefthanded people. Most of the larger cities in the United States and most of our major tourist destinations had "shops for lefthanders" at one time or another. Most of these businesses had a relatively short lifespan, because they weren't able to reach enough of their potential customers and/or they failed to impress the people that did find them.

Businesses that have sold lefthanded products have always had a difficult time finding enough practical products to satisfy the needs of their customers. Novelty items are more often purchased by righthanders as gifts for their lefthanded friends or relatives, because they may not know which practical product their friend might want or need. As the novelty items became more popular, these businesses created more of them, and eventually the novelties overwhelmed the practical products, giving the impression that products for lefthanders are more for fun and really not necessary.

Lefthanded Products