Waterman Carene, Lamy 2000 or Parker Sonnet steel nib

[Icarusflies]

Hello Everybody;

I am thinking about my next pens, these are my options: 

Waterman Carene, Lamy 2000 and the Parker Sonnet 

I find the Carene to be a beautiful design but I am very intrigued about the Lamy 2000. I have never seen one ¨in person¨ but the reviews are incredible. By the pictures it looks to me very uninteresting but people love it. 

My pens so far are: Kaweco Sport Brass, Supra, DIA2 and Liliput Al, Pilot MR, Lamy AL and the  Platinum 3776.´

 

I would appreciate your opinions, Thanks. 

[MuddyWaters]

Depends what you are looking to get out of a pen...

[jvr]

I’ve never been lucky with a Parker, so I don’t buy them anymore. I have the Carene and the Lamy 2000. Both special in their own right, but to me the Carene is the better writer. 

[Icarusflies]

54 minutes ago, MuddyWaters said:

Depends what you are looking to get out of a pen...

that s fair....which one would you take?

 

[Icarusflies]

35 minutes ago, jvr said:

I’ve never been lucky with a Parker, so I don’t buy them anymore. I have the Carene and the Lamy 2000. Both special in their own right, but to me the Carene is the better writer. 

 

I do think the Carene is a thing of beauty but I have never hold one in my hand, same as the Lamy

[TSherbs]

I wouldn't buy either of these without holding one first, unless you can return it. These both have tapered sections, and you don't yet own a own one with a tapered section. You might not like it.

[N1003U]

1 hour ago, Icarusflies said:

that s fair....which one would you take?

 

I also have both. It would be a tough choice for me to choose. I like the looks of the Carène better than the Lamy 2000, and I like in general piston fillers and the Lamy brand. My Carène is a black with gold trim, and I also have a rollerball, which I find look really nice together.

 

I am sorry I can't help you choose between them, but I would recommend either one to start, and then plan on the other one. Or, if your budget can handle both, then both are of course also nice.

[Icarusflies]

Ok, let me slightly rephrase my question. From a collectors standpoint, which fountain pen would me more interesting to have. The Carene, the Lamy 2000 or the Pilot VP? 

[langere]

Again, it depends on what you like.  That is why trying the pen(s) first is really good advice.

 

I'd go with the Carene, for a simple reason.  And that is that the "sweet spot" where it writes well is larger than for the Lamy 2k.  I do find that, because the nib is on the outside, that I sometimes get inky fingers when I hold the pen too close to the nib.  That does not happen with the Lamy, but then others don't like the little nubs on the end that hold the cap in place on the Lamy .

 

I have all four of the pens you mention, BTW.

 

Erick

[Icarusflies]

6 minutes ago, langere said:

 

I have all four of the pens you mention, BTW

Oh, I am sure I ll get there

[N1003U]

35 minutes ago, Icarusflies said:

Ok, let me slightly rephrase my question. From a collectors standpoint, which fountain pen would me more interesting to have. The Carene, the Lamy 2000 or the Pilot VP? 

 I would go with the Carène first, as it is (to me) the least "trite" of the three, and is a good-looking pen. Second would be the Lamy 2000, as it really is in my view an absolute classic. The vanishing point would be third only because I find the pen a little more complex to maintain.

[Icarusflies]

21 minutes ago, N1003U said:

 I would go with the Carène first, as it is (to me) the least "trite" of the three, and is a good-looking pen. Second would be the Lamy 2000, as it really is in my view an absolute classic. The vanishing point would be third only because I find the pen a little more complex to maintain.

Thanks 

[MuddyWaters]

5 hours ago, Icarusflies said:

that s fair....which one would you take?

 

 

How does that matter?

[sirgilbert357]

2 hours ago, Icarusflies said:

Ok, let me slightly rephrase my question. From a collectors standpoint, which fountain pen would me more interesting to have. The Carene, the Lamy 2000 or the Pilot VP? 

 

This is still a subjective question.

 

"Collectors" collect all kinds of things. Some collectors only collect ONE type of pen - or even just ONE model. Depends on their focus. If it is just for collection purposes, you have to decide the scope of your collection and then ask yourself if the pens fit within that scope.

 

This isn't my approach. I just buy each pen, individually, on it's own merits. Whatever my collection ends up looking like isn't a concern to me. For what it is worth, I bought a Lamy 2000. I have never looked at the Carène.

