Lamy Studio Review

[SteveID]

My local stationary store was going out of business so I jumped at the opportunity to pick up a beautiful heavily-discounted Lamy Studio in brushed metal with the rubberized section & I also picked up a Lamy EF nib to replace the Medium it came with, And it is both a wonderful writer, as well as a very very useful sketch pen. I almost regret filling the converter because their cartridges are so huge that I can syringe- refill the cartridge and get more capacity out of the cartridge than I do out of the Lamy converter. I love it, it's actually preferable to me then the Al-Star that I have --in Graphite, which is lovely, I admit-- which feels bulky and awkward in comparison..

[acolythe]

I hated my steel nibbed Studio. I bought one with a gold nib and was amazed at how much better it wrote. Later I bought a gold nib ground to a stub by Francis Goosen. The Studio is completely transformed.

[the_gasman]

 

The Studio is a wonderful pen to write with, as it has the ideal size, weight, and balance for me. I had, however, become frustrated with the slippery metal section and bored by the stock steel nibs. I have since ordered a couple of the black sections and gold nibs (from thewritingdesk.co.uk). The nib on the blue Studio, on the left in the photo, is a broad that has been ground to a left oblique cursive italic by the inestimable John Sorowka. This pen/nib is my daily workhorse, used with Diamine registrar's ink.

 

My use of other pens changes with my moods but the Imperial Blue Lamy Studio with 14K LOBCI nib and Diamine registrar's ink is a constant companion. The Anthracite Studio has a 14K medium nib, and also enjoys frequent use.

 

I strongly recommend both The Writing Desk and John Sorowka for anyone contemplating similar upgrades.

 

Cheers,

David.

Edited March 19, 2018 by the_gasman

[inotrym]

Quick question; does the rubber grip get sticky over time?

 

I had a blue Studio a very long time ago. I loved looking at it, but never using it, so I sold it.

Back then I thought it was the weight, but now I'm wondering if it was just the grip.

[the_gasman]

Quick question; does the rubber grip get sticky over time?

 

I haven't had such a problem. The black sections have been the perfect solution for me – they make the pen extremely comfortable to hold, whereas the steel sections became slippy as my hand started to feel "sweaty".

 

I realise that there is an ambiguity in the question, so I may not have answered you appropriately. I had assumed that "over time" referred to the duration of each writing session, in which case the answer is "No" (although I do not have marathon writing sessions, even though I use my pen all day, as I have many breaks). If you meant over months/years of use, the answer remains "No" but I have only had the sections for between 6 and 12 months, so can't vouch for longer periods.

 

HTH,

David.

[the_gasman]

I also think that the pen looks more elegant with the black section.

I thought that the steel made it look too "blingy" but that says more of my old-fashioned conservatism than the aesthetics of Lamy's design!

 

D.

[inotrym]

Thanks for the answer. I was talking about the latter; how it will age.

My first pen was a Parker Frontier with a rubber grip that eventually turned into goo, hence my reluctance about this grip.

 

I think the best solution would have been a black lacquer over the chrome section.

I guess that could make a nice weekend project.

[the_gasman]

I think the best solution would have been a black lacquer over the chrome section.

I guess that could make a nice weekend project.

 

How exciting — a weekend project. We all benefit from one of those.

Let us know how it goes.

 

I don't want to diminish the motivation for the weekend, but the black sections are inexpensive, though they took weeks/months to arrive because TWD had to make a special order with Lamy. TWD (Martin and Anna) were fantastic — they had initially suggested that it might take 10 days, so kept emailing me with apologies and updates. They were at the mercy of Lamy.

 

Might any deterioration of the grip be dependent on ambient temperature? I live in the north of England, so don't suffer high temperatures to ruin my pens. [i have to try to sound as if its a positive!]

 

David.

[senzen]

For once I got lucky and have no major issue with my Imperial Blue's shiny section, although I do make sure my hands don't feel greasy before using it; so much so I had to jump on a cheap one in black, which might take a while to get to me. Wouldn't mind trying a black section with that one, it does break the aesthetics of the blue one for me. And my current pen's steel nib is a dream to write with, never had so much fun writing with Yama Guri before. It's a shame it's problematic for so many people, but that makes it beneficial for the rest of us as they are dumped: used Imperial blue for $40, new black for $25.

[marcelo]

How to dislike the clip is out of my understanding

 

 

Likewise. One of those who dislike it is Stephen Brown.

[MingLau]

I don't own a Studio, I went for the Scala. I like the look of the Studio(a lot!), including the clip, but seems that the clip will easily displace sideways and scratch the cap after a while(this was the main reason for me to go for the scala).

 

The black rubber section sounds like rubber coating on plastic, if tht's the case there's very high chance that it will degrade faster than "solid" rubber and become sticky after a few years of use(in contact with sweat,oils etc).

 

For those who don't mind to possibly leave a dent to their black sections, perhaps you may test it for us - press your fingernail aginst it, if it is just a rubber coating on plastic it won't deform.

[DrDebG]

Great review. I love my Studio. I bought one of the few Wild Rubins which has the 18K nib and I love this pen. I luckily do not sweat much in my hands, so the metal section is not a problem for me. The 18K nib is so worthwhile. The writing is incredibly smooth and velvety. I can not say enough good things about this pen.

[Sidney]

The black grip section of my brushed stainless Studio has become tacky to the touch. I should have posted this in the review of the brushed stainless version.

Edited March 26, 2018 by Sidney

[MingLau]

That really sounds like rubber coating, rubber coating can probably be rubbed off (with some effort) when it degrades.

[marcelo]

I'm perfectly happy with the metal grip section of my Studio Palladium. 👍😁🖋

[hariharan]

If every pen is intended to be a workhorse pen or a everyday carry pen, then aesthetics should be secondary. I dont think thats the case. Many can afford pens that stand apart from others just for their looks. I consider this as one such pen. I got a red lamy studio for free (actually my sister won a competition by Goulet company and she re-gifted it to me).

 

I have enjoyed the pen, though its not a edc. I regularly use it to write my diary, one page at a time or to sign cheques. The crisp feeling when writing with this pen is great. Writing one page will not wear you out or sweat your fingers. So, the metal sections dont bother me much. In fact, am not a fan of metal section. But i still love the shine under lamp light or the glitter under sunlight the section delivers making the writing beneath special.

[Caeruleum]

Thank you for the review.

I must say, I would also love to see a review of the Carène you used for scale.