My Next Pen—Another Lamy 2000 Or ?

[piblondin]

  On 7/29/2015 at 11:23 PM, Namo said:

Excellent choix, la 2K.

 

I've had up to five 2K at the same time, with various nibs and from various period.

 

C'est dingue!

[Namo]

  On 7/29/2015 at 11:35 PM, piblondin said:

C'est dingue!

 

Ben non. Trois encres de couleurs différentes, un stylo de remplacement, et un de plus au cas où - en fait, un vieux stylo mal foutu que j'ai utilisé pour les pièces de rechange...

[piblondin]

Ugh. My research of the Franklin-Christoph Model 20 has now got me curious about a stub nib. Would I have to adjust my normal writing much in order to use one?

[fly_us]

  On 7/30/2015 at 1:16 AM, piblondin said:

Ugh. My research of the Franklin-Christoph Model 20 has now got me curious about a stub nib. Would I have to adjust my normal writing much in order to use one?

 

Stub? not much. Italic? yes.

[Arkanabar]

I'm one of those people who can't hold a Lamy2k for more than 20 seconds, which is a shame, because aside from its cap retention prongs, it's close to an ideal pen IMO -- piston filled, light weight, medium girth, relatively tough.

I have an M200 and an M400. I believe they're rather smaller than the L2k, but cannot be sure; I didn't compare them when I was in the shop. The M6xx is probably closer in size. The M400 recently slid off my lap onto a concrete sidewalk, and suffered minimal damage.

Pelikans have a lifetime warranty. They will repair any damage to the pen for as long as you own it. I have experienced this with both the current and previous US distributors. It's occasionally time consuming, but I've never had to pay more than Priority Mail prices to ship the pens to them, and they've covered the rest. I think that it's reasonable to expect the same level of service from the manufacturer, and probably faster.

[ac12]

In general, the wider the nib, the smoother it will write. This is because a wider nib is less sensitive to the texture of the paper. Just like dragging a suitcase with small wheels vs a suitcase with larger wheels. The larger wheeled suitcase rolls smoother virtually all the time. I have run into paper that I cannot stand to write on with a F nib, but am just fine with a wider M nib.

 

To get a finer nib pen to write smoothly you have to balance the 4 variables; pen/nib, ink, paper and writer. Shift one variable off, and you can get a scratchy feel.

 

As for the pen, I see nothing wrong with getting another L-2000, if you want to. I have multiples of different pens myself, because I want to. Either different nib, or color, or finish, or ...

 

I'm like Arkanbar, I cannnot write with the L-2000. It is too fat and heavy for me. I grew up in the slimline era, so light slim pens are my preferred pens. If you shrank the L-2000 down in size and weight, then you would have a pen that I would be able to write with. And interestingly, it will look just like a Parker 45...of which I have several.

 

About the stub nib, or a Cursive Italic nib. I like it. But not for daily use, at least for me. The ink line is too wide for my normal writing. I reserve it for times when I want the effect of the variable width of the ink line. If you want to play with it, get a Lamy 1.1 nib for your Studio. That is the nib that I have on my joy. These nibs do require you to keep the nib FLAT on the paper. If you rotate the pen, you will lift one tine off the paper, and ink flow will slow down then stop. But that was not a problem for me, as I don't rotate the pen as I write.

Edited July 30, 2015 by ac12

[Nomad]

Go Japanese. Try a Platinum 3776 Century with Slip & Seal cap. Under $90 if you look in the right places.

[sirgilbert357]

  On 7/29/2015 at 8:28 PM, Boniface said:

I have a Lamy 2000 in medium that I use and carry everyday. It is a great pen. Here are some other ones I would suggest:

 

1. Pelikan 205 or 215--I like these pens just as much as the Lamy and use them a lot.

 

2. Franklin-Christoph model 20--I don't have this pen, but really want one. It's minimalistic yet handsome. Also, you could experiment with a stub nib. This and the Pelikans have screw in nibs, so you can purchase different sizes for different uses and save a lot of money compared to having separate pens entirely.

 

3. Parker 51--minimalistic, reliable, and durable.

 

I would echo the Pelikan M205 suggestion as well as the Parker 51. To these, I would add the Parker 45 as well. I have a 45 Flighter model with a gold nib and its basically bullet proof. Very simple design, a solid functional tool. No worries if you drop it and if scratches bother you, a once a month rub with a green Scotchbrite scouring sponge (that you do the dishes with) will restore it to a satiny smooth brushed steel finish (works on watch bracelets and cases too). I sometimes wish it were a screw on cap, but alas, its never come uncapped on me...