 

I bought the L2K because:

I liked the looks.

I liked the feel of the material.

I liked the way the nib wrote (feel on paper, wetness, etc).

I liked how easy it was to disassemble for cleaning and greasing the piston.

I liked the ink capacity.

 

YMMV.

[Icarusflies]

27 minutes ago, sirgilbert357 said:

 

This is still a subjective question.

 

"Collectors" collect all kinds of things. Some collectors only collect ONE type of pen - or even just ONE model. Depends on their focus. If it is just for collection purposes, you have to decide the scope of your collection and then ask yourself if the pens fit within that scope.

 

This isn't my approach. I just buy each pen, individually, on it's own merits. Whatever my collection ends up looking like isn't a concern to me. For what it is worth, I bought a Lamy 2000. I have never looked at the Carène.

 

I bought the L2K because:

I liked the looks.

I liked the feel of the material.

I liked the way the nib wrote (feel on paper, wetness, etc).

I liked how easy it was to disassemble for cleaning and greasing the piston.

I liked the ink capacity.

 

YMMV.

Thanks 

[maclink]

I have both.  I enjoy the look of the Carene.  However, I've used it only through a single fill and have never felt inclined to use it again.  OTOH, I now have 3 Lamy 2000's with EF, F and M nibs.  I currently use one as an EDC pen.

 

The Lamy 2K has an understated appearance and will certainly not win a FP beauty contest with some of the currently available contenders, the Carene being an example.  However, it's a user's classic.  It's a highly reliable writer with a well-tuned nib upon receipt (granted, the Carene's nib performed well too).  The Lamy 2k has very decent ink capacity and as a piston-filler, it can be easily deep-cleaned with easy access to the nib/feed if you need to take them apart.  

 

Hands down, it's the Lamy 2K for me.  However, I can easily understand one gravitating to the Carene instead, especially if you prefer a less understated, snazzy look.

[Icarusflies]

1 hour ago, maclink said:

I have both.  I enjoy the look of the Carene.  However, I've used it only through a single fill and have never felt inclined to use it again.  OTOH, I now have 3 Lamy 2000's with EF, F and M nibs.  I currently use one as an EDC pen.

 

The Lamy 2K has an understated appearance and will certainly not win a FP beauty contest with some of the currently available contenders, the Carene being an example.  However, it's a user's classic.  It's a highly reliable writer with a well-tuned nib upon receipt (granted, the Carene's nib performed well too).  The Lamy 2k has very decent ink capacity and as a piston-filler, it can be easily deep-cleaned with easy access to the nib/feed if you need to take them apart.  

 

Hands down, it's the Lamy 2K for me.  However, I can easily understand one gravitating to the Carene instead, especially if you prefer a less understated, snazzy look.

Thank you, I appreciate your point of view. 

[ENIAC]

You couldn't pay me enough to write with a Lamy 2000 again.  I've never used a pen with such a slippery section in my life, except maybe those Pilot Varsity disposables.  I either sold mine or gave it away to someone I hated at the time -- can't remember that far back.  I have 2 Sonnets and a Carene (somewhere in this mess).  I'm pretty "meh" about them.  They're perfectly serviceable pens, reasonably comfortable, and write well, but neither one gives my nasty bits a jolly tingle or makes me happy I was born or anything of that sort.

[jvr]

9 hours ago, Icarusflies said:

Ok, let me slightly rephrase my question. From a collectors standpoint, which fountain pen would me more interesting to have. The Carene, the Lamy 2000 or the Pilot VP? 

Ah, now you’re also asking about the Pilot VP. I used to have two of them and sold them both. They look nice, but I never used them because to me they felt uncomfortable to hold. 

[Icarusflies]

3 hours ago, ENIAC said:

You couldn't pay me enough to write with a Lamy 2000 again.  I've never used a pen with such a slippery section in my life, except maybe those Pilot Varsity disposables.  I either sold mine or gave it away to someone I hated at the time -- can't remember that far back.  I have 2 Sonnets and a Carene (somewhere in this mess).  I'm pretty "meh" about them.  They're perfectly serviceable pens, reasonably comfortable, and write well, but neither one gives my nasty bits a jolly tingle or makes me happy I was born or anything of that sort.

Thanks