Review: Lamy 2000

Time for another pen review!

Up for review today is the highly acclaimed Lamy 2000.


As with all my reviews, I try to be subjective, and honest. Even though this is on my top 5 pens list, I still have some issues with it that we'll hit on this article.

Overview:

The Lamy 2000 scores 89%!

The good: 

• Really cool, award winning design
• Intelligent functionality
• Excellent ink capacity
• Extremely durable - a true survivor

The bad:

• Cap "nubs" can be very annoying to some users
• The design is either "you hate it or you love it"
• Piston can tend to be a bit stiff
• Prices have gone up recently

The Lamy 2000 is a pen that has been, and will continue to be at the top of my collection. Though recently pared down to only two pens, the Lamy 2000 remained in my fountain pen collection. Being a very picky FP user, that is saying something!

I highly recommend this pen to anyone who is looking for a solid/reliable pen to take with them everywhere. This is one that you can clip into your pants pocket, and not worry about it. It takes a beating, and it doesn't even show. The matte finish texture seems practically invincible, and it looks great too.

If you're in the market for a new pen, I see no reason that you should hesitate to purchase the Lamy 2000!


Read on for the full review:




Design:
I'm a real sucker for matte finished pens, particularly those with more texture. In this regard, I can't say enough good things about the Lamy 2000. It's a beautiful pen to look at, and it feels great in hand while writing. The Lamy 2000 focuses on the smaller, and finer details of design. Each individual part making a difference in overall pen.

Subtle details, such as that small stainless-steel circle on the piston knob, are what make the Lamy 2000 such a beautiful pen.

The rough, almost industrial looking squared clip really "goes" with the design.

Upon uncapping the pen, another surprise design element hits us: That gorgeous brushed-stainless grip section.

The Lamy 2000 sports a semi-hooded nib, that features a curved, almost "space-ship" looking design.

The Lamy 2000 design leaves no room for "it's okay". You love it, or you hate it. That's almost always how it is. This reviewer personally loves it. :)

I think the design clearly shows attention to detail, and it's just plain cool! The matte texture of the pen is more brushed, as opposed to a satin matte, such as seen on the VP black matte. The overall combination of just black and silver, no other colors, is truly stunning. This one pen that will definitely turn some heads when uncapped. I would never call this pen flashy, but striking would be a suiting word.

I'm giving the Lamy 2000 a 23/25% in design!

Size/weight:

As usual, this category is more or less subjective to the user. I will however touch on the obvious points that should be noted.

The Lamy 2000 has a thick, and thin grip section. This all depends on where you wish to grip the pen. Grip it higher up, and it's thicker (my preference), grip it closer to the nib, and it's a good deal thinner.

Weight is fabulous. At least when we're speaking of the Lamy 2000 it is. :)

This pen looks like it might weigh as much as a brick, but I assure you, it doesn't. The Lamy 2000 is remarkably light for it's size and looks. It is however, heavy enough to feel expensive, and keep me satisfied. I believe the Lamy 2000's weight will satisfy an extremely broad spectrum of users.

The actual size of the pen is about mid range to "getting larger". Capped, it's a tad shorter than a Pelikan M800. I find the length of the pen to be very comfortable for me, but I am not very picky in this aspect. I would say that this pen will work just fine for anyone with small-medium, to large hands. If you've got truly small hands, you might want to try it first, though I doubt you will dislike it.

For me, the Lamy 2000 get's a 23-25% in size/weight.

Functionality:

The Lamy 2000 was engineered for success!

The Lamy 2000 is a true workhorse, and that means that not only can it take a beating, but it also performs flawlessly, quickly, and efficiently. The Lamy 2000 was engineered for success! If you work a hazardous job, you're a student with a tight schedule, you're rough on stuff, or you just don't take care f your pens - The Lamy 2000 will make it though any abuse you can throw at it. Of course within reason, but this is one seriously tough pen.


I read reports of someone dropping this pen onto concrete from their roof. It survived with one light scuff, to the highly polished decorative surface on the top of the cap. This guy also testing the pen in freezing weather, allowing it to sit with ink in it overnight in some snow! Once again, the pen lived to tell about it, and suffered no ill effects.


The amazing part about that Lamy 2000, is that even though it's built like a tank, it doesn't sacrifice any conveniences to achieve this! It functions beautifully, like a well oiled machine.

