I've been writing with a Lamy 1,1mm italic nib on my Lime Safari for a while now, and like it very much. So much, I'm thinking of ordering a Richard Binder italic nib for my Pilot VP.

This is a question for the lucky people who have already written with both: would you call the Lamy 1,1mm italic

a. cursive italic

or

b. stub

compared to the binderized nibs? (I asked the Meister himself, but he seems to be unfamiliar with the Lamy nibs)

I like the line variation the Lamy nib gives me, but I fear anything "crisper" would slow down my writing.

Greatings, and thanks very much for any light you can shed on this for me.

Miguel

I've used the Lamy nibs; they're cursive Italics. A little sharper than a stub, but still pretty easy to write with while still giving you some line variation. You don't really see crisp Italics in production pens anymore. The old Osmiroids and Platignums were crisp Italics, as were the old M&K Pelikan 120 nibs. You'll be very happy with a Binder cursive Italic. --j

BTW: are these nibs tipped?
The Lamy rep said no, but also said they were discontinued for the Safari

No - plain stainless steel.



The Safari has never been officially available with an italic nib. It is the Lamy joy that comes factory-fitted with an italic nib.

HTH,

Martin

I don't see any tipping on my 1.1 nib. They may be discontinued for the Safari, but you can buy a Lamy Joy nib instead; the only difference is that they are silver rather than black.

I love writing with mine; it's very smooth and very forgiving, with slightly rounded edges.

EDITED TO ADD: Why do company "reps" in North America always know next to nothing about their company's products? I don't think I've ever met a rep who knew anything but slogans and the size of his own paycheck.

Neill

Just to add some info to mine and Neil78's post:

All current Lamy models (with the exception of the 2000) share the same nib fitting. Therefore it is possible to fit any point size to any model . Spare nibs are available from specialist Lamy retailers.

HTH,

Martin

The Lamy calligraphy nibs are italic- not stubs or cursive italics. The difference between a plain ol' italic nib and a CI or (modern) stub is that the latter are tipped, and then ground to those shapes. As I understand it, stub used to mean something perhaps more like the Lamy calligraphy nibs- stubbed, as in chopped off at the knees and polished.

I really like the Lamy calligraphy nib- very smooth, smoother than most nibs I've ever used. I must get along with that kind of nib, as the Pilot 78g's B/stub nib is held in a similarly high regard by me. I use the 1.1mm, but have been thinking of trying the 1.5mm. I wish I could put the nib on a Kaweco Sport-size pocket pen- the nib is firm, which means it's near unscrewupable, unlike many steel and gold nibs. I tend to end up writing standing up with the vintage Sport I carry around, and while it's flexible gold nib is really nice it isn't the right thing for quick notes taken while standing up.

The Lamy calligraphy nib performs a lot like a CI for me, though untipped- it can write smoothly over a wider range of vertical angles than most calligraphy nibs (e.g. the Sheaffer NoNonsense calligraphy pen) or even some vintage broad/stub/CI nibs I've used.

Aaron

Hi Gang,

Thanks a lot for the info. I've just ordered an ItaliFine for my VP.

Indeed, Lamy nibs seem to be more or less universal: I was at a B&M a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to buy a yellow Safari set (FP+MP) as a gift for a friend, who loves all things yellow. A the only yellow Safari left had a medium nib, and I wanted to buy a fine nib, the lady at the shop was so kind as to switch the nib right there in front of me, afther which she produced a bottle of Florida Blue and a pad of paper, dipped the nib and let me test it out. Now there's service I don't mind paying a few euro's more for!

Greatings

Miguel

If I had to hazard a guess, based solely on what I've seen in the software industry--and as a random, anonymous person called "Iridium" --I'd say that employee turnover in these roles is so brisk that the new guys are always bumping into the old guys in the doorway. There's not much time to get to know a product when the first thing they do when they start a new job is look for the next opportunity. If I exaggerate, it's only by a little. This is not how things ought to be, but there you have it. I don't know why this is so, either.

Not to slight paying customers, but engineers often suffer just as much:

"He said our product does WHAT?!"

"No, it doesn't."

"Oh...it will NOW...."

"That will take eight months to develop and test."

"I have how many...DAYS?"

"Hey, we can put in this old demo version we have lying around somewhere."

"We can always make it work for real in the next patch release."

"I feel dirty."

Ask Richard Binder what is closer to the Lamy 1.1 if you are ordering from him.

I have sent nibs to Pendemonium and they advised me that their stub nib would be closer to the Lamy 1.1 than the cursive italic. I got both and the stub is the one I am using. The cursive italic needs much more attention than the stub so I prefer the stub.