Lamy Studio May 2005 Stylophiles

By Mike Stevens

The Lamy Studio is another in a long line of Lamy pens that have made their mark with clean modern styling and reliable performance. The Lamy 2000 has been in production since 1966 providing just that to satisfied customers around the globe.

With the Studio, Lamy might have developed a worthy successor to the 2000. At least in terms of looks!

The Studio is a very clean design, with no ornamentation at all. The Studio relies on it's simple lines to create it's statement, instead of bright colors or decorative trim. Available in matte black or brushed stainless fitted with steel nibs, or brushed palladium finish with a 14K gold nib, the Studio is every inch a modern bauhous design.

The clip is unique in it's simple design, beginning as a flat clip of conventional appearance, it then swoops into a flat rounded shape, with the bottom edge oriented perpendicular to the top portion. It's a neat design, more in terms of looks than any practical advantage, and it's the first thing you notice about the Studio.

The Studio has obviously been designed for "real world" use. At 5 1/2 inches closed, just barely over 6 inches posted, and only 1/2 inch across the widest portion of the barrel, it's made for the pocket! Weight is only about one ounce, with the matte black version bit over, and the steel one a bit under. So the Studio is not going to be a demanding pen in terms of it's being carried around all day long. That neatly designed clip is also spring loaded, and grips even thin fabric tightly.

I got ahold of the steel nib version, in brushed steel, and so far, I can see that it's going to be one of those "useful" pens. In other words, I may not expect to get a lot of comments on it from non-pen people, but I will be likely to tuck it in a pocket when I'm running out the door to the bank or grocery store. It is a bit slimmer than I normally prefer in a pen, but it's not so skinny as to be uncomfortable for me, and I would imagine that it's likely to fall right into the size bracket that most people would consider "just right". In comparison, I would put it in with pens like the Parker Sonnet or Pelikan M400 in terms of the gripping area diameter.

The steel version has a nice soft feel section, in matte black finish that contrasts nicely with the brushed steel cap and barrel. It also allows a nice secure grip of the pen.

I notice that the matte black version has what looks to be a smooth chrome finish gripping section, and this is what led me to choose the steel version.

I've had bad experience in the past with pens having smooth metal sections. I find them slippery and uncomfortable. The soft section on the brushed steel Studio offers a very secure grip. As I mention above, it's not an oversize pen by any means, but about average in size. By gripping it higher on the section, I found it to be large enough that it was comfortable enough for normal use during the day.

The nib is steel on mine, and I'm quite happy with that. I might be curious to see a side by side comparison with the gold nib on the palladium finish model, but I can't imagine that there would be a huge difference. The shape of this nib pretty much precludes much in the way of flexibility, the sides wrap around the bottom of the section, making for a very rigid nib.

Rigid, but smooth....

The medium nib I got has a very even, smooth line. The Studio is a cartridge converter filler, and comes supplied with a very nice converter. I am glad to see this as I was a bit let down to find that the Lamy Safari no longer comes supplied with a converter, you have to purchase one separately!

No problem there with the Studio, and I doubt very much that mine would ever see a cartridge.

Fit and finish on the Studio are excellent, and I have found no problems so far. The cap is a click on style, and fits securely to the barrel when closed. There is a small lip on the barrel end to allow the cap to lock in place when posted. Between this and the fact that the cap fits well down on the barrel when posted, it's very secure in this position as well.

Considering everything, the Studio is exactly what I have come to expect from Lamy. A cool modern design, and great performance. And affordable pricing thrown into the mix. The steel nib versions are list priced at around $70, and the gold nib palladium version is $125. For the money, you just can't go wrong with the Studio!

BACK TO CONTENTS