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Lamy 2000 question, replace nib, tune nib or buy a new one?


bolaberlim

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Hi All, I got a Fine Lamy 2000, it's a bit on the scratchy side in the right to left up to down stroke, this one ->  /   . On a loupe the right tine seems a bit down. The thickness is a bit fine to my taste, it's wet but not very thick line. My question is should I tune it, replace the nib by a medium nib or simply buy a new pen with a medium nib and keep the fine as a second option? I think a well tuned medium would suit me better, but if this Fine was well tuned I would not be unhappy with it- in fact I'm happy with it right now, but I feel it could be way better. Anyone had the same or similar experience ? I'm in Europe- Portugal so my nib tuning options are kind of limited as far as I know?, I'm not sure I'm capable of tuning this without ruining it, so better leave it to an expert. 

From a cost standpoint tuning is the best option, but am I spending money and still not be completely satisfied? Thoughts are welcome, as reference for writing style my favorite writers are a pilot VP with a medium nib and a Parker 51 aeromatic that I think it's a medium as well, certainly writes like one. 

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The 2000 is pretty well designed and documented, so I'd be tempted to try disassembly.  Sometimes a slightly imperfect assembly puts enough uneven pressure on the nib to misalign it, and careful reassembly is all that's needed.  No bending required.

 

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9 minutes ago, tim77 said:

The 2000 is pretty well designed and documented, so I'd be tempted to try disassembly.  Sometimes a slightly imperfect assembly puts enough uneven pressure on the nib to misalign it, and careful reassembly is all that's needed.  No bending required.

 

I can certainly try that ! Thanks

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I doubt that disassembling/reassembling will work since the engineering is fabulous with little room for having anything out of alignment as can so easily be the case with other nib feed unit assemblies, but I'm more than ready to be proven wrong, so I'm curious how you get on with that. 🙂

 

The symptom you related is very likely secondary to the misalignment that you see.  The finer the nib, the more sensitive it is to what looks like a minor tine misalignment when inspected with a loupe.  The F nib is great when well tuned.  There are videos online on how to realign tines.  The main thing is to be gentle and patient.  It's better to attempt 5 times before it's finally OK than to try for one adjustment that overshoots the mark or compromises the nib.

 

The last Lamy 2000 nib I got, an EF, had a slight misalignment which I quickly corrected.  The tines were surprisingly 'amenable to suggestion' in that it took just one attempt at adjusting to get it right.  When properly aligned, writing was smoother than before and as a consolation, it put down a noticeably thicker line.  

 

The F nibs are also ink sensitive, so I'd try it with various inks to find a suitable match.

 

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4 hours ago, maclink said:

The F nibs are also ink sensitive, so I'd try it with various inks to find a suitable match.

 

I haven't found that to be the case, and I've had several of the pens over the last 25-30 years.  I will agree that a slight misalignment can make a big difference when corrected.

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Update: disassembling didn't work. I did try to even out the tines and it's much better. I think I'll leave it be for now, on some papers it writes smoothly and lays a thicker line( Muji Paper, Claire Fontaine), on others it has a bit of feedback( MD paper) and lies a really fine line.  Overall I'm pleased with it, I think that with some more use it will only get better better over time. 

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Very many hold their fountain pen too fountain pen too vertical, like a ball point. One of reason's for modern Pelikans fat blobby double ball nib. They didn't want to frighten off the cross over fountain pen user with ....instructions of how to hold a fountain pen....in they feared it would beyond new users; who had no three minutes to saste on such crud.

 

I don't know enough about other makes to say something about their modern nibs. I buy affordable old pens, with better nibs than modern.

 

A fountain pen should be 'held' or allowed to rest at 45 degrees, right after the big index finger knuckle or 40 degrees at the start of the web of the thumb is where most pens are normally held.

 

If a pen is very long or heavy; or a posted Large pen, it could 'rest' in the pit of the web of the thumb. IMO takes a bit to get use too, but does make the nib light so it has it's usage.

 

I don't use the classic tripod anymore....to me it is a grip that encourages holding too hard when it is designed to put pressure on the grip at 10&2. I use the 'forefinger up' method of holding a pen.

 

I don't know if this linked or not but do look here for a different and good way to have an automatic light grip.

Help! How Do You Hold Your Fountain Pen?

 

Takes three minutes to learn how...and a week of switching between it and the classic tripod to become accustomed to it.

