EUREKA!!! - Lamy 2000

September 4

Long wanting a modern-styled pen, I had my eye on the 2000 for years. (Nevermind that its "modern" styling is 60+ years old and based on an even older design!) My hesitation at actually getting one was three-fold: price, size/girth, and a revulsion to modern tipped nibs. So when a couple of years back the opportunity to get one for less than $100 came up (I think it was a Christmas sale offering) I decided to pull the trigger. I thought it was ok at first and so I just ended up just sitting on it for a while. Hoping that if i left it alone it would get better. I had all but stopped using FPs at that point anyway. Well I recently was inspired to pick up my pens again and in the process I managed to stumble on how to write with the 2000 such that it produces my desired line. It's now a pleasure to write with and is quickly becoming my preferred pen. Girth at this point is all but unnoticed though at times I still seems "tubbier" than I feel a pen needs to be. As for line, I like a very crisp XF or XXF line that has some variation and character to it, something that the ubiquitous IPG nibs just don't do. (Now if manufacturers who use such nibs would actually tune and grind them before they go out door, rather than just plugging them in. . . ) I have found that if I write more vertically than not and rotate the nib slightly I get just what I'm looking for. I don't seem to encounter a limitation of a sweet spot that so many talk (and gripe) about.

I've tried this with other pens I've sidelined over the years for the same reason of line issues, and haven't had the same success. Which is fine. How many pens does one really need inked at a time anyway. (Stupid question - don't answer that!). So right now I've got in my pen case: Lamy 2000 XF with Noodler's Air Corp BB; Cross Solo XF (nib originally by Pilot) with Private Reserve Black Cherry; and a Pelikan M200 with a Binderized XXXF needlepoint with a corrupted Diamine Golden brown that I call Biber's Bistre.

So that's my eureka moment story.

2024-09-20T15:51:30Z

Isn't it great when you return to something that you didn't like, make a small change, and discover that it's actually rather brilliant! In this case, it's a bit like getting a new Lamy 2000 for free.