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Lamy fountain recommendation?

Hey guys. First post in the Nib.

I'm looking into fountain pens and am not sure what are good questions or things to look for. I'm set on a Lamy since I'm on Germany and want something made locally. Do most fountains have a swappable nib? What makes one fountain better than another or do I just need to write with them to find out. TIA.
 
First off, welcome to the NIb.

The questions you ask are, for the most part, what we all ask when getting into this fine hobby. Fountain pens are a joy to use if you enjoy writing, want some line variation ( with certain nibs ), have the ability to use different colour inks, different sized nibs, and so on. I think a fountain pen is a joy to use, just like I think our way of wet shaving is a joy. A fountain pen just brings that special something to the table, that ballpoints just don't, and can never do, just like my DE, shaving brush, and soap bring that a cart and goo just can't.

As for the Lamy, I don't own one but hear they are fine pens. You can swap nibs, and they make a fine intro or only pen. If you end up liking fountain pens, you will most likely buy more, so the first pen you buy isn't all that critical, and you've made a fine choice ( not that there aren't other choices that would be good too ).
 
IMO, Lamy makes some great pens! A Safari or Al-Star is a great introduction to Fountain Pens. With all of the pens I own, a Safari is almost always inked up at home to use. If you are looking for something a little bit nicer, a Lamy Studio is also a good choice. They use the same nibs as the Safari (many Lamys use these nibs) so can still be switched out.
Another great option is a Lamy 2000. Though maybe not at an entry level price, it is a great pen. The nibs on the 2000 are not as easy to switch out and may not be as easy to get, but they are fantastic, smooth wet and springy! And, as a piston filler, it holds a ton of ink.
Good luck in your search!
 
I just recently got into FP, with two Pilot Metro's and a Lamy AlStar, with the EF nib. I love the Lamy, but be careful. I had it about 3 weeks, and it was in my front pants pocket, and while sitting down, I heard a "pop". Oh no! I checked the Al Star, and yup, the threaded area where the cartridge goes into was cracked. :( So I used some superglue, which worked for about 2 days. The pen does still work, but I was disappointed how relatively brittle the plastic seems to be. (Especially for a $40 pen, which I realize is cheap in the FP world, but still)
 
In Germany ?

How much money do you have ?
I like Faber-Castell, Pelikan is also very nice Montblanc is excellent but expensive.
I have allot of Lamy's mostly safari they last a very long time, are easy to fix yourself.
 
It's hard to go wrong with a Lamy. I have about 6 Al-Stars, which I love. The one down-side for some people is that they show scratches since they are anodized aluminum. The Safari, however, is nearly indestructable, is cheaper, and uses the same nibs and converters. Pick a color and go for it.
Yes, there are lots of other fine pens in Germany. I don't think you'll regret any German fountain pen purchase.
 
Lamy makes great pens.

The Al-Star is designed for easy nib replacement/change over. It's an aluminum pen and it's very durable. It's also a great writing pen. There are lots of nib sizes to select from. In the USA this is a $40 pen give or take $5.

My favorite Lamy is the 2000. This pen is extremely durable and has a hooded nib. Hooding the nib makes the nib less prone to drying out when taking long pauses while writing notes. This is a $160 pen unless you want to go with the $300 stainless steel version. (USA prices)

For a first pen, assuming $40 US is good with you, I'd go for the Lamy Al-Star. Buy a converter too. This $5.00 option will let you use bottled inks as opposed to cartridges. (more colors to choose from and less expensive in the long run...) I am a Diamine ink fan. These inks work great in all of my fountain pens. With that said, Lamy inks are good too.

If you want to drop $10 off the initial investment go with a Lamy Safari. Same basic shape as the Al-Star with a plastic body instead of aluminum.

Have fun
 

nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Look around for a used Pelikan M200, you won't regret it.

If it's your first pen, a Safari with a medium nib and converter is a good starting point.
 
This is great advice, and, from my experience, most stationers could point you to a gently used M200.

Look around for a used Pelikan M200, you won't regret it.

If it's your first pen, a Safari with a medium nib and converter is a good starting point.
 
Want to keep it under $100 for my first. I think the Safari looks nice and based on this thread will look into the converter for the extra $5. I really want this for an everyday work pen to take notes with when my phone isn't appropriate , is a fountain pen going to be ok for this?
 
Want to keep it under $100 for my first. I think the Safari looks nice and based on this thread will look into the converter for the extra $5. I really want this for an everyday work pen to take notes with when my phone isn't appropriate , is a fountain pen going to be ok for this?

Is $100 or less your budget for everything together ( I.E. fountain pen, ink, paper/notebook ), or just the pen?
 
...Do most fountains have a swappable nib?

There are many fountain pens with nibs that are meant to be user swappable, like the Lamy Safaris. It is usually possible to put a new nib in a pen that was not meant to be worked on by the user, but the difficulty varies with the pen. Some pens may not easy to find a suitable replacement nib for, even if it's easy to reinstall the one that's already in there.

What makes one fountain better than another or do I just need to write with them to find out. TIA.

Some factors, overall build quality, how smoothly it writes, durability, ink capacity, how comfortable it is for you to hold, and how suitable it is for what you plan to do with it. For example, you probably wouldn't want a crisp italic nib for fast note taking. And of course there are things like attractiveness of the design, cost of the materials, and prestige of a famous name, if you care about that. You still may find that some pen that most people around here love isn't that great for you. A lot comes down to personal taste.

Want to keep it under $100 for my first. I think the Safari looks nice and based on this thread will look into the converter for the extra $5. I really want this for an everyday work pen to take notes with when my phone isn't appropriate , is a fountain pen going to be ok for this?

Should be just fine. Speaking of which, I'd probably pick a fine or extra-fine nib; you can change it later if you want a something different. The converter is worth it, but you might want to carry a couple of cartridges as an emergency backup in case you run out of ink at the wrong moment.
 
If you want a Lamy and are in Germany, I would look for a used Lamy 2000 on ebay.de. You should not have a problem finding a nice one for under $100.00. It seems like ones sell for around $80.00 semi-regularly. I own/owned the following Lamys: 2000, 80, 27, Dialog III, Studio, and Safari. The 2000 is just the best out of all of them plain and simple. It may seem like alot of cash for a pen, but it is one of the best bangs for you buck in pendom imho. (I challenge you to find another piston filler with a 14k gold nib for less) For a first pen, I would get a 2000 with a fine nib.
 
I am a fan of the Accent myself as well. They have them with steel and gold nibs. I am not sure that the gold nibbed is worth the premium.
 
Look around for a used Pelikan M200, you won't regret it.

If it's your first pen, a Safari with a medium nib and converter is a good starting point.

+1 I like my Pelikan M205 much better than my Lamy AL-Star. You could get this pen new for close to $100. Used should certainly be in your price range.

To be fair to the Lamy, I love the style of my AL-Star, I just haven't had good luck with the ink flow. It is often dry for no good reason. The only way to be (mostly) sure it will work consistently is to use a Lamy cartridge. I have tried 2 nibs, and the Bold nib was wetter and better than the Medium, but still prone to running dry with my other inks. I even tried cutting larger grooves in the feed (which I read about online from other owners that had had the same problem). I use Private Reserve inks primarily - maybe Diamine or others would be okay...
 
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