Lamy Or Twsbi?

[Trebster]

To me, the TWSBY is best suited to fiddlers. Fiddling with the Lamy, well, fiddling too much with the Lamy might break it ...

 

One thing for sure about the Safari - it comes with the best clip in the business. It will clip to anything. Pretty well snag-proof, too.

[RudyR]

I would go for the TWSBI. With the Lamy, you have to position your fingers relative to the section design which forces you to use it without any way to change finger grip to nib angle. This is very problematic for most Left handed people.

 

I have given away all of my Lamys, I keep my TWSBIs.

[Kataphract]

Dropped my Twsbi several times. No problems. Fiddle with it? Never - it always starts, it never skips, and has a large ink capacity that I can readily see. The Safari has a triangular grip that does not suit me at all. On the other hand, you can get it as a demonstrator ( Vista), and there is some Lamy model further up the scale more in the Twsbi cost range that does not have a triangular grip (I don't remember the model name, sorry). The Twsbi is the better pen, but then, it's more expensive. The Lamy is a solid inexpensive pen - I don't think you would go wrong with it (unless, like me, you can't abide by the triangular grip).

[dojocho]

TWISBI.

[penhand]

The Lamy is a much lighter pen -- some people like that and some don't. I have both and I never use the Lamy and have a whole stable of TWSBI's (530 to 580, Mini, Vac, Classic). I initially went with TWSBI because I could get relatively cheap, interchangeable nibs and I liked that flexibility.

[freewheelingvagabond]

Neither. Get a Lamy CP1 or a Lamy Studio, or a Parker Sonnet Flighter if ink capacity is not an issue.

[napalm]

Pilot. Best value in FP. They also work right out of the box and don't break any time soon.

[GTVi]

I have both Lamy Safari and TWSBI, Between these two, the TWSBI wins in every way.

 

However I have a Lamy 2000, and I much prefer this for an everyday pen at the office.

[helene20]

Twsbi 580 is the best choice. But remember twsbi 580 comes double the price of lamy safari.

 

I own a TWSBI mini white Rose gold and no matter what ink I use I can't have this pen to write well. At the moment my Safari writes better. I really want this TWSBI to write well. I am curious, how is yours writing?

[WaskiSquirrel]

Until I bought a Safari, I had no idea how well I would like it. I really enjoy writing with my Safari, but my TWSBI collection has dwindled down to one. I only keep that one because it's my Baystate Blue pen.

 

Lamy has been so much more reliable and is a lot more comfortable in my hand. I wish it had a built-in filling mechanism like a TWSBI, but I can live with the converter.

[Sasha Royale]

I have several of both. You have not told me the intended use of such fountain pen.

What is a CEGEP student ? Which fountain pens have you used ? Please disclose

more about your situation and needs.

[fasthall]

I have both of them. In fact Lamy Safari writes awesome, but I cannot appreciate the appearence of lower end product.
TWSBI's writing performance is not better than Lamy, however it looks much prettier.

[damonism]

I don't have a Safari but I have a Logo and a couple of Studios. My Lamys have better nibs than my TWSBI, and I've never personally had a bad Lamy nib, but YMMV.

If you want a pen that holds a metric ******** of ink, though, the TWSBI 580 has any Lamy other than the 2000 well and truly whipped. Get a fine nib on it and you'll be writing for a very long time before you refill it.

[Moshe ben David]

I have several Lamy including 2 Safari and a Vista (the demonstrator version). I've never had a nib problem with any of them, although I agree they are a bit of a nail. Never tried the TWSBi line, in large part because I was put off by the large volume of complaints I see here at FPN.

 

I concur with two alternate suggestions you were given: Pelikan M200 line and Pilot. The Pelikan M200 line (there are some variants) is lightweight, has a very smooth nib, and the tank (it is a piston fill) holds a lot of ink. Very easy to change nib sizes on this pen if you were so inclined; the nib/feed units are sold as a unit and unscrew from the barrel easily.

