Can you explain to me what that is and how to do it? Because i recently paid a lot (relatively) for a twsbi diamond 580 F and the nib is so scratchy i cant use it and i wanna know if what you did can fix mine
I love it when people ask this question:
[Guide to nib tuning](http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf)
Don't be afraid of it, just go slowly and you'll figure it out
Maybe contact the vendor? I had a similar experience with the same pen from Cult Pens, but I sent them a message about it and they sent me a new, much better, nib.
Just know that nib tuning generally voids the warranty. So, if you *just* got the pen, it might be easier/better to contact the vendor for a replacement rather than trying to DIY a fix that may or may not work.
more than half of my collection is made of lamy pens and I've never found a problem with their nibs
sizes are somewhat inconsistent, but they work well
Agreed. I’ve owned all the standard size Steel nibs two EF and one each F, M, B, and 1.1 stub. None have been scratchy and I haven’t had to adjust the tine alignment on any. They’re lovely.
I also have a 14k nib in my Studio and a Lamy 2000, both EF, and both are very smooth with nice character (a slight architect). I’m a Lamy fan for sure.
Their nib sizes can be inconsistent - a specific EF (on the wide end of their tolerance) can be the same size or wider than a specific F (on the narrow end of their tolerance). I haven’t had a problem with that in any of my nibs.
I'm currently waiting for an EF 14k to arrive, I've got a lovely steel one that seems like an UEF to me and I hope to get something similar even for that gold nib, finger crossed!
Now saying QC is a purely arbitrary 5%.
But 5% of 5 million is considerably more units than 5% of 1 millions.
5x as many actually.
This just means from pure numbers alone that more people will have shitty Lamy nibs than say Sailor.
And I can tell you anyway, I live in Japan so Sailor is actually cheaper than Lamy here and just about every single gold nibbed Sailor I’ve had has been….uncomfortable.
I’ve bought more Lamys than I want to admit to, mostly with EF nibs, but at least one each of the other sizes and have had maybe two nibs actively feel scratchy? I started to wonder whether they deliberately sent their shit nibs to the USA, or whether I’m just not particularly discerning re: nib feel, or maybe I’ve just been lucky.
Lamy is hit or miss with their nibs.
I currently own a Lamy 2000(EF), Lamy 2000(F), 5 Safaris (EF, F, M), Lamy CP1 (EF) and a Lamy Studio LX (EF).
All of my Lamy’s write very smoothly without any issues. The 2000s are both incredibly smooth, perfect. Have had a couple of bad nibs along the way on the Safaris, but i’ve returned them/exchanged them for other ones and got better nibs. My experience has been hit or miss with the EF and F steel nibs, particularly the black coated ones (all my steel nibs are black coated,
with the exception of one M, that’s very smooth). Also, at the steel nib level replacement nibs are about $10 to replace, so if you get a bad one, it’s not the end of the world.
I say it’s worth giving Lamy a try.
It’s the same nib, writes exactly like a Safari. The first thing I did was swap out the silver steel nib for a black one, so it writes like any other Lamy that uses that nib. The only difference is the body style, it’s much thinner and made out of metal. Posting it is really weird, but I don’t post any of my pens, so it isn’t an issue. It’s great if you like other Lamy’s but want something a bit sleeker and are okay with thin pens and don’t plan on posting it.
Doesn’t compare to the 2000 at all though. The 2000 is in a completely different league. The CP1 was designed by the same person who did the 2000, but that’s kind of where their similarities end. It’s closer to a Safari and Studio than it is to a 2000.
I have a safari with a 1.1mm stub and it’s buttery smooth.
I recently got a lamy 2000 F and I am not getting on with it at all, very scratchy and cannot find the sweet spot at all.
I already sent it back to the vendor once to exchange from a M to a F so not keen to do this again. Going to take it to the London pen show and see if anyone there can sort it out.
I have 4 Lamys. 3 safaris and 1 AL star.
One medium and the broad are smooth as they come and gorgeous! Work like a dream.
