Lamy X-LX Fountain, Extra Fine (L57EF)

Writes well. The fine point does not scratch as it moves across the page.

Very happy with this pen. It writes smoothly and feels nice in the hand!

La calidad de la pluma es excelente, la punta extra fina es justamente lo que buscaba, después de probar una punta M y una F. La calidad de los materiales es muy buena, la funda igualmente excelente, mantiene la pluma en su lugar con una agarradera de goma. Por la foto pensé que era la edición Marron, que era la que me interesaba, pero no lo es. El colo es más bien como aluminio oscuro.

I bought this to replace an old Lamy Safari I had abused in my college years. I am somewhat dissapointed in this PVD coated nib. I figured it would be similar to my standard EF nib, but it is ULTRA fine in my opinion. If I write with my normal weight I get less ink than a typical ballpoint pen, sometimes actually with un-inked script. If I give a little weight to my writing I get a decent line, but it feels very scratchy. Moreso than my standard EF nib. PVD is supposed to be the creme de la creme of surface coatings for anti friction, so that was pretty disappointing when it was scratchier than my standard nib. I thought it would loosen up a bit with some writing, but after about a month of writing with it, it's still the same. I've even tried flexing it open against paper to try and get the nib to give me a little more line weight, it's not happening. I am considering ordering a F PVD coated nib. Perhaps that will suit me better. I just put my other EF nib on this for now and will keep writing. As for the pen, I was a little concerned it was a knock off. The pocket clip is floating in the cap (slides in and out), and I had to tighten it a little more than I thought I should to get the barrel lined up with the grip. It also came in a card stock sleeve with no documentation. But, I know my other nib is genuine and it fits like a glove. Maybe I just got one that was QCed poorly. It is 2023 after all... Perhaps even German quality standards are going downhill. That aside, I like the pen, I wish they had an option for black, but the silver is nice and I like that it is metal instead of plastic. At first I didn't like the clear grip, but after filling it with some Noodler's Bulletproof, it has a unique look that I find appealing. Overall, an upgrade from the Safari but I wish the nib felt and wrote better.

Build quality top notch, the anodized look is great. However, the PVD Extra Fine nib lays down ink more like a Medium- despite flushing, cleaning, realigning, etc. Though, I have a Lamy Safari (Fine nib) which flows more like an Extra Fine 🤷‍♂️, who knows.