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What's With The Lamy 2000's Sweet Spot? Is It A Deal Breaker?


energeeon

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Most pens have some kind of sweet spot. This is part of using a fountain pen. If you should turn it too much on its side, you will know it. Some complain that hooded and semi-hooded nibs are too hard to keep on the sweet spot. The Lamy 2000 is no worse than a Parker 45 or several other pens in this respect. Some people are just not up to the challenge. So, then don't buy one or sell it if you have it. The Lamy 2000 is no worse than any pen to keep on its sweet spot. Open nibs can be challenging to keep on a sweet spot too.

 

Given the price, durability and performance of the Lamy 2000, it is probably one of the best pens anyone can buy. It is one of the pens least likely to break down on you.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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I have several 2000s (2 Makrolon Mediums, 2 Steel Mediums, 2 Ambers in fine and a Makrolon in Broad)...they all have "sweet spots" except for the F nibs. The B nib is also quite stubbish.

 

That said, the sweet spot isn't particularly narrow on mine...I write with the pen held at an angle, and they all work fine. I personally think the "sweet spot" effect on the 2000s is exaggerated because it's very easy to rotate the pen in the hand as you write due to the smooth contours of the body. The shape of the nib means if the pen rotates too far, it can stop writing...

 

I personally use the two cap-retention "ears" as a guide...if you hold the pen so your fingers are close to or on the ears, the nib will be in its sweet spot.

Edited by Twister292
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I have several 2000s (2 Makrolon Mediums, 2 Steel Mediums, 2 Ambers in fine and a Makrolon in Broad)...they all have "sweet spots" except for the F nibs. The B nib is also quite stubbish.

 

That said, the sweet spot isn't particularly narrow on mine...I write with the pen held at an angle, and they all work fine. I personally think the "sweet spot" effect on the 2000s is exaggerated because it's very easy to rotate the pen in the hand as you write due to the smooth contours of the body. The shape of the nib means if the pen rotates too far, it can stop writing...

 

I personally use the two cap-retention "ears" as a guide...if you hold the pen so your fingers are close to or on the ears, the nib will be in its sweet spot.

 

Thanks for the tip about the ears. That is something to remember.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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I've got a 2000 with the F nib. The "sweet spot" is so generous it might be better to call it a "sweet zone". And it seems barely more fickle than any other fine-nibbed fountain pen.

 

It's a great writer, but I don't have it in rotation very often.

Magnus | Raleigh, NC [uSA] | @Magnus919 | TerraMagnus

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I have one Lamy 2000 with a fine nib. I have not noticed a "sweet spot" with it. It is an very reliable, smooth writer. I love it. In fact, I am planning on purchasing another soon.

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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This is a very interesting topic for me in that I have a new Lamy 2000 (Fine) en route to me from 'across the pond' as we speak. It is interesting to read here that sweet spots on Fine nibs may be limited or a non-issue. I have a Sailor King of Pen Broad that writes like a Western Medium that has such a defined sweet spot it has taught my arm to write perfectly with it. When on the spot the pen is like a hockey puck on an air hockey table, when off the sweet spot even a little the pen feels like a pocket knife shredding the paper. It is my favorite pen to write with currently. I need to buy a 'I'm not afraid of sweet spots' T-shirt.

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Sweet Spots and Hooded Nibs!

 

I have a Parker 51 that writes smoothly and consistently rotated between 90 counter-clockwise and 45 clockwise from flat or 0.

 

Thats a Sweet Spot

 

My two 2000s write acceptably, but not wonderfully such that I want to keep them inked. I think my SS one has been inked once. I have too many other pens that write better to jump back to the 2000s.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Most pens have some kind of sweet spot. This is part of using a fountain pen. If you should turn it too much on its side, you will know it. […]

 

Given the price, durability and performance of the Lamy 2000, it is probably one of the best pens anyone can buy. It is one of the pens least likely to break down on you.

 

Totally agree. I noticed that my L2K with an EF nib had something of an ever-so-slight sweet spot only after I had read the complaints that circulate on the 'net. (Otherwise, I might never have noticed.)

 

It may well be, as others here have already noted, that the 'sweet spot' is more noticeable on broader nibs, simply because an EF is narrower to begin with and therefore has less material where the sweet spot effect could develop.

 

In any case, I love mine.

In current use: Cleo Skribent Classic, Waterman Expert, Diplomat Excellence, Pineider Avatar, Sheaffer Targa (the good old Sheaffer, not one Made in China)

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My 2000 Black Amber rests happily on its sweet spot. The pen feels to me like it knows how it wants to sit, and my job is not to put undue pressure that would tilt it off that angle.

 

The only issue I have with the pen is how much more fine it writes compared to other Lamy nibs. I like a Fine on all my Lamy interchangeable nib pens, but the Fine on my 2000 feels like an Extra Fine by comparison.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you write on absorbent papers like the Lamy test papers in their stores, the sweet spot issue can be remedied.

 

If you write on Rhodia/Clairefontaine, you might have to angle and hold the pen such that it writes smooth and wet enough for you - and you have to keep this combination constant. The pen will reflect any minute change in angle and grip.

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If you write on absorbent papers like the Lamy test papers in their stores, the sweet spot issue can be remedied.

 

If you write on Rhodia/Clairefontaine, you might have to angle and hold the pen such that it writes smooth and wet enough for you - and you have to keep this combination constant. The pen will reflect any minute change in angle and grip.

 

The cap retention "ears" are a good guide for that...on a properly tightened L2K section, the ears should be on each side of the nib.

 

The pen is also very easy to rotate in the hand while writing...that exaggerates the sweet spot effect.

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I've just re-inked my Makrolon Lamy 2K F for a comparison I'm working on and was surprised at how generously it writes. The sweet spot issue I recall from when I first got the pen isn't there.

 

I blame myself. The 2K was an early addition to my collection. At the time I was still on the upward swing of my learning curve in figuring out how to write with fountain pens.

 

It's a terrific pen and, IMHO, well worth owning both for it's quality as a writing instrument and it's place in the world of design.

 

 

 

 

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Hi,

 

The sweet spot seems to depend a lot on the pen. I've seen a lot of Lamy 2000 pens, and the size and presence of it seems to vary somewhat from pen to pen. The EF pens I have seen often have had thinner up and downstrokes and thicker side to side strokes. The EF nibs have a somewhat different tip profile to the other Lamy nibs.

 

On occasion people have sent me their Lamy 2000 pens to take care of this sweet spot, but this does not seem to be something a lot of people notice. I tend to see more pens of another particular brand (not Lamy) come to me with baby bottom problems than I do Lamy 2000 pens with sweet spot problems. The Lamy 2000 is more popular than that other brand, so I don't think this sweet spot issue is as serious although it does happen.

 

Dillon

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

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Dillon

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I went for the Fine on my Lamy 2K purchase because of the sweet spot comments - I'm growing to love the pen but I still wonder whether the EF might have been better. The Fine is a little too broad for my tastes!

 

Try before you buy is definitely correct, but easier said than done I expect, depending on where you live...

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Apart from my EF, I have tried random F and M with no 'sweet spot' issues. The B&M route might be worth considering especially with the 2000 since the 'sweet spot' issue keeps cropping up. My experience could be in the minority.

 

I have a 2000 with EF nib...no notable sweet spot at all. It had to be pried out of my hands so I could clean it and give it a well-deserved rest. ;)

 

If my Lamy 2000 with an EF nib has a sweet spot, I have not noticed. It just writes great all the time.

+1

Edited by 1nkulus

Engineer :

Someone who does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge.

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