Lamy Fine vs. Extra Fine

[GOB Bluth]

Trying to decide between a Lamy 2000 Fine vs. Extra Fine nib. The only pens I have to compare them to that I own are a Pilot VP M nib, Hero 329, and Parker Medium Nib on a Latitude. I want something wider than my Hero 329, yet smaller than my VP. Fine or Extra Fine?

[Hennypenny]

I think the Lamy EF is more like a Fine. I tend to prefer real EFs, and the my Lamy EF is as about as wide as I like -- so it's a Fine, in my book.

 

If your writing is small, or you generally like EFs, go with the EF. HP

[haziz]

I would actually advise a Lamy 2000 fine. You should find it similar to your Pilot VP medium. I have four Lamy 2000 (2 fine, one mediium, one extra-fine) and my one regret is the extra-fine which while very smooth is too fine for my tastes and is as fine as some of my Hero pens though much smoother.

[Joe in Seattle]

I first tried a Lamy F. I thought it wrote just a tad , just a very small tad, broader than I cared for, so I bought an EF Lamy. I found that one so scratchy that I immediately sold it. YMMV, but I thought the F was just, well, ........... fine.

[majorworks]

Just ordered a Lamy 2000 with EF nib from Pengallery; it should arrive on Monday. I struggled with the decision on nib size for a while. All of my small collection of pens are either fine or medium. I flirted with the notion of a broad but finally decided that I write too small for one.

 

I have a Safari Vista with an F and it definitely writes more like an M (as measured using Richard Binder's handy-dandy Stroke Width Chart). Being aware that Lamy nibs tend to run large, I finally settled on the EF.

Edited April 9, 2010 by majorworks

[dwong]

I do not have the Parker or Pilot VP that you mentioned but I have the Lamy 2000 in EF. Compared to my Lamy Safari Fine and EF nibs, I find that the Lamy 2k's EF is slightly finer than both. For the record my Safari EF writes wetter and slightly wider than my Safari Fine. If you are looking for something thinner than the VP's Medium, I think the EF would be the way to go as Lamy tends to run wider than expected. I attached a pic for comparison, sorry for the bad camera skills!

[haziz]

You may find this post and the picture of the writing line width laid down by various nibs and pens useful. I would still advise you to skip the extra fine and go for a fine nib, specially noting your specified line width request and your openness to medium nibs in western pens in the past.

 

http://cid-59b148917...nsNibsPhoto.jpg

 

 

http://www.fountainp...ost__p__1270027

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Hany.

Edited April 9, 2010 by haziz

[xuan87]

i bought a lamy 2000 F nib recently. While it is extremely smooth, it is too wet and the line it lay down is too thick for me to use it normally. i'll be getting a EF nib one soon too see the difference.

[dsatco]

Well....I have both a Fine and X-Fine. I actually think the EF produces a broader line than the F. I think the EF is wetter and writes more like a Fine-Medium. So, essentially they are almost identical.

[GOB Bluth]

Thanks for all the feedback. I've decided to go with the EF, mostly because I was able to trade for one. I am eagerly awaiting it.

[Sandy1]

Hello,

 

I do not have a Lamy XF. I would suggest that instead of trying a Lamy XF nib, purchase a Pilot 78G with a gold-plated steel F nib. ($10 with converter: an amazing deal!)

 

Figures 12 & 13 of the linked file show scans of line widths, including the Lamy Safari Fine. Those results bring the 'one size smaller for Asian nibs' rule of thumb into question, certainly in the narrow widths.

 

My own experience is that in practice, narrow Asian nibs are more consistent in width than narrow W/E nibs. Regardless of the exactitude of nib width, between Hany's sample and the Writing Samples in Figures 2 - 8 in that linked file, you should be able to find the nib characteristics/width that you want - only then go looking for more hardware. (e.g. I could have avoided buying the Pilot HE with the XF nib if I knew that it was the same width as the Estie XF nib. Believing the rule of thumb cost me $40 for a pen I'll rarely use. Phooey!)

 

Jeans Blue Review

 

BTW, let me know if you want a scan from anything else on those samples before I compost them.

 

Bye,

S1