[Namo]

  On 7/30/2015 at 5:59 AM, ac12 said:

 

I'm like Arkanbar, I cannnot write with the L-2000. It is too fat and heavy for me. I grew up in the slimline era, so light slim pens are my preferred pens. If you shrank the L-2000 down in size and weight, then you would have a pen that I would be able to write with. And interestingly, it will look just like a Parker 45...of which I have several.

 

 

A Lamy 27 or 99 is just what you would need. They are about the Parker 45 size (I am using a P45 cap with a Lamy 99 right now and it a perfect fit). The Lamy 27m drives you in the Parker 51 size area.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I own two Lamy 2000s. One is a fine and one is a broad. They are very different from each other.

 

You may want to look at a different nib size.

 

But, if you love the way the pen writes, why not get another one? I own multiple Noodler's Konrads.

[Buzz_130]

As you are comfortable with the L2K, another one makes sense. A different nib size gives you a chance to get a different feel on the paper. A wider nib will also feel smoother (in addition to the reasons described above) because the nib floats on a wider cushion of ink. However, more ink on the paper can create problems with feathering or bleed through, depending on the paper and ink.

 

Finding a different pen that you can drop on concrete and just keep going will be an exceptional challenge in the fountain pen world. Not many pens are made of the materials that can support that fall and hard contact and maintain either their looks or function. With a shade more care in your usage and a similar price, the Parker "51" is a potential addition to your fountain pen collection. The Parker's width is slight smaller, and the "51" is lighter. The reservoir hold an incredible amount of ink, and both pens share the hooded design. The nibs from vintage pens have their own feel, and it's the reason I have one L2K that barely gets use compared to a dozen "51s" that always has one in rotation in my pen wrap at work.

 

Buzz

[windabit]

I agree that L2k is one of the fabulous modern fountain pen for everyday use. If you want to get into fountain pens more deeply,

Montblanc 144 would give you another smoothness with about the same price of Lamy 2000, if you are ok with 2nd hand one.

[Arkanabar]

For myself, I might consider a Lamy Logo. I dislike all the triangular section Lamys, and the Logo has more apparent girth than its nominal diameter would suggest.

[piblondin]

  On 8/1/2015 at 2:01 PM, windabit said:

I agree that L2k is one of the fabulous modern fountain pen for everyday use. If you want to get into fountain pens more deeply,

Montblanc 144 would give you another smoothness with about the same price of Lamy 2000, if you are ok with 2nd hand one.

That sounds like a good option. Any suggestions for buying a used one w/r/t condition and authenticity?

[Scribblesoften]

Makrolon piston filler? How about a Montblanc 220? Mine has an extremely smooth, soft, extra fine nib and writes very nicely.

[Koyote]

If you don't know what you want, then you probably don't need it. But if you really want another pen, I think the Pilot Vanishing Point is worth a look. Very different from your L2000, very utilitarian and not flashy, and very sturdy. Also different enough give you some variety.

[piblondin]

  On 8/2/2015 at 4:19 AM, Koyote said:

If you don't know what you want, then you probably don't need it.

Probably not, but it would be nice to have a pen with blue ink in addition to the L2000 I keep filled with black.

 

 

  On 8/2/2015 at 4:19 AM, Koyote said:

But if you really want another pen, I think the Pilot Vanishing Point is worth a look. Very different from your L2000, very utilitarian and not flashy, and very sturdy. Also different enough give you some variety.

 

I got a VP for my fiancée. She likes it, but as much as I find the retractable mechanism to be cool, I don't really like the design of the VPs. They remind me too much of the ugly stationery store pens of my youth. I really wanted to like the Vanishing Point pens because I had a chance to use the Hermes Nautilus last year and was totally enthralled by it. It's just completely out of my price range. http://usa.hermes.com/leather/writing/writing-instruments/nautilus-fountain-pen/nautilus-fountain-pen-71397.html

Edited August 3, 2015 by piblondin

[piblondin]

To close the loop here, I ended up getting a second Lamy 2000 in black with a medium nib and a Lamy Dialog 3 in black (new version with ink window). I considered the Franklin Christoph pens, but after seeing how ugly they are in person, I decided to stick with Lamy.

[dfo]

  On 8/29/2015 at 9:26 PM, piblondin said:

To close the loop here, I ended up getting a second Lamy 2000 in black with a medium nib and a Lamy Dialog 3 in black (new version with ink window). I considered the Franklin Christoph pens, but after seeing how ugly they are in person, I decided to stick with Lamy.

how do you like the medium Lamy 2000. I recently tried out a Dialog 3 (M) and I really enjoyed how it wrote. It made me think about exchanging the fine nib on my Lamy 2000.

[pkoko]

How about TWSBI? I have the 530 and it has interchangeable nibs. Holds lots of ink too