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Lamy 2000 Mechanical Pencil


Dillo

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  • 10 months later...
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Hello,

 

I just happen to be visiting as I do every once in a while, and I noticed the questions. Yes, it is a pity that the mechanism of the pencil is not made that carefully. I actually quit using it because it kept breaking leads. I went back to my Pilot pencils and haven't had a problems since. I think the quality of the mechanism is such a pity since the body of the pencil is a very well engineered piece. In addition, for the $50 price tag, it couldn't, in my opinion, beat a $5 Pilot pencil in reliability and mechanism quality.

 

For a bit of trivia, the Lamy 2000 pencil survived halfway through my first semester in college, then I got frustrated with it and swapped it for a Pilot Dr. Grip. I then used the Uni Kuru Toga 0.3mm, Pilot Symmetry, and the Pilot Airfit for the spring semester. I then got through organic chemistry over the summer with a Pilot S3 0.9mm (on a side note, my most favorite summer of my life, I even wrote an essay of award nomination for my professor). I then did the fall semester with a Pilot Dr. Grip Putimo. If you want to understand dyes and inks better, take organic chemistry with the lab. Good stuff!!

 

Overall, I liked the Pilot Symmetry the most. It didn't suffer the design flaws of the Dr. Grip G-spec. The Putimo Dr. Grip was a wonderful piece as well. The only drawback is that not everyone can use it comfortably due to size.

 

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.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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The ABC pencil was something I used to want, sadly I'm not looking for it actively anymore. If someone sends me one for a gift, I will definitely review it and put up a lot of pictures.

 

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.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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  • 3 years later...

Can someone who has one comment on this?

 

I just got one. One thing that may concern me is that my pocket clip has some side-to-side play. If that is normal, it doesn't bother me, but I want to know if mine is unusual.

 

I've noticed that my mechanism is a bit clunky on the first click, and smooths out. I hope it becomes smooth with some more use.

 

 

Best,

 

 

 

TIm.

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Hi,

 

Pictures!

 

 

Here it is with my HP 35s

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3419/3373790898_185536475f_o.jpg

 

Dillon

 

Perfect combo! :thumbup:

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Can someone who has one comment on this?

 

I just got one. One thing that may concern me is that my pocket clip has some side-to-side play. If that is normal, it doesn't bother me, but I want to know if mine is unusual.

 

I've noticed that my mechanism is a bit clunky on the first click, and smooths out. I hope it becomes smooth with some more use.

 

 

Best,

 

 

 

TIm.

 

Yes, the mechanism does smooth out with use. My problem with it was mostly the fact that it kept on breaking leads randomly, especially the two I had. It was more prone to lead breakage than any of the other pencils I have, and I have a lot of pencils, perhaps even more than I do fountain pens.

 

The clip does have some side to side play. That is normal.

 

Bernardo, now I pair the calculator with the Lamy Scribble. The Scribble seems to be a much nicer pencil and I even have two because I think it's one of the best 3.15 mm lead holders I have used.

 

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.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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Yes, the mechanism does smooth out with use. My problem with it was mostly the fact that it kept on breaking leads randomly, especially the two I had. It was more prone to lead breakage than any of the other pencils I have, and I have a lot of pencils, perhaps even more than I do fountain pens.

 

The clip does have some side to side play. That is normal.

Dillon

 

Thanks very much for the reply, and for your review.

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  • 1 year later...

This is a good review as timeless as the Lamy 2k!

 

Can anyone confirm whether the lead feeder (steel pipe) does rattle and produce minor noise when you swing your pencil too hard?

 

I did rotate the cap quite a few times while holding the pencil to align the '7' (0.7mm lead) from top view. I wonder whether I have loosened the steel pipe from the mechanism.

 

Sorry for being paranoid. Thank you.

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Although I doubt I will ever do it again in my life I did swing my .7 Lamy pencil around. With the leads removed I heard no sound. With the reserve leads in place there was a slight sound.

 

Edited to report that my clip has no side-to-side play.

Edited by OCArt

...............................................................

We Are Our Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams

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Thanks OCArt and Aderoy for the replies.

 

I found my peace of mind by wrapping a small part of the pipe with cellophane tape. The pencil is now completely silent no matter how I shake and swing it.

 

It is truly enjoyable to hold this pencil and write with it!

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  • 1 year later...

This is a gorgeous pencil. Thanks for the review.

 

My big issue with the design was that the clip is permanently attached to the pencil and has sharp edges.