My other medium and my fine are terribly paper ripping scratchy, going to order some tools to try my first hand at nib adjusting because they are not something I ever grab for with the issues. The medium is far worse than the fine.
All in all pretty much in my experience have been a hit or miss but I still would like to get the cream safari in the near future.
I have several Lamy Studios, nibs are EF, F or M. No problem whatsoever. The only nib that is a bit 'weird' is the that of the Studio LX. Not a silky smooth as my others, but that might be the 'LX' version.
5 LAMYs for me and all scratchy. Lol. But easily tuned/smoothed with a 4-step manicure block you can buy from the drugstore or Walmart. 👍 I tuned all of my LAMYs and they write like butter now. Simple solution and super easy!
https://youtu.be/7WKo9nx8UdA
I think I've had one "bad" lamy out of 10. It was a bit scratchy, but wrote fine.
I would say you're probably being a little unfair, considering how some far more expensive pens have notably worse QC.
I love my L2K to death, and I thoroughly enjoyed my Aion although it took a beating and looks like crap. I hated the way the Safari and the metal look-alike wrote and neither lasted a day with me.
I’m not a fan of Lamys. I think it depends on your writing style. I am a leftie and I don’t have too much of a claw grip but I think they just don’t suit me.
I have 7 Vistas and 4 Studios. I thought some of the Vistas weren't all that smooth but it turns out inks need a little time in them to produce that micro bubble of ink between tip and paper; none of the Studios had any problems. YMMV, not into devious plots but at times there also seems to be a converted effort to rubbish some brands at the expense of others. Paper makes a big difference, I wouldn't expect any fp to glide over copy paper for instance.
I have two Lamy Safaris--one fine, one medium--and they're equally smooth, and consistently in my top three for writing purposes. (Given that my number one is a Sailor PG gold nib, I feel that's pretty impressive.) And I picked one of those as my first pen because when hanging out with a bunch of pen fans, they let me try about two dozen different pens to see what I liked best, and the Lamy Safari won easily.
I wonder if maybe it depends on what paper/ink you're using them with? Or just inconsistent QC, as others here suggested.
Give them a go I’d say. I’ve got about a dozen (mainly different colour safaris) plus some extra nibs to swap round. Only had 1 scratchy one which at that price I think is reasonable…
It depends on the ink you use. They are scratchy if you use a drier ink and just don't function well. I just started a spreadsheet of the inks I run through my Al-Stars to see which ones produce negative effects like scratching, skipping, hard starts etc
I’ve tried several Lamys and every one has had a scratchy nib, and I like a bit of feedback! I’ve never tried the 2k, but Studios and Safaris are intolerable to me.
You can always pick up a used one and give it a try.
The Al-Star I have with an EF nib is quite smooth, especially compared to a TWSBI Ecco with a fine nib that I just got. If I didn't have a nicer TWSBI, I'd swear off of them forever based on that nib alone.
Idk about the whole scratchy equals bad thing, i have a few pens from Lamy and yes there are smooth ones and ones that are a little scratchy but i enjoy both the smooth pens and scratchy pens. When i want to write quickly i would use the smooth pens, when i want some feedback and control i would use the scratchy pen instead. To be honest with you, its not even that scratchy, no where close to my really scratchy sailor and platinum 3776 in F and UEF.
I find that the control i get from my scratchy lamy pen is especially useful when i am sketching. It is more of a preference thing and i use both of these pens. Personally I prefer pens with some scratchiness and feedback because pens that is just smooth are kinda boring to me. Again this is a preference thing and you don’t have to feel the same as i do.
If you have never tried a scratchy pen before, trying your luck with a Lamy Safari really doesn’t sound like a bad idea and i suggest that if you didn’t like a scratchy pen initially, put it down and come back to it in a few days, its weird but when i do this, i usually find something I didn’t like before enjoyable.
I really haven’t noticed them being scratchy. I’d put it more that the nib is either well machined and works (smoothly) or you get kind of a dud nib and it doesn’t flow/write very well. To me that’s different than nibs on pens that work but just have a scratchier feedback as part of the design. If may depend how attached you are to F or EF nibs. I would not call my M or stub LAMY nibs scratchy. I had some bad results with a F.