My favorite little features would be:

• Spring loaded clip. I love it! The clip is a true spring loaded clip, and it feels very sturdy.
• Hooded nib. Like most hooded nibs, it almost never dries out. Very nice when you need to set the pen down uncapped for a few seconds (or minutes).
• Click-on cap. The cap slips on much like a Parker 51, but it produces an extremely satisfying click sound when capped. Feels very secure to me.
• Cap posts very nicely. Slips on deep, and won't fall off.

A nicely posted cap!

There are plenty of other convenient features that this pen has to offer. Lamy really spared no details when designing this pen. There's one thing of note that you may not like about the Lamy 2000's enginerring. To give the cap that delightful clicking noise/feedback, there are these two little "nubs" that protrude from the side of the pen, right where you grip it. I was bothered by them just slightly at first, but now I'm used to, and it's not a problem. For some users however, this might be a deal breaker. If you think it might be, I urge you to try the pen out in person before purchasing it.

You can clearly see the "nubs" in this photo. I find them perfectly acceptable, but you may wish to try this pen before buying if you're picky about this type of thing.

Filling system: A winner for me. Like all my favorite pens, the Lamy 2000 is a piston filler. My favorite filling system. Piston fillers combine the massive capacity of an eyedropper, but without the annoying problems that those can produce. A piston filler allows you to keep on going and going. Whether you're at school, or at work, the Lamy 2000 won't run out on the job. This pen usually lasts me multiple weeks on a single fill.

The piston knob is integrated seamlessly (most literally) into the pen body. Because of the matte/brushed texture, from more than a foot away, you can't even see the seam where the knob and pen body separate.

Can you spot where the piston knob separates from the pen body?

Something that could be a minor quibble with the filling system, but I choose to live with, is the fact that you fill the pen through a tiny hole in the feed. This hole in the feed is up about midway, and is clearly visible. The problem with this, is that when you fill the pen, it can sometimes take a minute or two for the ink to reach the  nib from this hole in the feed. Not a major problem, but one that could bother some people.

I have but one complaint for the Lamy 2000's piston mechanism. It is not as smooth as some other pistons such as those produced by Pelikan. I find it to be just slightly on the stiff side. It is very slight however, and some may actually like this. It does prevent you from accidentally turning the knob, which has happened to me on my Pelikan M800. The M800 was so smooth that the knob turned without any resistance...

You can just barely see the ink window, right above one of the steel "nubs" for clicking the cap on. Being filled with ink, only half of the window is visible.

Overall I can give a 21/25% in functionality!

The nib:

How can I say it without sounding so "of course"? Probably not possible...

The Lamy 2000 nib is one of the best nibs I've ever used that has not been tuned by a nibmiester. Is it probably the second or third best nib I've ever owned. I really like this nib. I mean really. :)

One of my favorite nibs of all time.

Obviously I did purchase a B nib, that being my favorite size (for most of my pens, but not all).

Smooth of course. Just delightfully smooth, but also - stubbish! Yes, the Lamy 2000 reminds me of those wonderful vintage Pelikan and MontBlanc nibs. It has that slight stub-like quality to it. Though not a lot, it does in fact produce line variation.

It also has a hint of pleasant spring to it. Just enough to really push it from excellent, to excellent+.

Flow has always been consistent, reliable, and not to dry. It's about 7/10 on wetness, which is my preference.

Writing sample, with my Lamy 2000's B nib. Ink is Noodlers Navajo Turquoise, in case you were wondering. :) I've got a review of that coming soon.

I would rate this nib very highly, as one of the best I've used. Definitely a 22/25% on the nib! 






The bottom line:
I love this pen, and I can't help but recommend it highly to all of my fellow FP users. If you've never tried one before, I urge you to do so! It's worth the asking price of around $140.00+. It can be purchased brand new from quite a few retailers, but my favorite remains Goulet Pen Company.

I bought mine used, in near mint condition for only $90.00. If you don't mind buying used, go check out Fountain Pen Network's classifieds section. There are plenty of deals to be found there, just like mine.

As usual, I hope you enjoyed the review! Please let me know what you think of the format, now that it's been actually used. Good or bad? Love it? Hate it?

Any and all suggestions are more than welcome! I need your comments and opinions to keep the blog running. :)

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