Lamy 2000 - understated but much appreciated

[the hobbit]

Oh. My. Goodness.

 

The Lamy 2000. I did not truly live until I held this pen. I had never truly written until I set nib to paper with this pen. It is amazing.

 

Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but this is really the best pen I've ever written with. For comparision, I also own a Parker 51 demi, a Pelikan M200 with a Binder 0.7mm cursive-italic nib, a Parker 45 flighter, a Lamy Vista, and a Waterman Phileas. The 2000 beats them all. The M200 and the P51 are runners-up, but they can't touch the 2000.

 

 

 

[Philip1209]

Oh. My. Goodness.

 

The Lamy 2000. I did not truly live until I held this pen. I had never truly written until I set nib to paper with this pen. It is amazing.

 

Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but this is really the best pen I've ever written with. For comparision, I also own a Parker 51 demi, a Pelikan M200 with a Binder 0.7mm cursive-italic nib, a Parker 45 flighter, a Lamy Vista, and a Waterman Phileas. The 2000 beats them all. The M200 and the P51 are runners-up, but they can't touch the 2000.

 

Congrats on receiving the pen! Now you understand our love and obsession of the pen.

Your pen arrived awfully quickly after your last post on this thread- Did you order it from the store in the Philippines?

[Juan in Andalucia]

"Gabba Gabba, We Accept You, We Accept You, One of Us!!!!"

 

 

(The Ramones on "Pinhead" quoting Tod Browning's "Freaks")

 

Juan in Andalucía

[matthewst1]

Argh! PenGallery has it for $89... so.... tempting....!!

[dag99]

Plus a huge shipping and handling fee.

[MYU]

Oh. My. Goodness.

 

The Lamy 2000. I did not truly live until I held this pen. I had never truly written until I set nib to paper with this pen. It is amazing.

 

Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but this is really the best pen I've ever written with. For comparision, I also own a Parker 51 demi, a Pelikan M200 with a Binder 0.7mm cursive-italic nib, a Parker 45 flighter, a Lamy Vista, and a Waterman Phileas. The 2000 beats them all. The M200 and the P51 are runners-up, but they can't touch the 2000.

Congrats on getting a winner, Mr. Hobbit. And welcome to the Bauhaus pen club!

 

 

Incidentally, what nib size did you get and how would you describe the size/flow properties?

[the hobbit]

Congrats on receiving the pen! Now you understand our love and obsession of the pen.

Your pen arrived awfully quickly after your last post on this thread- Did you order it from the store in the Philippines?

 

Yes I did. I was completely astounded. A bottle of ink and a Lamy 2000 arrived via DHL for $15 shipping from Pen Gallery. I'm impressed.

Congrats on getting a winner, Mr. Hobbit. biggrin.gif And welcome to the Bauhaus pen club! wink.gif

 

Incidentally, what nib size did you get and how would you describe the size/flow properties?

 

I got an EF nib, but it matches us with a Parker fine. I would say that Lamy nibs seem to come a good size larger when compared to "normal" sizing.

 

It isn't quite as wet as my M200, but that one's a very wet writer. I also haven't tried the same kind of ink in both pens - The Pelikan has Legal Lapis in it right now, and the 2000 is using Montblanc Racing Green.

Edited September 4, 2008 by the hobbit

[katfisch]

Very nice review with great historical treatment and photos.

Thanks, so much for putting this together.

Makrolon seems to be a super plastic from Bayer in Germany... they're making golf tees, unbreakable lenses, and crash helmets out of it.

I ordered the Lamy 2000 just 2 days ago from PenGallery in Malaysia and it arrived today at my workplace in Wisconsin, USA -- how can that be? I've never seen such service. It may take 2 more days for it to get from the mail room across the street to my office, however

 

 

[thibaulthalpern]

The Lamy 2k makes me sad. I want to like this pen, I love broad, wet writers. The ink capacity sounds attractive and I like the idea of a pen not being flashy.

When I dipped the pen in a store once though two things struck me. First, and least consequentially, darn thing was ugly. This isn't a deal-breaker for me but it stinks for anything over 100$. Secondly, my fingers had a tendency to slide down the pen towards the nib when i was writing with it. The brushed stainless around the nib section was just too smooth and lacked a lip to stop my fingers.

 

Guess I'll just cling to my levenger TW.

 

That's too bad. I don't own the pen but just looking at the photographs and the close-up of the nib, I think this is a really, really gorgeous pen! Wow! Just brilliant!

[MYU]

Very nice review with great historical treatment and photos.

Thanks, so much for putting this together.

Makrolon seems to be a super plastic from Bayer in Germany... they're making golf tees, unbreakable lenses, and crash helmets out of it.

