Lamy 2000 New Nibs, Some Observations

[hari317]

Prompted by this thread: link I opened up one of my newer Lamy2000s in the full steel finish purchased a few months back from UK.

 

On the newer nibs:

 

• The tipping has a peculiar interface shelf betwen tines and the hard tipping material per se.
• The Nib width is now marked on the nibs in addition to gold content and LAMY, so far I have not seen this on any of the older 18K/14K nib iterations on the Lamy 2000.

 

Pics:

 

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Lamy2000NewNib/IMG_0100.jpg

 

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Lamy2000NewNib/IMG_0099.jpg

 

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Lamy2000NewNib/IMG_0098.jpg

 

HTH

 

Hari

Edited July 12, 2014 by hari317

[Lyander0012]

Yep, observed the same thing on mine.

 

Also, have you noticed how, on the topside part of the nib the tipping material is kinda circular? I mean, yeah, the overall shape is a rounded triangle, but there's a raised portion at the very end that looks like a disc.

 

 

Kevin

[hari317]

  On 7/12/2014 at 8:53 AM, Lyander0012 said:

have you noticed how, on the topside part of the nib the tipping material is kinda circular? I mean, yeah, the overall shape is a rounded triangle, but there's a raised portion at the very end that looks like a disc.

The tipping goes on spherical, it is then ground down to the final shape that you see.

[Mafia Geek]

My Lamy 2000 that I got several years back has the same markings on it, though I got that one in Canada but I doubt that makes much of a difference. I don't think that's anything that was started with the full metal version, I got mine before that one was around.

[hari317]

  On 7/12/2014 at 3:34 PM, Mafia Geek said:

My Lamy 2000 that I got several years back has the same markings on it, though I got that one in Canada but I doubt that makes much of a difference. I don't think that's anything that was started with the full metal version, I got mine before that one was around.

I noticed the tipping attachment change in the time period after the introduction of the full steel section which was before the Lamy2000M all steel model introduction. I am not associating the nib size imprint to the full steel pen, I took this nib out of my full steel pen, that's all. However, I am trying to relate the tipping attachment method change to the nib size imprint, towards this: Does your nib have a tipping attachment that looks like the one on this thread? Thanks! Hari

[Mafia Geek]

I actually got mine ground to an italic my John at nibs.com so it's a little different, but it does appear to have the "shelf".

 

Here's what mine looks like:

 

 

[hari317]

Thank you. Your data point agrees with my observations then.

[New_Falcon]

Hari,

 

Thanks for the insights and the explanation.

 

Two things if I may,

 

1, in the other thread that you link to, you state that you're not a fan of the new Lamy nibs. Could you elaborate as to why? I don't think that I'm enough of a connoisseur of nibs to know the difference.

 

2, What modern nibs are you a fan of? I might look into trying one of those to try and understand the difference.

 

Thanks.

Edited July 13, 2014 by New_Falcon

[lurcho]

When I read this thread yesterday, I was worried. I've recently adjusted my L2K such that it is a superb writer, and was thinking of buiyng more in the future.

 

Then this came along and I thought a great pen had once again been ruined because the manufacturer couldn't leave well alone.

 

However, when I looked at my L2K I realised immediately that it had the new, 'supported', tipping.

 

And it's great.

 

So there's nothing to worry about, in my opinion.

[hari317]

  On 7/13/2014 at 7:54 PM, New_Falcon said:

1, in the other thread that you link to, you state that you're not a fan of the new Lamy nibs. Could you elaborate as to why? I don't think that I'm enough of a connoisseur of nibs to know the difference.

 

 

I like the Lamy 2000 and most of the Lamy products. I have a good collection of their pens. I dislike their newer nibs on the Lamy 2000 for:

 

• Cosmetic, the new tips look ugly, looks like a retip job actually.
• The sweet spots have become narrower, perhaps another facet of the newer grinding technique? But it is based on the few samples i own and of course YMMV

 

  On 7/13/2014 at 7:54 PM, New_Falcon said:

...

2, What modern nibs are you a fan of? I might look into trying one of those to try and understand the difference.

 

 

If you are asking my personal recommendation of an example of a consistently well made nib, I would suggest you a try a Platinum 3776 with a B nib to know what i am talking about.

 

 

 

  On 7/13/2014 at 10:37 PM, lurcho said:

When I read this thread yesterday, I was worried. I've recently adjusted my L2K such that it is a superb writer, and was thinking of buiyng more in the future.

 

Then this came along and I thought a great pen had once again been ruined because the manufacturer couldn't leave well alone.

