Lamy Studio Initial Impressions

Lamy Studio Initial Impressions

Imperial Blue

Broad Nib

J. Herbin Lie de The

I like reading pen reviews far too much for my own good. These are my initial impressions of the Lamy Studio that I received as a prize from The Pen Company ( http://www.thepencompany.com/ ), one of the sponsors of Fountain Pen Day ( http://www.fountainpenday.org/ ).

One of my first fountain pens was a Lamy Al-Star. It wasn't bad for a while, mostly due to comparison to the ballpoints that I had been struggling with at the time. Compared to them, the Al-Star was heaven, and it worked okay for a while, but we started drifting apart. I hated the grip and the flow from that M nib was like coaxing water from a desert in mid-afternoon. Worst of all (to me) the nib was scritchy, catching on paper and the flow was irregular.

I moved on. A couple Safaris later, which had left me unimpressed except for their ability to look rugged, and I was hesitant to buy another Lamy. I'd heard of the Studio, but the price point after the time with the Safaris meant that it was always admired from a distance. Occasionally, I'd be tempted by the italic nib, but half a page with a Safari with irregular flow would usually clear that right up.

I won a gift through the Fountain Pen Day contest – a certificate at the Pen Company, and I was left unsure what to get myself. I knew I wanted a pen, preferably an italic nib.

There was that Studio, waiting for me. Even in a dark, subdued blue that reminds me of Payne's Grey, a paint I am far too fond of for my own good.

So I gave in, reasoning that I had an 1.1 italic that needed a home, and went with a “B” nib to contract the dryness problem I've had in the past (or so I reasoned), and because B is for Blue. (Sometimes reasons can be odd like that). I was also hoping the Broad nib would be smoother than my fine nib on my Safari.

If there is something I cannot stand on my pens, my breaking point, it is irregular flow. It has to go. Smoothly is preferred, but consistent flow is a must.

My new friend showed up in the mail a week after being shipped from Far Away, a pleasant time for shipping to the Kingdom of Alberta.

I did my little dance and happy noise at the arrival of the mail, glad the package had survived the trek to my home, without signs of abuse to its person. I immediately went to work, giving the Studio a quick bath and flush, and then filling him up with my testing ink – Lie de The.

Lie de The might be a little dry, but it is a reliable, well behaved ink I love to draw with. It also refuses to let pens hide their flaws from me.

And then I wrote. 

The broad nib is not the sort of smoothness that floats. That isn't to say it isn't smooth – it is smooth, just that you have a bit of feedback as you guide it on the paper. It also feels like the sort of thing that will write itself out after a few dozen pages or a drawing on some watercolour paper.

The weight / balance is something I noticed immediately. It feels good in the hand, and is near perfect for me. I can write without pressure, just guiding the nib along. I do not find the chrome grip to be slippery at all, though it is a dust and print magnet. I always write posted, and the balance is not thrown off by doing so, nor does it make it exceptionally back heavy, like writing with a pendulum. The Studio posts securely, but differently than some pens – there is a tiny gap around the pen lid bottom and the pen body. I have no rattle or movement when it is posted.

The nib does talk a little on Rhodia, but not on the Newsprint I tested flow on after washing him. The flow is regular, even after three pages of notes, better than any of my Safaris ever have behaved.

Conclusion, thus far.

The Studio and I have only been together for about an hour, but I've been rather (happily) surprised. I didn't have high expectations for the Studio, but it feels right in my hand... and makes me wish I had gotten one earlier. I don't have to fight to write, he's pretty smooth right out of the box, his flow is regular, he's a nice blue, and he feels like an extension of my hand.

If he keeps this up, he'll be pretty close to being my favourite pen.