I ordered the Lamy 2000 just 2 days ago from PenGallery in Malaysia and it arrived today at my workplace in Wisconsin, USA -- how can that be? I've never seen such service. It may take 2 more days for it to get from the mail room across the street to my office, however

You're welcome -- it was a fun review to write, as I learned a lot about the pen, designer, and company. And I'm glad to hear you were inspired to order one yourself. What nib size did you get? If I were you, I'd walk across the street to the mail room and pick it up--call first, though.

[Neill78]

I've had my Lamy 2000 since April and I really like it. However there are a few things that surprise me and I wish were a bit different:

 

1. The "ears" on the section for the cap to latch onto don't bother me when I'm writing, but they could have served a second purpose if the curve of the pen was slightly less pronounced: they would stop the pen from rolling off your desk if it was uncapped. I don't know what it is, but my 2000 is one heck of a fast roller. Must be the combination of weight and small surface area. Luckily it hasn't got away from me yet.

 

2. As the OP says, the ink window could be twice as large; I personally think this would enhance the beauty of the pen and make it more functional. Some/most inks seem to be sticky making it impossible to use the ink window without waiting for the ink to sloooowly run off. It's like waiting for Heinz ketchup to come out of the glass bottle. (Sailor Kiwaguro is the only ink I've put in it that allows me to use the ink window effectively.)

 

3. The shape is nice but I feel the curve combined with the lack of texture makes it a bit difficult to hold. A slightly textured section or a little less curve would make it easier to hold onto. The metal part of the section is as slippery as teflon, which is great for its ink-shedding properties but not good for my dry little fingertips.

 

4. The top of the cap is far too soft and prone to scratches/dings, as the OP said. If form follows function I wonder why they made the top of the cap the only shiny part of the pen. The top of the piston knob certainly isn't polished like that.

 

Neill

[katfisch]

I have the Lamy 2000 in hand and it's awesome.

I love the definite "click" when recapping, and the subtle striations of the barrel, and the understated elegance. I have the EF nib which puts down an expressive line -- not super fine, but very nice. I'm not sure yet whether it'll be a satisfactory upside-down-nib-super-fine-writer like my Namiki Falcon, but time will tell, and I'll probably post a 3x5 card review soon.

I used Diamine Prussian Blue to give the pen it's first drink and my secretary stood with her mouth open while I filled it. She's a young thing and never saw a refillable pen before...

Thanks again for your great review!

[matthewst1]

Plus a huge shipping and handling fee.

 

$11 isn't huge. I live in Australia; so it usually costs over $20 to ship from the US. Good thing there are some pen shops in Asia.

[Iridium]

Makrolon seems to be a super plastic from Bayer in Germany... they're making golf tees, unbreakable lenses, and crash helmets out of it.

 

As far as I know, Makrolon on its own is their version of polycarbonate, which is the same stuff used in audio CDs, DVDs, safety glasses, bullet-resistant windows, and fighter jet canopies. It competes against acrylics for most applications, and both have their strong points. The Makrolon used in the Lamy 2000 is actually the "matrix" into which glass fibers are embedded as "reinforcement." The material used in the Lamy 2000 is therefore actually a GRP (glass-reinforced plastic), also known as "fiberglass" (a very specific form of fiberglass). More generally, it's a composite much like carbon-fiber composite, reinforced concrete, plywood, and mud & straw. That's a good thing--composites can be very strong.

 

I used Diamine Prussian Blue to give the pen it's first drink and my secretary stood with her mouth open while I filled it.

 

Did she eventually manage to wash all of the ink out of her mouth? :ltcapd:

 

Sorry.

 

She's a young thing and never saw a refillable pen before...

 

I wonder what she was really thinking, being so unfamiliar with fountain pens. You know, it's quite plausible to couch descriptions of fountain pen functionality such that it seems to be a futuristic type of writing technology, rather than a relic of the past. Imagine a pen that writes with direct capillary action, requires no pressure, hydroplanes smoothly on a film of liquid ink, can be equipped to write with line variations for italic, and can refill itself (environmentally friendly) with hundreds of different inks of a myriad colors. Wow, I wish people could come up with a pen like that someday! It would probably cost, like, a million dollars, and would make my trusty BiC seem totally outdated. Even with regard to technology, what's old can once again be new, and I have to say that the Lamy 2000 still looks like a pen from the future.

Edited September 6, 2008 by Iridium

[katfisch]

I like your point about the pen of the future... let's call it... hmmm... :hmm1: By Jove I think I've got it... "The Fountain Pen"...

I've been using my Lamy 2000 for several days now, and the thing just refuses to run out of ink -- maddening, cuz I'd like to try something different in it and I hate to waste ink... wait... I can put the Diamine Prussian Blue back in the bottle, can't I? Doh! :bonk: Can't do THAT with a ballpoint!

