Lamy Nib Sizes

[MrFP]

Hi everybody,

I own a Lamy AL-star, which hasn't been used for a longer period of time.

When I started writing with it again, the line width got broader and broader. An inspection of the nib suggested that it flattened out on the bottom of the ball.

I turned it around, and it writes perfectly fine this way. The original nib was Medium, so I ordered a Fine nib, which I suspected to write like the top of the Medium.

But what I got was this:

http://i.imgur.com/GcSzU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/p1mtc.jpg

(In the second picture are both sides of the Medium nib)

To me, the Medium looks more like Double-Broad, and the Fine one like Broad. What I'm looking for is a nib that writes like the backside of the Medium.

 

I did flush the pen and the feed is perfectly clean. I'm going to replace the feed assembly, but if would be nice if someone could give a comparison of EF, F and M nibs on a correctly working pen, ao that I order the correct nib along with it.

 

Thanks and best regards

Edited January 2, 2013 by MrFP

[myn]

Take a look at Goulet's Nib Nook http://www.gouletpens.com/Nib_Nook_s/1114.htm and you'll see there isn't a great deal of variation between F and M Lamy Nibs. Also European and N. American nibs run larger then their Asian counterparts.As well, something else that will affect the line width is paper quality.

[Leeski]

http://www.gouletpens.com/Nib_Nook_s/1114.htm That should help you in comparing nib sizes, and not just Lamys!

 

EDIT: myn beat me to it by a few seconds What he says about Asian nibs being finer is most certainly true, if you want a fine pen look at a Pilot Vanishing Point in Fine or EF.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Leeski

[Renfield]

What kind of paper are you using?

 

Some lower quality papers will widen your line.

 

For example. Pukka printer paper will make a medium look like a broad, but on Rhodia it stays a medium.

 

So perhaps its your paper?

 

Ren

[MrFP]

Those examples above were written on paper that doesn't soak the ink in, on cheap paper it gets even broader. The ink is genuine Lamy from the cartridge.

 

Thanks for the example, and I judging by the list and this comparison, I'm rather looking at a Sailor Sapporo in F or similar.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WfPsGBaQq_0/TREtPGG6xfI/AAAAAAAACq4/J-dyhBUr_z8/s1600/IMG.jpg

 

Unfortunately, I couldn't find an example for an Aurora Ipsilon De Luxe in F or XF, which I'd prefer to the Sapporo if it would write according to my taste.

Edited January 2, 2013 by MrFP

[DanF]

It seems I've heard that Aurora tend to run finer than most of the other Western nibs, but I couldn't swear to it. hopefully someone will be able to confirm this for you.

 

Dan

[Robinkeys]

Take a look at Goulet's Nib Nook http://www.gouletpen...Nook_s/1114.htm and you'll see there isn't a great deal of variation between F and M Lamy Nibs. Also European and N. American nibs run larger then their Asian counterparts.As well, something else that will affect the line width is paper quality.

 

myn, is the pen in your profile picture a Bulow x450?

[bphollin]

I did a Lamy Safari nib width survey a few years ago with different inks on different papers. I can't find the link here on FPN, but here is the set on Flickr.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3514/4559027531_8db05aeabb_z.jpg

Edited January 3, 2013 by bphollin

[jordanjay29]

I did a Lamy Safari nib width survey a few years ago with different inks on different papers. I can't find the link here on FPN, but here is the set on Flickr.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3514/4559027531_8db05aeabb_z.jpg

 

I think I see a hidden message there. Lamy 1.1 = ice cream?

[bphollin]

Not much hidden about it, though.

[yliu]

It seems I've heard that Aurora tend to run finer than most of the other Western nibs, but I couldn't swear to it. hopefully someone will be able to confirm this for you.

 

Dan

 

I have an Aurora Ipsilon Deluxe Medium nib, and it is very similar to a steel Lamy fine nib. But you can squeeze out quite a thick line out of the Aurora if you press hard enough.

 

BTW I also have a 14k Lamy fine nib and it writes noticeably broader than a fine steel nib...

[MrFP]

So I figured out what was wrong, and of course you were right: The paper.

http://imgur.com/NEQpF.jpg

 

Judging by this, the Fine Ipsilon De Luxe should suit me well, and that's what I ordered. If I don't like it once it arrives, I can still exchange it for a medium. But the most important thing right now is to change the paper, because the one I've used doesn't handle fountain pens that well. I'll try to find some Clairefontaine and use the other one with my pencil, which I use more than the FP anyways, because of the complete erasability. However, I do clean transcripts with the FP.

 

Thanks everybody!

Edited January 9, 2013 by MrFP

[MrFP]

http://imgur.com/sTjPs.jpg

 

My first impulse was to take the AL-star and throw it in the direction of the trash can - as soon as I started writing with the Ipsilon, I realized that it is (bleep).

 

The nib on the Ipsilon is really smooth (in fact, I'm having a hard time to figure out what is meant by "Aurora Signature Tooth"), and because of the flex, it's really somewhere between Lamy Fine and Extra Fine. It's definitively an awesome pen, at least compared to the Lamy. Maybe a Montblanc is a whole different story, but obviously, I wouldn't know.

 

http://imgur.com/cd7GO.jpg

 

Both thumbs up.

Edited January 10, 2013 by MrFP