Question About Lamy 2000 Nib

[jipajapa]

Hey guys,

 

Sorry to keep posting questions about this, but I have a new one. I took my Lamy 2000 back to the dealer today and he replaced it no problem. I got home, inked up the new one, and it's very smooth, but the flow is awful. I'm using Lamy black ink, and I can't even put a dark line down on the paper half the time. When I write in cursive with a good bit of pressure, most of my loops just disappear about halfway through.

 

Any ideas as to why that would be other than that I could have gotten ANOTHER faulty nib?

 

Mark

 

UPDATE: It writes a vertical line down the page (i.e. a line in the same direction as the cut between the tines) very well. It's horizontal lines that are very faint and skip. I don't know if that would help at all or not, but I figured I'd throw that piece of info in.

Edited August 9, 2012 by jipajapa

[Nova42]

Have you given it a good flushing? That can sometimes help with flow issues.

[jipajapa]

I flushed it a bit with water. What exactly should I flush it with for the best result? Does the water temp matter?

[ddustinn]

A water/ammonia solution is pretty standard. Also, a drop of grease-cutting dish soap may help.

 

I would also try it with some different inks. Is Lamy Black what you were using before when it was writing well?

[jipajapa]

Alright, I'll give that a shot. Thanks!

 

An update: It writes a vertical line down the page (i.e. a line in the same direction as the cut between the tines) very well. It's horizontal lines that are very faint and skip. I don't know if that would help at all or not, but I figured I'd throw that piece of info in.

[Nova42]

Generally I flush with luke warm water but that is just because that is what comes out of my tap. Some people use an ammonia solution (though I'm not sure about the ratio). You can also buy pen flushing materals such as J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush (No affiliation to Goulet or PPF, though I am a happy customer of Goulet but I have never tried the Perfect Pen Flush). Good luck with your pen!

[ddustinn]

Generally I flush with luke warm water but that is just because that is what comes out of my tap. Some people use an ammonia solution (though I'm not sure about the ratio).

10% ammonia in the solution. I always guesstimate.

[Wolverine1]

Flushing is a helpful solution, but, I noticed that you wrote that you applied a lot of pressure when writing. Well, try writing applying little or no downward pressure on the nib. It is a Lamy 2000 fountain pen, not a pencil or a baulky BP pen.

[jipajapa]

Flushing is a helpful solution, but, I noticed that you wrote that you applied a lot of pressure when writing. Well, try writing applying little or no downward pressure on the nib. It is a Lamy 2000 fountain pen, not a pencil or a baulky BP pen.

 

I've tried no pressure, medium pressure, heavy pressure. What I meant was EVEN with heavy pressure it wasn't working as I'd expect it to. I guess that was a little unclear, though

 

Thanks for the advice!

[tisquinn]

Try writing for a few pages or so. If you're still having problems, maybe you could send it to Lamy USA. They will, I believe, replace things under warranty and do a great job of it.

[New_Falcon]

Have you had a look at the nib, I had a Lamy 2000 and the slit wasn't exactly vertical. It was crooked, so on the vertical strokes it was fine but on the left to right stroke, it would skip and be scratchy.

[NKessler]

Try opening the tines up a bit by applying some pressure to the nib against a soft surface like a stack of paper or a notebook. Be very gentle, but slowly apply pressure until you see the tines open up a tiny bit. If you're unsure about it, check out some videos on the Internet about adjusting ink flow. I've had to do this with at least half of the pens I own and, as long as you're very careful not to spring the nib, you can quickly and easily open the tines up for more flow or close them for less.

[bphollin]

Brian Gray of the Edison Pen Company has a wonderful article on his five steps for tuning a nib (link). The first half of the article is a description of steel nibs, but for our purposes you want to pay attention about halfway down. A summary of his process is below:

 

1. Look at the tines from the front. Is one tine higher than the other? Are the tines touching or is there a gap?
   
2. Look at the tines from the top to examine the nib slit.
   
3. Look the nib from the side to see the gap between nib and feed.
   
4. Look at the back of the nib to see how the nib is set on the feed.
   
5. Ink it up and write with it!
   

 

Richard Binder's website RichardsPens.com has a treasure trove of information on nibs and performance. His three part series on nibs should be required reading -- Part I: The Basics, Part II: Beyond the Basics with Specialty Nibs, and Part III: Flex vs Italic. Also noteworthy are articles on tuning and hitting the sweet spot.

[John Cullen]

If you are turning your wrist or leaning the pen one way or another, you would also have problems with this model. Lots of people have commented that this model can be fussy about the way it is held to the paper.

[Mafia Geek]

If you are turning your wrist or leaning the pen one way or another, you would also have problems with this model. Lots of people have commented that this model can be fussy about the way it is held to the paper.

 

Having had this pen I can say this is definitely something to keep in mind. Try writing a few strokes with the pen at different rotations and see if it makes any difference. I had to adjust the flow on mine but after I did it was a dream to write with, so keep at it.

[Koyote]

After buying and returning two Lamy 2000s for a similar problem, I must say that the problem is likely with the pen and not the user. They just don't have very good QC.

[ttakacs]

Here is Sean's video that might be helpful to you:

.