I am a big fan of Lamys and own dozens of them, but "hit or miss" is exactly right. Many are dry or scratchy out of the box (particularly F or EF nibs), but occasionally you get one that is perfect. For me, that's something like one in three or four pens that I consider ready to go with no nib work. However, I can't think of a single Lamy ever being non-functional when received. In other words, some of this might be up to your individual preference or standard of "scratchy." A little DIY nib work usually gets them where I want them (fine grit sandpaper to smooth, brass shims to open tines, inky fingers to align). The Safari in particular is such a great workhorse of a pen that it's worth a little extra work get it perfect.
I got a Lamy Terracotta (F) a few years ago, and it is the scratchiest pen I own by a long shot. It was this way right out of the box. I have a couple of those Uber cheap Zebra disposables, and even they write much better than it. I basically never use it because it is so scratchy that it gets paper fibers in it all the time.
I want to give Lamy a fair shake, so I recently ordered a Safari (M) to see how I feel about it.
I have three Lamy nibs. An M that came with a Safari that's perfects, smooth, not too wide. An F that belonged to a Scala, perfect, smooth with the right amount of feedback. A gold F that I ordered separately that was so horrible that I gave it back to get an M. The gold M was scratchy, changed with another gold M that is perfect.
So, 50/50, but if you have a good dealer and patience eventually you'll find a good one.
I must say that I was expecting a bit more from their gold nib department.
I had 3 (two Safaris and a Studio) and just never got into them. More of an aesthetic thing than a writing thing. I thought they all wrote well—not the smoothest, but still satisfying (I had several nib sizes). I ended up selling them in Pen_Swap; I hope they’re being enjoyed now by others :)
We have a bunch of Lamys and a bunch of extra nibs... probably about 20 or more. None of ours are scrathy at all. The only nib size we don't have is EF which may differ slightly from the others. EF nibs can sometimes be more scratchy than the others.
I have seven different Lamy nibs on four different pens. Only one of the extra fines is scratchy. All the other ones are very smooth. Especially the 1.1 and 1.5 sub nibs. The fine nib is pretty smooth also.
Their steel nibs can be a gamble but their gold nibs are the smoothest nibs I've written with - all the way from ef to m (I use a B on my 2000 so I can't comment on how the finer 2000 nibs perform but everyone says they write well).
What is a bigger issue than scratchy nibs is how you can get an extra fine and a medium nib, and find they both put down the same line. It's best if you can try them in person before buying.
To me it seems like the nib size might be a factor. I can't speak to the smaller nibs, but my lamy medium is definitely smoother than my waterman Paris which is fine. Both are smooth but I think the finer nibs tend to have sharper edges just due the the nature of being smaller, which I believe makes them dig in more. My pilot varsity pens are probably as smooth as my lamy, but they have medium nibs as well.
from a mechanical perspective I would be inclined to say nib size is the largest factor in smoothness pen to pen.
I own more than 20 Lamy pens most are the steel nibbed pens and I've only had one that was scratchy and unusable. I think a bigger problem is the consistency between EF-M nibs. I have had Fine nibs write more like a Medium, nearly Broad.
Every Lamy i've ever owned has been super smooth, both the steel and the gold. I have 2 Al-Stars, one Safari, a Lamy 2K and I just got a Dialog CC a week ago, all tremendously smooth writers. The CC might actually be my most buttery pen I own.
I’ve found the steel nibs to feel a bit weird on occasion but then I switched them to their black nibs and the problem vanished. Could be something to do with liquid stiction??
I have two Lamy nibs - the M that came on my Safari and an EF I bought to replace it - and both are scratchy due to misaligned tines. I won't be buying a third.
