Notes on the Lamy 2K for potential purchasers

[dudleian]

Like a lot of people on this forum I was interested in the Lamy 2K as a relatively inexpensive, high quality, piston-filler.

 

I read all the FPN reviews and the forum posts I could find. Although the pen generally gets glowing reviews there are some inconsistencies in people's assessments which made me wonder whether or not the pen was for me.

 

In the end I took the plunge. Having had the pen for a couple of days I thought I'd comment on the features which commonly cause disagreements between users. Of course all of my statements need to be prefaced with IMO and suffixed with YMMV, but that would be tedious.

 

1). The nib runs wider than its designated size.

Yes it does. My XF nib writes like an F when filled with Noodlers eternal black on Apica, Rhodia and Clairefontaine. I am a very light writer and put no pressure or weight on the nib.

 

2). The nib, especially the F and XF versions, can be scratchy out of the box and need adjustment.

Mine wrote perfectly with no skips, and glassy smooth from the first stroke. It was no slouch compared to MB, Nakaya and Pelikan nibs.

 

If yours doesn't write well IMO you should send the pen back straight away. It's not meant to be like that.

 

3). The ears on the barrel hurt your fingers.

This depends on how sensitive your skin is, and where and how tightly you grip the pen. if you grip very close to the nib (and away from the ears) like me this will simply not be an issue. If you grip significantly further back along the barrel you could be irritated.

 

4). The barrel is slippy to grip.

Again it depends on your grip. The black makrolon part of the barrel is textured and gives excellent grip. The metal section nearest the nib is much more slippy, but is also textured which provides better grip than polished metal and works fine for me.

 

5). The pen is featureless and symmetrical and you can sometimes start writing with the nib orientated incorrectly.

True, but it's not hard.

 

6). The piston is stiff.

It's not as smooth as a Pelikan (the gold standard in my experience), but it's pretty darn good. If it is very stiff there is almost certainly something wrong and you need to return it.

 

7). The cap doesn't post securely and anyway marks the barrel.

Not in my experience. The cap posts securely and although 2 days is not long enough for barrel wear to show, I don't get the impression this will be a problem.

 

8).The pen develops leaks and needs a full service every couple of years or so.

I've only had the pen for a couple of days, so I can't comment. Everyone seems to agree that the service offered by Lamy Germany is impeccable. If you are going to have it serviced elsewhere YMMV.

 

This pen has a good wide barrel, ergonomic shape, and is very light for its size. You should be able to write with it for extended periods without getting tired.

 

I would recommend anyone considering this pen to go for it. It wont work out for everyone, but so long as you don't pay top dollar for it you should be able to recoup most if not all your costs by selling it on.

 

HTH

[Breck]

I wish this had been up when I decided to purchase my L2K. Like you, I just up and took the plunge and am thoroughly satisfied, but it's really great that you've taken the time to address these issues point-by-point.

 

 

[Silvermink]

I've always got the impression that the 2000 is a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it pen. I really like the way it looks and am intending to pick one up, so we'll see if I'm cool with the rest of its quirks.

[njh1974]

Pleased you've gone through this - it addresses and dispels all the concerns I've read about over the last few days. I have a Lamy 2000 in the post at the moment! Yay!

[I am not a number]

Useful information and definitely in line with my experiences (although I do exert quite a lot of pressure when writing so the variance from the stated nib width is even more pronounced for me).

[jmscholtz]

Thanks for the post. I have had my eye on a L2K fr some time...perhaps it's time to take the plunge!

 

~Marty

[Russ]

A good summary.

 

I would add that the metal ears, in my three years' experience with the pen, are not noticeable. I would also strongly recommend that users wipe just a tiny dab of silicone grease in the barrel, then work the piston. It does wonders.

 

 

[BerneseMtDogEatsArco]

I have one that had a really stiff piston. As a result, a "whoopsie" occurred during the piston lube, and as a result, it's an eyedropper now.

 

Stiff piston? Heck yeah.

Ears hurt? Yes, but not too much.

Looks cool in any attire? Yeah.

Smooth? Not until I cleaned junk outta the feed.

Wider? Depends upon pressure.

[jkrewalk]

I totally agree with your assessment. I love my Lamy 2000. It is one of my favorite pens and best writers out more than 100 pens I own and have used over more than 20 years of fountain penning! The ears do not hurt and have nothing to do with the grip - the piston is perfect and the nib is as smooth as pens that cost literally thousands more! I do not understand people who do not like this pen.

 

John

Krewalk.com

[Yoda]

The 2000 is a tremendously smooth writer with all of my inks. It has a very minimalistic and functional design that is almost spartan when compared to the great writers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The nibs do run at least one size larger than listed. Lastly, you can purchase it in any color that you like as long as the color is black.

 

Yet, it is the pen that I reach for more than the more costly pens in my collection. It is just a great writing instrument at a great price.

[J English Smith]

Love the 2K. Yes, wider nibs; and my cap does not post well unless you really mush it down on the barrel. That one, IMO, is a fair cop.

[piembi]

Well, I have three L2Ks. All of them had been ebay purchases so they are not brand new.

