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Lamy design - has Lamy lost its design edge?


Chandon

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I do not know what the most profitable of Lamy's designs is currently; but, given that the safari is ideal for children of all ages, some of whom do not necessarily enjoy learning how to write neatly, I think it is wonderful that there is such a choice of colours available to minimise the pain. This means that a child can choose his or her own colour and be proud of owning a grown up pen, at very little cost to the parents! :)

 

This, in my view, is good design.

 

David

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I know grown-ups who use it too. Including myself. Might be one of the most perfect pens. Timeless, robust, good handling, reliable.

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3 hours ago, david-p said:

This, in my view, is good design.

 

I agree with that statement.  My collection is primarily focussed on student cartridge fillers and, in my opinion, the Lamy Safari is the best all-round example readily available in in shops today.  The special edition colours keep adults like me interested in the range, but I don't consider the selection of new colours, even where I really like these, to be an example of superior design.

 

However, as far as this forum topic is concerned, with the Safari design now more than 40 years old, the Safari does not support that Lamy still has the design edge.  That has to be judged by the pens that Lamy releases today.  Personally, I don't have complaints with those either.  The new Lamy Ideos looks tidy enough whilst using what I consider to be a stylish yet simple cross-section design.  Other pens like the Lamy Dialogue don't appeal to me that much, particularly when considering the price, but I can't fault the Dialogue from a design perspective. 

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I'm pleased by the way that this discussion has evolved and has gone on longer than I thought it would! There have been. some very interesting views expressed, so thank you one and all. Actually, re-reading my original post, I have to eat my words, as I saw from the German Lamy website that the Xevo, Dialog CC and the Ideas have all now been released! I agree with Austollie's view about the Dialog, but the pen that impresses me the most, from a purely design perspective, is the Xevo (designed by Eric Degenhardt).  I am blown away by the fact that such a well designed and functional pen is being sold at an affordable price (c.€8.00!). I will definitely buy one and I hope that is a big success for Lamy. I cannot see myself buying an Ideos as I was a bit surprised at the sky high price! I had thought it would be about the same price as the Aion.

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Well, what I like about Lamy is of course their quality and their design, but look at some of their pens, they don’t look like the “normal” fountain pens like the pilot metropolitan, is what someone would call a normal looking fountain pen. Lamy not only makes stylish designs but also strange designs. And I hope that they don’t stay in their comfort zones and try experimenting combinations more. 

EF nibs!!!

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Another thread here shows that LAMY, in conjunction with another company, have developed an electric safari pen, so that your handwritten documents are simultaneously transferred to your phone, tablet or computer, and can be "digitised". This is a step forward that may bear further development.

 

Unfortunately, the pen is not a fountain pen, but there is no reason why it could not be.

 

See LAMY safari neolab.

 

David

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4 hours ago, david-p said:

This is a step forward that may bear further development

 

I suppose that it is, if one doesn't want to scan the document.  At the end of the day, the OCR software is capable of accurately recognising the handwriting, or it isn't.   If it is, one can just scan in the written document afterwards.  I really don't see what you gain with this.  

 

This is different to writing on a computer tablet.  There the writer can just correct the occasional letter that the OCR software hasn't recognised.  Once you use this new pen (wether BP or FP) with conventional paper, you lose that ability.  I can't see myself being a buyer for the product, even if an FP version is developed.  

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If the OCR works, for someone like me, who hates having to type everything into a computer, this is an interesting alternative. The LAMY safari shape is very comfortable for me. Better than the usual tablet stylus.

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20 hours ago, david-p said:

there is no reason why it could not be.

 

 

And you know this because ......?

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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I suggest that it would be possible because all it needs is a means of determining the written pattern, such as one sees on photos of the current pen, and the electronics, which would have to be squeezed in somewhere. I am sure the LAMY engineers are up to this challenge!
 

:) David

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If you look at the images that LAMY has posted, you will note that the gizmology which reads the line put down takes up a fair bit of space underneath the writing tip of the D1 refill.  The exact space taken up by a feed on a fountain pen. Then there's the internal space in the barrel taken up by the CPU and charger, which precludes a converter.

 

So perhaps sometime after I've shuffled off this mortal coil.  But by then we'll likely be sitting in the blackened ruins, scratching in the dirt with sticks.

 

 

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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One easy way of solving the problem would be to make something light that clips on to the safari fountain pen and houses the extra bits of technology. They might sell more of these if it could be clipped on to a variety of pens and made more generic.

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On 7/15/2021 at 10:35 AM, arcfide said:

 

I believe my main issues with nibs and feeds with Lamy has universally been to do with their tine spacing (not alignment as such) and the feeds being way too dry to the point of unusability unless something else is done. In some of these cases I think it is just a clogging or blocked feed situation, but to have this happen on multiple pens from them is a bother, as it is frankly a lot of work to get a good writing experience when that happens. 

I have not had this experience with any of my Lamy pens (currently totaling 3 Safaris, 2 al-Stars and an LX -- with another Safari on the horizon as soon as I figure out what inks to buy at the same time).  OTOH, I did try a Safari with an EF nib at someone's table at the Ohio Pen Show a few years ago and didn't care for it -- I found it somewhat scratchy -- so I don't have any with nib widths smaller than an F.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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On 10/13/2021 at 1:44 PM, Astronymus said:

I know grown-ups who use it too. Including myself. Might be one of the most perfect pens. Timeless, robust, good handling, reliable.

Agreed.  I didn't think I could get used to the section at first, until someone sent me a Jinhao 599 (a knockoff of an al-Star) a few years ago in a swap.   That pen proved to me that I could, and that it was worth paying the extra over what was likely a $5 US priced pen for a roughly $30 (the US retail price) pen.  
I don't buy every SE edition that comes out, because I'm not a "c-worder collector" (you couldn't PAY me enough to take Petrol or some of the nasty light green ones or Mango).  But I buy the ones in colors I DO like (Dark Lilac, this year's al-Star color Azure, etc.  They're eminently functional, and would be good starter pens for someone who thinks something like a Parker Vector is too skinny to be comfortable to write with.  

I keep looking at the other designs, like the Scala and the Aion (the 2000s I've tried have been too heavy for me).  But I keep going back to the basics -- the Safari/al-Star/LX family for what they are: functional pens where I can easily swap the nibs out between them if I choose to do so.

Even the (used) French Blue Safari, which I didn't pay a lot for (roughly that of the US retail price for an al-Star (the prices on eBay for NOS ones are insane -- yes, I wanted that color, but no WAY was I paying that kind of money for a SAFARI).  And the matte plastic hides the bite marks on the back of the barrel from -- presumably -- the previous owner.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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