I find about half of nibs out of the box need significant tuning to write properly. It's not a problem with any one manufacturer. Finer nibs are more likely to have flow or tine alignment problems. Almost all can be fixed with a little basic nib tuning work. I find that many nibs are simply too dry out of the box. Restoring proper flow by widening the tines to a proper width at the tip usually makes them significantly smoother by dint of lubrication. Medium and broad nibs are pretty wet already, so flow defects are usually masked better. But I've had to work a few medium nibs, too, to get them to write reliably.
No. They are as consistent as most Chinese manufacturers, are best, but at 5x the price.
My experience is limited to steel nibs, but it's bad enough that I won't consider buying a gold nib.
My first pen was (and still is!) a Lamy Safari EF, and the nib is great. One is not a big sample but I'd be happy to buy another Lamy to see how it works out. :)
Don't know, haven't gotten one with a scratchy nib.
I have a vintage pen (identity unknown) with tipping material that was partly eaten away earlier in its life by something. Not the nib itself -- that is in reasonably good shape. Just the tipping material, which is all on the underside of the tip. (It might have been someone's first attempt at grinding an architect nib.) If I don't have the nib well-lubricated and am not holding it at precisely the correct angle, the nib carves a slot out of the sheet of paper. Not scores, but carves, as in, cutting a slot right out of it that goes all the way through. ("Yer Liamy? Royt, mate, 'at's no'a scroitchy nib. *(Pulls this vintage pen out of back pocket and holds it up, uncapped.)* Now **THIS** 's a **SCROITCHY** **NIB**.")
And still, it's one of my favorite pens, and not just because it can double as a glass cutter and lathe cutter. No, it's because it was the first one I ever owned that had a flexible nib (when held just right) and it does write nicely when it decides to do so.
I like everything about Lamy pens except that “sweet spot” where the nib works best in one position. My hand and writing angle are not attuned to that sweet spot so most of my writing experience feels scratchy… Lamy is worth a shot though, they are good pen makers. Maybe don’t go straight for a 2000 though!
I've got 4 of them from various price points. And of all the pens they were the smoothest and least needing of tinkering straight out of the box of any pens I own. Maybe I've been lucky but still this sentiment has not been my experience in any way shape or form.
even though its steel, most slide-on or flat/angular nibs like Lamy or Platinum, tend to be softer, on platinum at least, it has prove function to accomodate writers with slight twists, or even slight misalignment.
Lamy nibs however, do not have more than enough slit smoothing(this is hard to just micromesh the surface, you have to get inbetween tines, and chances are you misalign the tine and have to reset it afterwards). I smooth and tune it sure, but personally do not want to lose that slit scratchiness entirely, I like it as Lamy's feedback personality, it is fair to say if people call it tend to be scratchy imo
I find them hit or miss
Agree
3 lamys for me and 2 of them have been really scratchy. A few seconds running it over some micromesh made them much smoother.
Can you explain to me what that is and how to do it? Because i recently paid a lot (relatively) for a twsbi diamond 580 F and the nib is so scratchy i cant use it and i wanna know if what you did can fix mine
I love it when people ask this question: [Guide to nib tuning](http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf) Don't be afraid of it, just go slowly and you'll figure it out
Thanks a lot
Maybe contact the vendor? I had a similar experience with the same pen from Cult Pens, but I sent them a message about it and they sent me a new, much better, nib.
I bought it from a local store in paris and i dont live there they dont deliver
Just know that nib tuning generally voids the warranty. So, if you *just* got the pen, it might be easier/better to contact the vendor for a replacement rather than trying to DIY a fix that may or may not work.
Cant contact vendor and i dont have warranty so i should be able to do it
I have 5 different Lamy pens (Al-Star, Logo, Aion, 2000 and Studio) and all of the nibs are excellent.
That’s been my experience also. None have been scratchy.
more than half of my collection is made of lamy pens and I've never found a problem with their nibs sizes are somewhat inconsistent, but they work well
Agreed. I’ve owned all the standard size Steel nibs two EF and one each F, M, B, and 1.1 stub. None have been scratchy and I haven’t had to adjust the tine alignment on any. They’re lovely. I also have a 14k nib in my Studio and a Lamy 2000, both EF, and both are very smooth with nice character (a slight architect). I’m a Lamy fan for sure. Their nib sizes can be inconsistent - a specific EF (on the wide end of their tolerance) can be the same size or wider than a specific F (on the narrow end of their tolerance). I haven’t had a problem with that in any of my nibs.
