Lamy Logo Review

September 23, 2012

One thing I like about studying here in Germany is the fact that fountain pens are so much cheaper to obtain than in my home country. Hunting around eBay.de, one can easily find cheap fountain pens, and many other historical ones too. (Keep this a secret between both of us, alright? That way we can continue snatching up nice pens at low prices, aye? )

This time, I managed to pick up a Lamy Logo set at the price of 14.99 EUR, excluding shipping!

Introduction:

I've been having some problems with the (in)famous Deutsche Post, with my two Lamy Al-Stars being sent back to the seller due to the postman being "unable to reach the receiver". Hence, I was delightfully surprised to have opened my mailbox and find a package waiting for me.

The Lamy Logo came in a small, flat cardboard box, which was lined with the kind of cloth you find on the lining of some pen boxes. The Lamy Logo fountain pen was at the center of the set, and was flanked by a leather pouch and it's ballpoint equivalent. The following review will be based only on the fountain pen version of the Lamy Logo.

Appearance & Design:

The Lamy Logo is labelled under Lamy's Modern Office collection, and it certainly lives up to the word "modern". It conjures up images of an elongated tin can, but still looks modern, smart and spartan. The tip is the usual Lamy steel nib, and is followed by a ribbed section, which is supposed to double up as the grip section. Behind the grip, it's all just a semi-brushed surface all the way up till the last 0.8 cm, which tops the pen barrel with a black, plastic tail cap. The tail cap has a few lines which break up the otherwise grainy look of the tail cap, which I think is supposed to act as a springy mechanism to enable to cap to post snugly.

Cap-wise, it's entirely the same as the barrel, brushed metal till the last 0.8 cm, which is dedicated to the tail cap (or head cap, in this sense). On the side of the spring-loaded clip is the word LAMY printed in black.

People have complained that the gap between the cap and the clip at the top of the cap spoils the look of the pen, but I think it's an brilliant solution to allow the clip to swivel to the top when the clip is used. To each, his own, I guess.

Construction & Quality:

This pen is light. It's feather-light. However, do not mistake it as flimsy. The (almost) all metal construction makes this workhorse of a pen almost indestructible. The stainless steel steel means that even though it might be run over by a car, save for a few cosmetic damages, this pen will still write as it used to.

However, a few details enhances the cheap feeling of this pen. Other than it's weight, there is a very slight play on the clip. Furthermore there is also a slight gap where the barrel meets the grip. This might be frowned upon by many in this community, but it's simply a line marking the start of the barrel, so that I know where to grip when I intend to open the pen up. The plastic tail caps on both ends of the pen further enhances the feeling of cheapness on this pen.

Despite all that I must still warn all prospective buyers, that the spartan-ness and it's weight does NOT mean people should discount this pen as a flimsy pen, and that the quality of the pen, although not top notch, ranks quite highly on the list of battle tanks.

Weight & Dimensions:

As mentioned above, it's feather-light. Even with the Z26 converter filled to thee brim, it's almost as light as the Reform 1745. Posting the pen makes it feel a bit more substantial, but doing so makes it a little top heavy and unbalanced.

The grip section is also very narrow. It's not as narrow as the Reform 1745, but I would caution those who prefer thick pens to stay away from this pen. It's narrow section might also nick points off this pen in terms of comfort for the writer.

Nib & Performance:

The pen came in Lamy's steel M nib. The M nib is SMOOTH. I never expected the nib to be so smooth. Writing on it brings one of the best experiences when writing. Due to my tiny handwriting however, I swapped the nib to an EF nib.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Lamy's EF nib. It's scratchy, and writing on paper is like writing with a mechanical pencil, with no smoothness at all. However, it REALLY is fine. And, to my surprise, while the M nib is as hard as a nail, the EF nib has some hint of flex! Writing with pressure actually is able to coax out some line variation!

Seeing that the EF nib might be a little too thin for my tastes, I think it would be a good idea if someone here would like to exchange nibs, seeing that I wouldn't want to accumulate many nibs without pens to write them with. Send me a PM if anyone's interested.

Filling Mechanism:

This pen is the usual Lamy proprietary c/c pen. Seeing that I love filling from ink bottles, I went and bought a Z26 converter for this pen. The converter mechanism is as smooth as butter, but the piston in the converter would sometimes get stuck when it hasn't been used for some time.

