24 Hours With My New Lamy 2000 (Fine)

[Tseg]

Can you believe it? I really did not need another pen, but I got one anyway. The Lamy 2000 Fine - Macrolon. It is my 3rd Western fine, vs. the Waterman Carene and Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue. On paper their line output is almost identical. The Pelikan I would consider slightly wet and the Lamy and Waterman neither wet nor dry. The Waterman is 18K gold, the Lamy 14K and the Pelikan is steel. For me, they were almost all identical in price. The Pelikan is lightest and smallest, then the Lamy, then the Carene, although the Lamy mid-barrel is a bit wider in diameter than the Carene. The Waterman is lacquer on brass.

 

I expected the Lamy to write like the Waterman, super smooth and quiet. I was surprised to find the Lamy and Waterman feel very different from each other. The Lamy writes much more like the steel Pelikan (the 2 German pens vs. the French pen). There is feedback and noise of writing on paper, unlike with the Waterman. The Pelikan is perhaps a bit more scratchy-like and loud but maybe glides slightly better on paper due to the wetter ink flow. The Pelikan is also much more springy than the other 2. I would not call either the Lamy or Pelikan truly scratchy at all, however.

 

For me, these 3 pens are my most comfortable/easiest pens to write with in my collection, with the Pelikan less comfortable due to its thin section and very slight step at the section threads. The Lamy 'dog-ears' do not come into play with me at all. My grip is at the top of the metal section and below the dog ears. I'm not sure if you would call these work-horse pens but I think I could have the longest writing sessions with these 3 vs. any in my collection because of their comfort. What I notice with all 3, the Lamy included, is when I start writing I think about the words on paper and forget about the pen. This may be a great compliment. In fact, it seems like I forget about the Lamy in hand the quickest. From a writing standpoint, I think that is a good thing. With my Sailor King of Pen or Pelikan M1000 I could be 3 pages in and still be oogling at the smoothness of the writing, or how beautiful they are or be marveling at how long I've been able to maintain the sweet spot... my writing comes backseat to the pen with these 'flagships'. From a pen enthusiast's standpoint, that is amazing, from a writer's standpoint (luckily I am not) it is probably a very bad thing.

 

So I consider the 2 gold nibs, Carene vs. the 2000, one is elegant, delicate looking but very solid in hand, glassy smooth and quiet writing and super comfortable, the other is minimalist, form over function, durable, low to moderate feedback and sound, yet smooth and super comfortable. Both with snap on caps, both with unique nib looks. One should be written with the pinky in the air, the other, not. One, very French (French named after the hull of a yacht), other very German (using the very Germanic sounding 'Bauhaus' design language). Both very different, both really enjoyable and interesting in their own right. I'm still trying to decide of my thoughts of my little German school pen, but that springy nib feels great and for now it is my only pocket pen.

 

Edit: I continue to write page after page with this Lamy 2000. I know many don't believe in pen/nib 'break-in' but I have seen references to ink flow and smoothness improving specifically with this pen over the first few days. I can say with confidence my ink flow and smoothness with this Lamy 2000 continues to improve. At this point I am now just feeling subtle feedback. This is really shaping up into a beautiful Fine writer. I will add I did not include my Pilot Custom 823 Fine in this comparison because that pen really writes like a Western Extra fine. But I can confirm at this point my Lamy 2000 is also now writing smoother than my Custom 823, which is also no small feat as the 823 is an outstanding writing pen with a touch of feedback.

 

Edited May 20, 2018 by Tseg

[Calabria]

Very nice trio!

[akrohn2010]

Very nice!

 

Interesting that you describe the Lamy 2K as having both sound and slight tooth - my EF Lamy 2K is by far the smoothest writing pen I have. Zero feedback unless rotated, and VERY wet.

 

I have tried multiple inks and with each one the EF gushes out a sopping wet line closer to a Western F. I love the feel, looks, design, and ink capacity but wish it wrote more like yours - your line even looks finer than my EF, though pictures can deceive.

 

Heres a sample from my L2K with Sailor Blue-Black since that is what you used...could just be me but your F line looks finer and drier than my EF.

