I recently had an opportunity to acquire a Lamy Studio fountain pen from one of the used pen sites. The Studio had always intrigued me because I like Lamy and thought that the design of this pen was subtle and professional. It’s the kind of pen that you could take to an important meeting and not draw a lot of attention with sparkly materials. I enjoy sparkles and normally don’t care, but sometimes you just don’t want to draw attention to your things.
On the Lamy website, the description for the Studio design has some background on the designer, Hannes Wettstein, saying, “he was active in the fields of design, corporate design, room design and architecture.” The Studio has that office park vibe. I happen to live in one of those Southern California communities that has plenty of the modern office parks that are less than 50 years old, and this pen design fits that style perfectly.
Since this Studio fountain pen was offered for about $25 less than it normally sells for new and had only been inked once, I figured why not. The seller had a few other Studios that he was unloading because they weren’t being used, and this glacier color was appealing. I was drawn to the propeller-shaped clip. I don’t really use pen clips that much, but I have admired the way it looks on this particular pen. I also had a fine Lamy gold nib that was unwrapped from a recent JetPens order and decided the swap the steel nib on the Studio with this upgrade.
So far, I’m enjoying this pen. It’s reliable. It feels good in your hand and has a decent weight to it. I’m not normally one who needs a pen that feels substantial or heavy, but this one feels nice. The grip section is not too narrow for me, but I can see how some people might not like the chrome grip section because it attracts fingerprints and can feel slick if your fingers get sweaty or if there’s a lot of moisture in the air. I also appreciate that this pen is snap cap so you don’t have to twist anything to uncap it and get going. Overall, writing with this pen has been a pleasant experience.
Would I recommend this pen? Yes, if you like Lamy and aren’t bothered by a chrome grip section. Is the gold nib worth the upgrade? I think so because you can a feel a bit more bounce to your writing, and the steel nibs can feel like a nail (although they can be smooth and write wonderfully). Would I pay full price for this pen? Maybe, but I was more inclined the pull the trigger buying it at a discount.
