the Lamy 2000

[GraceThroughFaith]

Lamy 2000

 

Honestly, this is a reliable German pen. When I've got any serious writing to do, it's my go-to. On essay tests, it's all I use.

______________________________________________________________________

Appearance & Design (8) - A classic, but some will hate it.

If you love Bauhaus, this is the pen for you. It's black fiberglass and stainless steel. It's been taken apart, photographed, dropped, and considered ad infinitum on here, so I'll stick to my impressions.

…

Construction & Quality (8) - Follows the German stereotype.

Beautifully built. The piston knob disappears into the sea of fiberglass; the clip is elegant and useful.

…

Weight & Dimensions (8) - The perfect size

Not too big or too small. Made for writing, not for looking at. Form follows function a la Bauhaus, and that is evident in the entirety of the pen.

…

Nib & Performance (7) - The nib sizing is off but otherwise good

The nib is a very nice hooded number. While my medium could be considered bold, I love it and am glad I didn't go any smaller or bigger. It wasn't the smoothest pen I have owned, but after a bit of writing it loosened up and I would now consider it pleasantly smooth.

…

Filling System & Maintenance (9) - Piston filling marvel

It holds a bucketful of ink and is a great piston filler. This pen will ruin you for cartridge/converter. Honestly.

…

Cost & Value (8) - Great value for money

I got it at our local campus bookstore for about $90, which is quite a deal for this phenomenal pen. Even at the online prices of around 130, you should still go for it. For a gold nib and piston filler this is a great price.

…

Conclusion (Final score of 8) - Buy this pen if you like Bauhaus styling and great value for money

If you don't like the design, don't buy it. Otherwise, I see no reason to not recommend this excellent pen. It's probably the pen I'd use when writing a novel or a doctoral dissertation.

Edited May 11, 2010 by GraceThroughFaith

[goodguy]

My Lamy 2000 is my everyday user, a great writer!!!

[GraceThroughFaith]

I couldn't agree more. Did the styling or the functionality win you over? For me it was the functionality and especially the indestructibility. The styling was an acquired taste.

[bluemagister]

I do not like the Lamy 2000 or any other Lamy pen, at all...the ones I've tried have not suited me.

 

BUT IF EVERYONE LIKES IT, IT MUST HAVE SOME REDEEMING QUALITY. I'm going to get a Lamy 2000 and have the nib adjusted and see if that converts me to a Lamy Lover.

 

Time to change my EF mind into a BB.

[PacificCoastPen]

Is the nib on the 2000 like all the other Lamy nibs? I would guess so.

[Breck]

Is the nib on the 2000 like all the other Lamy nibs? I would guess so.

 

Well, it's not steel like the others, and it's an entirely different shape.

 

The (quasi-) consensus is that they tend to run large like all the other Lamy nibs, though.

 

Actually, my new EF has a very true EF width, esp. with Montblanc Blue-Black on Apica paper. Narrower than vintage Pelikan EF's. And this one's very smooth, too. The other EF I got at the same time wasn't, so much, so I sent it off for a swap to an OB nib, which I wanted to try anyway.

 

The OB came back today. It's pretty dreamy. The nib sits a bit more proud than the EF does, so it's taking me some time to adjust, but it's just a phenomenal pen.

 

Funnily enough, the OB on the Lamy is a touch broader than my vintage Pelikan OB. Go figure.

[GraceThroughFaith]

Is the nib on the 2000 like all the other Lamy nibs? I would guess so.

 

No, it's nothing like them. All the other Lamy nibs I've seen have looked somewhat like the Safari nib (even when done in Gold), and the 2000's nib looks and acts differently. You can Google it or look it up here on FPN (unfortunately I can't take photos right now).

 

To the poster who thinks that they need a mindset change to enjoy Lamy, you might, but then again, you might not. I love the M and B on the 2000 since they give you a great way to write things of which size is no object (I don't use them on forms or when I edit papers or annotate books, but otherwise they are constantly in use) such as essays or cards or simply your signature. If this sounds like something you might enjoy, Lamys are for you already!

[xuan87]

i believe when you said that " you got it from the local campus bookstore" you're talking about the UW Madison bookstore on state street, which i'm familiar with as well since i'm a student there. did you really get it for $90 there?! the last time i went, it was selling at the MSRP of $160!

[dwong]

That's a great deal for a new Lamy 2000! I am glad that you enjoy it. I am not so much in love with its looks but every time I pick it up, I am reminded of how solid it performs all around.

[Ed Ronax]

Great review, thanks, thats a sweet deal you got there, I keep hearing very good things about these pens, might just get one and find out what all the fuss is about.

[oberon]

Love mine.. a true users pen.

[majorworks]

I've had my L2K with EF nib for about a month now and it has pretty much moved to the top of the heap for me. I know it's not a true EF but it's a fine-enough line for most of what I'd want a finer nib for. It's plenty smooth, starts up instantly every time, and is a nice wet writer.

 

It has behaved well with any/all inks I've used in it (Noodler's and J. Herbin). I like the piston filler a lot. I managed to drop it once on a NJ Transit train and it emerged unscathed. I like the shape, the weight, the feel, the finish... pretty much everything. For $89 + shipping from Pengallery, it's a steal IMHO.

[ailleurs]

Love, love, love mine in a BB. Bought it at the Chicago pen show and wrote with it for hours the day I got it. The ink capacity alone makes this pen worth it, IMO. The flow is lovely; the feed keeps up with the BB nib and has yet to skip on me even after leaving the cap off for a while.

