Lamy 2000 Bad Out Of The Box

[JustLeft]

Just purchased a Lamy 2000 EF yesterday. Loaded it up with Noodler's waterproof black. Had no issues loading it, but the pen barely writes. If I press slightly on it I can get the ink to flow through the nib, then it runs dry after 2 or 3 written words. I don't notice any scratchiness with the nib, it's just dry. I confirmed ink was loaded in the pen, drained it a few times, reloaded, same result. I then drained the ink and used warm water to clean the pen. Reloaded it with ink, same issues.

 

Sent an email to Lamy, was wondering if anyone might have any other suggestions? Very disappointed with this pen at the moment. I have a Waterman, Namiki, and a number of Lamy Safari's, none of which exhibit this behavior.

[watch_art]

possibly just a poorly adjusted nib in need of a good tuning. spreading the tines a bit should fix it.

[JustLeft]

possibly just a poorly adjusted nib in need of a good tuning. spreading the tines a bit should fix it.

 

My concern is that I mess up a brand new pen while doing that and then invalidate my warranty. Any idiot proof ways to do that? I was thinking of using a razor blade if I decided to give it a shot.

[Wolverine1]

empty out your pen of all the ink, and then flush it multiple times with a solution or lukewarm water and a few drops of Dawn dish-washing soap. The flush the pen with water to get rid of all the Dawn soap. Sometimes this procedure helps.

If you dont want to take the trouble, send the pen back to Lamy, or return it to where you got it from,and ask them to send you a new pen.

[rcarlisle]

Did you clean the nib before you inked it up? Some nibs have a film of oil left on them from the manufacturing process. It interferes with ink flow. A good flush with soapy water and a rinse might be all it needs.

[alvinlum]

mayb its babybottom over the nib?

 

if its the case then perhaps sent back to lamy for nib swap? i sent my m-nib lamy 2000 to back to germany and swap it for extra fine. All it takes is £9 for delivery postage and they did it for free. Took 3 weeks ++ to get it back tho.

Edited May 14, 2011 by alvinlum

[JustLeft]

Did you clean the nib before you inked it up? Some nibs have a film of oil left on them from the manufacturing process. It interferes with ink flow. A good flush with soapy water and a rinse might be all it needs.

 

No, I didn't clean it before using it. When I emptied it later I ran it under warm water. I figure that should have gotten anything off the nib. I'll give it another try and be more aggressive and see if it makes a difference

 

mayb its babybottom over the nib?

 

if its the case then perhaps sent back to lamy for nib swap? i sent my m-nib lamy 2000 to back to germany and swap it for extra fine. All it takes is £9 for delivery postage and they did it for free. Took 3 weeks ++ to get it back tho.

 

I need to buy a magnifying glass to get a better look at the nib. There is no way I could see that otherwise.

[deifiic]

Personally, I would send it back to Lamy or the seller if flushing it out doesn't work. If you live in the USA, you can send it to LamyUSA/Filofax for a much faster return time than you would get by sending it to Germany. I wouldn't mess around with the nib unless you know exactly what you're doing, because if you mess it up and your nib ends up having another problem (such as being scratchy, which a few members have complained of), I don't think Lamy will exchange it.

[Taurean]

Personally, I would send it back to Lamy or the seller if flushing it out doesn't work.

 

I agree.

 

At this price point, pens have got to perform well right out of the box.

[JustLeft]

possibly just a poorly adjusted nib in need of a good tuning. spreading the tines a bit should fix it.

 

My concern is that I mess up a brand new pen while doing that and then invalidate my warranty. Any idiot proof ways to do that? I was thinking of using a razor blade if I decided to give it a shot.

I gave it a shot and tried as you suggested. Didn't solve the issue. The odd thing here is I can get ink to flow if I put pressure on the nib causing it to flex. I took a piece of newspaper and touched the nib to it. Normally the soft paper would wick up the ink, with a spot forming immediately. In this case I got nothing til I flexed the nib, then ink started to pour through. At that point I would test it on paper, be able to write a few words, then the nib would run dry. Flex the tip and it would start writing again. I suspect I am going to need to return this one. A real pita.

[watch_art]

yeah, return...

