Lamy Vista - Not writing smoothly :-(

[scrollpoint]

Hi, newbie here.

 

Some of you may have seen my review of my first fountain pen, a Pilot Vanishing Point (VP).

 

Well, I just got a brand new Lamy Vista, and it's not writing as well as the VP.

 

Before I post a negative review of it, however, can you help me determine if this is due to a faulty pen or if I'm expecting too much of a pen that costs a fourth of the VP's price?

 

Below are two scans of writing samples. The first is of the new Lamy Vista. The other is of my Pilot VP. I've chosen the same passage of text and tried to maintain the same writing speed and style for both samples.

 

Disclaimer: I normally use matched-brand cartridges, as in the case of the VP which contains a Pilot-Namiki cartridge. This time, however, I decided to use a converter for the first time. Hence, the Lamy contains a converter filled with Private Reserve Sherman Green, which the sales representative says should work fine with the pen. Maybe I should I have used a Lamy cartridge first to be on the safe side...

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated. This is my second fountain pen purchase, and I don't want to unfairly criticize a pen and company which has garnered the respect and compliments of long-time enthusiasts on this board.

 

Lamy:

 

Pilot VP for comparison purposes:

Edited June 12, 2008 by scrollpoint

[Zoe]

I don't have a VP Pilot to compare, but I have a few dozen other pens, and JUST got a Vista. I have been impressed with its consistency, and easy flow and have been drawing with it for two days. I am using an "N" nib and it hasn't skipped once.

 

Perhaps it is different with a "B" or something to do with the ink. Thus far I've only used the provided Lamy cartridge.

 

 

 

Hi, newbie here.

 

Some of you may have seen my review of my first fountain pen, a Pilot Vanishing Point (VP).

 

Well, I just got a brand new Lamy Vista, and it's not writing as well as the VP.

 

Before I post a negative review of it, however, can you help me determine if this is due to a faulty pen or if I'm expecting too much of a pen that costs a fourth of the VP's price?

 

Below are two scans of writing samples. The first is of the new Lamy Vista. The other is of my Pilot VP. I've chosen the same passage of text and tried to maintain the same writing speed and style for both samples.

 

Disclaimer: I normally use matched-brand cartridges, as in the case of the VP which contains a Pilot-Namiki cartridge. This time, however, I decided to use a converter for the first time. Hence, the Lamy contains a converter filled with Private Reserve Sherman Green, which the sales representative says should work fine with the pen. Maybe I should I have used a Lamy cartridge first to be on the safe side...

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated. This is my second fountain pen purchase, and I don't want to unfairly criticize a pen and company which has garnered the respect and compliments of long-time enthusiasts on this board.

 

Lamy:

 

Pilot VP for comparison purposes:

 

[Nellie]

There may simply still be some manufacturing oils or the like on the nib or in the feed (or in your converter) if it's new, so flushing out your pen with a glass of water containing two drops of dishwashing liquid might help. I mean, take out the ink (either put it back into the bottle or down the drain - I'd do the first, many people here the latter because they feel that 'used' ink might contaminate the bottle), fill the pen with the water/dishwashing liquid mix repeatedly, rinse it with clear water, let it dry (it helps if you put some tissue/kitchen roll round the nib to soak up the water that'll be in the feed) and refill with your ink. I'm sure the Sherwood Green will work as well as Lamy ink, b.t.w., but you could use an original Lamy cartridge first just to be on the safe side. If that doesn't help I think something is wrong with the pen.

Hope this helps

Nellie

Edited June 12, 2008 by Nellie

[Huy]

It looks like you have a flow problem thats making it not write smoothly. One common solution is to give your pen a flush to wash out oils and other stuff left after manufacturing. Perhaps you can flush your pen and see how it works after.

 

Another problem could be the ink and pen combination that is making it not flow well. Perhaps a different ink will work better in your pen. Not all pens and ink work well together.

[scrollpoint]

Zoe, thanks for the fast response and telling me of your positive experience.

 

Maybe I'll go back to the store this week and speak with the sales staff. Perhaps using a Lamy cartridge might solve my problem.

 

Huy, thanks for the advice. I'll let you know if flushing the pen works. As for ink...do you have a Lamy Vista, and if so, what kind of ink do you use?

 

Update: Nellie, thanks for the detailed advice. I'll let you know what happens.

 

I'm amazed and pleased at the fast responses on this board. What a wonderful community here!

Edited June 12, 2008 by scrollpoint

[Nellie]

As for ink...do you have a Lamy Vista, and if so, what kind of ink do you use?

 

I used to have one and any ink I tried worked in it. Now I have a very similar Lamy pen and Private Reserve ink has worked fine in that too.

[HDoug]

I have both, and both on converters and both wonderful writers. Something is wrong with your Vista. As others suggest, try rinsing/flushing, and that the converter is in tight -- there are little nubs on the converter that hook onto corresponding latches on the pen's cart/converter "port."

 

By the way, nice work on the difficult sentence! The uniformity of the descenders on "syzygy" is the challenge I always fail, but yours are perfect.

 

Doug

[Huy]

Zoe,thanks for the fast response and telling me of your positive experience.

 

Maybe I'll go back to the store this week and speak with the sales staff. Perhaps using a Lamy cartridge might solve my problem.

 

Huy, thanks for the advice. I'll let you know if flushing the pen works. As for ink...do you have a Lamy Vista, and if so, what kind of ink do you use?

 

Update: Nellie. thanks for the detailed advice. I'll let you know what happens.

 

I'm amazed and pleased at the fast responses on this board. What a wonderful community here!

 

I dont have a vista, but I do have a studio which has the same nib. I have used Private reserve, Noodlers and a few others without problems so far. I read that some people add a very small drop of dish washing detergent in the converter to make the ink flow a little better. Let us know how things work out.

