Lamy Aion Performance Problems

[freshmaker]

Hey everyone,

 

I bought a Lamy Aion about a week ago. I know people have polarizing opinions on the design of this pen, but I'm purely looking for your experience with how it performs. I can't seem to find any others with these issues, so I'm trying to determine if I need to send it back or not.

 

I'm looking for input in two areas:

 

1. At random times, when I uncap the pen there's often ink blobs on the nib, and sometimes the section (see photo). There's some air pressure when capping the pen, so my guess is that uncapping the pen has enough suction that sometimes it's pulling out some ink from the feed - but if that's true, and it's part of the pen design, that's a pretty big flaw. My Lamy 2000 has never exhibited this issue. I'm not dropping the pen or banging it around on my desk I'm not even carrying it around in a backpack or anything - it's just sitting on my desk. I've also had the pen inked with two different inks so I don't think the type of ink has anything to do with it.

 

2. The nib seems to be loose. Since the only other Lamy pen I own is a 2000, I have no experience with these Z50 style nibs, but it seems to "wiggle" back and forth such that the nib isn't centered with the feed (see photo - which also just happened to exhibit my first problem when I uncapped to take the photo!). It doesn't affect the writing, however, so I'm just curious if others are seeing the same thing or not.

 

Thanks for your time! This is my first topic post on The FPN - I really love the community here

 

Cheers!

 

 

[katerchen]

Whoa. That feed is cracked and the tip of it is chipped.

 

Get your money back, right now. yell at the retailer if you need to.

[watch_art]

It shouldn't blob and it shouldn't wiggle. What inks are you using?

Is the converter seated tightly?

 

I don't see a crack in the feed though.

 

Lamy has THE BEST customer service, so if you send it to them they'll make it right.
Or return to seller and get another.

[freshmaker]

It shouldn't blob and it shouldn't wiggle. What inks are you using?

Is the converter seated tightly?

 

I don't see a crack in the feed though.

 

Lamy has THE BEST customer service, so if you send it to them they'll make it right.

Or return to seller and get another.

 

Initially I had it inked with Diamine Oxblood, and currently it has R&K Scabiosa (yes, I'm slightly nervous about using this with a non-gold nib, and now that it's leaking all over the metal I should probably take it out).

 

Yes, the converter is seated tightly - I've pushed it in and twisted several times to make sure of it.

 

I also don't see a crack in the feed.

 

Sounds like I'll contact the seller first and see what they have to say then. Thanks!

[freshmaker]

Whoa. That feed is cracked and the tip of it is chipped.

 

Get your money back, right now. yell at the retailer if you need to.

 

I don't think the feed is cracked - maybe it's just the lighting in the photo?

 

I think I'll reach out to the retailer though

[Mr.Rene]

 

I don't think the feed is cracked - maybe it's just the lighting in the photo?

 

 

+1 I see ink around the feed only...not a cracked feed really

[pararis]

I don't have a leakage problem. Shining a light into the cap, it's clean and dry. I've had mine six weeks or more.

 

I do have a loose nib. Exactly as you describe. It hasn't shown any performance problem though.

[katerchen]

Hmm. Are those just ink lines then on the second picture?

 

Still ... the tip of the feed looks chipped. Should be like this:

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tgJJhvgdwRaZP38x1

[freshmaker]

Hmm. Are those just ink lines then on the second picture?

 

Still ... the tip of the feed looks chipped. Should be like this:

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tgJJhvgdwRaZP38x1

 

I took the nib off and then took these photos. I think it looks ok compared to the photo you posted? Unless I'm looking in the wrong place.

[freshmaker]

I don't have a leakage problem. Shining a light into the cap, it's clean and dry. I've had mine six weeks or more.

 

I do have a loose nib. Exactly as you describe. It hasn't shown any performance problem though.

 

Thanks for the feedback The lose nib thing does somewhat bother me - if I'm just writing chicken scratch I don't notice, but if I'm being intentional about my letter writing, going slowly and practicing good form then sometimes I can feel it shifting position when I change direction from left to right or right to left :/

 

I'm probably just way too picky and OCD about this stuff!

[katerchen]

Dangit, finally figured it out. That photo renders pretty dark on my laptop, but I set my desktop monitor brighter and now I took another look.

 

Those are all ink artifacts, serving as a background to the feed, but for reasons and such I perceived them as part of the feed.

 

Sorry for the impromptu Chicken Little act

[freshmaker]

It's all good!

[LanceSaintPaul]

After removing the nib you could give each flange on the bottom a slight pinch so it will fit more snugly and securely on the feed.

[freshmaker]

After removing the nib you could give each flange on the bottom a slight pinch so it will fit more snugly and securely on the feed.

 

I thought about doing that, but I worry I'd mess up the tines if I pinched it wrong.

[dapprman]

nib should be tight - might be the reason you've got nib creep.

[freshmaker]

Thanks to everyone for your insights and replies - I've been talking to the retail shop and they've agreed to just take the pen back. Not sure if I can trust the Lamy Aion to try another one though...