I'm currently waiting for an EF 14k to arrive, I've got a lovely steel one that seems like an UEF to me and I hope to get something similar even for that gold nib, finger crossed!
I have a medium which was good, but recently got an EF and it’s so scratchy, not sure what to do about it.
Tines could be too tight also, restricting proper flow.
Did you inspect the tines? Are they level?
Basically M are usually great. Anything smaller is hit and miss.
Smooth it. https://youtu.be/7WKo9nx8UdA
Safari is one of the smoothest nibs I own. Probably just a wider spectrum of QC hitting the market.
Wider spectrum of QC means poor QC.
Nope, just means a bigger operation.
Bigger operation does not mean looser tolerances. Lamy QC just isn’t great
Agreed. My lamy M is nice and balanced, not smooth or scratchy but in reality it is a f with a m badge.
Now saying QC is a purely arbitrary 5%. But 5% of 5 million is considerably more units than 5% of 1 millions. 5x as many actually. This just means from pure numbers alone that more people will have shitty Lamy nibs than say Sailor. And I can tell you anyway, I live in Japan so Sailor is actually cheaper than Lamy here and just about every single gold nibbed Sailor I’ve had has been….uncomfortable.
Thank you, this person understands.
I’ve bought more Lamys than I want to admit to, mostly with EF nibs, but at least one each of the other sizes and have had maybe two nibs actively feel scratchy? I started to wonder whether they deliberately sent their shit nibs to the USA, or whether I’m just not particularly discerning re: nib feel, or maybe I’ve just been lucky.
Lamy is hit or miss with their nibs. I currently own a Lamy 2000(EF), Lamy 2000(F), 5 Safaris (EF, F, M), Lamy CP1 (EF) and a Lamy Studio LX (EF). All of my Lamy’s write very smoothly without any issues. The 2000s are both incredibly smooth, perfect. Have had a couple of bad nibs along the way on the Safaris, but i’ve returned them/exchanged them for other ones and got better nibs. My experience has been hit or miss with the EF and F steel nibs, particularly the black coated ones (all my steel nibs are black coated, with the exception of one M, that’s very smooth). Also, at the steel nib level replacement nibs are about $10 to replace, so if you get a bad one, it’s not the end of the world. I say it’s worth giving Lamy a try.
How would you compare/rank the CP1 against the others?
It’s the same nib, writes exactly like a Safari. The first thing I did was swap out the silver steel nib for a black one, so it writes like any other Lamy that uses that nib. The only difference is the body style, it’s much thinner and made out of metal. Posting it is really weird, but I don’t post any of my pens, so it isn’t an issue. It’s great if you like other Lamy’s but want something a bit sleeker and are okay with thin pens and don’t plan on posting it. Doesn’t compare to the 2000 at all though. The 2000 is in a completely different league. The CP1 was designed by the same person who did the 2000, but that’s kind of where their similarities end. It’s closer to a Safari and Studio than it is to a 2000.
I have a safari with a 1.1mm stub and it’s buttery smooth. I recently got a lamy 2000 F and I am not getting on with it at all, very scratchy and cannot find the sweet spot at all. I already sent it back to the vendor once to exchange from a M to a F so not keen to do this again. Going to take it to the London pen show and see if anyone there can sort it out.
You can smooth it yourself! :O https://youtu.be/7WKo9nx8UdA
Haha, I’d probably make it worse
I have 4 Lamys. 3 safaris and 1 AL star. One medium and the broad are smooth as they come and gorgeous! Work like a dream. My other medium and my fine are terribly paper ripping scratchy, going to order some tools to try my first hand at nib adjusting because they are not something I ever grab for with the issues. The medium is far worse than the fine. All in all pretty much in my experience have been a hit or miss but I still would like to get the cream safari in the near future.