[scrollpoint]

Well, I flushed the pen with water and two drops of detergent, dried the nib, then refilled it with ink.

 

Result: not as smooth as I would like, but it's a definite improvement. Thanks, everyone!

 

I've attached a writing sample.

 

I used to have one and any ink I tried worked in it. Now I have a very similar Lamy pen and Private Reserve ink has worked fine in that too.

 

Great! I'll keep writing and flushing the pen to see if things improve.

 

I have both, and both on converters and both wonderful writers. Something is wrong with your Vista. As others suggest, try rinsing/flushing, and that the converter is in tight -- there are little nubs on the converter that hook onto corresponding latches on the pen's cart/converter "port."

 

Huh? [*blank stare*] The store salesperson installed the converter for me, and I didn't get a manual with the pen. What nubs and latches where? I simply yanked the converter straight out, flushed it, then pushed it back straight in. Is the converter keyed to only fit in if rotated to a specific angle? (Like the way the nib of a Pilot Vanishing Point is designed to only fit in a certain way?)

 

By the way, nice work on the difficult sentence! The uniformity of the descenders on "syzygy" is the challenge I always fail, but yours are perfect.

 

Thanks for the compliment! I've been working extra hard on that word since it's the one that drives everyone (including me) crazy trying to write it without going @.@ or

 

Update: [*blinks*] Hey, it's HDoug! I appreciate the advice on rubbing car wax on the VP's upper nib assembly to avoid ink creep. (You weren't the one who told me directly, but kiavonne echoed your advice to me. Thanks anyway!)

 

Huy, I didn't realize that the Vista and Studio share the same nib. Good to know that Private Reserve works in your pen. I'll add a drop of detergent in the converter to see what happens. Thanks!

 

Lamy Writing Sample #2 (After flushing the pen):

Edited June 13, 2008 by scrollpoint

[MYU]

Hmmmm... I just got a Lamy Vista the other day and put the installed Lamy cartridge immediately to use. It's an EF nib... the feed is the same between EF and B, so if there is manufacturing residue inside then it might not show up on the EF nib due to the slower ink flow.

 

I have heard of Safari/Vista/Al-Star nib skipping problems before (they all share the same nib/feed design), almost always resolved with a soaking in ammonia solution. It looks like yours has cleared up a little. I suspect another flushing or two might clear it up completely. Good luck!

[Donald594]

add a small ammount of ammonia to the water. If there is blockage or clog, it should remove it it. Flush at high pressure, and then fill the nib section with the ammonia water solution, and you should see a bigger improvement. My Vista writes very well, and if push comes to shove, get a new nib from http://www.lamyusa.com/vista4.html for 15 usd. Good luck, and you could try writing a sentence on sand paper, that sometimes helps

[Zoe]

All good suggestions, but if I understood correctly you just bought this pen. If it isn't inconvenient to you, I'd bring it back to the shop before I started fiddling too much with it because the shop will claim no warranty if you do too much with it. Just me.

[duna]

Hmm my Al-Star skipped a little after the salesperson exchanged for me the nib (with a nice large B ). I never bothered because the problem was not severe at all. After only one Lamy cartridge (yess the blue one sold with the pen) the problem is gone. Probably a flush with water would have solved as well. Great pen.

Edited June 13, 2008 by duna

[Neill78]

It looks like nearly all of the skips happen on a near vertical downstroke. My guess is that there is something wrong with the nib. You could check to see if the tines are aligned and straighten them by hand if they aren't, but since it's a brand new pen I would take it back to the store, with your writing sample, and either get a new pen or ask them to change the nib for you.

 

I haven't tried a Pilot VP or a Lamy broad nib, but my guess is that the Lamy will not be as smooth a writer. I have several Lamys and except for the 2000 they all give quite a bit of feedback.

 

Good luck,

 

Neill

 

[Goshzilla]

I've sometimes encountered what is normally a good reliable pen be stubborn and hard to write with a day or two later. It was not a fault of the pen, but the ink. I was using a highly saturated bulletproof type ink from Noodler's that did not flow well in dry type pens. It flowed great from the pens I had that were always thick and wet types. So I did a 1:3 mix of tap water to noodler's ink, it removed the problem I had with the poor performance I was having.

[cyn1c]

Scrollpoint,

 

I have several Lamy Al Star pens and have had that problem with at least one of them when it was newer. I flushed it out a few times and kept writing with it. The problem eventually went away (in a short period of time). It may have been some oil in the nib or it may have been that the nib got a paper fiber between the tines as it was breaking in. I never bothered to look at the nib carefully.

 

With any other pen that would have annoyed me, but the Lamy Safari variants are so troublefree and bombproof once you break them in that I would say to stick with it until it starts flowing properly.

Edited June 16, 2008 by cyn1c

[jkenton]

A Lamy Studio (which uses the same nib) I have was doing this.

 

In my case, the nib had a baby bottom, which kept the ink in the nib slit from coming in contact with the paper. I visually verified the problem with a 30x loupe.

 

A few light swipes in writing position across nib smoothing sheets (available from Richardspens.com) was enough to solve my problem.

 

YMMV.

[scrollpoint]

Hi everyone. A quick update:

 

Took my Lamy Vista to the store. The person behind the counter took a look at it and said, "It's damaged."

 

I called Lamy Customer Service and was told to send the entire pen with the nib to them.

 

My pen is on the way to Wilton, Connecticut. I hope I'll get it back soon. I miss it already.

 

On the flip side of the coin, my Pilot Vanishing Point is getting a lot more attention.

 

Many thanks to all of you who replied.

Edited June 19, 2008 by scrollpoint