Lamy Vista eyedropper

most fountain pen aficionados would know what would motivate a pen freak lover to experiment with something not natural to a pen engineered with a modern filling system and convert it to a primitive eyedropper-style pen. but for those wondering why, it is usually because of 3 simple reasons:

1. ink capacity - converters are smaller than the barrel itself for ink. therefore, one needs to refill more often with a converter, especially with broader nibs. this eyedropper conversion makes the Vista carry 3ml of ink instead of just half a milliliter or so.
2. it's prettier - i like seeing all that beautiful colored ink moving around in a demonstrator (clear) pen barrel. 
3. just for the fun of it - what else are you going to do with a pen except write? converting makes you do something else with it. it's playtime.

i first heard about converting the Lamy Vista demonstrator from my "suki" salesperson Rose at the National Bookstore closest to my place. she said all i needed was the Vista Rollerball barrel. for Php 475.00 (which is about US$11.00), i ordered one last December as a spare part. it arrived just last weekend.

since i am all in an excited bunch awaiting the arrival of the latest Lamy Safari limited edition 2012, it was welcome news to know that i can now stave off my longing for it by picking up my RB barrel and of course, a Lamy Vista and taking it to town. i also really, really wanted to use my Iroshizuku Chiku-rin alreadt. i was actually looking forward to the apple green 2012 Safari because it's a great match for it. but since, its not yet available in the Philippines, i might as well ink up the Vista with it. yey!

so i excitedly dropped by National last Saturday to pick up the barrel and the Vista that suki texted in. i even threw in a 1.1 italic nib knowing the Chiku-rin is on the light side of inks and looks best with a bigger nib. i actually tried it first on my apple green Prera with fine nib. it didn't work well because it was too light. as a nice surprise, suki Rose also gave me a Lamy notebook as a free item for my purchase. gotta love Rose! the notebook is a winner.

it's a small but handsomely presented notebook. not sure if it's real leather or faux, either way it looks good to me.

the Analog Dog couldn't resist "marking"it.

my favorite on a notebook are graph lines so this is such a winner for me.

here's a video of how i did the simple conversion. i also had some fun trying out a stop-motion style video blog. so for that also, the Vista is well worth the price for the fun i had with it. and that is not to mention what a great, functional, workhorse of a pen the Lamy Vista is. most everybody probably know that, considering the long reputation Lamy Safaris (the Vista is a clear body variant of the Safari) have for many years already. 

as for the Selley's Epoxy Fix, i think only time will be the best judge if this is a good adhesive to use for this purpose. initially though, it looks like a good match. i actually first thought i'd just use the regular silicone sealant. i went to Ace Hardware to get one but sitting right beside the sealants were the epoxies. i didn't know there was a clear epoxy so when i saw it -- and it was cheaper too being in a smaller tube, this one costs Php 89.75 -- i went ahead and inspected it. i almost didn't take it after reading that it was not recommended for polyethylene and polypropylene plastics but it was recommended for "many rigid plastics, glass, metal, ceramics and wood". the Lamy clear plastic barrel is what material???... i remember the colored Safaris are made of ABS plastic but i'm not sure about the clear Vista. Considering i would be possibly be ruining a P475.00 barrel that took 5 months to arrive, i hesitated a bit. the silicone sealant is a safer bet, i knew i stand a better chance of safely removing that adhesive without marring the clear finish if i make a mistake because silicone sealants are soft and flexible. however, i also don't like that it is flexible for this pen either. i'll probably play with it and eventually pull it off.  i also think there's a higher chance it will eventually stain from the ink.

so left with not much choice, i took home the Epoxy Fix. i love that it dries clear and rigid. it looks like it belongs with the pen and does not stand out. probably the only giveaway that it was put there is that on closer inspection, you will see tiny bubbles that hardened inside. but on the surface, it is clear and smooth.

another thing i'm enjoying on this pen is the 1.1 italic nib. it's my first italic nib, with a Lamy at least. my other nib(s) that is italic is on a Rotring Artpen Calligraphy set, which has a 1.1, a 1.5 and a 1.9mm. however, i don't really use it for everyday writing since the pen is long-ish, being calligraphy style. i'm not really a fan of broad nibs for everyday writing, my handwriting looks terrible with it because i write fairly small. but, this 1.1 italic is perfect for me, even as a regular writer. i can write fast with it and my handwriting looks decent enough. when my green 2012 Safari arrives, i will probably switch the nibs and the ink to match that pen and refill this Vista with another color. 

side by side with Rotring Artpens.

but definitely, i shall be getting another 1.1 italic/stub one of these days. maybe i'll try a TWSBI 1.1 next. it should be on my (future) Vac700 or Mini. so, here's to looking forward!  

here are a more shots beside a TWSBI 540 for comparison:

Writing samples:

feeble attempt at italic writing. needs a LOT more practice.

my regular writing works better with this 1.1 nib than a broad.

understated performer: the Lamy 2000

i can also entitle this blog entry as : Sometimes, A Girl Gets Lucky.

here's why. one day, i took home a pretty cool fountain pen, the popular Lamy Safari. that is not really much by itself but i especially liked it because it is red AND it had a black clip. the red Safari these days mostly have chrome clips. since i was so happy about it, i spontaneously posted a photo of it on Facebook. that turned out to be serendipitous! why? because an acquaintance and fellow photographer, Rolly Magpayo, saw the post and he thought it might be a good idea to ask me if i wanted to buy his hardly-used Lamy 2000, for almost a third of its market price. ...and it's a price that would not normally be in my range.

