Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen Review

There are few pens that match the iconic design of the Lamy 2000. That's a bold statement, but this is a pen that's included in the Museum of Modern Art.

It's not uncommon to hear negative thoughts on the 2000 because of it's finicky nib. It seems Lamy have a quality control issue with this model, because it happens far too often. Yes, I'm starting this off with the negative aspect first because I want to get it out of the way.

Full disclaimer: the Lamy 2000 that I bought had a problematic nib out of the box. It wrote, but it wasn't smooth and it wasn't enjoyable. It caused anxiety and frustration more often than good feelings. With a pen that looks so awesome (and cost this much), you expect it to write with 100% consistency.

I bought my 2000 before the 2014 Atlanta Pen Show. I did this on purpose so that I could bring it along in case it had a bum nib. I'm glad I made that choice, because it did have a bum nib, and I was able to have Mike Masuyama fix it for me. If I didn't end up going to the show, I would've sent it off to a nib meister shortly after receiving it.

I love my Lamy 2000, and I think it's a great pen. But, if you buy one, it might be wise to set aside a little bit of money for nib work – just in case. That's my advice, but I really hope that the pen you buy is perfect right out of the box.

Now, on to the good stuff about this pen.

Looks

Not to be superficial, but I kind of think other pens are jealous of how hot this pen is. I know that's just personal preference, but I'm smitten.

The Lamy 2000 is unique. There isn't another pen like it in design. It's sleek, modern, and welcoming at the same time. It looks like a pen meant to write, but classy at the same time. It works with casual and dress clothes splendidly. It always gets comments out in the wild.

One of my favorite aspects of the pen is the grip and nib section. The nib is hooded, and looks very small since most of it is hidden beneath the metal grip. Now, I'm no expert in metals, but I think the grip is stainless steel. Whatever it is, it feels fantastic to hold.

The body is made of Makrolon, a form of fiberglass. It looks unique, but it also feels unique. It's a subtle difference, but I always notice it. After you write for a while, the body warms up as it rests on your hand. When writing, my fingers rest on the stainless steel grip and the body rests on my hand. I've written with this pen over numerous long writing sessions, and it never got uncomfortable. It's a great material, and well-balanced in the hand.

I normally write with this pen unposted, but it also feels well-balanced when posted.

The pen is a piston filler, and the piston section is so flush with the rest of the pen body, that it's often easy to miss. I love this aspect of the design. It makes the pen look like a solid, single piece.

Another fascinating design feature is the ink window. Toward the grip section of the barrel, some of the Makrolon is thin enough to let light through so you can see (roughly) how much ink is left. This is nothing similar to a demonstrator body – it's in no way completely transparent, but it does allow you to keep an eye on your ink level. It's a great feature.

Writing

Ah, the writing. At the start, the nib was inconsistent with ink flow, and it tended to stick to the page a bit. It's hard to describe, but it was dry and seems to be held to the page with some sort of really mild adhesive. Despite cleaning the pen numerous times, this didn't go away. I took it to Mike Masuyama in April, and he smoothed it out and increased the flow. Now it writes like a dream.

This is my first gold Lamy nib, and it's not dramatically different from the steel nibs, but I do notice it every now and then. There's more give in the gold nib compared to a steel nib.

Even after being adjusted, the nib still requires a fairly strict angle of attack on the page. I've grown used to this unique aspect of the pen, and after a few sentences, I don't even have to think about it.

As I said earlier, I love writing with this pen, and that's really all that matters. I'm really happy with the work Mike did on the nib, and I hope that everyone who owns or purchases one of these little beauties has a good nib to begin with or a good nib meister that can help.

Overall, I recommend the Lamy 2000. I've heard that some vendors will check the nib before they ship the pen to you – if you ask them to. Sure, you might get a bum nib, and I don't think that's right considering the price tag. That considered, a well-writing Lamy 2000 is a glorious thing. I think it's worth the risk.

I personally bought a fine nib model, but they have extra fine, medium, and bold as well. I'm tempted to have Mike put a cursive italic on it next time, but we'll see.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)

Pilot Vanishing Point Gun Metal Black Matte Fountain Pen Review

I didn't need another Pilot Vanishing Point. I already had two: the famed Black Matte, which became one of the "pens who shall not be named" on the podcast, and a retro Black Faceted model, which is a mainstay of my collection. So why did I NEED this new Gun Metal Black Matte Vanishing Point? I rarely need any new pen, but this one I had to have.

It took a while for me to get on the Gun Metal bandwagon. I wasn't sure of the color scheme at first, but after seeing multiple pictures of it and checking it out in person I went for it. The barrel is slightly different than the full black matte version, with the grey area being smooth as opposed to a satiny matte feel, which is reserved for the tip, clip, middle band, and knock. It's quite a stunning look, especially in person.

It also sports one of the recently introduced black nib units, which I am in love with. I went for the EF nib, which is ridiculously small, even for me. I never recommend this size to anyone but I love it. Paired with a well lubricated ink like Sailor Nano Black, this nib writes wonderfully smooth and consistent. But boy is it fine. You really need to manage your writing angle with this one to make sure you are hitting the sweet spot.

Many people have asked what fountain pen best compares to the Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.3 mm/0.4 mm gel ink pens. Pilot's EF nibs, as found in the Penmanship (which can be swapped into the Metropolitan or Prera) and the Vanishing Point, are the closest I have found. Looking at the writing sample in my Field Notes it is closest to the 0.28 mm Uni-ball Signo DX and 0.3 mm Hi-Tec-C, so that seems like a good range. Ink and paper will cause this to vary of course.

