Lamy Pen FAQ: 7 Common Mistakes I Made (And How You Can Avoid Them)

Everything I Wish I'd Known Before Buying My First Lamy

I've been using Lamy pens for over a decade. In that time, I've bought the wrong nib, ruined a pen with bad ink, and nearly thrown out a perfectly good fountain pen because I used the wrong paper. This FAQ covers the questions I wish someone had answered for me back then. No fluff, just real advice from someone who's paid the 'stupid tax' so you don't have to.

1. Why does my Lamy fountain pen skip or write inconsistently?

If you're getting skipping, hard starts, or scratchy writing, 9 times out of 10 it's not the pen – it's the paper. My first week with a Lamy Safari, I blamed the nib. I was using standard copy paper from the office supply closet. Cheap copy paper is made for toner, not liquid ink. The fibers are too loose, and the coating (if any) isn't designed to handle fountain pen ink. The result? Feathering, bleed-through, and a skipping nib that made me want to throw the pen across the room.

Fix: Switch to a smoother paper. I now use Rhodia or Leuchtturm notebooks, but even a mid-range laser printer paper (like HP Premium32) works fine. Trust me on this – I tested five different papers before I figured it out.

2. What ink should I use in a Lamy fountain pen?

Short answer: Lamy cartridges or bottled ink are the safest bet. I once bought a cheap third-party ink because it was half the price. Saved about $4. Two weeks later, my pen was clogged with sediment. Cleaning took an hour and I nearly broke the nib trying to flush it out. The $4 saving cost me $20 in replacement parts and a lot of frustration.

Lamy's own inks are well-behaved, come in dozens of colors (like the limited edition Dark Lilac – good luck finding it now), and are designed for their feed system. If you want to experiment with other brands, stick to trusted names like Waterman, Diamine, or Pilot Iroshizuku. Pro tip: avoid India ink or any ink labeled 'calligraphy ink' – those will ruin your pen.

3. How do you write properly with a fountain pen?

This is the question I get most often, and it's the one I messed up the most. When I first got my Lamy, I held it like a ballpoint pen – vertical, pressing hard. That's wrong. Fountain pens need light pressure and a lower angle (about 40–55 degrees). The ink flows by capillary action; you're not pushing ink onto the paper. Pressing hard can bend the nib tines, causing skipping and eventual damage.

I learned this the hard way after using my first Lamy for a month. The nib started writing wetter and wetter. Turns out I'd spread the tines by pressing too hard. A $15 nib replacement later, I slowed down and practiced writing with a relaxed grip. Rule of thumb: let the pen glide. If you're gripping hard enough to feel the metal ridges, you're pressing too much.

4. Is the Lamy ballpoint pen as good as the fountain pen?

Honest opinion: it's a different experience. The Lamy ball pen (like the Safari ballpoint) uses a standard refill, so it doesn't have the same character as a fountain pen. But it's built like a tank – aluminum or ABS plastic, same ergonomic grip. I keep one in my bag for signing carbon copies or forms that won't accept fountain pen ink. The refills are widely available (M16 or M63 depending on model).

If you're looking for a German pen that writes smoothly without the maintenance of a fountain pen, the Lamy ballpoint or rollerball is a solid choice. Just don't expect the same line variation or expressive writing. Personally, I use both: fountain pen at my desk, ballpoint on the go.

5. What's the best paper for Lamy fountain pens? (And why copy paper fails)

I touched on this earlier, but let me be clear: standard copy paper is the enemy of fountain pens. It's too porous, too abrasive, and often has a coating that repels liquid ink. I've had whole pages turn into a mess of feathering with a wet Lamy nib. If you must use copy paper for a quick note, try the 'multi-purpose' or 'laser' variants – they're slightly smoother. But for serious writing, invest in paper designed for fountain pens. My go-to: Rhodia DotPad (90 gsm) or Clairefontaine. Even a basic Moleskine (though they've gotten ink-resistant lately) can work if you use a fine nib.

6. How to clean a Lamy fountain pen (and what happens if you don't)

I'll be honest: I ignored cleaning for my first two years. Then I switched inks and my pen started writing dry. When I finally disassembled it, the feed was caked with dried ink. It took me 45 minutes of soaking and flushing with a bulb syringe to get it working again. Don't be me.

Clean your Lamy every 4–6 weeks if you use it regularly, or every time you switch inks. Use cool water (not hot – can warp the feed). Remove the cartridge/converter, flush the nib section forward and backward until the water runs clear. Let it dry fully before re-inking. For stubborn blocks, a drop of dish soap in the water helps. I keep a small bulb syringe (like the ones for baby nose suction) – makes flushing way easier.

7. How long does a Lamy fountain pen last? (And does a 'chronological age calculator' help?)

I've seen people online use a chronological age calculator to figure out how old their vintage Lamy is – but honestly, for a modern Lamy, the pen will outlast you if you treat it right. The Safari is ABS plastic – virtually indestructible. The nibs are replaceable, the converter is cheap. I still use my first Lamy from 2013. The only thing that wears out is the plating on gold nibs (if you buy the more expensive ones) and the rubber gasket on the converter (easy to replace).

So forget the age calculator – focus on maintenance. A well-maintained Lamy will write for decades. I've dropped mine off a desk twice, and it still works perfectly. The one thing that can kill it: letting ink dry inside for months. Use it, clean it, love it. Simple.

That's it – seven questions that cover the most common mistakes I made with my Lamy pens. If you've got another question I didn't answer, drop it in the comments and I'll add it to the list. Trust me, I've probably made that mistake too.