Tag Archives: Lamy Al-Star

How Do I Replace a Lamy Nib?

By on December 30, 2019
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(There is risk in doing any repair. We will not be held liable for what happens to your pen if you break it while trying the following advice.)

Changing a nib on a Lamy Safari or AL-Star is easy. All you need is the pen, tape and a replacement nib.

Changing a nib on a Lamy Safari or AL-Star is easy. All you need is the pen, tape and a replacement nib.

Lamy Safari and AL-Star pens are among the most popular pens on the market today. Bright, modern, affordable and made to work well under the most trying conditions, what is not to love? Many people’s favorite feature is that the nib is easily changed.

The genius German engineers and designers behind this pen put the nib on a pressure-fit track system for easy assembly and repair.

How easy is it? The only tool you need is a piece of tape. Go ahead. Get your tape, and I’ll teach you how it is done.

Place your index finger on the inkfeed to stabilize and support the fragile feed when you change a nib.

Place your index finger on the inkfeed to stabilize and support the fragile feed when you change a nib.

First, it helps if your pen is empty and dry.

Next, gently grip the section (writing grip) of your pen and place your index finger gently on the plastic inkfeed under the nib to brace it.

With the top of the nib facing you, place a piece of tape on the entire nib. Be careful as the plastic inkfeed under the nib is easily broken if you are not careful, and those are much more difficult to replace, as Lamy doesn’t give out those parts.

Put your other index finger on top of the tape and nib. Using your thumb, grip the ball of the nib from underneath it.

 

 

 

 

Tape helps your fingers gain added traction to slip off the nib.

Tape helps your fingers gain added traction to slip off the nib.

Pull, gently and straight out, on the tape and nib tipping. The nib should slide right off the inkfeed.

Turn the pen over, with the bottom of the inkfeed facing you. Turn your replacement nib upside down and align the little runners with the tracks of the inkfeed.

Slide it into place until it stops. Turn it over again to see the top of the nib. There should only be about a millimeter or so of inkfeed visible.

Voila! You have successfully changed the nib. Congratulations!

 

Turn the inkfeed upside down where you can see the tracks for the runners of the nib to slide into place. Gently pinch the side of the Lamy replacement nib and slowly slide or wiggle the nib into place.

Turn the inkfeed upside down where you can see the tracks for the runners of the nib to slide into place. Gently pinch the side of the Lamy replacement nib and slowly slide or wiggle the nib into place.

Win this Lamy Lx!

By on June 1, 2017
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Helping us celebrate 100 blog posts, Mike D., our Lamy candyman, has given us a brand new Lamy Lx Au (Gold) to give away! This shiny, medium-nibbed wonder comes complete with its special case and papers. It also includes a free ink cartridge. It has a retail value of $70.

Win this brand new Lamy Lx Au (Gold) fountain pen. It is the brand new pen from Lamy. Each purchase of a writing instrument in the month of June enters you to win!

Our native Chicago is a pay-to-play city, and our contest works the same way. For every pen or pencil you purchase between June 1, 2017, and July 1, 2017, at 6 p.m. Central Daylight Time, we will enter your name on a slip of paper and put it in a hat. The winner’s name will be drawn at random from that hat and announced on Independence Day.

If you buy 10 or 100 or however many writing instruments you want this month, your name will be entered that many times. Ink, refills and other writing ephemera do not qualify for entry. Items purchased from our Trading Post do not qualify for entry, either.

The winner wins this pictured Lamy Lx Au Fountain Pen. No substitutions will be allowed. The retail value of this prize is $70, but we will not grant a cash equivalent to the winner. You are stuck with a supremely awesome pen that writes smoothly, takes a lickin’ and travels extremely well on most any summer vacation adventure!

Seriously, we don’t vacation without a Lamy! I’ve taken my Lamy to Germany, Paris, Hong Kong and all over the United States. Their reliability and durability is why Lamy was the first new line of pens I decided to carry. Remember we have great bargains on Lamy Al-Stars, Safaris and 2000s on our new pens pages. Plus, we have a complete line of Lamy ink and refills.

Testing Lamy Nibs & Inks

By on May 10, 2016
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If you caught us at the Chicago Pen Show, then you saw our really fun Lamy nib-and-ink-testing station. It was a great opportunity to try each of Lamy’s 7 nib sizes used on their super-popular Safari, AL-Star and Studio pen models. Each of our pens was loaded with one of the 7 different ink colors Lamy sells in cartridges.

Check out the 7 standard nib sizes and ink colors put out by Lamy. These range from extra-fine nib to a 1.9mm stub! Blue-black ink gives the best shadowing in a Lamy pen. These nibs can be ordered for any Lamy Safari, Lamy AL-Star and Lamy Studio fountain pen.