the minimalist, modern classic Lamy 2000 with the pen capped

being all of a newbie, i wasn't very familiar with the Lamy 2000 then -- but the price definitely appealed to me. truth be told, i was even a bit skeptical when my friend told me about how expensive it actually cost at the local National Bookstore. it got me wondering if there were issues with it and i even asked him this much. he replied that he simply wanted to dispose of some extraneous luxuries and that there really was no issue with his slightly used pen.

the simple yet elegant clip is "spring-loaded" meaning it can be pressed so it can easily be clipped to one's shirt pocket or neckline. it is so minimalist, even the branding is subtly engraved in fine letters on the side of the clip instead of on the top of it.

i immediately did some googling and found this from Wikipedia, among other things:

The Lamy 2000. Lamy's flagship fountain pen is the 2000. Designed by Gerd Alfred Müller and released in 1966, it remains in production today. The 2000 was innovative in its day for its use of a special fiberglass resin produced by Bayer, Makrolon, for the body of the pen. It is the only Lamy fountain pen that is a piston fill pen, so thus only takes bottled ink. It has a flexible 14 carat gold nib, though it is plated with platinum, which achieves a uniform colour scheme to the pen. The pen's design demonstrates the Bauhaus influence on Lamy pens, and that of "form follows function". The classic design continues to be popular forty years after being introduced. Notable author Neil Gaiman wrote his book American Gods with his Lamy 2000, which he refers to as his "novel writing pen".

the topside of the broad, platinum plated 14K flexible gold nib

How can i even resist that? aside from being a beautiful, minimalist, artfully designed pen, it strongly appeals to me because i also have a fetish for things that are released around the year of my birth. it was added attraction too that it is a favorite by a famous author who actually wrote his book with it, quite literally. so it wasn't surprising that the very next day, i was out to meet Rolly by the gates of GMA where he works, to view the pen. after deliberation and some hesitation (mostly due only to the fact that it was a broad nib and i usually prefer fine), i still ended up taking it. the price was too good to pass up. he even threw in a full bottle of black Lamy ink to sweeten the deal.

the Lamy 2000 has this little, unobtrusive window that shows how much ink it still has. this is how the window looks when the pen is empty.

this is how it looks when filled with a purplish ink. pretty cool yes?

however, that even that little window is minimalist--it is not obvious unless it is bright and the light source is behind the window. compare with the photo below with the light source on top instead of behind.

however, when i got home and started writing with it, i had some misgivings. i tried really hard to like the broad nib but it just won't jive with the way i write. the writing was skipping which i eventually figured was due to the angle that i naturally held my pen. my instinctive inclination was to grind the nib. (is it odd that i didn't even want to sell it off? :-D the thought did cross my mind, though.) of course, good logic contradicted. it would simply be foolhardy to do that because i didn't have enough experience! i tried nibgrinding just once before and i was happy with the result but it was with an 80-peso -- that's about US$1.75-- chinese pen. THIS one is a pretty expensive US$175.00 pen. definitely NOT a good idea to experiment nib-grinding with it.

...and i did successfully stay away from touching that nib... for about 24 hours.

but, before you scream at me, check out the results :-D i do have to thank an FPN-P member and a legit nib expert, J.P. Reinoso, who helped me out by doing the final tweaking to that nib. i didn't have the ultra fine buffing pad he has and he needed to smooth it down because, after my own grinding, and even if i was pretty happy with the line strokes, the nib was still on the scratchy side. after JP buffed it, it wrote like butter. definitely better.

check out below the difference of how it wrote BEFORE i fooled around with grinding the nib and AFTER.

all the skipping was making me frustrated and it shows on my penmanship. i definitely love the pen itself, but i hated how i write with it. the broad nib and i don't match.

now here is my writing AFTER i "tweaked" it. notice the line variations in the writing, the horizontal strokes are thinner and the downstroke, thicker. most importantly, no more skipping! :-D

...and here are the before and after profiles of the nib.

left side: BEFORE grinding

left side: AFTER grinding

underside: BEFORE grinding

underside: AFTER grinding

right side: BEFORE

right side: AFTER

topside: BEFORE

topside: AFTER

some writing samples again using Pelikan Edelstein ink (Jade) and J. Herbin ink (Larmes de Cassis)

needless to say, i definitely ❤❤❤ this pen now ...so much that it is always inked and regularly a part of my daily arsenal :-D

my first vintage fountain pen

Esterbrook SJ fountain pen in a lovely red. my first vintage pen.
noting the "jewel" on the bottom and top of the pen, this kind would have been made after 1948. it also has an ® engraved on the barrel so i'm guessing this one would be from sometime in the 1950s.

being first accustomed to the brand new nibs of new pens, this nib initially felt scratchy to me and seems to always catch on paper. but, it had grown on me since and this is one that i regularly use now.

the nib had some scuffmarks on the backside but it still writes well.

Estie. got it. love it. want more.
if you have one to offer, preferably in green, blue or copper, please leave me a message. But of course you can leave me any other message, too. I love comments :-)