[Juan in Andalucia]

Is the nib on the 2000 like all the other Lamy nibs? I would guess so.

 

No, it's nothing like them. All the other Lamy nibs I've seen have looked somewhat like the Safari nib (even when done in Gold), and the 2000's nib looks and acts differently. You can Google it or look it up here on FPN (unfortunately I can't take photos right now).

 

To the poster who thinks that they need a mindset change to enjoy Lamy, you might, but then again, you might not. I love the M and B on the 2000 since they give you a great way to write things of which size is no object (I don't use them on forms or when I edit papers or annotate books, but otherwise they are constantly in use) such as essays or cards or simply your signature. If this sounds like something you might enjoy, Lamys are for you already!

 

I disagree; the gold nibs in pens like the Studio is different from the steel version. The 14k gold nibs in the Studio or Dialog3 have some give which the steel ones don't have. Besides, my 2 14k gold nibs in my Studios have the iridium tip shaped different than in my more than 20 Safaris and AlStars.

 

I think some people tend to think about these nibs as a high end version of a school pen nib; sort of "one size fits all" which seems to be against the "uniqueness" that a gold nibbed pen is supposed to have.

 

Just one opinion. YMMV

 

Juan

[ericthered2004]

i believe when you said that " you got it from the local campus bookstore" you're talking about the UW Madison bookstore on state street, which i'm familiar with as well since i'm a student there. did you really get it for $90 there?! the last time i went, it was selling at the MSRP of $160!

 

 

I wondered about this too. I didn't know they sold Lamy,though it's been ages since I visited.

 

Regards

eric

[gyasko]

i believe when you said that " you got it from the local campus bookstore" you're talking about the UW Madison bookstore on state street, which i'm familiar with as well since i'm a student there. did you really get it for $90 there?! the last time i went, it was selling at the MSRP of $160!

 

They have had a few for sale. There was one at Hilldale the last time i was over there. (In the winter sometime.)

[GraceThroughFaith]

Is the nib on the 2000 like all the other Lamy nibs? I would guess so.

 

No, it's nothing like them. All the other Lamy nibs I've seen have looked somewhat like the Safari nib (even when done in Gold), and the 2000's nib looks and acts differently. You can Google it or look it up here on FPN (unfortunately I can't take photos right now).

 

To the poster who thinks that they need a mindset change to enjoy Lamy, you might, but then again, you might not. I love the M and B on the 2000 since they give you a great way to write things of which size is no object (I don't use them on forms or when I edit papers or annotate books, but otherwise they are constantly in use) such as essays or cards or simply your signature. If this sounds like something you might enjoy, Lamys are for you already!

 

I disagree; the gold nibs in pens like the Studio is different from the steel version. The 14k gold nibs in the Studio or Dialog3 have some give which the steel ones don't have. Besides, my 2 14k gold nibs in my Studios have the iridium tip shaped different than in my more than 20 Safaris and AlStars.

 

I think some people tend to think about these nibs as a high end version of a school pen nib; sort of "one size fits all" which seems to be against the "uniqueness" that a gold nibbed pen is supposed to have.

 

Just one opinion. YMMV

 

Juan

 

I have not used all the Lamy pens, but I know that Lamy's gold nib is a really, really good nib. It writes much differently than the Safari, but I think Lamy enjoys their industrial design and trademark nib profile so much that they use it on nearly every pen. The 2000's nib, however, IS radically different, both in appearance and looks.

[JMX]

Looks like I have to get my Safaris (and Vista) a 2000 pal.  

 

Very nice review! Thanks!

 

 

[Juan in Andalucia]

Is the nib on the 2000 like all the other Lamy nibs? I would guess so.

 

No, it's nothing like them. All the other Lamy nibs I've seen have looked somewhat like the Safari nib (even when done in Gold), and the 2000's nib looks and acts differently. You can Google it or look it up here on FPN (unfortunately I can't take photos right now).

 

To the poster who thinks that they need a mindset change to enjoy Lamy, you might, but then again, you might not. I love the M and B on the 2000 since they give you a great way to write things of which size is no object (I don't use them on forms or when I edit papers or annotate books, but otherwise they are constantly in use) such as essays or cards or simply your signature. If this sounds like something you might enjoy, Lamys are for you already!

 

I disagree; the gold nibs in pens like the Studio is different from the steel version. The 14k gold nibs in the Studio or Dialog3 have some give which the steel ones don't have. Besides, my 2 14k gold nibs in my Studios have the iridium tip shaped different than in my more than 20 Safaris and AlStars.

 

I think some people tend to think about these nibs as a high end version of a school pen nib; sort of "one size fits all" which seems to be against the "uniqueness" that a gold nibbed pen is supposed to have.

 

Just one opinion. YMMV

 

Juan

 

I have not used all the Lamy pens, but I know that Lamy's gold nib is a really, really good nib. It writes much differently than the Safari, but I think Lamy enjoys their industrial design and trademark nib profile so much that they use it on nearly every pen. The 2000's nib, however, IS radically different, both in appearance and looks.

 

Yes, the 2000 nib is... different. I had to describe it with one word, it will be "temperamental".

 

Juan

[Malcy]

Love, love, love mine in a BB. Bought it at the Chicago pen show and wrote with it for hours the day I got it. The ink capacity alone makes this pen worth it, IMO. The flow is lovely; the feed keeps up with the BB nib and has yet to skip on me even after leaving the cap off for a while.

 

The BB is great, I always enjoy using it. This nib is very wet and as you say doesn't skip. It certainly needs that ink capacity as it goes through ink really quickly.