Lamy 2000 vs Platinum 3776

Here is the pen. Now this pen is really kind of a neat design. It's let me zoom in a little bit for you. It's a very kind of industrial look, but it's...

I do not conduct an initial rinse of the nib and feed on any of my pens as this is a driving factor for the initial review. This said, the pen would not under any circumstance feed ink to be able to begin a writing sample. All the usual techniques to get a cartridge started did not work. Once I finally gave up, I conducted a rinse of the nib and feed and still had to work to get the pen to write (after things dried out of course)

(I know there is a stainless steel version of the Lamy 2000, but (1) it's much more expensive, and (2) it doesn't have a window to view the ink level. For me, the stainless steel version is not worth buying.)

Finally found an excuse to ink up the F (03) Platinum Plaisir I got a few weeks ago and it really is amazingly smooth for an F nib (my EF (02) Preppy is finer but also rougher). I find I like the feeling of the Plaisir body a lot and the Platinum no-dry cap is nice so I'd probably vote for that, but I have no problem with the Parker Jotter and Vector either, especially the flighter versions.

The price was great. And the pen was delivered a full week sooner than I expected. At this price, if you are looking for a fountain pen you can't go wrong. In fact, this is as good, or better than many pens twice or three times the price

The converter is going to cost you around $10 for a genuine Platinum converter, which makes this pen actually cost $77 instead of $67 if you're going to compare it to Platinum #3776 Century offerings elsewhere, like at Goulet. You can get other, cheaper converters that will fit it, but that discussion exceeds the scope of this review. If you don't know about GouletPensDotCom then you're probably not all that into fountain pens anyway. So feel free to go look and do your own research if you don't want to just take my word for things

I work from home, but right now my Lamy 2000 is the only pen I allow out of the house, not only because it’s a solid writer but also because it’s solidly built, and so I’m not afraid of banging it around. My Pilot Custom 823, on the other hand, is like the One Ring…and they all wantsss My Precious for themselves. But it is mine, I tell you.

This pen is well made, but it doesn't feel as well crafted as it is expensive, and it also doesn't feel good enough to say that this is the best thing Japan can make. It is not as smooth as a simple Pilot Prera, and the nib looks clearly machined. It writes well enough and the ink has not dried up in the few months that I have owned it, so I'll give it three stars. But it was very underwhelming

Given the great reviews I had high expectations but I don't want to keep on twisting my arm to keep on writing with this pen. I am glad it works for other people, but it's not for me. The problem lies with the grip (sometimes called "section"). My first impression was annoying metal protrusions that help secure the cap in place

The pen is fantastic. For the price you pay, you get a true gold nib, high end Japanese quality and performance, a classic design, a lightweight, comfortable pen that won't make your hand tired a few paragraphs of writing, all for a cost less than many other brands are charging for high end steel nib pens that might even be lower on quality. I have just one pet peeve with the pen, and it's the ONLY pet peeve (and likely wouldn't bother most other people) - but the grip section is too narrow for me and there is a big step down from the rest of the barrel. I get around that by holding the pen on the body instead of the grip area, and the nib is large enough to allow for such an angle, so ultimately it is a very comfortable and pleasant writing experience