[JustLeft]

Personally, I would send it back to Lamy or the seller if flushing it out doesn't work. If you live in the USA, you can send it to LamyUSA/Filofax for a much faster return time than you would get by sending it to Germany. I wouldn't mess around with the nib unless you know exactly what you're doing, because if you mess it up and your nib ends up having another problem (such as being scratchy, which a few members have complained of), I don't think Lamy will exchange it.

I contacted the seller and left a message. You raise a great point about contacting LamyUSA instead of Germany. I see that they are not open over the weekend so I will give them a call first thing Monday morning.

[wpb]

Personally, I don't think an email or phone call to Lamy accomplishes much. They are just going to ask you to send it to them. Based on feedback here, their warranty service is excellent.

 

If you want the pen repaired, I would send it to Lamy USA, following their warranty instructions on their website.

 

I wouldn't bother with an email/phone call to Lamy. It may take them a few days to respond to an email, and you may get an inexperienced rep on the phone that may give you bad info. If you just send it to them right away, they tend to repair and return quickly.

 

My two cents worth.

 

Bill

[JustLeft]

possibly just a poorly adjusted nib in need of a good tuning. spreading the tines a bit should fix it.

 

Update: This did not resolve the issue. I had sent an email to Lamy and got a response that their pens work with Lamy ink only. Not the kind of reply that I was hoping for.

 

I saw another thread in this forum where it mentioned pressing down somewhat on the nib to get the tines to spread a bit. I did that, being careful not to overdue it, and that appears to have resolved the issue. Will be testing the pen over the next couple of days, but so far so good.

Edited May 15, 2011 by JustLeft

[MCWB]

For what it's worth I have had exactly the same issue with my EF 2000. I have checked under a microscope and the tines are aligned ok. Pressing down a bit harder does give a bit more flow, but it's only temporary. I really want to like this pen, but it's hard at the moment! I am considering sending it back to Lamy or just biting the bullet and sending it to a nibmeister to see what they make of it...

[welch]

Personally, I would send it back to Lamy or the seller if flushing it out doesn't work. If you live in the USA, you can send it to LamyUSA/Filofax for a much faster return time than you would get by sending it to Germany. I wouldn't mess around with the nib unless you know exactly what you're doing, because if you mess it up and your nib ends up having another problem (such as being scratchy, which a few members have complained of), I don't think Lamy will exchange it.

 

LamyUSA is very good at accepting pens for repair, and will continue to repair a pen if the problem persists. Just put it back in the boc, look up LamyUSA (= a department at FoloFac in CT), and send it. Their repair guy is good.

 

Do not try do-it-yourself nib spreading. Do not press the nib down hard, and do not, no matter what Frank Dubiel said, slide an xacto knife between the tines. I've seen Richard Binder do something like that, but think of surgery. I can cut tissue with a scalpel. You want a surgeon to perform an operation.

[JustLeft]

For what it's worth I have had exactly the same issue with my EF 2000. I have checked under a microscope and the tines are aligned ok. Pressing down a bit harder does give a bit more flow, but it's only temporary. I really want to like this pen, but it's hard at the moment! I am considering sending it back to Lamy or just biting the bullet and sending it to a nibmeister to see what they make of it...

 

I have gotten two replies from Lamy. They say their pens work with their ink, and that they have found issues with other ink. So I am going to give their ink a try, although I am of a skeptical nature. What ink are you using with yours?

[watch_art]

I've used everything with my Lamy pens. Currently running Noodler's Zhivago in my 2000. Used montblanc, parker, diamine and other inks with no problems. Saying only their inks work in their pens is bull hockey.

[pajaro]

I bought a used Lamy 2000 EF a while back from someone on FPN. Writes very well. I don't use it much, and leave it for a month or so before coming back to it and it writes first time every time. So, some of them work. There's hope.

[RNHC]

I have gotten two replies from Lamy. They say their pens work with their ink, and that they have found issues with other ink.

 

Seriously? Man, my regard for Lamy just took another dive.

 

I've been using Private Reserve in mine which has had nib problems out of the box but no ink flow issues.

 

I made sure to flush thoroughly since I read that Lamy tested their pens with ink before shipment and could have dried up ink in the feed.