Is Lamy Blue Ink Really This Awful?

[ErrantSmudge]

My Lamy Blue experience matched the OP - not the bright color posted by ErrantSmudge.

 

That ink had been put to page minutes before getting scanned, so it has not had a chance to fade. I will rescan the Blue section in a few days and post a "before/after" comparison.

[inkstainedruth]

The cartridge of Lamy Blue which came with my Dark Lilac Safari was really un-inspiriring a color (the only blue that's worse, IMO, is Quink Washable Blue). But I'm wondering if Lamy has done something to reformulate it, because the cartridge which came with the LX I got directly from Lamy USA (during their closeout sale) is a lot darker and more saturated a color. If I'd seen that one first, I'd have wondered what people were complaining about. I'd show the comparison, but the cartridge ran out yesterday, and has been refilled with distilled water because I didn't have time to flush the pen outright. I was pretty shocked at the difference between the two cartridges. The first one was blah, but the second one was actually decent looking.

As for Lamy's other inks, I LOVE Dark Lilac LE (and am now kicking myself that I didn't get a third bottle of it when I have a chance). And Pacific Blue LE is awesome (even if it is just relabeled Turquoise, as reported -- I can't say one way or the other). I have a bottle of this year's Vibrant Pink, but haven't had a chance to open it yet; I did wait till I got to see a written exemplar and test the ink at the Baltimore/Washington Pen Show before buying it, but from what I've seen I'll like it okay.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pitonyak]

I just made this sampler of all the Lamy inks I have on hand, on Tomoe River paper. I had to ink-up an Al-Star with one of the few blue carts I have remaining; that's both a good thing and a bad thing.

 

I don't have any experience with Lamy's blue-black ink, so it doesn't appear here and thank you ParkerDuofold for saving me some money.

 

One note on the scan; my scanner makes Lamy's red (and to a lesser extent, the pink) much more saturated than in real life.

 

 

The Blue looks much better than my example..... I appreciate the examples of different colors. I see that the "Vibrant Pink" tends towards red and has significant variation, which surely makes it more interesting.

 

I always use Lamy Blue in a medium or above, with no problems. And from my spate of collecting Every Annual LE Color, I have a jar full of the cartridges. I think it's a cheerful color.

 

Ding ding ding ding...... And that is probably the problem since I was trying it with an EF nib.

[torstar]

there are so many other choices, not saying they are better... for that shade of ink, just saying...

[annafdd]

I actually quite like Lamy Blue, but then I use it in stubs.

[minddance]

U need a wet pen and probably a tad broader then you might get 'shadings'. Dry and frugal pens won't work with many inks.

[pitonyak]

I tend towards "narrow" pens. I just received a Pilot 74 EF with a Gold nib, and, holy moly is that a thin line. Have only been using it for a day, but, it is a bit narrow even for me. I am still trying to figure out how it is able to do that and, it seems, stay reliable. Can't imagine Lamy blue in that pen!

 

The only thing that I had really considered was that a dry ink might not run well in a "narrow" nib, I had not considered the "look" of the line that it put down, even though I had seen comments on how a specific ink looked really good with in a wide nib because it showed the variation.

[DrDebG]

As others have said, Lamy Blue isn't a bad ink. It tends toward the drier side and isn't very saturated - it is a softer blue. But if you have a wet pen, preferably a medium or broader, Lamy Blue is an acceptable ink. I have a Lamy Studio with 18K medium nib and it is a nicely wet pen. Lamy Blue works find in it. But, if I put it in one of my pens with a F or EF nib, that is when I will have issues.

 

When I travel, I sometimes take several of my Lamy Safaris and Al-Stars (medium, broad and stub nibs) and will take Lamy cartridges in a variety of colors. They work fairly well.

[DrDebG]

I tend towards "narrow" pens. I just received a Pilot 74 EF with a Gold nib, and, holy moly is that a thin line. Have only been using it for a day, but, it is a bit narrow even for me. I am still trying to figure out how it is able to do that and, it seems, stay reliable. Can't imagine Lamy blue in that pen!

 

The only thing that I had really considered was that a dry ink might not run well in a "narrow" nib, I had not considered the "look" of the line that it put down, even though I had seen comments on how a specific ink looked really good with in a wide nib because it showed the variation.

 

You are correct. I would recommend a wetter ink such as Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki or Tsuyu-kusa. Avoid the basic Pilot inks - they also tend to be a bit dry and less saturated. Waterman inks are very good, less expensive inks, particularly Serenity Blue and Inspired Blue.

[minddance]

I tend towards "narrow" pens. I just received a Pilot 74 EF with a Gold nib, and, holy moly is that a thin line. Have only been using it for a day, but, it is a bit narrow even for me. I am still trying to figure out how it is able to do that and, it seems, stay reliable. Can't imagine Lamy blue in that pen!

