Rolling Review: Lamy Al-Star Pearl (first Lamy)
(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!*
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Re: Rolling Review: Lamy Al-Star Pearl (first Lamy)
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.
Originally Posted by tandaina
I may end up missing out...
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