Cost & Value:

I got this pen set for 14.99 EUR excluding shipping, and seeing that I got a Lamy Al-Star for a little more than that, I would say it was very cheap. However, with the extra fine nib and the converter, that 14.99 EUR moves closer to around 20 EUR, which still isn't too bad considering the Lamy Safari and Al-Stars are around the 17 EUR price range. If, however, I am going to purchase this pen at the MRSP, I would simply save up for it's higher end brothers.

Conclusion:

Despite the good points up there, I must still say that it's just a Lamy Safari nib on a metal body. The pen is a workhorse of a pen, and a rather cheap one too. And seeing that Safaris are to Germans like the writing instruments of the children, having one like this makes you feel more adolescent, more grown up, and suits the environment that I'm studying in.

However, I would still not recommend this pen to others. I still feel it's better to recommend others a Safari, due to the fact that it's common, and the prices for one are usually lower. However, to each his own.

*Pictures will be coming up soon, together with a writing sample, since many of you love them writing samples.

September 25, 2012

Furthermore there is also a slight gap where the barrel meets the grip. This might be frowned upon by many in this community, but it's simply a line marking the start of the barrel, so that I know where to grip when I intend to open the pen up.

The little gap is the only thing that puts me off, otherwise I love everything about this pen! I love your review, it's totally as I would have put it, but in much better words! Thanks for making it

Here's my small photo contribution to this thread. I wrote this on the first sheet of paper I found and it's horrible, so excuse that!

http://i45.tinypic.com/21abltf.jpg

Edited September 25, 2012 by joeccentric

September 25, 2012

Another fellow user of a Lamy Logo here, and I must agree to your conclusion as well: it really is a safari nib stuck on a far nicer barrel. This is tempting me to try to source a gold Lamy nib to put on mine, as my EF nib writes far too wide(although smoothly) and has rather...Annoying nib creep. Enough to make me nickname mine the nib creeper. All that said, I think it'd get along quite well with a nicer nib.

If you want an idea of just how bad it is, here's a picture for comparison.

...Yeah, my handwriting isn't the greatest.

September 26, 2012

joeccentric: Wow! I love your handwriting! That purple makes it stand out a lot! I'll do my handwritten sample with Pelikan Turquoise, and we'll see how it turns out, alright?

That paper is way better than what I use on a daily basis, so no worries on that side! And thanks very much for your kind words!

White Expressions: I do think it's possible to source a gold nib, but why do so? The nib itself will cost almost the same as the pen body, and I certainly do not think it's worth it. Glad to hear that your EF is smooth. Mine feels really like writing with a mechanical pencil, although I think the paper is at fault here. And nice pens too!

September 29, 2012

joeccentric: Wow! I love your handwriting! That purple makes it stand out a lot! I'll do my handwritten sample with Pelikan Turquoise, and we'll see how it turns out, alright?
That paper is way better than what I use on a daily basis, so no worries on that side! And thanks very much for your kind words!

Oh wow, thanks! I've never thought that my handwriting was anything special. I've just tried to make it legible most of the time. And thanks, I love that purple too. I was surprised since it's just the average Lamy violet you get in the cartridges.

I can't wait to see that turquoise, seems interesting!

September 30, 2012

joeccentric: Heck, I've been trying to improve my handwriting, seeing my handwriting looks exactly like they do in these writing samples. It's legible, alright, but not as artistic as I'd like...

Oh oh oh, here are the pictures of the pen! I've been quite busy with uni, and I've finally managed to post these pictures up.

September 30, 2012

joeccentric: Heck, I've been trying to improve my handwriting, seeing my handwriting looks exactly like they do in these writing samples. It's legible, alright, but not as artistic as I'd like...

Oh oh oh, here are the pictures of the pen! I've been quite busy with uni, and I've finally managed to post these pictures up.

Oh that is lovely ink. Does that turquoise look anything similar to the Lamy turquoise at all?

Also, your writing looks fine to me! I can't believe that the EF nib has such good line variation. I don't even think my M nib does that :hmm1:

Thanks for the writing samples!

October 1, 2012

joeccentric: I don't have a bottle of Lamy Turquoise, but I like the shading it makes and how it stands out from the usual black which I use. I myself was surprised at the amount of line variation, but the drawback of this nib is how scratchy it can sometime be. Was using it this morning, and if I refused to write with pressure, it refuses to write. My M nib on the other hand, is very smooth, but is as hard as a nail.

And my handwriting looks alright here, but cramp them up and make me write fast, and there goes future legibility!

October 15, 2012

Nice Review

October 17, 2012

Sometimes it's the simpler, cheaper pens that can be the most satisfying to own and use. My black Logo, while rarely used and still breaking in after 10 years is still a keeper for its simplicity and construction that you mention.