Siezed Lamy 2000

[KingsCountyWriter]

I recently acquired a Lamy 2000 and the piston knob is seized and won't move. It was tight initially, and now that the piston is open and the threads exposed, it won't move anymore. It seems to be coming out straight so it doesn't look/seem misaligned.

 

Any clues to what I might do before I toss it? I got it from a thrift store with a broken cap and an unknown history, so anything could be going on with this pen. The nib, feed section and attached mechanism look fine. This is the L2k with the "L" on the back of the piston knob, so it has some history I believe. 

 

TIA

[jchch1950]

Send it for repair instead of tossing it. The " L" ,means that it is quite an old pen, but I'm sure Lamy can repair it.

[Mercian]

16 hours ago, KingsCountyWriter said:

Any clues to what I might do before I toss it?

 

It sounds to me as though the piston might be stuck because the piston seal/gasket is stuck to the inside of the barrel of the pen by some old ink.

 

So, if I were you, before contacting any repairers I would:

 

• stand the whole barrel in a tall glass (e.g. a pint glass) full of room-temperature water.
• Make sure that it is completely submerged - i.e. that water is getting in to both ends.
• Cover the top of the tall glass, so that no dust/mould/yeast gets in to the glass.
• Any old ink ought to be dissolved by the water, and capillary action ought to make it work up around the entire piston seal/gasket, and thus free it up so that it moves easily.
• Leave the pen to stand in water for several days.
• You only need to check the water twice a day - say, first when you have breakfast, and again when you get home from work. You should change the water for new water if you see that old ink has come out of the barrel and has discoloured the water.
• After three days of soaking in room-temperature water, try to move the piston-turning knob. If it still won't move, soak it for another day, then try again.

 

• If you still have no luck after, say, a whole week of soaking in water, you could try soaking in a 1:5 solution of white vinegar:water (in case the gasket is stuck to the the barrel by residues of old iron-gall ink).
  If that does the trick, you will then want to re-soak your pen in water, to remove the stink of the vinegar.

The procedure detailed above will only cost you a few days' worth of patience, and it will not damage your pen.

 

Even if it doesn't actually work, the fact that you have done it will mean that any repairer to whom you send the pen to can skip this step, and move straight to other investigations. So you will get your pen back more-quickly.

 

I once had to resort to soaking a vintage Pelikan 400 (in order to dissolve old inks on the threads between the feed and the barrel).
My pen needed to be soaked for 3½ days, but that did the trick and I was then able to unscrew the feed unit with no effort at all.
Your pen might need longer than mine did, or it might not need as long as mine did.

 

• Once you do manage to get the piston to move freely, you will want to let the pen dry out completely, and then re-lubricate the piston with some 100% pure silicone grease. Don't buy it if it isn't 100% pure.

You only need a very tiny amount, and the technique is recounted in a few old posts on here (or I can talk you through it if you like).
Small tubs of it can be bought from SCUBA shops. A few grammes should only cost a few USD.

I bought a 7g tub of it in about 2013. For about £7.
So far, I have used it on my six piston-fill pens (4 Pelikans, a Geha, and a Lamy 2000), and on a couple of converters too.

I use iron-gall inks, and so employ a pen-cleaning regime that is far more 'aggressive' than most folks' - i.e. I probably need to re-lubricate pistons far more often than most people.
At my current rate of usage, I expect my 7g tub of 100% pure silicone grease to last me for another 100 years  

 

I wish you the very best of luck with it 

 

Slàinte,
M.

 

 

Edited November 5 by Mercian
Edited for FFEs

[Mechanical]

@KingsCountyWriter, also note that the nib by itself is worth $155.00 USD at today's prices.  Can you tell if the nib is in good condition?

 

Also, IMO, it's very much worth trying @Mercian's careful steps for soaking. 

 

[KingsCountyWriter]

Thanks to all that have responded. I have soaked it when I initially received it and the piston moved a bit. I added some silicon grease when the piston moved and it glided with more freedom. Then, it seized and hasn't moved. I don't have the strength to move it, and I won't use a tool outside of rubber pads to hold it in my hands. 

 

The nib works nicely in another L2k that I have and I wouldn't get rid of that, and I have it and the section ring (and section) in a baggie waiting to be reunited. I know that the L on the piston dates it as an earlier iteration of my "modern" L2k. 

 

I'll let it soak until the weekend. It's in a sealed canister that doesn't get air or dust. I'll update upon opening. 

 

Thanks again!

 

[Glenn-SC]

Here’s my 2000 disassembled.

The risk in torquing too hard on the filler knob is breaking the piston rod.  

[KingsCountyWriter]

4 hours ago, Glenn-SC said:

Here’s my 2000 disassembled.

The risk in torquing too hard on the filler knob is breaking the piston rod.  

 

Would breaking the piston rod prevent it from moving? 

[Mercian]

1 hour ago, KingsCountyWriter said:

Would breaking the piston rod prevent it from moving? 

 

If one were to break the piston rod, the piston knob would turn, and you might still be able it to push the piston towards the nib, but would not be able to withdraw it away from the nib.

Or perhaps the knob would turn freely while the piston itself does not move 'vertically' within the pen.

[InkyProf]

Since @KingsCountyWriter says that the piston was moving relatively freely at first, and since they say the knob is frozen in the fully extended position, could something else be going on besides a piston head frozen in place inside the barrel? I've only done this disassembly once, but IIRC, the L2K piston knob is removed by continuing to turn it counterclockwise after the piston knob has been opened fully (i.e., with the piston shaft fully extended), and it has to be turned past the resistance of a plastic stop on the filler sleeve in order to do this. This makes me wonder if the problem is with that part of the mechanism (the connection between the filler sleeve and the piston knob), or with the piston knob to barrel threads, rather than with the piston shaft or seal.

 

@KingsCountyWriter should not rely on my unprofessional musings as advice, but if the soaking didn't seem to free the piston up so that it retracted with ordinary force by turning the knob clockwise, I would only risk applying slightly more than ordinary force to the piston knob in the other, counterclockwise direction, as if continuing to unscrew the knob. This is because it's designed to continue unscrewing in that direction, against resistance, as part of its disassembly; and because if the problem is with the piston knob-to-barrel threads, unthreading seems safer than the opposite; and because doing that should actually be disengaging the knob from the piston shaft, not applying force to it.

 

That still feels like it would risk breaking something, though (most likely the plastic sleeve, I would imagine?) and violates all my "don't force it" instincts. I'm curious what more experienced folks think, both about the possible diagnosis and about the best path forward.

[KingsCountyWriter]

Thanks @InkyProf for your suggestions and responses. I attempted moments ago to free up the piston rod as it's been sitting since Wednesday, with only daily water changes.  No luck. It didn't budge in either direction by hand. I'm wondering if I should use some tool that is covered with rubber or cloth to apply more pressure and not damage the finish on the pen. By my hand, I can't move the piston at all. I have a piece of rubber that provides more grip, but it doesn't help at all. 

[InkyProf]

Sorry you didn't make any progress. All I can tell you is that if it were my pen, I'd be reluctant to use a tool, because neither removing the piston knob nor moving the piston should require that much torque. I hope someone with more experience with L2K disassembly or repair will have a diagnosis and a solution for you.

[KingsCountyWriter]

Do you think a ultrasonic cleaner might help loosen the piston? 

[Karmachanic]

Soak it in Rapido-Eze?

[KingsCountyWriter]

On 11/12/2025 at 7:03 AM, Karmachanic said:

Soak it in Rapido-Eze?

What is Rapido-Eze? I don't think there is dried ink in the pen.