[Tseg]

  On 5/20/2018 at 7:40 PM, flyingpenman said:

Very nice!

 

Interesting that you describe the Lamy 2K as having both sound and slight tooth - my EF Lamy 2K is by far the smoothest writing pen I have. Zero feedback unless rotated, and VERY wet.

 

I have tried multiple inks and with each one the EF gushes out a sopping wet line closer to a Western F. I love the feel, looks, design, and ink capacity but wish it wrote more like yours - your line even looks finer than my EF, though pictures can deceive.

 

Heres a sample from my L2K with Sailor Blue-Black since that is what you used...could just be me but your F line looks finer and drier than my EF.

 

Then I'm jealous. My Lamy 2000 feels particularly excellent on Tomoe River paper, I had initially been using it on Black n' Red 'value' paper (in the picture) and with this pen that paper seems to soak up the ink and fade the ink color slightly. I don't have that issue with Tomoe River and I don't have that issue on my Black n' Red paper with a number of other pens. For now my Lamy 2000 is being snobby for high end paper... I'll keep trying a few more inks to see if I can have a break through. I took 2 copper shims to the nib so far (did not manhandle them... yet) and it helped a bit but the nib is still not juicy.

[akrohn2010]

  On 5/20/2018 at 11:27 PM, Tseg said:

Then I'm jealous. My Lamy 2000 feels particularly excellent on Tomoe River paper, I had initially been using it on Black n' Red 'value' paper (in the picture) and with this pen that paper seems to soak up the ink and fade the ink color slightly. I don't have that issue with Tomoe River and I don't have that issue on my Black n' Red paper with a number of other pens. For now my Lamy 2000 is being snobby for high end paper... I'll keep trying a few more inks to see if I can have a break through. I took 2 copper shims to the nib so far (did not manhandle them... yet) and it helped a bit but the nib is still not juicy.

 

Ironically I’m jealous of yours - have learned that I prefer a bit of feedback in my pens. Smoothness is nice but my handwriting suffers.

[Tseg]

  On 5/20/2018 at 11:34 PM, flyingpenman said:

Ironically I’m jealous of yours - have learned that I prefer a bit of feedback in my pens. Smoothness is nice but my handwriting suffers.

I hear what you are saying. When I use my Pelican M1000 I just have to use The Force to write as the nib, when in its sweet spot, feels like it is floating on air.

[trhoton]

Nice pens, and thanks for the writing samples. My wife found an old Pelikan (circa 1960) 120 in a market in Bulgaria a couple of years ago. I replaced the feed and collar and tuned the nib and it's incredible. It's a beautiful EF and ultra smooth and if feels like it's breaking some law of physics as they usually get more toothy when they approach this thin of line width.

 

I also have a vintage 140, and just ordered one of the blue M120s like yours last week, so I'm glad that you're happy with yours.

[Tseg]

Update: I'm now over 72 hours into owning this Lamy 2000. This pen was writing without skipping a beat, but so does my Pilot Metropolitan. There was something about the nib not sitting right with me... a little drier than I liked, a bit noisier on paper than I knew it could do and more 'feedback' than I desired. I had played around with copper shims in the nib with a little luck getting it slightly more wet, but not really. Earlier today I finally broke out the 12K grit micromesh and got the pen to be a little more smooth and quiet, but not really. This 72 hour old pen was starting to get close to making me yawn.

 

Then something inside me told me to unscrew the nib. I did it, looked around at the feed (while my barrel was still inked up in my other hand), shrugged my shoulders and began to screw the nib back in place. It didn't seat right at first... I could see that seam line too much and I could wiggle the Macrolon nib end, so I unscrewed and rescrewed and this time the nib went in perfectly.

 

I started to write... WHOA!!!! UNLEASH THE KRACKEN!!! Out of nowhere my Lamy 2000 began to write like I dreamed it would write when I ordered it. Nice. Juicy. Smooth. Just the slightest hint of feedback. Just the near side of Medium line size. Amazing. Perfect.

 

I don't know if my Macrolon wiggling unseated something with the feed or nib but BAM this has now become a truly amazing pen in my collection. I am so tickled pink.

