Lamy Lx Palladium Review

[visvamitra]

I consider myself Lamy fan.

Sadly Lamy does everything they can to unmake me their fan.

Such is life.

Lamy 50th anniversary Lamy 2000 Amber was basically poor and outrageously overpriced addition to the line. I sort of collect Al-Stars so I can understand and forgive them for trying to milk this design as much as possible by introducing new colors and inks every year. That’s cool, I would do the same thing.

On the other hand Lamy built their brand on innovation and design novelties. I do realise innovations are expensive and good designers have high wages.Still I hope Lamy will surprise us all and introduce something fresh any time soon. I really do as my respect to the company has limits.

Lamy LX line is the best example of hardcore design milking. I’m not saying it’s ugly or anything like that. It’s good pen. However it’s also two times more expensive than Al-Star and it doesn’t give anything extra except for two metal screws, slightly modifies logo on the barrel and case I will have no use of. I realise that stationery market isn’t exactly thriving and every way to get some reasonable margin is worth trying. The thing is I expect more than cosmetics to justify doubling the price.

The selling points of the Lx (pronounced “Luxe” – shocking, I know) are upgraded anodized – barrel, clip, and finial as well as coated black steel nibs. There’s also a tube (made from anodized alluminium) that matches the color of the pen. I don;t like this pen and I’ll never use it. If you like it and carry one pen with you, it may turn out to be pretty useful though.

In the hand this pen feels totally like Al-Star. You won’t feel any difference. Sure, there are some visual differences but overall feel and performance didn’t change.

Differences between Lamy LX and Lamy Safari

Clip, both screws and case of the Lx are coloured the same as the body. The Lamy logo on the barrel of the Lx is polished and glossy while on the Al-Star, it is just an outline. Cap screws in LX are made of metal and not plastic.Cap screw and tail end are made of a shiny metal that color matches the pen. Nibs on both pens are made of stainless steel. Lamy LX nibs are coated black with a rose gold laser etching that outlines the slit and breather hole. This slit is longer than in the Al-Star. Al-Star nib doesn’t have a breather hole.

And thet’s pretty much all, folks. Translucent grey triangular grip section is the same as in Al-Star.

Nib

Medium nib I got in my LX is scratchy and dry. Usually I enjoy Lamy nibs but this one is pretty bad. It needs tuning to write properly. Happily the nib is swappable with other Lamy nibs and as I have way too many of them I use black Lamy broad nib that performs flawlessly.

Filling system

Lamy LX comes with an ink cartridge. So generous…If you want converter you have buy one. It’s not a secret that companies earn most on accessories so why would Lamy offer one in their new toy?

Summary

If you like the colors and overall aesthetics of the pen and it’s enough to make you pay 56 $ for this pen, go ahead. It won’t dissapoint you. Especially if you fell in love with gold or rose gold finish that, so far, aren’t available in regular Al-Stars line.

My feelings? I’m disappointed. I simply expect more from Lamy but slowly I begin to loose hope.

[dapprman]

I agree with you which is I'm unlikely to buy either an LX or a dark amber 2000. Shame they did not follow the route they took with the Scala Glacier, where it's only slightly more expensive once you take in to account it has a gold nib.

[ian1964]

Your review is spot on.

[sanjinp]

Excellent review, thank you!

[Astronymus]

Beautiful pens, but I agree on some points.

[amberleadavis]

Thank you for the honest review. I would be upset double the price. After my last Al-Star experience and dealing with the repair department, I've never purchased another Lamy pen. For the cost, the TWSBI eco has been a better value for me.

[overwriter]

I agree. They are nice but no nicer than my Al-Star which was, and still is a lot less money.

[antichresis]

I, too, did not "get it" when I first heard of them. I scoured the internet to find a difference/upgrade over the Al-Star and could fine nothing significant. But then, more people (among my friends) own a Lx compared to an Al-Star....

[s_t_e_v_e]

Thanks for the review!

 

I'm glad I don't own any Lamy. I'd pick a Pilot Metropolitan or even a Jinhao or Kaigelu or Hero over Lamy.

I've owned a Safari and tried a 2000. They just don't do anything for me and I find their designs quite uninspiring.

[grainweevil]

I agree. They are nice but no nicer than my Al-Star which was, and still is a lot less money.

 

I'd go further and say that I actually prefer the Al-Star in all the places the LX has been "upgraded". The shiny stuff looks a little, well, tacky in comparison, at least for my taste. The exception being the appearance of the nib, which is kinda cool. But if it doesn't write terribly well then it can look as purty as it likes, it's no use to me. Besides which, I could buy one of them and put it on an Al-Star anyway!

 

Anyway, thank you for the review, vis. Alas, I join you in disappointment.

[visvamitra]

Thanks for the comments guys. Lamy's lack of effort to propose something new is discouraging.

[Sagarb]

Brilliant review as usual, but don't find anything special in the pen..

[visvamitra]

You're not alone in not finding anything special here

[Mercian]

Your review of the Lx confirms the impression that I formed of the model upon seeing it online - that it seems to be a 'smartly-dressed-up' version of the AL-Star.

While that will appeal to some people, and I don't object to it, it isn't for me.

 

But I was surprised when you wrote that the nib on the AL-Star doesn't have a breather hole - although my pens are only Safaris and a Vista, all the Z50 nibs that I have do have breather holes.

[visvamitra]

You're 100 % right. I was using Lamy stub recently and this one doesn't have breather hole but others do

 

http://www.pengallery.com/product_images/o/540/Lamy_Spare_Nib_Z50_9_Nibs__53219_zoom.jpg

[attika89]

Pretty much my thoughts on the LX as well. Thank you for the review!

I'm on the matte Safari side of Lamy pens. What bugs me is that the Z52 nib costs twice as much as the regular black nib even though the difference is only the white line..... I want that on the coming Petrol though.

[proflady]

I totally agree! I hate the nib on my LX -- dry, inconsistent ink flow, a hard to find sweet spot, and scratchy. I'm going to swap it out.

 

So disappointing as I really like my Al Stars. Thank you for the review.

[Uncial]

What are 'A' and 'LH' nibs and what difference do they make to writing?

[Mercian]

What are 'A' and 'LH' nibs and what difference do they make to writing?

The 'A' is for 'Anfänger' - German for 'Beginner'. It is a nib designed for children who've never used a fountain pen before (so is, I presume, more ball-like at its tip).

 

'LH' is a nib ground for Left-Handed people to use.

IIRC this should mean that its tipping is ground to an oblique at an angle that looks (from above) like a right foot does (from above).

 

[Edited to correct omission of umlaut.]

Edited March 18, 2017 by Mercian

[Astronymus]

A is close to K, Kugelfeder. You are right. It's more round and forgives more writing angles.