But back to this whole idea of needing this pen. Although yes, I got this pen for free as part of my JetPens sponsorship, I still couldn't justify it without selling one of my current Vanishing Points. I didn't see myself actively using two similar pens, so my trusty black matte VP, one of my first big fountain pen purchases, has found a new home. More than any other fountain pen I own, the Vanishing Point is made to be used, anywhere and everywhere. That is this pens job, so having one sitting around collecting dust would be doing it a disservice.

My friend Mel found the words I was struggling to find about my Field Notes Butcher Orange, and it applies here too: "By using it, it is now truly yours and you've fulfilled its purpose." Words to live by.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Esterbrook SJ Fountain Pen Review

The Esterbrook SJ is the second of the two Esterbrooks I bought at the 2014 Atlanta Pen Show back in April. The first was an Esterbrook Dollar Pen, which I talked about back in May. Like I said then, Esterbrooks weren't on my list when I went to the show, but they snagged me while I was there, and now I'm pretty sure I've caught the bug.

Quick recap

Both of these pens were purchased from Carl Daniel, which I heartily recommend. Carl was friendly, helpful, and taught me a lot about these pens in the few minutes we spoke. He had dozens of Esterbrooks on display at his table, and it took me two or three passes to decide which ones I wanted. More accurately, it started off as picking one pen, but I failed at that goal and ended up deciding on two.

The SJ was the second pen that I picked up from Carl. I had already nabbed the Dollar Pen and spent several minutes looking at and handling the SJ models he had. For some reason, I enjoyed the size and weight of the SJ models compared to the regular J models. After that, I just had to narrow down the color. In the running was a blue, copper, and red model. I ended up going with the red because it caught my attention more out of the bunch. Today, I'm still extremely satisfied with my choice of color, but I'll definitely be expanding my collection to include other nice colors.

The pen

This particular pen came with a 1554 nib installed, which is a really fine nib originally meant for accounting work. With a regular grip and pressure, the line is very similar to a Japanese fine. I guess they designed the fine line to write in those tiny ledger lines. At any rate, it's a great nib considering how old it is. It isn't a new-from-stock nib like my other one, and it's also seen better days. It appears to have some damage to the point, but nothing that causes any performance problems. It's just a bit scratchy on some papers, which is normal anyway given the super-fine point.

Since it's such a fine nib, I don't use it nearly as much as my Dollar Pen. I prefer a smoother, larger nib when doing general writing, so I typically reserve this pen for more detailed stuff. With that said, I really want to find a new nib for the SJ because I want to use it more. Since the nibs are easily swapped, I can find something that suits my writing style and add this pen to the daily rotation.

With any Esterbrook, it can be difficult to pin-point an exact year of production, but this SJ was probably made somewhere between 1948 and the late '50s. Either way, it's doing a remarkable job of staying relevant and delightful. It still blows my mind that a pen this old can still be such an excellent writing instrument.

Size

The SJ is longer and slimmer than the Dollar Pen. The only other fountain pen that has a comparable width is the Hero 529, which the Esterbrook blows out of the water. Personally, I love the form factor. There are times when writing that I wonder if the larger cousin, the J, would fit my hands better, but I can't get over how sleek and modern the SJ design is.

The SJ is just a bit taller than the Dollar Pen, which means it's a small pen. Once posted, both pens are almost identical in overall length. They both feel spectacular in-hand.

Filling mechanism

Like the Dollar Pen, the SJ has a lever filling mechanism. It works just as well as the Dollar Pen, if not a bit better since the lever has more of a grip to it. The SJ lever has a semi-circle shape at the end, while the Dollar Pen has a flat, short grip. My clumsy fingers can operate the SJ lever much easier.

Again, it doesn't hold much ink, but that's not a big deal. At any rate, it's fun to fill and is hassle- and mess-free.

Writing

I've touched on it a bit already, but I'll go into some more detail about the writing experience with this pen and nib.

The nib is super-fine, and makes a crisp, sharp line. I currently have it inked with Iroshizuku kon-peki, which works flawlessly on all the paper I own. I've never had problems with it being clogged, skipping, or drying after a few minutes of uncapped rest. The ink does tend to become extremely saturated and thick if left for more than a week in the pen. That being the case, it gets cleaned pretty often.

Apart from being scratchy, the nib does a beautiful job. It's firm and dependable. From the naked eye, it looks like the point has a small slant to it. This creates an italic effect on some papers. It probably wasn't designed this way, but I love it.

This is a great pen, but I don't use it as much as I would like because of the nib. Super-fine nibs are useful in certain situations (for me), but I prefer something like a fine or medium for most writing. If I can find one, I'd love to swap the nib out for an Esterbrook stub nib of some kind. I hear those are really difficult to acquire, but I'll keep my eyes open for one.

Overall

The SJ is a fantastic pen, and I'm so pleased that I bought it back in April. I went from knowing nearly nothing about Esterbrooks to becoming a fan of the brand and learning everything I can about them. It's so interesting to show people these pens and hear them talk about how they remember one that their parents used or that they personally used when they were young. These pens are a legacy, and it's really awesome to own and use a part of history. And, at the end of the day, it's still just a pen, and it does that job remarkably well.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)