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View Full Version : Rolling Review: Lamy Al-Star Pearl (first Lamy)



tandaina
April 16th, 2013, 02:00 PM
(Also posted at the Fountain Pen Board)

So I just got my first Lamy! It is my, umm, *mumble mumble some big number mumble* German fountain pen. So when I got into fountain pens I sort of accidentally stumbled into collecting 40s and 50s German piston fillers (MB, Pelikan, Osmia, etc) and fell in love. That is 90% of what I hunt down now.

But I'd never bought a Lamy, mostly because the antiques are darn hard to get at a good price, and the modern ones are BLAH to me. But the Lamy Al-Star Pearl is interesting. I like the color, sort of a soft champagne, a little pearlesant. So when the Goulets announced they'd gotten word that the Pearls they had were it, Lamy would make no more... I bought one.

So this is going to be an ongoing review of the next couple days as I get to know the pen. But here are some first impressions:

1. My kind of packaging. I throw away pen packaging unless it seems useful for later shipping a pen to a pen spa. (What can I say, I'm a minimalist, I HATE clutter.) I do not keep boxes, so the Lamy cardboard is just fine.
2. It is sorta pearly. Sorta shimmers. The color is nice, the pen though... I guess I'm just old fashioned but that color deserves a more refined and elegant design. Elegant or pretty this pen ain't. Attractive in a modern art sort of way, yeah I could see that. But I'm not really into modern art.
3. VERY light, almost too light and I don't say that... lightly. I like small light pens (none of my Pelikans are bigger than the M400). But this one doesn't have the solid "I was built to last 100 years" feel. Doesn't mean it WON'T, but it just feels eh.
4. The 1.1 stub nib is very satisfactory. It is not a 50s German gold or steel nib. It does not sing arias, or inspire epic poetry. But it gets the job done, no skipping, no fuss, just works. Something to be said for that.
5. Since it is a modern NAIL the stub does redeem it. If this nib were anything but stub I'd have tried it once and never picked it up again. As a stub I could see it being nice for a travel pen, except...
6. Oh Lamy. Listen, I'd have happily paid $30 more for this little thing if you'd put a proper filling mechanism in it! That goofy little $5 converter (not included, must add on) is very small and I doubt it'll still be drawing ink in 50 years like my Pelis and MBs et al. I really, HONESTLY would pay extra for a traditional piston filler. My old gals have spoiled me. (Only the Lamy 2000 seems to have a piston anymore and it is far too big and bulky for my taste.)
7. I was a bit worried about that triangular grip... I have a good classic hold but I often like to rotate the pen just so slightly so the nib is at an angle, a habit I picked up from oblique nibs. The grip on this pen gives me an "ow" reminder every time I start to angle the nib for a bit more flourish. That is annoying.
8. Despite being light, it's pretty large, especially that cap. So big it doesn't fit in my Midori pen loop at ALL. It almost doesn't go into my leather 3 slot pen holder. It is surprisingly bulky.

I'm not overwhelmed, I doubt I'll start collecting Al-stars anytime soon (and the Vista colors/plastic leave me utterly cold) but I'm not disappointed either. I have a feeling this pen will get a fair amount of work.

All that said, this WOULD be a good starter pen and I've ordered one for a friend who is getting into fountain pens. Would make a great school pen or training pen for someone with a horrific grip. I did go at this rather backward so the poor pen was competing WAY out of its league. Still good, but some niggling things I wish were refined. We'll see if a week of use has them growing on me.

*Ducks and hopes the Lamy fans won't be too hard on her!*

Bogon07
April 17th, 2013, 01:32 AM
Thanks for the review Tandaina.

Is the 1.1 a stub or an italic ? To me it seems to be have slightly sharper edges than the few stubs I've tried but then again I'm still trying out different writing positions for my italica & stub nibs. Being a big sook mine came with an A nib (the type found on Lamy's ABC wooden pens).

Its champagne colour really does grow on a person. The Al-Stars can appear quite different under various lighting conditions almost like having a new pen.
Some people say the Al-Star has a Bauhus or Brutalist style. And it does have a big robust clip.

There are a few UK and Malaysian/Singapore sellers who include the converter free with a Safari or Al-Star purchase.

Interesting to see your views over time and use with it pan out.

tandaina
April 17th, 2013, 07:45 AM
Well it's factory, they call it a stub. I don't find it sharp enough to be an italic, not enough line variation. And it is definitely not as wide and juicy as say my MB OBB, I probably could have gone with the 1.5. But many of my nibs are stubs and italics or OBB/OB that being old don't have round iridium balls and so write like stubs. I'm really comfortable with wide flat nibs and so I may be missing its sharpness. It IS sharper than say my Parson's Essential stub (which isn't stubby enough, makes me want another with his cursive italic grind.)

Here are some writing samples with the pen:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8099/8658204726_aa80f92b90.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8658204726/)
555900_10151408421933316_1849988814_n (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8658204726/) by JoAndRoses (http://www.flickr.com/people/84377112@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8101/8658204696_c172be1ec7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8658204696/)
64167_10151408420863316_1175099275_n (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8658204696/) by JoAndRoses (http://www.flickr.com/people/84377112@N05/), on Flickr

The color is very pretty, I do find myself staring at it and moving the pen around to watch the shimmer. And the pen overall is just growing on me, used it at a meeting last night and the snap cap sure made it quicker to cap and uncap for note taking.