 

If as a student you want to economize, take a close look at the Pilot Metropolitan (MR). These are cartridge/converter pens. Note that Pilot uses proprietary cartridges so the converter is a useful approach; I believe they are sold with the converter. The nibs are smooth and super reliable. The pen body is brass and so very rugged, I find them well balanced. You can usually find these pens at a number of sellers for approx US$15; so if you find you like them one approach would be to carry two inked so that you'd not need to worry about running dry in the midst of a note taking session. Also unlike the Safari and its kin, the grip is a 'normal' pen grip.

[byggyns]

I also own the TWSBI and the Lamy. I prefer the TWSBI. I have both the 580 & the Vac700. The thing I dislike about both is that they are so back heavy when posted. I tried out the Mini at the Ohio Pen Show and it is much better when posted, so I'll probably pick one up before too much longer. If you can't tell, I like to post my caps.

 

My Lamy is the Al-star, so it's the same pen as the Safari, just the Aluminum body instead of plastic. It is lightweight, and easily postable, but is just not a pen that I prefer to use. It just doesn't fit my needs as well.

 

I do like the suggestion of the Pilot Metro. I have 5 of them, and they are my knock-around pens. If I were a student right now, I'd carry 3 of them: 2 in my primary ink color, and 1 for marking corrections/ edits. The capacity isn't huge, but it is about 1mL- approx the same as the Lamy. If you don't like the included sqeeze converter, you can swap it out for a CON50 piston type, which is also pretty affordable.

 

I haven't had any issues with function or quality on any of these 3 brands.

[flipper_gv]

I have several of both. You have not told me the intended use of such fountain pen.

What is a CEGEP student ? Which fountain pens have you used ? Please disclose

more about your situation and needs.

CEGEP is between high school and University in Quebec or it is for a technical degree. It's roughly the equivalent of Senior High School.

 

I'd go with a lamy, I've heard too many people having problems with the TWSBI cracking and stuff like that. I do have a Pilot metropolitan. It's not as smooth, but it's real tanky. You could look into cheap chineses too with the Jinhao's X450/750/159. They're quite a bit heavier though.

[helene20]

CEGEP is between high school and University in Quebec or it is for a technical degree. It's roughly the equivalent of Senior High School.

 

I'd go with a lamy, I've heard too many people having problems with the TWSBI cracking and stuff like that. I do have a Pilot metropolitan. It's not as smooth, but it's real tanky. You could look into cheap chineses too with the Jinhao's X450/750/159. They're quite a bit heavier though.

 

Now that I changed ink in my Pilot Metropolitan and I use Mont Blanc it writes like a charm. I was very surprised. I still dislike their cheap filling system but it is smooth and does not scratch.

[Fabienne]

TWSBI.

 

I have a Lamy or two and I don't use them. Boring and the nib isn't very smooth, actually. It's clunky.

 

The TWSBIs are smooth fun, you can take them apart, mod them. make them your own. I have had no problems with the 580 at all.

 

I like the Pilot Metropolitan BUT the ink filling system is small and primitive.

[aawhite]

Lamy.

[LamyOne]

Hello again Marc An,

 

I do not know what your pen hygiene habits are - but if you like to flush your pens with a bulb syringe; do not get a TWSBI Classic, (I cannot speak for the other TWSBI models, but I fear they'll be close to the same story).

 

Another thing, comparing a 580 to a Safari is like comparing a Chevrolet to a Buick. The pens are in different price classes and will have inherent differences. You should compare a 580 with a Lamy CP-1 or a Studio. Ironically, the Studio uses the "same" Z-50 nib that the Safari uses - but I can tell you from personal experience, the nibs are not equal and they are not tuned the same way. I have had a couple of scratchy Safari's but both of my Studio's have written like liquid silk - straight out of the box.

 

If you're willing to spend $50-75 on a TWSBI, you should also be willing to spend that much for a Lamy - and in doing so, you'll find the "quality gap" narrows significantly. I would put one of my Studio's up against any TWSBI model, any day of the week.

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

Edited November 14, 2014 by LamyOne