Non-Lamy Alternatives To The Lamy 2000 And Studio?

[piblondin]

Love the 2000 and Studio and wondering if people have aesthetically similar pens they might recommend? Looking for something that will write super smooth with a piston fill system. Thanks!

[Freddy]

Pelikan P1..................Aurora {Vintage} 88 Parker Vacumatic a non PIF....

 

I have 'em all...Sweet everyday writers.......Redacting....Add Montblanc 344 and Pelikan M75 Go a inexpensive steel nib pen..good writer....

 

Fred

Studious of elegance and ease. Myself alone I seek to please.

viii, The man, the Cat, the Dog, and the Fly.

~ John Gay ... 1685-1732

Edited September 7, 2020 by Freddy

[A Smug Dill]

Sailor Professional Gear (or Pro Gear II, aka Sigma) Realo with a 21K gold Zoom nib.

 

Or, if you order such from Nibsmith.com, I'm sure Dan will smoothen the nib (of whichever nib width grade or type) for you on your request, as part of the service included in his asking price for the pen.

 

Hang on...

 

By aesthetically similar, are you specifically talking about having a matt finish on the cap and barrel, and not just the form factor and/or shape with the flat ends?

Edited September 7, 2020 by A Smug Dill

[ralfstc]

There are also quite a few German pens from the 1960s and 1970s with a very similar aesthetic. Two are . . .

 

The Montblanc 220!

 

The Kaweco V series (metal caps and matte bodies) This is an ebay link, apologies.

 

 

The Aurora 88p came in a hard-to-find version that was matte with a rather nice metal cap. It was also reproduced in a modern replica.

 

Hope this has provided some inspiration!

 

Good luck,

 

ralf

Edited September 7, 2020 by ralfstc

[hari317]

Love the 2000 and Studio and wondering if people have aesthetically similar pens they might recommend? Looking for something that will write super smooth with a piston fill system. Thanks!

look for Lamy Profil. 4 variants in that.

[piblondin]

Sailor Professional Gear (or Pro Gear II, aka Sigma) Realo with a 21K gold Zoom nib.

 

Or, if you order such from Nibsmith.com, I'm sure Dan will smoothen the nib (of whichever nib width grade or type) for you on your request, as part of the service included in his asking price for the pen.

 

Hang on...

 

By aesthetically similar, are you specifically talking about having a matt finish on the cap and barrel, and not just the form factor and/or shape with the flat ends?

 

By similar, I mean minimal, clean design and lines. No gold or gaudy embellishments that make, IMO, most fountain pens ugly.

[A Smug Dill]

By similar, I mean minimal, clean design and lines. No gold or gaudy embellishments that make, IMO, most fountain pens ugly.

 

 

Sailor makes an Imperial Black edition of the Professional Gear 'Classic' model, and a Ringless Black-out version of the Profit (aka 1911) Large, which to me are 'clean' looking, but they aren't piston-fillers (and neither is the Lamy Studio, but I love my Studio Lx All Black anyway). Aurora makes the Ottantotto (or 88) Unica in a similar style, and that's a piston-filler, but it doesn't have flat ends like the Lamy 2000 or Sailor Pro Gear.

[piblondin]

 

 

Sailor makes an Imperial Black edition of the Professional Gear 'Classic' model, and a Ringless Black-out version of the Profit (aka 1911) Large, which to me are 'clean' looking, but they aren't piston-fillers (and neither is the Lamy Studio, but I love my Studio Lx All Black anyway). Aurora makes the Ottantotto (or 88) Unica in a similar style, and that's a piston-filler, but it doesn't have flat ends like the Lamy 2000 or Sailor Pro Gear.

Thank you!

[Freddy]

A Montblanc 622 Junior PIF an inexpensive great daily writer made with steel nibs { I often use oblique broad} Or Au nibs..

Steel cap with black barrel...............................

 

Whatever you get come back and let everyone know and see the pen...

 

Good luck on your quest..........Take care,

 

Fred

 

[senzen]

Faber Castell Ambition; minimalist and similar price in some finishes, gorgeous in pearwood; mine does seem to evaporate a lot faster than any of my 4 Studios.

 

Minimalist, reliable and cheaper: Muji aluminium.

 

More sober than minimalist: Pilot, Sailor, Pelikan in black and rhodium.

[Mercian]

 

By similar, I mean minimal, clean design and lines. No gold or gaudy embellishments that make, IMO, most fountain pens ugly.

The pen that best-meets these criteria would be a Parker “51” (the original ones from the 1940s-1970s, not the new version that will come out in February 2021).

 

They are NOT piston-fill pens. They have built-in sacs. The early versions were called ‘Vacumatic’-fill, and hold more ink, but their seals/sacs can wear out. The later versions contain a plastic sac that one fills by squeezing. Parker called this system ‘Aerometric’-filler.

