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As a brand, Lamy has somehow managed to get attached to nearly every market in the pen world from school pens for 6-year-olds to digital tablet pens to gold-nibbed fountain pens. And while their pens may not be as intricate as a Montegrappa Frankenstein, they have classic style and practicality in spades!
There are two different ways to ink a Lamy and today we are going to talk about both but before we do, let’s start with step 1.
No matter how you decide to ink your Lamy pen this is an important step. Lamy is one of the few brands that tests every pen before it leaves their factory, so it isn't uncommon to find blue ink residue on the nib of a new Lamy pen. As a rule of thumb it is always recommended to clean a pen before you ink it to make sure that there is no ink or debris in the nib or feed. I do know some people that skip this step and will only clean if they experience issues with their new pen.
Take off the cap and unscrew the body from the nib/grip section. Place both cap and body off to the side in a safe spot.
If the pen has a converter or cartridge, keep it with the body of the pen.
Put a plug in your sink to make sure nothing falls down the drain if the nib somehow becomes unattached.
Hold the nib section nib side down and run warm water into the top round section letting water run through the nib.
Dry off the nib and grip.
Reattach the pen body and then recap the pen.
This is the easiest way to ink a pen but does limit you in colour especially as Lamy uses a proprietary cartridge.
Uncap the pen and unscrew the body of the fountain pen from the grip section. Place the cartridge top side up* against a table and carefully but forcefully press the grip section into it with the nib facing up. Once the carriage is properly punctured you should hear a pop.
*To identify the top, look for the end that has a little cup shape with a ball in it. For most cartridges the other end will be flat but this is not true with all brands.
Screw the body back onto the pen and recap it.
Let the pen sit horizontal or nib side down for a few minutes to allow the ink to start flowing through the feed.
Once the ink has flowed you should be good to start writing. If you do have any issues with the nib not writing consistently I find that a damp piece of paper towel wrapped around the nib for a few seconds solves most issues.
USING A CONVERTER
I find any Lamy nib above a medium handles most shimmer inks quite well so if those are your jam, feel free to use them in this pen.
Uncap the pen and unscrew the barrel. Once you have done that, remove the included cartridge and attach the converter to the nib & feed section by holding the section nib side up and pressing the converter into the bottom of it until you hear a pop.
Open up your chosen ink bottle and set it on your desk. The Lamy nib & grip section should fit into most ink bottles on the market but if it doesn't fit into your bottle for whatever reason, skip to the ** section below.
Lamy Ink bottles are short with a wide mouth and a small dip at the center of the glass bottom, making filling your Lamy pen easy.
Carefully insert the nib of the Lamy into ink until it is fully submerged under the ink.
To fill the converter, twist the end of the converter to suck the ink into the pen. Twist the end of the converter until it won’t twist any more and then remove the nib carefully from the bottle. On the first fill you tend to get more air than ink but this is a fixable issue.
Grab a piece of paper towel or tissue and wrap it around the grip of the pen to help minimize messes from the ink. Flip the pen so that it is nib side up with the nib facing away from you and the feed facing towards you. Carefully and slowly twist the converter to remove the air bubbles from the pen. Stop twisting when you see ink start to bubble on the feed side of the nib.
Re-insert the nib into the ink bottle and twist the end of the converter to add more ink to the pen.
You can continue to repeat steps 6 & 7 until the pen is full or you can ignore this step if you are happy with the first fill of the pen.
Once you have the pen filled to the level you desire, set it down on a piece of paper towel or tissue. Cap the ink bottle fully to avoid the mess of knocking over a full bottle of ink before you do anything else with the pen.
Use the material you set the pen on to clean any ink residue from the nib/grip that may be left after inking the pen.
Once the nib and grip are clean, attach the barrel of the pen to the grip.
Because the ink has been sucked through the feed and then all the air has been pushed out, the pen should write right away without needing any additional priming time. If you do have any issues with the nib not writing consistently I find that a damp piece of paper towel wrapped around the nib for a few seconds solves most issues.
**If the ink you have chosen has a bottle too small to accommodate the pen nib and grip for whatever reason, the only other way to fill the pen with bottled ink is using a syringe to fill the converter. Blunt tip syringes work really well for this purpose and luckily pen stores, like Goldspot, tend to carry them. If you are going about filling a pen this way, this replaces Step 5 and you can either join the cartridge instructions again at Step 6 or follow the cartridge instructions after filling the converter.
With the converter detached from the nib section, twist the converter so the chamber is fully open. Insert the blunt tip syringe into the ink bottle and fill up the syringe. Insert the syringe tip into the converter and carefully depress the syringe to fill it. Make sure to not overfill the converter, stopping at the bottom lip. Attach the nib & grip section to the converter.
Helpful Tips
You will get ink on you, it is inevitable and just part of the reality of refilling fountain pens red & pink inks tend to stain skin more but I find most fades within 24 hours.
I always recommend using a desk protector and having paper towel or tissues on hand in case you accidently tip over an ink bottle, it is a rare occurrence but I know too many people who have had to repaint rooms or destroyed desks by toppling over an ink bottle..
Go slowly, when you rush mistakes are far more likely to happen.
Hopefully this blog has provided you with a complete overview of filling a Lamy and it is helpful to you as you embark on your next pen adventure with the brand.
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