Lamy Cp1 Black.

[pe2dave]

2010-10-01T11:00:52Z

Review of Lamy CP1 black. EF F M B nibs

Lots of pictures elsewhere... I bought mine atWriting desk.

Efficient service so far.

 

 

first 'expensive' (it's all relative) pen, after using the Safari for

a few weeks. I like the nibs and now have the range from EF through

1.9. This pen targetted at notes, basically a workhorse replacement

for my pencils and biros.

 

 

Design/size/weight. ( 9/10) Simple, a black tube 9.5mm diameter, 134mm

capped, 119 uncapped, 160mm posted. Elegant? Possibly. No markings

whatsoever, so I guess minimalist is a fair description. Simple,

strong metal (Al?) clip looks very practical. 20.3gms compared to

17.6gms for the Safari, so not lightweight. Brass seen in the

construction, though some form of man made construction. Matt finish

feels good to me.

For me (average hands?) feels slim, but comfortable.

 

 

Nib ( 9/10).

 

Broad: Silky. Flows very well. Lovely nib. Produces nice rounded

line. I felt comfortable with a 4mm x-height. Too big a line width for

my personal tastes.

 

Med: Silky. Flows very well. Nice rounded line. Quite workable for me,

gave 3mm x-height. A worker for me.

 

Fine: Oh yes. The keeper. Silky smooth out of the box (how do Lamy do

it!!). Nice rounded lines (by that I mean horizontal and vertical

strokes are the same width). About 3mm x-height seemed right. Suites

me down to the ground.

 

Extra Fine: Mmm. Smooth to my mind, for an EF nib. Strange 'vertical'

bias, i.e. vert lines are thinner than horizontal ones? Draw a series

of horizontal strokes next to vertical ones to try this. Didn't seem

right for an EF nib. I may take the grinder to this. Get rid of the

excess height.

 

Italic (1.1 1.5 1.9). 1.1 is duff. Left for odd notes when I need a

calligraphic hand in my note book. 1.5 and 1.9 are twins, one fatter

than the other. Needs an 'oily' ink to stop it 'dragging' a bit on

anything other than the finest paper. Great on ClaireFontaine. Not

good on the HP paper discussed in FPN. These two make for a lovely pen

for calligraphy practice, Caroline minuscule in my case.

 

 

The ease with which I can exchange nibs on these pens is a joy. Makes

for a somewhat less expensive hobby.

 

Filling system ( 10/10) . What can I say. It works. I remove the nib

and can clean the body and filler (I used the ink converter) very

easily. Fill twice (to get max into the converter) and it's very

nearly 100% full. Shows a good design IMHO.

 

Cost and value ( 10/10). 35 UK pounds? A snip for a quality pen

IMHO. Someone on this forum asked if the pen was for 'a workhorse or a

writing experience'. For me a pen is a tool. I get the experience

using it and producing a good output. So for me this is a workhorse

and I get the impression that this pen will stand the test of time.

 

Appearance ( 9/10), but that's just a little.. OK 100% subjective. No

outward markings on the pen whatsoever.Because it's matt black, I've

tried twice to put the cap back on the wrong way round. Perhaps that

is a little to do with my eyesight, but it really is black as a black

thing. I like the look of it. I guess it could be mistaken for a biro?

Most definitely not in the 'nickable' class, like the fancy fat gold

jobs. That has to be a plus

 

As a writing tool ( 11/10). I like it now and I have the feeling I'll

be the same in a couple of years time. Whilst writing I keep

commenting (to myself) on the paper, the ink, the nib width. Not once

did I say anything about the pen.

 

Personal choice: I use it unposted (sans cap). It felt just that tad

top heavy when I used it posted. YMMV

 

 

Conclusion ( 9.5/10). It will do me. I no longer yearn for a Lamy

2000 or a Pelikan 400. I have my tools, now to concentrate on the writing.

 

Dave

[lewis]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like a gem of a pen. Do you have any pics of it?

 

I'm sure the yearning will be back soon! This hobby is insatiable!

[pe2dave]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like a gem of a pen. Do you have any pics of it?

 

 

Pictures

 

HTH. Very very simple design

 

I forgot to add: Writes 'wet', using Private reserve green and Noodlers black.

 

Dave

[hari317]

Thanks for the review Dave. the CP1 black was the first Lamy that I bought after my friends got me a Safari, it was a costly pen for me at that time, I am very satisfied with it. I recently upgraded its nib to 14K gold and now it is even better. Here is a comparison review that I wrote some months ago:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/155782-lamy-cp50-vs-cp1-black/

 

Best,

Hari

[Lamylady]

I'm an absolute fan of these pens, so much that I own all six of them. I fitted three of them with Lamy 14 kt nibs in various sizes. They are all filled with different inks and I use four of them on a daily basis, the other two at least once a week.

Edited October 1, 2010 by Lamylady

[pe2dave]

I'm an absolute fan of these pens, so much that I own all six of them. I fitted three of them with Lamy 14 kt nibs in various sizes.

 

I've heard of gold nibs for Lamy, but never seen any in the UK shops.

 

 

Dave

[Lamylady]

There are several Lamys which have gold nibs (Accent, Palladium, Studio) and you can order the gold nibs separately. They fit on all other Lamys except for the Lamy 2000. Lamy steel nibs are of varying qualities, but I have never had problems with the gold nibs.