Lamy 2000 F Or Xf?

[pennylink]

I'm planning to get a Lamy 2000. Having read quite a few threads regarding the width of Lamy 2000 nibs, I'm still unsure whether to get a F or EF, and unfortunately I'm unable to try them in person.

 

Would anyone be able to post a writing sample showing either nib compared to a Lamy Al-Star Medium (steel), Sailor Medium, or Sailor Medium-Fine (preferably using the same ink)? These are the pens/nibs I have at home that I could use as reference.

 

I also have a Pelikan M805 Medium, but I had the nib worked on as I found it too broad for my liking, so I couldn't use that for comparison. Sailor Medium really hits the sweet spot for me and that's how I would like a Lamy 2000 to write.

Edited November 25, 2018 by pennylink

[ralfstc]

Probably fine, I'd say. The XF is usually thinner but my experience has been that there is little difference except that the fine offers a little more character. Ummm, I'm trying to think how to summarise my experience. It's like both nibs lay down the same area of ink, but the XF footprint is circular and the F is wider than deeper. XFs have been pretty good recently, since a change of shape five (?) years ago.

 

The last fine I bought was an excellent nib. So my lovely partner immediately saved it from me and I haven't seen it again!

 

Oh, one thing I would say is that 2000 nibs need a while to break in. There's a good chance it'll be a little frustrating at first, but it will get there.

 

Of course, others' experience will differ, and it could probably be explained better!

 

Honestly, I think both are great. I'd pick one and not look back. Don't do what I do and choose a size and then second-guess yourself! :-)

 

Cheers,

 

Ralf

[ralfstc]

Oh, and do have a look here, though I'm not sure how much it will help . . .

[ErrantSmudge]

Would anyone be able to post a writing sample showing either nib compared to a Lamy Al-Star Medium (steel), Sailor Medium, or Sailor Medium-Fine (preferably using the same ink)?

 

Lamy Safari M nib versus Lamy 2000 F nib. Ink: Monteverde Horizon Blue. Paper: Clairefontaine

 

 

Paper: Tomoe River.

 

[Honeybadgers]

I bought an F because I was worried about the "sweet spot" issue. After I got mine I realized the sweet spot issue is pretty much nonexistant and I realized I really wanted an EF. So I bought an EF, and the F laid fallow. So I sold the F and have been happy with the EF. It's a pretty wet EF, definitely leans closer to F, and the F was closer to an M.

 

A Sailor MF will parrot the EF lamy 2000 well.

Edited November 25, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[pennylink]

 

Lamy Safari M nib versus Lamy 2000 F nib. Ink: Monteverde Horizon Blue. Paper: Clairefontaine

 

 

Paper: Tomoe River.

 

 

Thank you so much for posting this. A picture is worth a thousand words

 

I find the Safari/Al-Star in Medium to write just a little broad for my taste, so a 2000 with Fine nib will be the way to go. I don't think I will hanker for an EF...

[1nkulus]

I would go with EF as the tolerances aren't great. You will probably get a nib between EF and F.

 

You can always use shims to make an EF resemble an F, if you choose later on.

[pajaro]

I would go with EF as the tolerances aren't great. You will probably get a nib between EF and F.

 

You can always use shims to make an EF resemble an F, if you choose later on.

 

Quite possible. I have two supposed to be EF. One is wetter and more like a fine than the other one, which is a dry writer. I like the dry one better, but the other is also pleasant.

[PAKMAN]

I went xf due to the nibs being broader than western nibs. It works well for me.

[1nkulus]

I went xf due to the nibs being broader than western nibs. It works well for me.

+1

 

OTOH, you mean Japanese/Asian nibs.

[pennylink]

I decided to order one with a F nib from Cult Pens, taking advantage of their discount this past weekend. It's very similar to my medium Sailor Pro Gear (although perhaps not as smooth) and it's just what I was looking for.

 

No doubt a EF would have worked too, but I'm very happy with this one and how it wrote straight out of the box. Happy

 

Thanks for everyone's response.

Edited November 29, 2018 by pennylink

[1nkulus]

No doubt a EF would have worked too, but I'm very happy with this one and how it wrote straight out of the box. Happy

 

As long as you are pleased, enjoy the reams of happiness. Cult offers stellar service IMO.

[Rav_LandE]

Looks like I'm the dissenting opinion.

 

I originally bought a XF, found it too fine, switched to a Fine and it's everything that I wanted but then within a month or two found that I would have preferred something broader.

 

It's quite expensive to get new nibs and so be careful with the choice.

