Lamy Confusion

[Cryptos]

Hi folks,

 

I am a little puzzled. If the nib, section and ink reservoir are the same, what exactly is the difference between the Lamy Joy and Lamy Vista apart from body shape? Does the body shape play a significant part in the application of calligraphic skills? The reason that I ask is that the Vista can be had for half the price of the Joy.

 

Your thoughts, as always, appreciated.

 

 

[casualmerlinconstant]

None

[dali3464]

Indeed, it's just a cosmetic difference. I would think the sharpy tapered end of the Joy is meant to mimic the tail found on most penholders used for calligraphy, but in most cases it's just a cosmetic feature. I remember there being a debate in the Penmanship forum about the purpose of having such long penholders in the first place: an interesting suggestion was that so the instructors could see the motions made by students, and give them a firm whack if they weren't making the correct hand motions for particular characters!

[Inkysloth]

There are people who find a long taper helps with the balance of the pen, but I haven't really noticed the difference.

 

It may require someone who is an actual calligrapher to determine the difference (like the difference between a knockabout tennis racquet and a Wimbledon champion's racquet)

[cambookpro]

What's the difference between the Lamy linea, st and pur?

 

The nib looks the same, the section looks the same, even the caps are pretty similar!

 

Is it like how they brand the Al-Star/Vista as different from the Safari?

 

Sorry, still quite new to Lamy pens!

[Stu L]

Linea has a different finish to the ST. The ST's barrel is smooth, the Linea is rippled.

 

The Pur is a slimmer pen at 9mm diameter compared to the other two at 11mm. They all look very similar though.

[tomgartin]

Safari, Al-Star, Vista, Joy... they're all manifestations of Lamy's schulfuller (school pen)

The Joy is for calligraphy, so the added cost (I believe) is due to the included set of stub nibs.

Edited April 12, 2014 by tomgartin

[Sinistral1]

Most modern dip pen holders are thicker near the nib and gently taper to a point, just like the vintage dip pens I've seen. I suspect the shape of the Lamy Joy is a nod to the tradition of calligraphy pens of yore.

[ac12]

The Joy comes in at least 2 different packaging

• Pen with 1 section (you choose the nib size). I see this going from $30 to $40.
• Pen with 3 sections (1.1, 1.5 and 1.9mm nibs), you move the cap and body to the pen you want to write with. I see this package going for over $100.

The 1 section pen is the cheapest, if you just want a pen.

The 3 section pen is for those that want the different size nibs for calligraphy.

 

Although at the street prices in the US, you can get 3 of the pen with 1 section in all 3 nib sizes (3 x $30 = $90) and be less than the pen with 3 sections.

 

There is a difference in the longer pens. I do not know the physics involved, but the long tail pens are more comfortable for ME to write with. So I like pens like the Joy with a long body similar to a desk pen.