 

The plastic bodies were made in solid, non-‘flashy’ colours without any patterning.

And an all-stainless-steel version was made too.

Various caps were made - plain stainless steel caps (which Parker called ‘Lustralloy’), or gold-filled caps, or silver-filled caps.

 

The least-‘gaudy’ versions are the early-1950s ‘Aerometric’-fill pens with the ‘Lustralloy’ caps. And they are absolutely ‘over-engineered’. Very strong. Very reliable. The plastic sacs still work flawlessly after nearly 70 years (though they are usually stained by ink).

 

Lots of pictures of the different versions can be found here.

Lots crop up on auction sites, and there also specialist restorers/dealers who can sell you a “51” that you can be certain will be in near-flawless condition.

 

If you find the metal cap to look too ‘conspicuous’, there are a few individuals who customise/modify these pens, or make bodies/caps to fit them. Which means that one can, nowadays, obtain a “51” in colours that Parker never manufactured.

 

For a modern, piston-filled pen that has ‘clean’ lines and is not ‘gaudy’, I recommend Pelikan M-series pens whose number ends in 5. These have chrome-coloured trims. They don’t have the ‘cigar-shape’ of a LAMY 2000, but their styling is very minimal.

 

The least gaudy would be the M205. It is available in all-black with a chrome trims and steel nib.

The Souverän pens (M405, 605, 805, 1005) have rhodium trim and rhodium-plated gold nibs. They are slightly more gaudy than the M205, because they have two trim-rings where the M205s have one trim ring.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Mercian

[LuckyKate]

I love the clean lines of Lamy pens, and Franklin Christoph pens appeal to me for similar reasons. The steel nibs are also fantastic and you can get a plethora of grinds at a reasonable price.

[chravagni]

The Pelikan Pura. For weight, body and metal section is similar to a Lamy Studio. It uses cartridges.

 

Edited to add the last sentence.

Edited September 10, 2020 by chravagni

[piblondin]

I love the clean lines of Lamy pens, and Franklin Christoph pens appeal to me for similar reasons. The steel nibs are also fantastic and you can get a plethora of grinds at a reasonable price.

 

Yes! I’ve admired the aesthetics of their pens for a while. Any model, in particular, you’d recommend?

[ErrantSmudge]

The Cross ATX is a good aesthetic alternative to the Lamy Studio. I have both, and they are similar even down to the polished metal grip section. I don't know if Cross still makes this pen, but I think I've seen it for sale recently. Edit: The ATX is a cartridge/converter pen.

Edited September 10, 2020 by ErrantSmudge

[LuckyKate]

 

Yes! I’ve admired the aesthetics of their pens for a while. Any model, in particular, you’d recommend?

 

I have 5 and I love all of them: a 66 Stabilis in antique glass with a brushed steel section; a pocket 66, also in antique glass; a 65 stabilis in southwestern (a Jonathan Brooks material); a panther 40 in black; and a #2 iterum in a blue gold Jonathan Brooks material. I have a variety of different, interchangeable steel nibs. My two favorites are a medium S.I.G and a Masuyama broad stub. The fine nib also is wonderful.

 

I love all of them and would be hard pressed to say which I love best. But the #2 in a matte Jonathan Brooks material is just wonderful and I'm really enjoying the broad stub nib right now. For reference the other pens I have had inked since almost a year ago are the Lamy Studio terra cotta and the Lamy 2000. I hate changing pens.

[LYTH]

Conid Minimalistica, but it's expensive.

[HobbitLife]

I will second the Franklin/Christoph recommendation. I just got a black Model 20 (a snap cap like the L2K) and absolutely love it.

 

Ill also second the Pelikan M205. You might want to try the M215 though - it has a much better weight in the hand, more comparable to the L2K.

 

Of all my collection, the F-C Model 20, Pelikan M215, Parker 51, and Lamy 2000 are the most comfortable ones to write with - and are understated, which I too appreciate.

[sentience]

As a lover of the Studio who recognises the slippery grip isn't for everyone, The Diplomat Esteem is a nice, slim-but-not-too-slim cigar-shaped pen with an interesting clip design (the teardrop-shaped hole, in this case). It has similar high-quality metal feel, but with a plastic section that (to me) feels a tad cheap, but addresses the biggest issue people have with the Studio. It's a cartridge converter, rather than a piston filler, but you can have a standard international converter for very cheap.

 

As far as LAMY 2000 substitutes, that pen is irreplaceable, IMO.

[basterma]

I don't have many suggestions for piston fillers with the Bauhaus aesthetic, but I think the Tombow Object is sparse and sleek. It is harder to find now though. If you want something with a different, yet sparse aesthetic, some of the pens by N9 are interesting to compare to: https://frankunderwater.com/2018/11/27/highliting_2018-n9/. If you like brushed Aluminum, then the Ban-ju Shark might be worth a look: https://banju.tmall.com/