 

I have found that if you want to trade out the extremes are more popular than the fine and medium.

 

Good luck.

[KBeezie]

I would go with EF as the tolerances aren't great. You will probably get a nib between EF and F.

 

You can always use shims to make an EF resemble an F, if you choose later on.

 

Kind of how it went with me, though got mine in a Trade from someone who claimed they got it new off amazon two weeks prior. Was extremely scratchy (yet was aligned) and dry, didn't flow well at all. I was able to tune that and got it to be a very smooth writer with a good moderate flow.

 

The nib was an EF, but the tipping the way it was gave me the EF on a downstroke if not a tad thinner than an EF western, but more of a fine on the cross stroke, almost like a slight architect. Not sure if that's a common trait to the Lamy 2000 itself, or just one of those offsets.

[1nkulus]

Was extremely scratchy (yet was aligned) and dry, didn't flow well at all. I was able to tune that and got it to be a very smooth writer with a good moderate flow.

 

 

Owing to loose tolerances, it is always hit and miss and line widths are subjective.

Hence, for the uninitiated, B&M option is best to prevent the acquisition from turning into a horror story.

[Calabria]

 

Kind of how it went with me, though got mine in a Trade from someone who claimed they got it new off amazon two weeks prior. Was extremely scratchy (yet was aligned) and dry, didn't flow well at all. I was able to tune that and got it to be a very smooth writer with a good moderate flow.

 

The nib was an EF, but the tipping the way it was gave me the EF on a downstroke if not a tad thinner than an EF western, but more of a fine on the cross stroke, almost like a slight architect. Not sure if that's a common trait to the Lamy 2000 itself, or just one of those offsets.

I'm a Lamy EF fan - my experience is that the gold nibs start very fine and a bit dry (some may call that scratchy) and open up to wet and quite a bit broader with use (1-3 months). The horizontal strokes are broader than the down strokes, aka architect's grind. Absolutely love all aspects of these nibs.

 

The F in my experience has a rounder tip - kind of like a Japanese M as the OP said.

[Morphling27]

My one and only Lamy 2000 has an EF, but granted it was partially sprung when I got it (at least it was very cheap, but the description made it seem like open box - clearly someone thought it was a wet noodle). After setting it back right, it is an excellent, flawless writer. I don't have any sensitive zone on it to write properly, the angles are on par with my best writers and no skips or dry or anything.

 

Now, a couple things. I wouldn't call it an EF. I would barely call it a western F. I'd really put it as a western version of a Medium-Fine. This may be due to being messed with, but the tipping on it is pretty thick compared to most any F or EF I've owned or seen.

 

It's probably about the same thickness on line as my older Sailor in a medium. If you go through a respectable retailer, you could ask them to test it or at least examine it to ensure it appears to actually be a properly sized nib.

[KBeezie]

I'm a Lamy EF fan - my experience is that the gold nibs start very fine and a bit dry (some may call that scratchy) and open up to wet and quite a bit broader with use (1-3 months). The horizontal strokes are broader than the down strokes, aka architect's grind. Absolutely love all aspects of these nibs.

 

The F in my experience has a rounder tip - kind of like a Japanese M as the OP said.

When I say scratchy, I mean actual resistance to the paper to write with scratchy, not just pencil-like feedback I enjoy on my Aurora 18K and some Platinum 14K nibs, or that of a formal italic that needs to be held at a specific angle. It wasn't just dry flow, the corners were grabbing the paper where it shouldn't be typically.

 

Also if the nibs are 'opening up' to wetter/broader after a couple months of usage, then too much pressure is being used (I'm a light handed person used to semi-flex nibs), should already be configured for a good medium flow and non-snagging smoothness able to write by it's own weight dragged across the paper out of the box. But as I've seen in the past, EF nibs on the Lamy 2000 have a bit of QC gamble, especially if they come from a retailer that does not check the nib before sending them out.

 

Far as comparison to their lower end steel nibs, using the same ink, the EF on my Al-Star is a tad broader than the EF on my Lamy 2000 (both have about the same cross stoke, but the 2K going down is easily an XXF if the cross stroke is an EF).

Edited December 1, 2018 by KBeezie

[prashant.tikekar]

I have 2 L2ks, First one from 2013 in F and Second one this year in EF.

Recent EF writes like western EF and is very smooth and wet out of the box. I can say my most loved pen out of the box so far.

The one from 2013 in F nib was smooth and wet out of the box but was writing wider than M nib on my other pens.

So I ground it to my liking myself and it is now smooth and wet western EF nib and is my everyday pen.