 

If anyone asks me if I would recommend a Lamy 2000 all I can say is "Buy, Buy, BUY!!!"

[Intensity]

Nib tine alignment plays a big role in how wide and wet a nib writes. Press on a nib gently from underneath against the edge of the table for 20-30 seconds to slightly spread the tines outward, and you get a wider, very wet line, Push on them from the other direction, and the distance between the tines diminishes, constricting ink flow and slightly lowering line width. I believe there's a variation in these nib tolerances from the factory, so both people who say their EF is very wet and writes like F and those who says their F is dry and writes like F are right--they just have different nib alignment or unit variations in construction tolerances. Moreover, higher flow configuration will mean more ink lubricating the tip and a smoother writing experience. While a "dry" nib will mean more feedback. I can easily make any nib write "dry" or "wet" just by changing tine alignment.

. . . . .

Someday I'll have an XF Lamy 2000 makrolon... It's definitely one of my dream pens. I don't know why I haven't gotten one yet, I guess waiting for a good deal on one.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Intensity

[Tseg]

  On 5/22/2018 at 2:27 AM, Intensity said:

Nib tine alignment plays a big role in how wide and wet a nib writes. Press on a nib gently from underneath against the edge of the table for 20-30 seconds to slightly spread the tines outward, and you get a wider, very wet line, Push on them from the other direction, and the distance between the tines diminishes, constricting ink flow and slightly lowering line width. I believe there's a variation in these nib tolerances from the factory, so both people who say their EF is very wet and writes like F and those who says their F is dry and writes like F are right--they just have different nib alignment or unit variations in construction tolerances. Moreover, higher flow configuration will mean more ink lubricating the tip and a smoother writing experience. While a "dry" nib will mean more feedback.

Maybe you had not read my comments in the post above above yours. I tried all the tine alignment moves with little success. It was not until my nib/feed got some readjustment in how they were seated that all started to work right with this pen.

 

Also, the advice of bending the tines back gently on a table is a dangerous one. I had an experience making my M1000 performance “better” with that trick but due to the length and softness of the tines I have ended up with an unappealing crease in my nib. Not a hard 90 degree type crease but a very distinct ripple in the metal seen in the light.

[praxim]

  On 5/20/2018 at 12:55 PM, Tseg said:

Can you believe it? I really did not need another pen, but I got one anyway.

 

 

In case no-one mentioned it, yes.

 

A very fine pen is the Lamy 2000, I agree. I concur also with your comment about not trying to adjust a nib by bending it on a table. Fingers and fingernails are my usual tools for that, taking care with exactly where is the fulcrum and how broadly are the stresses distributed.

[Intensity]

  On 5/22/2018 at 8:06 AM, Tseg said:

Maybe you had not read my comments in the post above above yours. I tried all the tine alignment moves with little success. It was not until my nib/feed got some readjustment in how they were seated that all started to work right with this pen.

 

Also, the advice of bending the tines back gently on a table is a dangerous one. I had an experience making my M1000 performance better with that trick but due to the length and softness of the tines I have ended up with an unappealing crease in my nib. Not a hard 90 degree type crease but a very distinct ripple in the metal seen in the light.

You wrote about using shims, I wrote something different. Of course what I wrote should only apply after checking feed and nib alignment in the pen, and it does hold true. My keyword was to apply the pressure "gently"--there should be no crease from too much pressure. It's a gradual process that requires frequent checking and test writing. Edited May 22, 2018 by Intensity

[Caeruleum]

May I ask how far the lines are apart on the paper you used?

[Tseg]

I forgot all about this thread. Two years and my 4th Lamy nib later I’m now using an EF nib with Platinum a Carbon Black ink and I love it.

 

Lessons learned:

• Don’t let slippery Macrolon slip out of your hands
• Micro-meshing a Lamy 2000 is much more perilous than a typical nib with ball tipping
• Don’t work on a Lamy 2000 nib yourself and if you do, try to stick to tine adjustments with the nib removed from the pen and try to stay away from micro-mesh

After destroying my F nib after trying to repair myself I moved to a new OM I got from Europe. That got snaggy quickly and I ruined that “fixing” it. I then bought a used vintage OB from a parts only auction that was a gusher. I also made a mess of fixing that. I finally ended up with this new EF that I have not touched and it is fantastic, but not that typical L2K buttery smooth feel.