After a thorough cleaning and two replacement caps all of them are great pens that I really like. But I have to admit that mine have medium or oblique medium nibs that are very smooth and with some flex.

[thehewett]

this is a pen every pen collector should have, it writes fantastic, it has a very good filling system, it is exclusive and it is not expensive. no wonder why it has been for so many years in the market and still impresses me!

[Laura N]

I have always thought this pen looks great, so I find this a reassuring thread. In my experience with the Lamy stainless steel nibs, EF and F seem extremely similar. The EF does not seem much finer than the F. Is that the case with the Lamy 2000's gold nibs as well? Or is there a more noticeable difference between EF and F with the Lamy 2000?

 

Thanks!

 

-Laura

[cbbp]

Some have suggested that the Lamy 2000's of recent production - like the past year or two, maybe since the section was modified slightly around the breathing hole - may be truer to size (EF being real EFs whereas older ones were sometimes more like F or even M). There seemed to be considerable variability in the past, but I don't know if the nib size is more consistent now...

[rwilsonedn]

There has also been some suggestion lately that Lamy's quality control may be slipping, even compared to their previous "if you don't like it send it back and we'll try again" attitude. I don't know if this has been just a coincidence of customers who drew the occasional lemon, or if there is really something more going on. It bears looking into, especially with a pen that has had so many different but rare problems reported over the years. If Lamy starts to get really careless, there are apparently lots of things to go wrong on the 2K.

ron

[FlatCactus]

I bought my 2000 around 2 months ago.

 

I originally went for a fine nib with mine and it wrote only a hair wider than a safari ef and I found it scratchy on the side strokes. I ended up getting the nib replaced with a broad and its just finer than a solid medium. My opinion of what a 'true' nib size would are probably biased by my fat parker mediums. Seriously though, why would you want something finer than a safari ef on the narrow end of the spectrum?

 

I also originally had problems coping with the unusual shape and also the placement of the ears but I've finally found my grip area.

 

Now I've got the broad it's a smooth, consistent writer.

[zuku]

I bought mine from PenCity early august (impecable service, i am a satisfyed customer). I have been using it thoroughly since then and will continue doing so since i write a lot. Nib is F and it writes like M. My Noodler's piston fill line is almost half thinner!

The piston on the, or sould i say, on my 2000 is soft and flawless. The head of the piston unscrews a bit with no effect to then engage the mechanism of the piston. When filled, you know it is filled since you've reached the no-effect area where you are now to screw it back again a bit in order to sit the head on its position (was this clear?).

I have been using it with Noodler's black and Luxury blue: No issues with ink flow at all.

On writting: I had been using bic sticks all my life. The habit they leaved me with, is to apply a lot of pressure on the paper. Probably because of this, when i write with my 2000 it eventually skips to then, as i become concious of my preassure (i am trying to correct this habit), flow normally. Here i can appreciate how it writes better without my obsessive pressure, and it just slides through the paper. I am thinking is due also to Luxury blue's thickness, so i am next to try it with Lamy blue -but not to abandon Luxury blue on Lamy 2000! Lamy blue is just on my rotation.

Ears: I seem to tend to girate the pen a bit as i write. As i am thinking, i pause and it seems my fingers play and go nervous, so when i realize, the nib is not aligned. To this end, i have discovered that a secure way for me to know the nib is facing the paper properly, is to actually grab my pen by it's ears -souds funny but it has proven to be effective, since my fingers now have a tactile sensation with which to play with while they do their thing. So they are useful to me. And they dont bother me after hours of writting.

I love the weight and the feel of the pen. It is solid and the feel is contundent, it offers me no doubths when it is about writting -a thing that bic never gived me, evidently. This is important.

Same with the style, totally unobtrussive, yet elegant and inviting to pick it up and continue writting and enjoying the pen.

Am i right to think that FP lovers are first writters, and then FP'ners?

I thought the ink window would be a problem because of its rather small size: Not at all. You CAN see through, and you CAN see (or, i sould better say, "asses") if there is ink in there still, or not. But not much more than this. It strictly fulfils it's function.

How could I be able to remove the nib, for an eventual clean-up? Is it just to unscrew the section and then to push the nib out in the direction of the barrel, and then it just pops? Or?

Edited September 5, 2011 by zuku

[GeeTee]

Mine is in my penbox for a long time and i don't think it will come out very soon. It runs wide, it's supposed to be a F nib but a Pelikan M nib gives a finer line (even with almost no pressure on the nib). The "ears" are very irritating and the grip isn't very good. Worst of all it started leaking after about 10 fillings. Not a very good pen imho, but a lot of people seem to like it. For me its to uncomfortable and unrealiable.

[nm4]

Nothing but good things to say about my M nib 2000. It's a typical western M nib in line width. It's one of (if not the) smoothest pen I own. There is some line variation in that upstrokes are finer than downstrokes. If gentle pressure is applied you can go from M to B line widths. The section feels great in my hand. I agree that keeping the nib orientation correct can occasionally be challenging but with a little practice it's not a problem for me.

 

Cheers,

NM

Edited September 5, 2011 by nm4