Lamy Pico Review

The additon of a Lamy Pico to my writing arsenal has been a long time coming. Like since I started the blog in 2007 long. It is a wonderful Lamy design that no one has been able to match but I always wondered: Would I like it?

What makes the Pico unique is its deployment mechanism. When retracted, the cylindrical, compact barrel measures only 3.75 inches long, but when extended into the writing position it hits a nearly full-sized 5 inches in length. The knock is visually integrated into the barrel perfectly and there is no clip, so this portable powerhouse is able to slide into any pocket with ease. The Lamy badge on the barrel serves as a roll-stopper in lieu of a clip to keep your pen from rolling away.

The refill is the proprietary Lamy M22, which could be a sticking point for some people. It ships with the black 0.7 mm as the default, but I swapped it immediately for the 0.5 mm blue refill and love the output. It lays down a clean, fine line and is smooth as well. It is a traditional ballpoint so I can't really ask for much more performance wise.

I went with the white barrel for something different, but every option in the Pico lineup looks as good as the next. Quite honestly, this is close to the perfect every day carry ballpoint. I love the build quality, how the rounded ends slide right into my jeans front pocket, and how slick the knock mechanism works. I wish I would have bought the Lamy Pico years ago.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Lamy Studio Steel Nib Fountain Pen Review

Unlike a lot of people, my first fountain pen wasn't a Lamy. I didn't try one out until my third fountain pen, after a Sailor and Kaweco. My first Lamy was a Lamy Vista with a fine nib, and it's a great pen. Since then, I've bought more pens by Lamy and have been very happy with them. The Studio follows that line of customer delight.

The Studio is somewhere between the (relatively) inexpensive Safaris and AL Stars and the timeless 2000. At less than $90, it's not a scary jump into the more costly pens, and you already know if you'll like the nib since they use the same ones.

Keep in mind that I'm reviewing the steel nib version of the pen here. Brad reviewed the gold nib version a few weeks ago, which is about twice the price.

Look and feel

First things first. Personally, I think this is a really attractive pen. I love the sleek matte finish and the polished grip section and accents. I've said it before, but I really have a soft spot for aluminum bodies, and the Studio does a great job using the metal.

I've heard people complain that the grip section is slippery because it's so smooth. There's absolutely no texture to it. I don't have a problem with the way it feels. I think it's quite comfortable, but that's just me. I do get annoyed with all of the fingerprints, though. Being a polished metal, it attracts fingerprints like pen addicts to open inkwells. That's a minor annoyance that's easily solved with a quick wipe down.

My other major complaint is with the clip. It looks really nice and sports a unique design, but it fails to serve its real purpose with any ease. It's an extremely tight clip and has been difficult with every sort of object I've tried to clip it to. Whether it's my shirt pocket, a Nock case, the front cover of a Field Notes book...it resists with an ornery stubbornness. I usually have to move the clip to the side a bit to provide a tad more room for the object to slip between the clip and the cap body. Fine. I can live with that, but there's a downside to that method as well. Sliding the clip across the cap creates a mark in the matte finish. Major bummer, but not a deal-breaker. Just be aware.

Apart from those two annoyances, this is a great pen. It feels great in my hand, has a solid but useable weight, and catches quite a few compliments. The cap posts very sturdily with a satisfying click so you know it's ready.

It's sleek, black, and understated.

Writing experience

Like every other Lamy I've used, this pen writes like a champ. Excellent flow and smooth writing right out of the box. The Studio comes with a converter (unlike other Lamys in the lower price range) that holds the same amount of ink as the regular Lamy converter. The converter included is the silver and black Z26, which I'm thinking of swapping out to use in my Vista.

One issue I've had so far is that there's quite a bit of nib creep with this particular pen. I've never seen this issue with other Lamys (not as much), so I'm wondering if it has something to do with the capping system. I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't hinder the writing experience.

I've used this pen for long writing sessions, and it doesn't create any fatigue and it remains comfortable the entire time. It's an absolute joy to write with.

If you're a Lamy fan, this is definitely a great addition to your collection. Apart from the sultry black, there's a very refined royal blue that looks equally as classy. JetPens only offer a fine and extra fine nib with the Studio, but you can swap the nib out with any Safari nib.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)

Lamy Studio Fountain Pen Review

I've had Lamy Studio envy since I saw Office Supply Geek's lovely Instagram photo of his blue barrel model back in December. I decided this was it and headed over to JetPens to pick up the exact same steel nib model. Who am I to argue with good taste? I hit the page, then had a "Squirrel!" moment. 14k nib? Yes please.

The only other 14k Lamy nib I own is on my Lamy 2000, and it is of the hooded variety. I thought I would give the full-sized 14k nib in the Lamy Studio a shot to see if there was any difference. If you recall my experience with the 2000 I felt it needed some nib work to get it where I wanted it. As fate would have it, I had to go the same route with the Studio.

There was nothing wrong with the Studio's performance right out of the box except the EF line was too wide and too wet. Much more than I expected from an EF nib, even a German one. One of the reasons may be that the 14k Studio nib has some flex to it. I'm used to stiff Japanese nibs and this one is very different. I liked it a lot, but something had to be done about the line width.

Enter Shawn Newton.

My enabler Thomas has a few of Shawn's pens, and recently has used Shawn for some nib work and spoke very highly of his talents. When Thomas says "Jump!" I say "How high?" so a week or two later I had my Studio headed Shawn's way to turn the German EF nib into a Japanese F nib. Not a huge change but more in my wheelhouse. The results were fantastic. The line is clean and smooth and right where I wanted it to be. I can't recommend Shawn's services higly enough. Contact him if you are in the market for nib work. (Full disclosure: Shawn provided his services at no charge for this pen as a trial run and I paid full freight for a second I had him work on.)

Back to the Studio itself...it is a fantastic pen. The barrel design is what originally sold me, and as usual, Lamy nailed this one. The stainless steel grey-lacquered barrel is sleek with slight tapers on each end with a chrome clip, grip, and end caps. I was curious how slick the grip would be and I found it to not be an issue. The slight natural tackiness of my fingers held well, although I left plenty of fingerprints behind. Not crime scene friendly.

And that clip - wow. Sometimes the simplest little feature grabs me and won't let go and with the Studio it is the clip. The paddle design is unique even among Lamy's other highly engineered offereings, and might be their best.

So after all of the praise I have heaped would I recommend this pen? I'm 0-for-2 with Lamy's gold nibs. Whether that is the manufacturers fault or my pickiness (I think it is one of each in my case) you should understand that the nib may not be perfection when you first ink it up. Some will argue that for a pen this price it should perfect out the gate, and that is fair. For me, a little extra work gave me a pen even more suited to me than when it first arrived.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)