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One more thing about the Lamy Dialog 3


sirgrunthos

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I've read numerous reviews about the new Lamy Dialog 3 fountain pen. So far I hadn't seen one point in particular mentioned, so I thought I'd give it a try.

 

As it happens, I have a brand new D3 and, ashamedly, I've only just recently inked it up, even though I received way back at Christmas. (I wanted to mix up a new ink and didn't get around to it . . . you know how it goes.)

 

The reviews I've read have been, generally, very well written. A lot of them focus on the typical Lamy pluses and minuses: looks cool, doesn't look cool, too heavy, too light, too mechanical, too fat, etc. As well as various thoughts about the longevity of the mechanism and availability of spare parts. A lot of these fall into the subjective critiques that makes Lamy sometimes controversial and FPN fun to read! Anyway, I digress . . . (BTW, I like Lamy designs -- a lot -- so I'm pretty biased about most of their characteristics.)

 

What I'm blathering about today, though, is a functional difference between the D3 and one of its nearest competitors, the Namiki Vanishing Point (which I also have). Early on, I had the misfortune of discovering a negative characteristic of the VP when used with "creepy" inks (honestly, I tried to think of a better expression, but liked this one anyway). In this case, it was Noodlers Legal Lapis. Shortly after inking it up the first time, I discovered that ink would migrate to the flat side of the "D" shaped opening on the VP. After spending a lot of time trying to figure it out, and involving Namiki customer service along the way, I finally realized something. Part of the nib feed on the Namiki slides along the trap door, which is spring-loaded, to keep it open during writing. This would eventually result in the transfer of ink to the outside of the pen. (At least with Noodler's bulletproof stuff.) The great plus about the D3 is that no part of the nib touches the ball valve type door when it emerges from the end of the pen! I hope this translates into no ink migration; we'll see . . .

 

Remember, things are worth what you pay for them, and this opinion was free . . .

"Live every day as if it were going to be your last; for one day you're sure to be right."

 

- Lt. Harry 'Breaker' Morant

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Thank you for this interesting comment.

 

A few days back, I came across the Namiki Vanishing Point in my usual (brick and mortar) pen store and was quite pleased how the puny "B" point nib wrote.

Normally, I concentrate on slightly larger Western pens and prefer pens where I can but at least a matching ballpoint (for carbonless NCR paper forms) and ideally a matching pencil and possibly rollerball too. That makes the Namiki VP an "orphan", but I am still considering purchasing one.

 

Functional, reliable and unpretentious Lamys are among my favourite pens too and I have been tempted by the Dialog 3.

The Dialog 3 is also an "orphan" and it is not likely to be followed by a ballpoint, let alone mechanical pencil.

I admire the sleek, clean lines though. Working in aviation - and partly due to the way Lamy chose to display the Dialog 3 front section in brochures - the pen reminds me of early jet engines with its small opening cross section and near constant diameter.

 

The point that holds me back are the mechanics.

The more complex a mechanism is the more likely it is to fail - simplicity rules.

(That is why jet engines were so much more reliable than piston engines. Nobody in his right mind would ever have suggested commercial flight across the Atlantic in a twin-engine piston airliners.)

As far as the Dialog 3 goes, I rather hold off a little longer to see how reliably the mechanism performs over time and wait till the verdict is in.

 

 

But thank you again for mentioning the nib creep that may transfer to the front section of the Namiki.

It is definitely worth considering when choosing an ink for this pen.

 

 

B.

Edited by beluga
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That's an interesting observation. Lamy probably looked at that flaw in the VP's design and corrected it on the D3.

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  • 1 year later...

Thank you for this interesting comment.

 

A few days back, I came across the Namiki Vanishing Point in my usual (brick and mortar) pen store and was quite pleased how the puny "B" point nib wrote.

Normally, I concentrate on slightly larger Western pens and prefer pens where I can but at least a matching ballpoint (for carbonless NCR paper forms) and ideally a matching pencil and possibly rollerball too. That makes the Namiki VP an "orphan", but I am still considering purchasing one.

 

Functional, reliable and unpretentious Lamys are among my favourite pens too and I have been tempted by the Dialog 3.