Here is someone else’s review of the Black n’ Red notebook I still use.

http://www.penenthusiast.com/2014/06/black-n-red-notebook-review.html

[Caeruleum]

  On 3/20/2020 at 11:12 AM, Tseg said:

I forgot all about this thread. Two years and my 4th Lamy nib later Im now using an EF nib with Platinum a Carbon Black ink and I love it.

 

Lessons learned:

• Dont let slippery Macrolon slip out of your hands
• Micro-meshing a Lamy 2000 is much more perilous than a typical nib with ball tipping
• Dont work on a Lamy 2000 nib yourself and if you do, try to stick to tine adjustments with the nib removed from the pen and try to stay away from micro-mesh

After destroying my F nib after trying to repair myself I moved to a new OM I got from Europe. That got snaggy quickly and I ruined that fixing it. I then bought a used vintage OB from a parts only auction that was a gusher. I also made a mess of fixing that. I finally ended up with this new EF that I have not touched and it is fantastic, but not that typical L2K buttery smooth feel.

Here is someone elses review of the Black n Red notebook I still use.

http://www.penenthusiast.com/2014/06/black-n-red-notebook-review.html

I was late to the thread, so thank you very much for your answer!

Thanks for the advice

 

The Black n' Red notebooks use the same Oxford Optik paper paper I have as a writing pad and tried out my EF Lamy 2000 on. I asked because my EF seems to write broader than your F Lamy 2000 even with Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black. I was actually hoping it to behave according to what I saw e.g. in your review.

[Tseg]

  On 3/20/2020 at 11:27 AM, Caeruleum said:

I was late to the thread, so thank you very much for your answer!

Thanks for the advice

 

The Black n' Red notebooks use the same Oxford Optik paper paper I have as a writing pad and tried out my EF Lamy 2000 on. I asked because my EF seems to write broader than your F Lamy 2000 even with Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black. I was actually hoping it to behave according to what I saw e.g. in your review.

 

Here is the result with my EF and very lubricated Platinum Carbon. My line was even finer when used with a very dry Pelikan Blue Black, but the color was too light a grey to my liking.

 

[Caeruleum]

Thanks for your efforts, Tseg.

If my judgement isn't completely distorted because I don't have the two sheets in front of me mine writes a broader line.

[Estycollector]

Very nice pen. Congratulations.

[shoryupen]

  On 5/22/2018 at 12:59 AM, Tseg said:

Update: I'm now over 72 hours into owning this Lamy 2000. This pen was writing without skipping a beat, but so does my Pilot Metropolitan. There was something about the nib not sitting right with me... a little drier than I liked, a bit noisier on paper than I knew it could do and more 'feedback' than I desired. I had played around with copper shims in the nib with a little luck getting it slightly more wet, but not really. Earlier today I finally broke out the 12K grit micromesh and got the pen to be a little more smooth and quiet, but not really. This 72 hour old pen was starting to get close to making me yawn.

 

Then something inside me told me to unscrew the nib. I did it, looked around at the feed (while my barrel was still inked up in my other hand), shrugged my shoulders and began to screw the nib back in place. It didn't seat right at first... I could see that seam line too much and I could wiggle the Macrolon nib end, so I unscrewed and rescrewed and this time the nib went in perfectly.

 

I started to write... WHOA!!!! UNLEASH THE KRACKEN!!! Out of nowhere my Lamy 2000 began to write like I dreamed it would write when I ordered it. Nice. Juicy. Smooth. Just the slightest hint of feedback. Just the near side of Medium line size. Amazing. Perfect.

 

I don't know if my Macrolon wiggling unseated something with the feed or nib but BAM this has now become a truly amazing pen in my collection. I am so tickled pink.

 

If anyone asks me if I would recommend a Lamy 2000 all I can say is "Buy, Buy, BUY!!!"

Im glad i read your feedback. I was going to put the bauhaus 2k back into its box after it performed poorly. But after i did just as as above, the pen writed beautifully. I never had that kind of writing experience before. Tq