Greetings from Madrid, Spain. Firstly I would like to thank you all for all those nice reviews, comments, etc. I am brand new on this fever, although I have used pens for writing since college, but didn’t pay much attention to them, just liked the way they write.

Just bought a second-hand Lamy 2000 set (fountain pen and ballpen) with some ‘special’ features. The fountain pen is engraved “LAMY 2000 W. GERMANY” on the lower end of the cap, no markings on the clip (the bp has the same engraving on the barrel, longitudinally). There is an “L” on the end of the body, which I guess means Lamy. Some papers that come in the box (very scarce and written in French, by the way), say that it is a “Nouveau Lamy 2000” (¿nouveau?) 18 carats gold platinée. I though Lamy 2000 came with 14 carat nib.

What do I have here? Is it anything special? Just paid 30 euros for the full set. I know it must be some years old, as now it is not necessary to state West Germany as there is only one.

The bodies of pen and fp are engraved “GULF”, so I guess this was a company gift.
The bp has a B nib which I am finding a bit too wide for my taste, but writes very well, smooth, so maybe I’ll get used to it after all. The feeling is wonderful, weight and size are perfect for me, I am delighted!

Is it possible to change the nib for a medium or a fine? How much could it cost in a pen shop?
Do you specially recommend Lamy ink for this fp or any other brand can be fine?

Thanks for any help.

Sounds strange, French is not my first language at all but if I hazard a guess I think it means "new".

The fact that it says w German means that it is an old one, pre collapse of the wall and the unification of Germany.

The nibs are usually 14 k gold witha platinum overlay-what colour is your nib?

Check the side of the clip and the underside-usually there is writing (very small) there as well.

Lamy will take any ink that you throw at it (except india ink of course).

You can get replacemt hoods/nib units fior the pen-but it would be shame to do that as it seems you have an unusual set-it may be woth more to keep it as it is-could you post some pics of this?

Hi, I know that nouveau means new, but I am surprised of it saying 'nouveau' Will it mean this is a pen from the time they began selling it? it's hard to believe because the materials seem nearly new!
The nib has the usual look I've seen on photos, platinée means platinum coated, so the look shouldn't change.
No marks on the clip, but just noticed a small half-sphere on its end that maybe adds information.
Sorry, no close-ups photos at the moment where you can see the details.

They'll even take some allegedly corrosive inks like an iron gall ink? (I say allegedly as it's only hearsay for me; I've never even seen the stuff...)

I imagine the nib wouldn't corrode, but I honestly don't know if there's anything in the pen that can be corroded by an iron gall ink, having never disassembled my Lamy 2000.

Hi,

No iron gall ink for 2000 pens--you will corrode the grip section.

Some older 2000 pens came with 18K nibs.

Dillon

Pics of the Gulf Oil Lamy 2k?

Exactly, Garageboy...I want to see 'em too!

I'm not sure, but there's a hearsay around here that the French market requires/required 18k gold at least for gold nibs. But they are always platimum plated on the L2000.
During the 41 Years of its still ongoing production, the Lamy 2000 has had some changes to it's appearance, e.g. the older ones came with an "L" on the cap top.
Lamy itself makes the iron-gall Blue-Black ink in bottles (only), so a L2000 should able to deal with it (supposedly ...).

I have attached some general pics of the box, the papers, and the nib (hope you can see them). In the image of the nib from its bottom, in the black body, you can appreciate a B indicating a broad nib. Unfortunately, I don't manage to get good photos of the engraving (it is so understated, specially the "GULF"), sorry for that. My digital camera is old and not very good.
This fp has a black "L" inside a white circle but in the opposite end, not on the cap but on the end of the barrel.

thank you for your comments.

With my rusty French translation, it says:

New Lamy 2000

18 Carat Gold Nib
Platinum (coated)

Reservoir (Ink)
Large Capacity

Flow system
Patented

Well we knew it was old due to the W Germany, maybe it is older than we thought and this is one of the first to become available in France?

Whilst I am in the user camp and not the collector camp, I think that if you did not want the B nib then it may almost be worth putting that one aside and getting another...that said you could always just keep the nib unit and get another one-I don't believe you will get an 18 K one again though.
I think that the nib unit cost roughly half the cost of the pen itself-maybe contact Lamy and say you are after at thinner unit and see if they will sell you one?

They sell the nibs for about $60, but they require that you send it in in order to get it swapped. I think that's ridiculous.