No more pain of tripod, no more hand fatigue of tripod...........not spending 3-6 months of effort to learn to lighten your grip.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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I will buy the medium nib Lamy 2000. Sometimes you may need to write with a fine nib and other with a medium. More options is what some writers want. If you fine tune the fine nib then you have more options to use different inks and paper without cleaning the pen.

 

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On 10/22/2021 at 11:01 PM, MuddyWaters said:

The Lamy 2000 nib is also squared off, more so than modern ball tip units. I wonder if it also has to do with the angle of attack you hold the pen with. 

 

My angle of attack is not exactly vertical, but it doesn't have a lot of inclination either. I have fairly large hands so on shorter pens - I would place the Lamy unposted on the short"ish" side- my angle is a bit more vertical, that said I never had any issue with short pens like my Pelikan M200 or my Parker 51, so I'm guessing it's probably not the angle.

Right now and having laid more ink on paper, I'm completely happy with how the Lamy is writing. I'll eventually buy a medium but this one suits me just fine.

I will say this about the Lamy 2000 since i haven't had it for long, I was expecting some sort of trouble over the infamous lamy 2000 sweet spot and was a complete non issue for me. I was not expecting any problem with the also infamous nubs, and as it happens I find them somewhat annoying. Still a great pen and I've been using it everyday, I had two "go to" pens, and now I think I have three.

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Funny how the fidget-ability of fountain pens encapsulates the pain and ecstasy of fountain pen use and ownership! 

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On 10/26/2021 at 4:51 PM, bolaberlim said:

my Parker 51

Is a medium-large pen, very well balanced posted....not a small pen..never was....at least coming from when it was the Prince of Pens still....in the Snorkel was King............................and no one heard of MB much less Pelikan. :bunny01:

I was so surprised to find the thin Snorkel was a large pen, but by being thin it has great balance.

The first big clunky pen, back in the day when everyone still wrote much of the day and needed a light and nimble pen was the Sheaffer PFM, that was so heavily advertised, yet, I never ever saw one in real life.

 

Outside the Snorkel.

I really can't find a large pen that is not clunky, the closest is a posted Large 146............and posted any of the rest are clunky. The 800, 1000, 149, Persona, Townsend. They are all too short un-posted for the way I grasp a pen, in the forefinger up method.

Posted medium-small, standard or medium-large fit my hand just fine.

 

Was surprised I have big QB hands....that's OK, I played baseball. :P

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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17 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Is a medium-large pen, very well balanced posted....not a small pen..never was....at least coming from when it was the Prince of Pens still....in the Snorkel was King............................and no one heard of MB much less Pelikan. :bunny01:

 

 

Well, I'm placing the Lamy in the same category of size. I would not call them medium-large, and since I prefer not to post that's how I evaluate the length of any pen.

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On 10/26/2021 at 10:51 AM, bolaberlim said:

 

My angle of attack is not exactly vertical, but it doesn't have a lot of inclination either. I have fairly large hands so on shorter pens - I would place the Lamy unposted on the short"ish" side- my angle is a bit more vertical, that said I never had any issue with short pens like my Pelikan M200 or my Parker 51, so I'm guessing it's probably not the angle.

Right now and having laid more ink on paper, I'm completely happy with how the Lamy is writing. I'll eventually buy a medium but this one suits me just fine.

I will say this about the Lamy 2000 since i haven't had it for long, I was expecting some sort of trouble over the infamous lamy 2000 sweet spot and was a complete non issue for me. I was not expecting any problem with the also infamous nubs, and as it happens I find them somewhat annoying. Still a great pen and I've been using it everyday, I had two "go to" pens, and now I think I have three.

 

The angle of attack is all planes (3 dimensionally) matters. So I wonder if your opening post relates to a sweet spot issue for you.

 

But I'm glad that you like the Lamy 2k. I think it is the best pen in production today, if it agrees with its user.

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1 hour ago, MuddyWaters said:

 

The angle of attack is all planes (3 dimensionally) matters. So I wonder if your opening post relates to a sweet spot issue for you.

 

But I'm glad that you like the Lamy 2k. I think it is the best pen in production today, if it agrees with its user.

I think that it's a pen that takes some getting used to... My first impression was one of quality, it feels robust. My second impression was that it was not as smooth as I'd like, but that's sorted now. With use the first impression takes over, it feels like a quality pen every time I pick it up, it's a mix of weight, tactile experience and size. The material is incredible. The more I use it the more I'm impressed.

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