KrazyIvan
April 17th, 2013, 08:41 AM
Sharper than a Parson's Italic? :jaw: I have found Lamy stubs to be really smooth with rounded corners that never catch on paper. My Parson's will catch the paper badly if I do not hold it just right.

tandaina
April 17th, 2013, 08:42 AM
Sorry, it isn't SHARP as in catchy, but it has "sharper" line variation. Does that make sense? Neither catches the paper, but the Lamy has much more difference between vertical and horizontal strokes than the Parson's

KrazyIvan
April 17th, 2013, 09:00 AM
Gotcha. :)

I still feel, even in that respect, that my Parson's is sharper. I have read that Lamy can be a little inconsistent with its nibs sometimes. Out of the 4 Lamy 1.1 nibs I have, one was a little sharp but it turned out to be a minor case of oxidation. It just looked dull under magnification. 2-3 passes on the finest grit of my buff sticks polished it right out.

tandaina
April 17th, 2013, 09:26 AM
Interesting! Since the Parsons stubs are individually ground I have a feeling they vary a bit as well. Mine is pretty "round."

KrazyIvan
April 17th, 2013, 10:20 AM
Interesting! Since the Parsons stubs are individually ground I have a feeling they vary a bit as well. Mine is pretty "round."

Very true. There are still both great pens and a joy to use. Congrats on your first Lamy.

tandaina
April 18th, 2013, 11:41 AM
So my most recent update:

My Al-Star gets ink on my fingers. NOW I get all the folks posting about inky fingers. The old FPs I use do NOT get my fingers dirty unless there is something wrong, like a piston seal going.

The Al-star seems to always have just a BIT of ink on the grip below the feed. Always. My middle finger is now constantly blue. I'd noticed that the co-worker I ordered a Lamy Safari for (to get her hooked on FPs) always had colored fingers and chalked it up to her holding the pen strangely. But I'm having hte same issue and don't have that issue with other pens. Is this sort of common with modern Lamys?

reprieve
April 18th, 2013, 11:53 AM
Tandaina, I use a Safari regularly and have never had that problem--unless the pen was accidentally shaken around in transit and ended up with ink in the cap (I hate when that happens--it can get pretty messy!).

Are you sure the converter is seated firmly? Are the nib/feed pushed in all the way? It sounds like there might be an air leak somewhere.

KrazyIvan
April 18th, 2013, 12:03 PM
The converter clicks in if you have the Z24, the one with the red twist handle. They have little nubs that align with the section and you can see when they are positioned correctly. There is also a little channel where the feed ends and the section starts. Ink can collect there if not cleaned properly after inking. If you slip the cap on with ink there, you have to clean the inside of the cap too or it is a constant ink-fest.

Sailor Kenshin
April 18th, 2013, 12:57 PM
I have the same color Al-Star (my only one so far). Yes, it's a shimmery, champagne-y color. My question is, who wrote the verses in the sample?

tandaina
April 18th, 2013, 01:09 PM
Those are mine Sailor, I write poetry, it's an outlet and meditation form for me. :)

Sailor Kenshin
April 18th, 2013, 02:57 PM
Awesome-ness. Especially since today is Keep A Poem In Your Pocket Day.

tandaina
April 18th, 2013, 03:24 PM
The converter clicks in if you have the Z24, the one with the red twist handle. They have little nubs that align with the section and you can see when they are positioned correctly. There is also a little channel where the feed ends and the section starts. Ink can collect there if not cleaned properly after inking. If you slip the cap on with ink there, you have to clean the inside of the cap too or it is a constant ink-fest.

Well the little plastic bumps on the converter are "clicked" into their slots in the section collar clear plastic bit. Ugh, so technical. Doesn't look to be a way to click it in more. It isn't a LOT of ink, but enough to see it on my skin.

Bogon07
April 18th, 2013, 05:13 PM
Tandaina,
Did you clean the pen before using ? There could be some dried testing ink under the nib causing a problem.
I've had similar problems with some until giving them a flush out.


Brian Goulet has some useful video tips on Lamy Vista, Safari & Al-Stars.
The videos are five minutes or less.

Lamy Converters Z24(red-nubs) & Z26(black-no nubs)
http://www.inknouveau.com/2011/04/lamy-converters-theres-two-of-them.html


Cleaning a new Lamy Pen
http://www.inknouveau.com/2011/03/cleaning-new-lamy-pen.html


Taking out a Lamy nib
http://www.inknouveau.com/2011/03/swapping-lamy-nibs-with-just-tape-video.html

snedwos
April 19th, 2013, 06:36 AM
Oh... I had thought that the Pearl AL-Star was going to be part of the permanent line-up... :( I may end up missing out...

Flounder
May 5th, 2013, 09:56 AM
This thread solves my "why does my Vista have weird keyed slots in the cartridge area?" conundrum. I got the black converter, which doesn't have the blob things!

Runnin_Ute
May 30th, 2013, 07:56 PM
The Vista requires the Z24 - the red one

I have the aluminum colored Al Star- love that Pearl one though.