 

The only thing that I had really considered was that a dry ink might not run well in a "narrow" nib, I had not considered the "look" of the line that it put down, even though I had seen comments on how a specific ink looked really good with in a wide nib because it showed the variation.

I have a few rather narrow nibs and I only use dark inks in them, and on the higher saturation level or else it would be difficult to write and read. In these cases, it wouldn't be about the 'look' anymore, it would be a more practical issue of legibility and ink flow and writeability.

 

I cannot imagine Pilot Blue in Pilot's very own fine and extra fine nibs. Sometimes I wonder if they test their own inks with their pens.

 

Inks can easily look good in broad and wet nibs. It is the dry and fine nibs that are challenging.

[AL01]

Lamy Blue is REALLY REALLY REALLY dry.

 

Use it on a gusher, and then you can enjoy it....

 

(My profile pic has writing made with Lamy Blue. I actually enjoy using it on my 140.)

[Dip n Scratch]

I had a better experience with the Lamy blue cartridge I got with my Safari. It came with an EF nib, but I don't have the lightest touch. I was rather pleased with the blue considering my later exploration of other blues on the market.

The example in post #1 looks like washable blue, a type I have never had passable results with, even in a wet writing Baoer 388. Goodness knows if you would still be able to see the writing after three months left in daylight.

My Safari is currently inked with Herbin Larme de Cassis. I don't keep Lamy Blue. I have four different blues already.

[bitflogger]

Hmm.... My favorite blue ever was Penman but I've always been happy with Lamy blue in my Lamy 2000. It doesn't seem to be as washed or faded as Herbin or Pelikan can be.

 

Full disclosure: I decided to join the forum via some ink shopping - my last bit of Penman is about gone and I want blue that's more bold than most I've tried.

 

[ErrantSmudge]

 

Full disclosure: I decided to join the forum via some ink shopping - my last bit of Penman is about gone and I want blue that's more bold than most I've tried.

 

 

Not to take this thread off topic - but if you visit the "Inky Thoughts" forum you'll find several threads, one of them in current discussion, around replacements for Penman Sapphire (called "PPS" in the discussions). It's a perennial topic around here.

Edited March 31, 2018 by ErrantSmudge

[pitonyak]

I had a better experience with the Lamy blue cartridge I got with my Safari. It came with an EF nib, but I don't have the lightest touch. I was rather pleased with the blue considering my later exploration of other blues on the market.

The example in post #1 looks like washable blue, a type I have never had passable results with, even in a wet writing Baoer 388. Goodness knows if you would still be able to see the writing after three months left in daylight.

My Safari is currently inked with Herbin Larme de Cassis. I don't keep Lamy Blue. I have four different blues already.

I inherited a bunch of Parker Penman Black ink, thankfully it is not the older Ebony which is reported to be a problem.

[bitflogger]

Not to take this thread off topic - but if you visit the "Inky Thoughts" forum you'll find several threads, one of them in current discussion, around replacements for Penman Sapphire (called "PPS" in the discussions). It's a perennial topic around here.

Yes, I noticed a lot of disk space and bandwidth was used for Penman before I joined a forum.

 

I have to wonder if my satisfaction with the Lamy ink stems from most use has been with my Lamy 2000? It looks better (not faded) than Pelikan 4000 or Herbin after a little time.

[jonschram]

I'm pretty fresh to the fountain pen world. Ordered a Safari F and a 6 pack of Lamy carts from Amazon. The Safari came to me used/damaged, so I didn't get much experience using the ink. My Joy 1.1 showed up last week and I popped in one of those Lamy carts.

I hated the pen initially. Hated it. Skipped, even after several pages. Seriously contemplated swearing off Lamy considering the experience I had been having so far. The z24 converter showed up, and it's like another pen now!

I only have a few ink options (currently deployed) here, but so far that Joy is doing great on several Waterman inks. I gave the Lamy blue carts to someone else who is beginning their fountain pen journey along with me. She seems happy with them...she has an Al-star in F.

I don't see me purchasing Lamy carts going forward.

[pitonyak]

I was considering getting a Joy, or any Lamy, with a 1.1 nib to try it, I tend to favor Fine nibs.

[jonschram]

was considering getting a Joy, or any Lamy, with a 1.1 nib to try it, I tend to favor Fine nibs.

Pitonyak:

I really like the 1.1 NIB. I don't have much to compare it to, obviously. It doesn't have a ton of line variation like the 1.5 or 1.9 must have. It writes nice and I could use it as an everyday pen.

[ErrantSmudge]

I was considering getting a Joy, or any Lamy, with a 1.1 nib to try it, I tend to favor Fine nibs.

 

You can purchase Lamy nibs separately, including the stub nibs, and swap them into a pen you already own (except the 2000). The nibs are designed to be easily swapped.