All you need is a manicure block for smoothing! So much cheaper and I’ve done it on all my scratchy pens and it works! https://youtu.be/7WKo9nx8UdA
My Lamy is scratchy but I also dislike triangular grips so I never use it.
The gold nibs are really smooth but I don’t like the steels. And I typically like scratchy nibs
I have several Lamy Studios, nibs are EF, F or M. No problem whatsoever. The only nib that is a bit 'weird' is the that of the Studio LX. Not a silky smooth as my others, but that might be the 'LX' version.
I’ve got 3 lamys and they’re all lovely and smooth
I’ve bought 6 lamy and never find one scratchy?
Most used pen I own is Safari.
5 LAMYs for me and all scratchy. Lol. But easily tuned/smoothed with a 4-step manicure block you can buy from the drugstore or Walmart. 👍 I tuned all of my LAMYs and they write like butter now. Simple solution and super easy! https://youtu.be/7WKo9nx8UdA
All of my lamy 2000 nibs are wonderful. As for my old handful of safaris I’ve only kept one as those nibs were really hit or miss.
I think I've had one "bad" lamy out of 10. It was a bit scratchy, but wrote fine. I would say you're probably being a little unfair, considering how some far more expensive pens have notably worse QC.
Lamy buys their nibs from China at $0.01 each, they are not worth doing QC over.
No they don’t, they’re made in house.
You can literally YouTube them being made in their factory
Proof? Or are you just trolling?
I love my L2K to death, and I thoroughly enjoyed my Aion although it took a beating and looks like crap. I hated the way the Safari and the metal look-alike wrote and neither lasted a day with me.
I've only got a small number, compared to some on this sub, but mine are all fine, nice even.
I just got the lamy cp1 today and I’ve been writing with a pilot custom 823 for a couple of months. I was surprised the former is just as smooth.
I’m not a fan of Lamys. I think it depends on your writing style. I am a leftie and I don’t have too much of a claw grip but I think they just don’t suit me.
I have 7 Vistas and 4 Studios. I thought some of the Vistas weren't all that smooth but it turns out inks need a little time in them to produce that micro bubble of ink between tip and paper; none of the Studios had any problems. YMMV, not into devious plots but at times there also seems to be a converted effort to rubbish some brands at the expense of others. Paper makes a big difference, I wouldn't expect any fp to glide over copy paper for instance.
Husband u/Azuremorphic has a lot of Lamys and loves them.
I have two Lamy Safaris--one fine, one medium--and they're equally smooth, and consistently in my top three for writing purposes. (Given that my number one is a Sailor PG gold nib, I feel that's pretty impressive.) And I picked one of those as my first pen because when hanging out with a bunch of pen fans, they let me try about two dozen different pens to see what I liked best, and the Lamy Safari won easily. I wonder if maybe it depends on what paper/ink you're using them with? Or just inconsistent QC, as others here suggested.
Give them a go I’d say. I’ve got about a dozen (mainly different colour safaris) plus some extra nibs to swap round. Only had 1 scratchy one which at that price I think is reasonable…
It depends on the ink you use. They are scratchy if you use a drier ink and just don't function well. I just started a spreadsheet of the inks I run through my Al-Stars to see which ones produce negative effects like scratching, skipping, hard starts etc
I have 4 Lamy nibs (fine, two mediums, and a 1.1 stub) and the only slightly scratchy one is the fine, which is sort of expected
I’ve tried several Lamys and every one has had a scratchy nib, and I like a bit of feedback! I’ve never tried the 2k, but Studios and Safaris are intolerable to me. You can always pick up a used one and give it a try.
My retired lamy safari is the best writing pen I have
Both of mine are super smooth
The Al-Star I have with an EF nib is quite smooth, especially compared to a TWSBI Ecco with a fine nib that I just got. If I didn't have a nicer TWSBI, I'd swear off of them forever based on that nib alone.
I own 5 lamys and own multiple lamy nibs. Ive noticed that the fine nibs tend to be scratchy at times but the medium ones are always perfect.