The Dialog 3 is also an "orphan" and it is not likely to be followed by a ballpoint, let alone mechanical pencil.

I admire the sleek, clean lines though. Working in aviation - and partly due to the way Lamy chose to display the Dialog 3 front section in brochures - the pen reminds me of early jet engines with its small opening cross section and near constant diameter.

 

The point that holds me back are the mechanics.

The more complex a mechanism is the more likely it is to fail - simplicity rules.

(That is why jet engines were so much more reliable than piston engines. Nobody in his right mind would ever have suggested commercial flight across the Atlantic in a twin-engine piston airliners.)

As far as the Dialog 3 goes, I rather hold off a little longer to see how reliably the mechanism performs over time and wait till the verdict is in.

 

 

But thank you again for mentioning the nib creep that may transfer to the front section of the Namiki.

 

 

B.

 

 

I am on my second Dialog 3 after the first one's mechanism failed. Lamy replaced it immediately. The Dialog 3 is my daily writer and the best writing fine point that I own. Highly recommended!

 

kwinana

 

www.penspaperandink.blogspot.com

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Yeah, that's one of the reason's I sold my VP. It grated against my nerves when i felt the nib push the trapdoor out of the way. That, and it was as cumbersome as a retractable highlighter I thought.

Much happier with Lamy 2K's and Pilot Custom 823. Might toy with a Dialog one day, but I don't go for the super matt industrial design style of some of their pens. Their nibs always seem to me to need adjusting

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  • 3 weeks later...

What I'm blathering about today, though, is a functional difference between the D3 and one of its nearest competitors, the Namiki Vanishing Point (which I also have). Early on, I had the misfortune of discovering a negative characteristic of the VP when used with "creepy" inks (honestly, I tried to think of a better expression, but liked this one anyway). In this case, it was Noodlers Legal Lapis. Shortly after inking it up the first time, I discovered that ink would migrate to the flat side of the "D" shaped opening on the VP. After spending a lot of time trying to figure it out, and involving Namiki customer service along the way, I finally realized something. Part of the nib feed on the Namiki slides along the trap door, which is spring-loaded, to keep it open during writing. This would eventually result in the transfer of ink to the outside of the pen. (At least with Noodler's bulletproof stuff.) The great plus about the D3 is that no part of the nib touches the ball valve type door when it emerges from the end of the pen! I hope this translates into no ink migration; we'll see . . .

 

Remember, things are worth what you pay for them, and this opinion was free . . .

 

This is a nice observation and a definite design advantage of the D3.

 

If anyone is having this problem with a VP, know that this is easily solved with a thorough rinse out of the barrel at the tip under the flap in the D shaped opening. That included gently guiding a plastic pipette down through barrel, as the nib would go, to keep it open so that the inner flap can be well flushed and dried. If any kind of lint or dust gets in there it quickly drains tons of ink with each click. The D-shaped flap on the VP rubs on the underside of the nib. The clearance below the nib itself is so tight that any bit of lint there could touch the nib and draw massive amounts of ink from the nib with each click.

 

Haven't had a problem with any VP since.

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I wondered about that. It grated against my inner most being everytime I heard the nib push the trapdoor of my VP open. So i sold it. Biggest non-regret of my 21 years of being alive.

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  • 1 year later...

Part of the nib feed on the Namiki slides along the trap door, which is spring-loaded, to keep it open during writing. This would eventually result in the transfer of ink to the outside of the pen. (At least with Noodler's bulletproof stuff.) The great plus about the D3 is that no part of the nib touches the ball valve type door when it emerges from the end of the pen! I hope this translates into no ink migration; we'll see . . .

I suppose this is true of the Fermi as well? I seldom use my VP because a bit of ink transfers from the feed to the body, (whence to the tip of my index finger, when I return the pen to my shirt pocket). Also, I have a Decimo that can actually spit ink when the nib comes out, presumably springing from the same design flaw.

 

I still want the convenience of a ballpoint in a fountain pen, but it doesn't seem that anyone has gotten it quite right. (For the Dialog 3, I'm thinking of others' comments about hard starting and its tendency to dry out).

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