Lamy Pens and Refills: FAQ from Someone Who Orders Them for a Living

I manage office supply purchasing for a 400-person company. Over the past eight years, I've processed roughly 1,200 Lamy pens, a couple thousand M63 rollerball refills, and more ballpoint refills than I can count. I report to both operations and finance, which means I get pulled into a lot of 'can you order me one of these?' conversations. These are the questions I hear more than any others.

Are Lamy pens actually worth what they cost?

I used to think Lamy was a brand-name tax. Then I calculated total cost instead of unit price and changed my mind.

A Lamy Safari fountain pen is around $25–30 retail. A pack of generic disposable pens is $6–8. But disposables last a few weeks before they skip, leak, or get thrown away. The Safaris we've ordered are still in active rotation four or five years later. You can replace the nib, the converter, and the ink separately, so the pen itself isn't a one-time consumable.

That said, I'm not going to push Lamy on every team. If your people need something they won't care about losing, buy the disposables and move on. Lamy makes sense when you want durability and a pen people actually want to use—not as a loss-proof giveaway.

Which refill fits a Lamy rollerball? My colleague's just ran out.

The Lamy M63 rollerball refill. That's the one. It fits the Safari rollerball, the AL-star rollerball, and most other Lamy rollerballs.

I order M63s in medium (0.7mm) black by default. The refill also comes in fine and broad, plus blue and red if you need color coding. I usually order in boxes of 10 to keep unit cost down; at current vendor pricing, expect around $6–8 per refill.

One thing I learned the hard way—the M63 is not the same as the M16 ballpoint refill. They look similar until you're holding one in each hand. I once ordered 200 M16s thinking they were M63s. That was a fun box to discover. (Should mention: the Lamy website has a compatibility chart. Use it. It takes five minutes.)

Do Lamy ballpoint pens take standard refills?

No. Lamy ballpoint pens use Lamy's proprietary M16 refill. That covers the Safari ballpoint, AL-star ballpoint, Lamy 2000 ballpoint, and most of the rest of the lineup.

The most common mistake I see is someone trying to fit a Parker-style G2 refill into a Lamy. It doesn't work. The Lamy pico pocket pen is the exception to the M16 rule—it takes the smaller M22 refill. If you're ordering for a mixed set of Lamy pens, add both M16 and M22 to your list.

A colleague asked me for a "529 calculator." What should I order?

I've gotten this one before too. A 529 calculator is not a physical office calculator. It's an online planning tool used to estimate savings for education expenses under IRS Section 529. It's a personal finance resource, not a line item on a purchase order.

If the request is for personal use, point your colleague to any free online 529 calculator—trusted financial sites have them. If the request is actually for a desktop calculator, our standard is a 12-digit model with a paper roll, about $30–45 from any major office supplier. Worth clarifying before you spend money on the wrong thing. I've made that mistake, and I'd rather you not repeat it.

Are standing desk converters worth it?

For about 70% of the people we bought them for, yes. The other 30% used it once and never touched it again. That's a decent batting average, but I've learned to pilot with a small batch before rolling office-wide.

We bought 15 gas-spring converters in 2024 at about $250–300 per unit. That was significantly cheaper than replacing desks with sit-stand models, which were running $800–1,200 each.

The thing I'd tell you to watch: match the converter to the person. One of our engineers has a 43-inch monitor on a heavy arm—he needs a heavy-duty converter rated for 40+ pounds. A laptop user can get away with a lighter, cheaper model. A universal one-size-fits-all converter doesn't actually fit everyone. And I'll be straight with you: if your team is mostly on laptops in conference rooms, you probably don't need converters at all.

How do I fix a scratchy Lamy fountain pen nib?

First, make sure the nib is the actual problem. At least half the time, a scratchy feel comes from a dry feed or dried ink, not a damaged nib. Flush the nib and feed with lukewarm water and a drop of dish soap. Let it dry completely, reload with fresh ink, and try again. You'd be surprised how often that's the whole fix.

If it's still scratchy, look at the tines under a loupe. Misaligned tines—one higher than the other—are the usual culprit. You can try to align them gently, but if you've never done it, find a video first. This is learnable, but force will make it worse.

Micromesh at 12000 grit can smooth a genuinely rough nib, but only after alignment is checked. Do it once or twice max, not as a routine. And if the pen has a gold nib—like the Lamy 2000—skip DIY altogether. Professionally tuned, gold nibs are great. Ruined by an overconfident amateur, they're a $200 mistake. A replacement steel Safari nib costs about $10–15, which is sometimes the practical answer.

What's the biggest Lamy refill mistake you see?

Assuming one Lamy refill fits every Lamy pen. Here's the quick guide I send to new admins:

• Lamy fountain pens (Safari, AL-star, Lamy 2000) use a Z28 converter or T10 ink cartridges.
• Lamy rollerball pens use M63 rollerball refills.
• Lamy ballpoint pens use M16 ballpoint refills.
• The Lamy pico pocket pen takes the smaller M22 refill.

I still keep a box of wrong refills in my supply closet as a reminder to check model numbers before ordering. Learn from me. One more tip: if you're ordering Lamy for a whole department, standardize. Pick one pen model and one refill type. That cuts the model-checking down to almost zero. We use the Safari ballpoint with M16 black medium across the office, with a few rollerballs for people who prefer them.