Lamy nib (not 2000-type) : is there a running-in period?

[david-p]

Apologies if this has been discussed before, but I couldnt find it.

 

I am new to Lamy pens and, noting that the broad Lamy steel nibs, of the type that fit the safari pens, are narrower than broad L2k nibs, and that at least one of mine seems now to produce a broader trace than it did the other day, I am wondering whether these nibs have a running in period, during which they open out a little without applying deliberate pressure.

 

Is this so, or am I imagining it? Do I need to use the nib for several pages before it is "run-in"?  Or is the performance fixed from the word go?

 

David

Edited July 28, 2021 by david-p
stupid typos

[gyasko]

As is typical of modern fountain pen nibs, Lamy nibs often need adjustment before they’ll write well.  

[bogiesan]

Running in? No. It's steel. You 'd need to write on sandpaper to change the set of the tipping material.

 

Some (maybe most) Lamy nibs need a slight adjustment to suit your hand. You may need to tweak the tines into alignment and adjust the gap. Rarely the arch where the nib contacts the feed needs adjustment but that's usually the result of user-caused damage. There are many videos on the yootoobs that demonstrate how to diagnose and then safely tweak Lamy nibs. It doesn't take much effort. 

[arcfide]

I have found that many of my Lamy's improved in flow over time. I'm not sure it is the nib so much as the feed cleaning itself out. I do also think that there's some room for the nibs to "spread out" a little with some pressure during normal writing depending on how much pressure you use. I've also found that sometimes the nib tines are unaligned but writing with them will help "force" them back into alignment without explicit effort. 

[david-p]

Many thanks for both of these helpful replies.

 

David

[Anne-Sophie]

 

I bought Safaris, Al-Stars and Vista, from retailers who either tested the nib/feed assembly with a dip test or did not.

 

Every Lamy which had a dip test performed, wrote perfectly out of the box, some of the ones without it, need to be cleaned with a couple of fills of water to make sure, no manufacturing oil is left anywhere on the feed assembly.

 

Every nib is tested at the Lamy factory but, it is the feed assembly that might have minute amount of manufacturing oil in it.