Search the Community

These are writing samples using just a single unit of each model of LAMY EF nib I have, without any claim or implication that one unit of (say) Z55 EF nib will be identical or comparable with a different unit of such. The first six nibs were all fitted in turn onto the same feed on the same pen drawing from the same reservoir (i.e. converter) of LAMY Benitoite ink. Each nib was cleaned in a dilute solution of ammonia and detergent and patted dry on a paper towel immediately before fitting on the LAMY cp1 pen used, then pressed against a paper towel until the ink being drawn through is dark enough, then written with on another sheet of Rhodia Dotpad 80g/m² paper until the colour and flow appear stabilised. The last of the nibs listed is the EF nib that came fitted on my LAMY 2000 blue Bauhaus pen. There are discernible but relatively minor differences between the ink flow and output of the first six nibs; the LAMY 2000's EF nib is what stood out as glaringly different, and incidentally I find its output the least pleasing. The first nib is somewhat scratchy, to the point that it ripped and picked up fibres from the paper surface from time to time. I don't suppose every Z50 EF nib is equally as damaging, but I didn't feel like either going through my other Z50 EF nibs to find a better, smoother unit to test, or modifying the nib such that it is significantly different from factory condition (or at least as it was supplied to me by the retailer) by smoothing it with micro-mesh. The Z52 and Z53 nibs are both harder than the Z50 nib, but can put down lines that are at least equally as broad when pressed. The gold nibs feel softer than the steel nibs, and I can physically see more elastic deformation in the body when they are pressed, but their tines don't spread as far apart and thus the "maximum" line widths are not as broad. Even though there has been several reports that the EF nibs on LAMY Dialog 3 pens — which use Z55 nibs — exhibit the characteristic of an architect's grind, in that lines left by downstrokes are narrow and cross-strokes wider, the one I tested proves not every Z55 EF nib is like that. (I have two Z55 EF nibs, but I haven't looked at the other one yet; it's on a new pen that only arrived on the weekend.) The Z57 EF nib tested had more of the Sailor Zoom nib-like quality, in that the incident angle between nib and page changes the line widths of cross-strokes notably. The Lamy 200 EF nib is wettest and broadest of them all, and has the least potential for delivering line variation through hand pressure moderation or fluctuation. Ugh. <EDIT> I just tested another Z50 EF nib, and it was as scratchy as the one used above. Alrighty then, micro-mesh it is. All better now.

A Hong Kong Ebay dealer was offering exactly Euro 1.29 (inc post) for a Wing Sung 3008 demonstrator. Ohh free stuff!!! I went for it. Well, you get what you pay for: when it arrived it had great ink capacity and visibility, nice see-through feed but offered an awful writing experience. The nib was slippery and on coated paper it could hardly write at all. It blocked and dried out with shimmer ink. Some work with micromesh improved the skipping but, honestly it was still pretty bad and heading for the pile of cheap pens at the back of the draw. But ... out of curiosity I swapped the nib for an old Lamy Z50 that looked like it would fit. It did. Pull off, push on, no disassembly or skills required. Wow, what a difference! The combination writes well on all paper, the flow is drastically improved and works with any ink. So basically it's now a piston filler Safari with huge ink capacity. The only negative is the piston knob is a bit loose. Certainly others have tried this before but even if you aren't into part swaps you owe it to yourself to try this.

I recently bought a couple of Lanbitou 3029s having read somewhere that the nibs could be swapped out for Lamy Z50 nibs. I wanted to use a piston-filler with a couple of broader nibs. I'm no nib expert – this is my first nib project – but today I had a go. I slipped out the Lanbitou nib, which was easily accomplished, and slipped on a Lamy Z50 B nib. It slipped on easily enough, but wobbled when it was in place. It seemed a little too wide to fit, though I couldn't see any real difference between the two nibs. I tried bending in the wings a little with my fingers. No result. I then used a pair of pliers and promptly ruined the nib, which bent along the centre line – the line between the tines – and had to throw it away. Before I ruin any more nibs, can anyone advise me on how best to deal with this situation?

Hey everyone, I bought a Lamy Aion about a week ago. I know people have polarizing opinions on the design of this pen, but I'm purely looking for your experience with how it performs. I can't seem to find any others with these issues, so I'm trying to determine if I need to send it back or not. I'm looking for input in two areas: 1. At random times, when I uncap the pen there's often ink blobs on the nib, and sometimes the section (see photo). There's some air pressure when capping the pen, so my guess is that uncapping the pen has enough suction that sometimes it's pulling out some ink from the feed - but if that's true, and it's part of the pen design, that's a pretty big flaw. My Lamy 2000 has never exhibited this issue. I'm not dropping the pen or banging it around on my desk I'm not even carrying it around in a backpack or anything - it's just sitting on my desk. I've also had the pen inked with two different inks so I don't think the type of ink has anything to do with it. 2. The nib seems to be loose. Since the only other Lamy pen I own is a 2000, I have no experience with these Z50 style nibs, but it seems to "wiggle" back and forth such that the nib isn't centered with the feed (see photo - which also just happened to exhibit my first problem when I uncapped to take the photo!). It doesn't affect the writing, however, so I'm just curious if others are seeing the same thing or not. Thanks for your time! This is my first topic post on The FPN - I really love the community here Cheers!