Check out the 7 standard nib sizes and ink colors put out by Lamy. These range from an extra-fine nib to a 1.9mm stub! Blue-black ink gives the best shadowing in a Lamy pen. These nibs can be ordered for any Lamy Safari, Lamy AL-Star and Lamy Studio fountain pen.

This sample shows the nibs ranging extra fine, fine, medium, broad, 1.1mm, 1.5mm and 1.9mm. I think our most popular seller was the 1.5mm nib followed by the medium nib. Extra fine is popular these days, but so many write with a bit of feedback. Personally, I love the medium, 1.1mm and 1.5mm nibs. The stubs offer nice line variation at a very affordable price. In a Lamy Safari, they make great travel pens that can get beat-up or lost without inducing guilt. Plus, with a fancy stub nib, your postcards and journal will look great.

The broad nib is actually much juicier than the image makes it look.

Our most popular inks were purple and turquoise. Purple was no surprise, given the popularity of the new dark lilac Safari. Turquoise did surprise me. Men bought it in droves, and they typically stick to standard blues and blacks. Yet, I’ve been thinking of using it much more than in years past. It’s a nice color.

For folks who like the stub nibs, I highly recommend the blue-black ink by Lamy. As you can see, it offers the most shading. The black is more solidly black without as much shading as a Parker Quink or Pelikan. Green is a great color that seems underused.

We are thinking of making the Lamy nib and ink stations standard for any show we can drive to. Hopefully, we will see you soon. In the meantime, I hope this photo serves as a good indicator as to the qualities of these Lamy nibs and inks.

We Have a Winner!

By on July 5, 2015
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Fireworks glow softly just out of focus on the Fourth of July. Congratulations to our winner of the First Ever Lamy Lottery.

Fireworks glow softly just out of focus on the Fourth of July. Congratulations to our winner of the First Ever Lamy Lottery.

Congratulations to Dacia N! She won the brand new Lamy AL-Star fountain pen and ink!

We had more than 30 entries from between June 4 and July 4. Thank you to everybody who purchased a pen during this time.

A special thank you also goes out to the good folks at Lamy who donated the pen for our drawing. It was a very generous gift, and we are grateful for their support of ThePenMarket.com.

This contest certainly seemed like a popular one, and I hope we can have more contests such as these in the future.

Thank you again to all of our participants, and I hope everybody had a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Customer Appreciation Lottery! Win a Lamy Al-Star Fountain Pen!

By on June 4, 2015
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We like you. We really, really like you!

We will especially really, really like one of you on the 4th of July!

With every purchase of a pen or pencil from ThePenMarket.com between June 3 and July 4 (at 6 p.m.) you will be given a chance to win this great aluminum Lamy Al-Star and a box of ink cartridges.

With every purchase of a pen or pencil from ThePenMarket.com between June 4 and July 4 (at 6 p.m.) you will be given a chance to win this great aluminum Lamy Al-Star and a box of ink cartridges.

For the next month at ThePenMarket.com we are giving each purchaser of a pen or pencil a chance to win this brand-new, factory-direct aluminum Lamy Al-Star Fountain Pen! It comes with a black medium nib and one box of blue or black ink cartridges of the winner’s choice.

Our native Chicago is a pay-to-play city, and our contest works the same way. For every pen or pencil you purchase between June 4, 2015, and July 4, 2015, at 6 p.m. Central Daylight Time, we will enter your name on a slip of paper and put it in a hat. The winner’s name will be drawn at random from that hat some time after the fireworks have finished for the night.

If you buy 10 or 100 or however many writing instruments you want this month, your name will be entered that many times. Ink, refills and other writing ephemera do not qualify for entry. Items purchased from our Trading Post do not qualify for entry, either.

The winner wins this pictured Lamy Al-Star Fountain Pen and a box of either blue or black ink cartridges. No substitutions will be allowed. The retail value of this prize is $52, but we will not grant a cash equivalent to the winner. You are stuck with a supremely awesome pen that writes smoothly, takes a lickin’ and travels extremely well on most any summer vacation adventure!

Seriously, we don’t vacation without one! I’ve taken my Lamy to Germany, Paris, Hong Kong and all over the United States. Their reliability and durability is why Lamy was the first new line of pens I decided to carry. Remember we have great bargains on Lamy Al-Stars, Safaris and 2000s on our new pens pages. Plus, we have a complete line of Lamy ink and refills.

Before I close, I want to give a special thanks to Mike D., our Lamy candyman, for this wonderful prize to give away!