Article About The Lamy Profil Series

[christof]

Hi all,

 

I wrote this article first in german and posted it on the german penexchange forum. www.penexchange.de

Then I tried to translate to english. This failed. With Richard Binders help I tried again. This works. Many thanks to Richard Binder. Enjoy reading about a less famous LAMY fountain pen.

 

Christof

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2662/3983406691_e59339b5c0_o.jpg

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2637/3984167308_6a576db6a8_o.jpg

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3422/3984167484_a7a45c1fb8_o.jpg

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2484/3983407281_b8c068d6ec_o.jpg

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3445/3984167828_a68e61fb45_o.jpg

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2494/3983407533_4d90ac8201_o.jpg

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2666/3984168136_0cb5d79088_o.jpg

Edited October 5, 2009 by christof

[dandelion]

Thank you for a very interesting review with great photos! I'm very happy to hear that Richard Binder assisted you with the translation and thus making it possible for us who (unfortunately) don't speak German to read this impressive and informative review!

Edited October 5, 2009 by dandelion

[diplomat]

What a great read! An so professionally shaped. Thank you indeed for this contribution to the FPN body of knowledge.

The "autopsy" shots are outstanding.

 

And a big "hip hip hooray!" for LAMY too. They deserve it for the great writing instrument range they have.

[Richard]

Excellent article, Christof. I'm also enjoying my Profil 81, which is inked up and doing yeoman service on my desk.

[cmeisenzahl]

Outstanding post!

[MYU]

Thank you for the contribution, Christof. The LAMY Profil series is a seldom mentioned pen line, yet it was a design and quality success. Clearly inspired by the 2000, yet distinctive enough to stand on its own. I'm very impressed with the fact that one of these can be disassembled without requiring any special tools! (Well, except for the cap clutch). If I remember correctly, the same is true for the 27. Did the Profil series sell very well? I wonder if retirement after 13 years reflected a change in the market. Perhaps the Profil was too formal looking and wasn't capturing enough of an audience. Of course, the 2000 remained a strong seller, which was hard to beat. Do you know what the retail pricing was on these pens?

Edited October 7, 2009 by MYU

[dizzypen]

If I wanted to purchase one of these pen how would I find it? ebay and google are coming up empty.

[christof]

Myu

 

Many questions!

 

First the retail prices. In the last year of production the pens were sold for:

- Lamy Profil 80: 79.- DM (deutsche Mark)

- Lamy Profil 81: 74.- DM (deutsche Mark)

- Lamy Profil 86: 44.- DM (deutsche Mark)

 

I think the pens didn't sold very much. But I think that wasn't a problem of design. I think at this time piston fillers weren't very popular in this price range. But who knows...

 

Christof

Edited October 7, 2009 by christof

[christof]

dizzypen

 

Be patient. You will find one on ebay. Have a look specially at the seller "gidania" http://myworld.ebay.ch/gidania/. Or have a look at Regina Martinis auctions www.martiniauctions.com .

 

Christof

[mstone]

It's hard to see from the picture but it looks like this pen has the safari-style slip-on nib. Was this the first Lamy that introduced that sort of nib?

[Ondina]

Excellent review of another Lamy fantastic pen series. Much appreciated.

[Michael R.]

Many thanks for this great article.

 

I already appreciated this one reading the German version on www.penexchange.de.

 

This was the article which made me buy one of those pens on the Tilburg pen show this year.

 

Unfortunately I have made the experience that most used pens are in very bad and worn condition which makes e-bay even more like gambling.

 

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[hari317]

Thank you Christof for such a nice article!

[HenryLouis]

Great article!

[christof]

mstone

 

you are right. It's a slip-on nib but not the same as on the safari. The shape is conical and both, the steel and gold nibs are much more springy than the safari nibs. The safari nib is directly sliped on the feed. The profil nib is sliped on the housing of the feed. You can see this here:

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3991895105_3dd27d6ceb_o.jpg

 

Christof

Edited October 8, 2009 by christof

[haywoody]

Excellent review. Thanks so much for putting the time into this.

 

I have a few pens from the Profil series (I just learned that name from your article) and two are slightly different than yours:

 

- My Profil 80 has the "L" trademark on top, printed in brown.

 

- I have a pen from the series which is smooth on all plastic parts and has yellow gold trim (clip, cap ring, 585 nib and section ring). The only LAMY marking is on the nib but the name "AKKERMAN" is engraved on the cap where the Lamy engraving is typically found.

 

These are nice looking pens and excellent writers but it is difficult to find one in good working condition.

 

I also seem to remember a pen marked 82 from the same series, but I don't have one... and maybe I am remembering wrong.

 

Again, thanks for the wonderful article.

 

/Woody

[mstone]

you are right. It's a slip-on nib but not the same as on the safari. The shape is conical and both, the steel and gold nibs are much more springy than the safari nibs. The safari nib is directly sliped on the feed. The profil nib is sliped on the housing of the feed.

Interesting--so I guess the safari is a reduced-parts-count version of this. Based on their current lineup, I guess they feel that it's been pretty successful.

[saintsimon]

...

- I have a pen from the series which is smooth on all plastic parts and has yellow gold trim (clip, cap ring, 585 nib and section ring). The only LAMY marking is on the nib but the name "AKKERMAN" is engraved on the cap where the Lamy engraving is typically found. ...

/Woody

 

Maybe the were made for the Dutch pen shop http://www.pw-akkerman.nl/

[Brian]

What an outstanding review replete with details on design and history. If only Lamy would reintroduce them as a tribute to designs past.

 

Thank you for the info.

 

 

[hari317]

Dear Christof,

 

I have been lucky to find a NOS example of the Lamy 80. However I think due to due to long storage, the piston is stiff and I would like to service it to its best performance. I have been able to unscrew the front section and yes there is an access to apply some lube to the barrel walls, however i would like to apply some lube to the seal sides too.

 

How does one remove the piston assembly from this pen?

 

thanks!

hari