 

If I rest the barrel in the web of my hand while turning pages, the sharp edges cause discomfort for me.

 

Also I like to rotate the pencil as I write with it to maintain sharpness. The clip gets in the way when I do that.

 

 

Just today I dis-assembled the pencil and removed the clip and put everything back together.

 

I'm MUCH happier with it now from all respects.

 

I bandaged the incision with a piece scotch tape around the back of the barrel to cover up the void that the clip left behind. I don't want any lint/dirt getting in there.

 

The only down-side to doing this is that the pencil can easily roll off the desk, but hay, you can't have everything.

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  • 1 year later...

This is a gorgeous pencil. Thanks for the review.

 

My big issue with the design was that the clip is permanently attached to the pencil and has sharp edges.

 

If I rest the barrel in the web of my hand while turning pages, the sharp edges cause discomfort for me.

 

Also I like to rotate the pencil as I write with it to maintain sharpness. The clip gets in the way when I do that.

Instead of removing the clip, you could just sand down the edges and corners of the clip. It would require several grades of sandpaper, but ultimately should do the trick and avoid that unsightly situation of the clip missing and tape wrapped around the barrel to prevent dust ingress through the clip mounting socket.

 

I just wanted to add to this review, something that was bothering me with my 2000 pencil. I'd always been meaning to pick up a Makrolon 2000 pencil, but there were always other priorities ahead of it. I'd likely not buy new, but pick up a gently used example for less... preferably with "W.Germany" on the barrel, to match my older 2000 fountain pen and ballpoint. But, I ended up getting an all stainless steel version due to a tremendously attractive sale price that Lamy USA had for a short while.

 

So, I receive the mechanical pencil and it's quite impressive, both in the copious amount of brushed steel and the heft of the whole writing instrument. However... I notice a bit of side-to-side play in the rear plunger. You could hear it lightly "click" against the metal surround if you press on it sideways. So odd, given all the tremendous attention to detail everywhere. Similarly a surprise as Dillon mentioned back in 2009, the cheap and crappy "four-prong" eraser retainer. I'll eventually replace this with something better. It's also quite disappointing how the eraser is so small, for such a beefy pencil. Given the shaft diameter, LAMY could have utilized a more standardized eraser size like 4.5mm. At least there's a nice long lead jam clearing tool.

 

Anyway, as coincidence would have it, I recently posted about a cure for rOtring 800 tip wobble over on reddit, when it dawned on me that I should try this technique with the 2000 (except on the other end). The 800 has a little bit of play to it, so I had installed an A005 size o-ring on the shaft, which makes the tip just 5% shy of being completely locked in place when extended (good enough). I took the next larger size o-ring, A006, and slipped it over the rear shaft of the 2000, just below the "kink line". Sure enough, it helped. Not 100%, as there's still a little wobble, but it's significantly muted now. No "click" against the metal surround. I would like to eliminate it altogether, but the smallest o-ring above the kink is still too wide. I may try wrapping with aluminum tape and see if that helps. Again, not a big deal, as the o-ring addition is mostly a success.

Edited by MYU

[MYU's Pen Review Corner] | "The Common Ground" -- Jeffrey Small

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why are all the best pencil chassis' absolutely hamstrung by garbage erasers. I have yet to find a single "good" pencil that has anything that even REMOTELY touches the screw-out eraser of that one plastic pencil we all know and love.

 

On balance, I have a ton of fancy pencils. I flat out gave my faber castell away, my uni kuru togas and zebra delguards are novel and their mechanisms are AWESOME, but they feel crappy in the hand. I keep coming back to my rotring 800 0.5. Every time. It's just balanced like a sword, that forward weight drives the lead to paper and reduces writing pressure for me, the grip texture is perfect, and the size/balance are as good as it gets. It just needs a twist eraser, because it has that same little vestigial tail of a worthless piece of junk that EVERYTHING has.

 

Give me a rotring 800 with a slide-pipe and the kuru-toga lead rotation mechanism and a twist-out eraser. There. That's the best pencil ever invented.

Edited by Honeybadgers

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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  • 9 months later...

Thanks for the nice review on this pencil!

 

Just bought a Lamy 2000 pencil the other day. Love its texture and it feels good in hand.

 

But the only concern I have now is the grinding sound in inner barrel.

 

As you mentioned in the review, I hope it'll become the clicky sound that normal mechanical pencils sounds like.

 

Hope it won't take long time to actually tame the mechanism.

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