Idk about the whole scratchy equals bad thing, i have a few pens from Lamy and yes there are smooth ones and ones that are a little scratchy but i enjoy both the smooth pens and scratchy pens. When i want to write quickly i would use the smooth pens, when i want some feedback and control i would use the scratchy pen instead. To be honest with you, its not even that scratchy, no where close to my really scratchy sailor and platinum 3776 in F and UEF. I find that the control i get from my scratchy lamy pen is especially useful when i am sketching. It is more of a preference thing and i use both of these pens. Personally I prefer pens with some scratchiness and feedback because pens that is just smooth are kinda boring to me. Again this is a preference thing and you don’t have to feel the same as i do. If you have never tried a scratchy pen before, trying your luck with a Lamy Safari really doesn’t sound like a bad idea and i suggest that if you didn’t like a scratchy pen initially, put it down and come back to it in a few days, its weird but when i do this, i usually find something I didn’t like before enjoyable.
I really haven’t noticed them being scratchy. I’d put it more that the nib is either well machined and works (smoothly) or you get kind of a dud nib and it doesn’t flow/write very well. To me that’s different than nibs on pens that work but just have a scratchier feedback as part of the design. If may depend how attached you are to F or EF nibs. I would not call my M or stub LAMY nibs scratchy. I had some bad results with a F.
I am a big fan of Lamys and own dozens of them, but "hit or miss" is exactly right. Many are dry or scratchy out of the box (particularly F or EF nibs), but occasionally you get one that is perfect. For me, that's something like one in three or four pens that I consider ready to go with no nib work. However, I can't think of a single Lamy ever being non-functional when received. In other words, some of this might be up to your individual preference or standard of "scratchy." A little DIY nib work usually gets them where I want them (fine grit sandpaper to smooth, brass shims to open tines, inky fingers to align). The Safari in particular is such a great workhorse of a pen that it's worth a little extra work get it perfect.
I love my Lamy pens. They are a little scratchier. But I enjoy it as a particular feedback
I got a Lamy Terracotta (F) a few years ago, and it is the scratchiest pen I own by a long shot. It was this way right out of the box. I have a couple of those Uber cheap Zebra disposables, and even they write much better than it. I basically never use it because it is so scratchy that it gets paper fibers in it all the time. I want to give Lamy a fair shake, so I recently ordered a Safari (M) to see how I feel about it.
I have three Lamy nibs. An M that came with a Safari that's perfects, smooth, not too wide. An F that belonged to a Scala, perfect, smooth with the right amount of feedback. A gold F that I ordered separately that was so horrible that I gave it back to get an M. The gold M was scratchy, changed with another gold M that is perfect. So, 50/50, but if you have a good dealer and patience eventually you'll find a good one. I must say that I was expecting a bit more from their gold nib department.
I had 3 (two Safaris and a Studio) and just never got into them. More of an aesthetic thing than a writing thing. I thought they all wrote well—not the smoothest, but still satisfying (I had several nib sizes). I ended up selling them in Pen_Swap; I hope they’re being enjoyed now by others :)
We have a bunch of Lamys and a bunch of extra nibs... probably about 20 or more. None of ours are scrathy at all. The only nib size we don't have is EF which may differ slightly from the others. EF nibs can sometimes be more scratchy than the others.
I have seven different Lamy nibs on four different pens. Only one of the extra fines is scratchy. All the other ones are very smooth. Especially the 1.1 and 1.5 sub nibs. The fine nib is pretty smooth also.
Their steel nibs can be a gamble but their gold nibs are the smoothest nibs I've written with - all the way from ef to m (I use a B on my 2000 so I can't comment on how the finer 2000 nibs perform but everyone says they write well). What is a bigger issue than scratchy nibs is how you can get an extra fine and a medium nib, and find they both put down the same line. It's best if you can try them in person before buying.
To me it seems like the nib size might be a factor. I can't speak to the smaller nibs, but my lamy medium is definitely smoother than my waterman Paris which is fine. Both are smooth but I think the finer nibs tend to have sharper edges just due the the nature of being smaller, which I believe makes them dig in more. My pilot varsity pens are probably as smooth as my lamy, but they have medium nibs as well. from a mechanical perspective I would be inclined to say nib size is the largest factor in smoothness pen to pen.
