Switching Lamy Clone Nib for a Gold Lamy Nib

[Misfit]

May Santa be good to you. 

[Penguincollector]

To you as well, my friend. 

[Misfit]

🎅🏼 thank you so much for that.  I think we can become FPN friends. It’s a different level of friendship. 

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

It’s  definitely a Western EF, which I wasn’t sure was going to be. Interested to try the steel nib on the cp1 (which is going in my stocking) that is coming and compare. 

 

I keenly look forward to seeing your comparison of the Lamy nibs.

[Lithium466]

5 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

Thank you! If I hadn’t just inked the two latest pens with red and green, I would have put the dark green in this one. It’s such a nice nib! It’s  definitely a Western EF, which I wasn’t sure was going to be. Interested to try the steel nib on the cp1 (which is going in my stocking) that is coming and compare. 

Nice pairing, and I'm glad to hear you're liking the Z57!

I al also looking forward to read your thoughts on the Z50 nib...and suggest you try the Z52 for the CP1!

[Penguincollector]

Is the Z50 the one that isn’t as well liked? If I don’t like it, what are good alternatives besides the z52?

[Lithium466]

Most (all? I don't feel like taking them all out again to try) my Z50 suffered from discutable QC and/or don't write very pleasantly

 

Note that they (when?) switched to an optical QC system and that apparently improved things, all my nibs are at least several years old stock.

 

My Z52 (singular) and Z53 (3 of them) on the other end were all fine and nicer writers straight out of the box (compared to Z50)

Most of these above are EF so YMMV.

 

Also...compared to "Lamy compatible" nibs ("aeroplane") that cost only a few $ straight from China, I don't find the Z50 of great value, when they are sold around 20/25$ in my country. Bought in Germany, maybe they are closer to 5/8€.

I had a lot of luck buying Chinese compatible nibs 😂

[Penguincollector]

I hope the QC has improved then, otherwise I will probably get either another gold nib or maybe a han nib. I have the original Chren nib and feed that writes really well, but aesthetically didn’t match and would look nice on the cp1, I think. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

On 12/2/2022 at 5:52 PM, Lithium466 said:

Note that they (when?) switched to an optical QC system and that apparently improved things, all my nibs are at least several years old stock.

A decade ago when I won a newspaper tour of the Lamy factory, they used an audio QC system with a huge drum where the pen scribbled on and if it wasn't smooth, the machine kicked out those nibs that were not perfect and a nice little old lady tweeked them so they wrote smooth.

 

I never had any problems with my four Lamies....two  being nails were give away to hook someone into fountain pens. A CPM and a Safari.

I kept my 1990 Person OB now PB's CI...B and Joy...1.5. Using that pen right now.

 

Display cases are not mail proof...........and so many think so. Yet no one complains about smoothness nor misaligned nibs bought in a B&M.

Guleuy or what ever, packs his pen shipments with drop out of the plane at 30,000 feet packing, so his goods arrive in good order.

I watched a deliver at my B&M, a truck with a small pallet, and a dolly....so it wasn't tossed around.

When I was at the Lamy factory, everything 'wholesale' was packed and wrapped on pallets.....not putting it in the mail.

 

Back 50 years ago, pre field goal kicking robots, and frustrated non-quarterbacks, back when the post office took care....One of the big Eastern Universities sent a package with a gauge in it to see how much of a beating a package took........the gauge broke.

 

I assume that the postal system is not as caring as it once was, when it had enough folks doing the work.

A sliver of stiff plastic between the nib and the feed, would prevent misaligned nibs from mailing....but book keepers are against wasting goods...the sliver of plastic...and labor.

Buy in a B&M and do away with problems. 

[Penguincollector]

Most of my pens have been in person purchases prior to the pandemic. I do have a Lamy stockist in a suburb close by (but they didn’t have the cp1 and it was on sale)and can buy another nib there if necessary. 

[Lithium466]

Ironically, all my Lamy nibs that (I find) write well have been bought online (Z53/55/57/58). The gold nibs came in a packaging that (to me) was prone to have the nib damaged, but I suppose the angle is calculated right cause they were all fine.

All my Z50 have been bought "in person", but back then I didn't know better and thought they were all like that. Aka meh.