 

However, when I looked at my L2K I realised immediately that it had the new, 'supported', tipping.

 

And it's great.

 

So there's nothing to worry about, in my opinion.

 

Hi, I don't know why you thought so. They have made things different, I observed the newer things, so I documented them, that's all. What width is the nib on your pen?

 

best

Hari

Edited July 14, 2014 by hari317

[Bo Bo Olson]

Is the line narrower?

 

Everyone and his brother complain Lamy is way too wide....no where near "standard". (Japanese)

[New_Falcon]

Hari - Many thanks for the reply. I'll put the 3776 down as a pen to look at when I next think of buying a pen.

 

Bo Bo - My recent (last two years) experiences of Lamy 2000 F's are that they are of the same order as a Namiki Falcon SF I used to have, and narrower than the Pilot Varsity's (Medium nibs) I have as backups on my desk. Unfortunately, I don't have any other pens to compare too.

[lurcho]

Hello Hari

 

I take your point that you weren't being critical. But then when something works it's a worry when it gets fixed!

 

My nib's a medium. Over the year or so I've owned it I've adjusted it to increase wetness three or four times. I thought I'd cack-handedly wrecked it a few weeks ago, but the last time I had a fiddle it emerged like a phoenix from the ashes.

 

Wetness is now perfect (about 7.5). And the balance on this thing seems ideal to me.

[FountainPages]

My 2000 Makrolon also has that tipping "shelf".

[Finalist]

I finally got an OK pic of my L2K tip. The tipping was so small to start with, so the correct writing angle grind was a must to keep what little there was to start. The grinding was done all by hand with various wet papers over a week. I can't imagine whipping this out on an automated buffing wheel. It puts down a finer, smoother line than my needle point Falcon. Who needs Japanese when you have German.

 

 

 

Here's a comparison sample.

 

The Diamine Marine ink is from a TWSBI EF. The black writing on the right is the L2K. (ignore what I wrote - That was for an ink review)

Edited July 15, 2014 by Finalist

[Beckwith]

  On 7/15/2014 at 6:50 PM, Finalist said:

The Diamine Marine ink is from a TWSBI EF. The black writing on the right is the L2K. (ignore what I wrote - That was for an ink review)

post-109445-0-82826100-1405374773.jpg

 

When you wrote with the L2K were you intentionally flexing a bit, or did it just turn out that way with the weight of the pen and the way you ground the nib?

Edited July 15, 2014 by Beckwith

[Finalist]

  On 7/15/2014 at 8:59 PM, Beckwith said:

 

When you wrote with the L2K were you intentionally flexing a bit, or did it just turn out that way with the weight of the pen and the way you ground the nib?

 

 

It's the flex and ink, but I'm not really trying to flex really. The thinner lines are the more natural width for this L2K while the thicker lines are more of a ball point pen pressure on down strokes. This attribute really shows with the dry Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black ink. The Pelikan ink is dry, so it keeps the flow slower and allows for the thin lines to come back after the thicker lines are produced... hard to explain, but with wet inks like Noodler's Eel Black the lines would stay thin or stay thick - you couldn't bounce back and forth because what ever flow was initiated for that moment would stay. With a dry ink like PBB this FP has more of "flex" or bounce look to the characters.

 

Also, either line width can easily be used given consistent pressure. The thinner stuff is the natural state while the thicker is about like a typical user's ball point pen pressure. A nice feature is how smooth the nib is at this line size. My needle point Falcon has much more flex and so the tines bounce around giving it a rougher ride. The L2K has a much stiffer nib, so I think that may help hold it steady and create a smoother feel.

 

This is on APICA paper and the ruled lines give you an idea of the L2K's xxxxxxxxxxf line. The Diamine Marine was done with a TWSBI ef.

 

[dragos.mocanu]

  On 7/14/2014 at 3:57 PM, Bo Bo Olson said:

Is the line narrower?

 

Everyone and his brother complain Lamy is way too wide....no where near "standard". (Japanese)

 

When I bought my Lamy 2000 I noticed this on the TWD website: "Note that Lamy 2000 fountain pen nibs used to run a little wider than other pens but following a change in specification in c.2009 this is no longer the case."

 

Source: http://thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?id=518

 

So it would seem that they changed the tipping design about the same time they introduced the whole-steel section! In my honest opinion, it doesn't deter the Lamy 2000 writing experience, and my Medium nib (which has the new tipping design of course) really is no wider than other M nibs I own (which is good is suppose?!)..except when slightly flexed (and isn't that a joy to see!)

Edited September 6, 2014 by dragos.mocanu