Edited September 11, 2008 by katfisch

[MYU]

I'm glad to hear you're still enjoying your L2K, Katfisch. And yes, putting ink back into the bottle is definitely a plus, compared to rollerballs and ballpoints! The only thing is, if the ink has been in the pen a long while, I'd hesitate putting any ink back into the bottle... Ink will lose moisture when loaded in a pen (caps are not totally air tight) and the thickening can create particles which may clog feeds. Of course, a good flushing of the L2K can clear out such debris. But some pens are more sensitive than others.

[MYU]

As far as I know, Makrolon on its own is their version of polycarbonate, which is the same stuff used in audio CDs, DVDs, safety glasses, bullet-resistant windows, and fighter jet canopies. It competes against acrylics for most applications, and both have their strong points. The Makrolon used in the Lamy 2000 is actually the "matrix" into which glass fibers are embedded as "reinforcement." The material used in the Lamy 2000 is therefore actually a GRP (glass-reinforced plastic), also known as "fiberglass" (a very specific form of fiberglass). More generally, it's a composite much like carbon-fiber composite, reinforced concrete, plywood, and mud & straw. That's a good thing--composites can be very strong.

 

Although Makrolon is a strong material, the Lamy 2000 uses it in a unique way. The surface has a kind of texture to it, consisting of thin lines spaced unevenly about. This is great for appearance, but can lead to problems later on. I've heard from a friend who has a number of older L2K examples where the caps have cracked. I wouldn't be surprised if it is an environmental issue... if the pen sits on a window sill for long periods exposed to the sun, the Makrolon could degrade and become susceptible to cracking.

 

There are matte finish polishes available and I wonder if there might be some that can be applied to the L2K for better longevity. If you happen to have an above average oil content to your skin, simply rubbing the pen between your fingers when you use it (such as pausing to think about something) might help keep the material preserved.

 

[alice]

Now that my Lamy 2000 EF is back from repairs at Lamy Canada, I cannot help but chime in on this thread.

 

I purchased the pen from PenGallery just over a month ago, but the nib was defective out of the box. It would skip, produce inconsistent horizontal strokes, and write surprisingly dry. No problem, I said. Pens don't usually cooperate with me (or my friends) out of the box, so I sent it over to the repair centre and left for my trip to Europe. Less than a week after I got back, I received an email informing me that the entire nib section had been replaced, and that they were sending the pen back to me. I picked it up from the courier terminal Friday evening, and have been writing with it extensively over the past couple of days.

 

There isn't much I can say that would apply universally beyond what other satisfied users have already said, so I'll comment only on how the pen behaves with my various idiosyncrasies. I bought my first real fountain pen, an Aubergine Sheaffer Intrigue with F nib, 4 years ago when I was in grade 12. I thought it was a very pretty pen and loved the modern body design and inlaid nib. But the real reason I switched over to fountain pens is the nearly nonexistent writing resistance they afford. I have broken and in other ways injured the wrist on my writing hand multiple times, and in many amusing ways. Though it's completely normal looking on the surface, my wrist has sustained a noticeable (by me) amount of structural damage. Standard ballpoints will make my hand seize up in no time.

 

I'm not really in the habit of collecting pens, or anything, for that matter. I am a very appreciative user, but the Intrigue served me incredibly well, and it wasn't until this summer that I decided to purchase another fountain pen. Some research later, I decided on getting two Lamys: a Studio and the 2000. Both were supported by high praise on the FPN boards, and both purchases were justifiable. The Studio (F nib, writes like a medium) is very pretty, and has become my main letter writing pen. The 2000 has joined the ranks of my Intrigue as a general purpose writer.

 

I use it in my moleskine, on gridded Rhodia pads to compose letters, and starting this week it will be travelling down to campus with me. It writes very smoothly now, and produces a beautiful fine line. Most importantly, perhaps, it doesn't bleed through (or even really show through) the cheap looseleaf paper I use for notetaking. Given the considerable weight difference between the Intrigue and the Lamy (the latter is lighter), it provides a very different writing experience. At first I even thought the pen was too light for me, though this proved not to be the case.

 

I am very happy I purchased this pen, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a writing instrument that is the pinnacle of "well behaved." Sure, its design may not be for everyone. But if you like the look and want something that won't require you to move away from the cost efficient paper you like to buy, the finicky moleskine you continue to love, and your favourite ink, this might just be the pen for you.

[DeaconKC]

I have one coming in a trade. I cannot wait to see how it compares to my Pelikan and Cross ATX.

[DeaconKC]

Well, back from vacation and my 2000 was here waiting. I loaded it up with Sheaffer's Slovenian Skrip Black and it was a bit scratchy, so I decided to flush and try some PR American Blue. It transformed the pen into a very smooth writer with just a tiny feedback that is an excellent experience. If it continues to run this smoothly it will definitely explain the reputation they have earned. Thanks again Alex!