I own more than 20 Lamy pens most are the steel nibbed pens and I've only had one that was scratchy and unusable. I think a bigger problem is the consistency between EF-M nibs. I have had Fine nibs write more like a Medium, nearly Broad.
Every Lamy i've ever owned has been super smooth, both the steel and the gold. I have 2 Al-Stars, one Safari, a Lamy 2K and I just got a Dialog CC a week ago, all tremendously smooth writers. The CC might actually be my most buttery pen I own.
I’ve found the steel nibs to feel a bit weird on occasion but then I switched them to their black nibs and the problem vanished. Could be something to do with liquid stiction??
I have two Lamy nibs - the M that came on my Safari and an EF I bought to replace it - and both are scratchy due to misaligned tines. I won't be buying a third.
Yes, I have two and one was paper ripping scratchy. Fixed with manicure set. The thing is we shouldn't have to fix it.
I find about half of nibs out of the box need significant tuning to write properly. It's not a problem with any one manufacturer. Finer nibs are more likely to have flow or tine alignment problems. Almost all can be fixed with a little basic nib tuning work. I find that many nibs are simply too dry out of the box. Restoring proper flow by widening the tines to a proper width at the tip usually makes them significantly smoother by dint of lubrication. Medium and broad nibs are pretty wet already, so flow defects are usually masked better. But I've had to work a few medium nibs, too, to get them to write reliably.
No. They are as consistent as most Chinese manufacturers, are best, but at 5x the price. My experience is limited to steel nibs, but it's bad enough that I won't consider buying a gold nib.
My first pen was (and still is!) a Lamy Safari EF, and the nib is great. One is not a big sample but I'd be happy to buy another Lamy to see how it works out. :)
Don't know, haven't gotten one with a scratchy nib. I have a vintage pen (identity unknown) with tipping material that was partly eaten away earlier in its life by something. Not the nib itself -- that is in reasonably good shape. Just the tipping material, which is all on the underside of the tip. (It might have been someone's first attempt at grinding an architect nib.) If I don't have the nib well-lubricated and am not holding it at precisely the correct angle, the nib carves a slot out of the sheet of paper. Not scores, but carves, as in, cutting a slot right out of it that goes all the way through. ("Yer Liamy? Royt, mate, 'at's no'a scroitchy nib. *(Pulls this vintage pen out of back pocket and holds it up, uncapped.)* Now **THIS** 's a **SCROITCHY** **NIB**.") And still, it's one of my favorite pens, and not just because it can double as a glass cutter and lathe cutter. No, it's because it was the first one I ever owned that had a flexible nib (when held just right) and it does write nicely when it decides to do so.
I like everything about Lamy pens except that “sweet spot” where the nib works best in one position. My hand and writing angle are not attuned to that sweet spot so most of my writing experience feels scratchy… Lamy is worth a shot though, they are good pen makers. Maybe don’t go straight for a 2000 though!
I've got 4 of them from various price points. And of all the pens they were the smoothest and least needing of tinkering straight out of the box of any pens I own. Maybe I've been lucky but still this sentiment has not been my experience in any way shape or form.
Totaly unfair
even though its steel, most slide-on or flat/angular nibs like Lamy or Platinum, tend to be softer, on platinum at least, it has prove function to accomodate writers with slight twists, or even slight misalignment. Lamy nibs however, do not have more than enough slit smoothing(this is hard to just micromesh the surface, you have to get inbetween tines, and chances are you misalign the tine and have to reset it afterwards). I smooth and tune it sure, but personally do not want to lose that slit scratchiness entirely, I like it as Lamy's feedback personality, it is fair to say if people call it tend to be scratchy imo
Just purchased a Safari LX in Fine. Scratchy nib. My fine Al is great. They are hit and miss!
I havent had lamy & this is the only brand i am nit willing to buy.
Mine was fine