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imaginerhetoric
February 6th, 2014, 11:02 AM
I'm toying with the idea of getting a Lamy soon. I like the standard "chunky" look of the Safari, Al Star, and Vista but am intrigued by the taper on the Joy.

That said, I've only seen the Joy advertised as a calligraphy pen. I don't need a calligraphy pen for EDC, but I see that it can be purchased with an EF nib. Do any of you have experience using the Joy with a non-calligraphy nib?

ethernautrix
February 6th, 2014, 12:12 PM
Funny you should ask. I was JUST going to flush out the Platinum Carbon Black ink from my white Lamy Joy with an EF nib. No stains at all, but the ink is maybe too viscous for the EF nib - which writes well enough with that ink, but I want to try a different ink. Pairing pens and inks requires a few trials.

What did you want to know about the experience? I like it, and I haven't had any problems with it.

imaginerhetoric
February 6th, 2014, 01:07 PM
What did you want to know about the experience? I like it, and I haven't had any problems with it.

I guess I chiefly wanted to make sure that they were actually compatible! But I have a few other questions:
Is there any noticeable difference in flow compared to the Safari/ Al Star/Vista?
Does the tapering affect the way you hold the pen?

ethernautrix
February 6th, 2014, 02:22 PM
In the store, the pen had the 1.5mm italic nib on it, and I asked if the proprietor could switch it out for the EF. He had an EF nib, so he switched it out, no problem.

I have had Safaris and Vistas, and I remember that there were comfortable to hold, but it's been a couple of years at least since I had them. I wanted a Joy, because I like how it looks, and I felt confident buying one, cos my experience with the Safaris and Vistas was good. I don't think the tapered shape affects how I hold the pen at all. Of course, I hold all my pens at a higher angle than most (so I've been told) (it is a high angle, not quite 90 degrees).

I find the pen comfortable and the ink flow good, and I like how it looks. I'd like to say that the Joy is even more comfortable than the Safari and Vista, but I haven't taken the blindfold pen test. (Smiley.)

ac12
February 6th, 2014, 07:50 PM
I think of the Lamy Joy as a desk pen version of the Safari.
Traditional desk pens have a tapered tail, similar to the one on the Joy.
I just wish someone had a base for it, then I could use it as a desk pen.
I plan to get a Lamy Joy with a XF nib.

Jeph
February 7th, 2014, 12:18 AM
The long tail is because it is supposed to be a calligraphy pen not a desk pen.
The "design" is supposed to play on established expectations of what a calligraphy pen should look like.
Thus no base.
That is also why they come with 1.5mm italic nibs among others.

There is no reason that it cannot be used as a "normal" pen however. It is still a Lamy. There should be no difference with how well it functions, other than it may flow better with higher demand nibs. A lower demand nib like an EF will not get overpowered by a too generous ink supply if the pen is in good working condition. The flow of ink at the tip establishes the demand, and the amount of ink being drawn out of the reservoir establishes the demand for air coming in. It is easy for some nib/feed combinations to use ink faster than the assembly is capable of returning air to the ink reservoir. So some pens starve under high ink demand but the same pen will not "gush" under low demand. Such pens would leak when not in use as air in exceeds ink out.

So if you like the way that it looks and you want it with an EF nib there should be no problems with how it writes. Go for it!

Ernst Bitterman
February 7th, 2014, 10:30 AM
As a regular user of desk pens, I'm of the opinion that they're a little easier to manage while doing other stuff (either by stuffing it in the handy socket or bridging it across fingers while poking a keyboard). There is a component of holdover design-- they've always looked thus, so they shall always look thus-- and it does makes them resistant to people wandering off having absently dropped it in their pocket. I'll wager you could find someone to make a base that could hold a Joy's cap at a fixed angle (like Esterbrooks or lower-priced '50s Sheaffers) to get the full desk-pen experience out of one.

imaginerhetoric
February 7th, 2014, 10:36 AM
Thanks, you folks are the best! :tea:

ac12
February 7th, 2014, 12:09 PM
@Ernst
I'm with you. There is something about a desk pen that makes it more comfortable for me to use. I don't know what it is, but I enjoy using my desk pens more than my clip pens. What is good about the Joy, is for those of us without a permanent desk to put the base of a desk pen, the Joy does not take much more space to store in my pen cup than my other clip pens.

bigmac53
February 17th, 2014, 06:26 AM
I have the Lamy EF bib on a couple safaris and I can honestly say it isn't my favorite nib. It writes OK but the line is just so thin that to me it isn't very pleasing and kind of negates using a fountain pen. I would definitely go with a stub or italic nib.

ac12
February 17th, 2014, 03:48 PM
I have an EF/XF nib on my Lamy cp1, and I like it for my normal writing.
For my journal, using wide ruled paper, I use a wider nib to put down a wider ink line, to match up with the wide line spacing.

ac12
March 25th, 2014, 04:14 PM
Well I finally bit the bullet.
I have a white Joy on it's way to me.
Stupid me waited so long to buy it that most of the shops are sold out of the white Joy.

It comes with the 1.5 italic nib, but I have nibs from XF to B to experiment with for "normal writing."

sbl212
March 27th, 2014, 08:40 PM
I have a joy that I use with an EF nib. Works well. No different than writing with a safari. Don't really carry it with me since it's long...

Lady Onogaro
March 27th, 2014, 09:42 PM
The 1.1 mm nib on the Joy is only a bit wider than a Plumix nib. I use my Joy to write letters and journal entries.

JustKyle2711
March 31st, 2014, 08:35 AM
Really informative post!
Been toying with the idea of getting a joy but thought it would have to be used as a calligraphy pen.
Now that I know better, it's next on my list.
Thanks everyone!

ac12
March 31st, 2014, 03:11 PM
Really informative post!
Been toying with the idea of getting a joy but thought it would have to be used as a calligraphy pen.
Now that I know better, it's next on my list.
Thanks everyone!

That is the neat thing about the Lamy system where the nibs are interchangable.
You can change the character of the pen just by swapping nibs.
For me, it would be either a calligraphy pen (with the italic nib), or a portable desk pen (with a XF or F nib), depending on what I feel like using it for.