Lamy Dialog3

[davisgt]

I don't understand this pen.  Could someone explain the allure to me? It is really expensive,  and it reminds me of an exacto knife. Is the retractable nib really that unique?

[Estycollector]

It's the most interesting model Lamy produces for my taste. I've considered a retractable nib FP but have been too concerned about leaking to carry. 

[Glenn-SC]

10 hours ago, davisgt said:

Is the retractable nib really that unique?

Yes. 
Pilot, Narwhal, Lamy, some Chinese knockoffs. Fountain pens with retractable nibs are rare and unusual.  

[lascosas]

I love both the Dialog 3 & c/c.  Yes, it is retractable nib, but it is the Lamy gold nib which is available with all of their current FPs except the 2000 that makes it special.  The unusual part of this pen is the shape.  It is like holding a thick rod.  Absolutely straight from end to end, and quite girthy, plus with the 3 the clip is in the middle behind the nib, like on the Pilot VP, and many people find this highly annoying.  If anyone is considering buying this but isn't sure if they will like it, one option is to buy the knock-off.  It is a very good copy (except for the nib, which is bouncy but very soft, easy to bend).  Search Aliexpress for LM Focus 3 Fountain Pen.  The Seller I bought it from (Lusfer) no longer carries it, but someone else does, for $31.  I have both the original Dialog 3 & Dialog c/c and a couple of copies.

[nm4]

The Dialog is a most unusual and elegant pen.  One of the most sophisticated mechanisms (albeit slightly unreliable), a beautiful finish (with delicate painted stripes), and a smooth and soft gold nib.  What’s not to love?  
 

To me it’s like a Benz S class: large, heavy, elegant, and a joy to use…but slightly more problematic than more ordinary models.

 

N

[davisgt]

I find this so interesting.  I have a very old Waterman gold 42 1/2 V fountain pen with a retractable nib that comes out of the body with a twist mechanism at the top. It's a tiny pen but the retractable nib still works beautifully.  This pen pre-dates the Lamy by decades.  Still not sure why everyone thinks the Lamy mechanism is so cutting-edge.  🤔

[Dillo]

1 hour ago, davisgt said:

I find this so interesting.  I have a very old Waterman gold 42 1/2 V fountain pen with a retractable nib that comes out of the body with a twist mechanism at the top. It's a tiny pen but the retractable nib still works beautifully.  This pen pre-dates the Lamy by decades.  Still not sure why everyone thinks the Lamy mechanism is so cutting-edge.  🤔

 

The difference is that the Waterman is not capless. You need a cap to prevent dryout, and if you flip it nib side down when it's retracted and you have no cap on it, you will get a lapful of ink. I hope your pen does have a cap, because if it does not, that would make it very useless. Safety pens are a lot more fiddly because you need to always uncap them with the nib pointing up and extend the nib before pointing them nib down for writing. You fill them by retracting the nib and pouring ink in the top. I have quite a few of these safety pens, and they aren't quite the thing you want if you want to write a quick note.

 

The Dialog 3 has a door mechanism just like Pilot Capless and Platinum Curidas that makes it so that no cap is needed. When the pen is retracted, the door closes, making everything more or less airtight. It's convenient, and many of them have one-handed operation. Extend the nib, write a quick note, then retract the nib in one motion.

[davisgt]

It does have a cap with a ring on the top. I'm assuming you would wear it on a necklace,  which would always keep the nib facing up. Unscrew the pen from the cap, twist the bottom to extend the nib, and then write. 😃

[Dillo]

That's an awfully large number of steps to write, compared to a single click or twist with a Pilot Capless or Lamy Dialog 3.

 

That's why they are very different from each other. I pick out a retractable safety pen if I'm going to write something big. Also, if you intend to use the pen, send it to someone to have the cork seal in the back of the pen replaced so ink doesn't drip out the back end of the pen