Thursday, July 28, 2022

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 408

Like a lot of my fellow pen club members, I've been buying more pens online since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Many of those pens were purchases from Canadian pen sellers. In fact, I jokingly said to a pen friend that I should make at least one purchase from every online pen store in Canada while the pandemic was still on.

To that end, I browsed through Laywine's webstore and found a fountain pen I've wanted for quite a while, but never got around to buying. Shipping was free over $75 CAD and better yet, I discovered I could pay for it with Sezzle in four equal, interest-free payments --one payment every 2 weeks-- with my credit card. I'd used Sezzle to pay for some items from Fendrihan.ca and never had a problem with it, so I was pleased to see that Laywine's also accepted Sezzle.

Long story short--I bought a Lamy 'Lx' "Marron" special edition fountain pen!

(please click on images to enlarge)

(Luxury packaging!)

I first saw the pen at a pen club meeting back in February 2020, when new VPC member Gary brought it for us to see (thank you, Gary!) A
s soon as I saw it at our meeting, I put in on my mental Pen Wish List. It kept getting put on the back burner, though, as I was focusing on buying Lamy 'Safari' special editions before they sold out. Anyway, I finally got one, and I'm so glad I did.

...and here it is! The pen arrived, safe and sound, from Toronto and came with the nice note above.

This isn't my first Lamy 'Lx'--I have one in "Rose Gold" that I bought in 2016, the year after the 'Lx' line was first released. The "Marron" version is an 'Lx' Special Edition and it came along a few years later -- in 2019, to be exact.

The Lamy 'Lx' has been called an "upgraded" Lamy 'Al-Star' that comes in "iPhone colours" (which sounds like a bit of a dig, but it shouldn't be). Yes, the model name is pronounced "luxe" (as in "deluxe"), but --price differences aside-- how do the two Lamy models actually differ...and is the 'Lx' model worth the extra money?

According to Lamy.com, the 'Lx' body is made of "Aluminium, anodised, with precious metal colour" (GouletPens.com says it's made of "double-anodized aluminum"), while the same Lamy site describes the 'Al-star' as being made of "high quality" aluminum. Are the pens really made of two different types of materials?? If anyone knows, please let me know. The 'Lx' material looks and feels a bit nicer, but it could just be my imagination (or subconscious, because I know the 'Lx' is more expensive, lol).

One obvious difference is that the 'Lx' fountain pens have shiny metal finials on the top of their caps (photo above) and the bottom of their barrels
(vs. the ABS plastic finials on the 'Al-Star), as well as matching shiny metal clips (vs. the chrome clips on the 'Al-Star'). The trim on the 'Lx' always matches the colour of the pen body, but that's rarely the case with the 'Al-star' models.

I didn't take a closeup of it, but the Lamy logo on the 'Lx' barrels is also different (and nicer)--it's glossy and slightly raised, whereas the 'Al-Star' has a plain, stamped/engraved Lamy logo. I just finished watching a video on the 'Lx' by Goulet Pens and Brian Goulet said that the Lamy logo on the 'Lx' was double-anodized, adding that it was a "pioneering and innovative technique that Lamy (was) trying". Cool!

The 'Lx' and 'Al-Star' models both come with steel monotone nibs (the Z 52 and Z50 nibs, respectively) and their nibs are completely interchangeable. The nib on the 'Lx', however, has a glossy black PVD coating on it, is laser engraved with the nib width & Lamy name, and has an elegant engraved border around its nib slit and breather hole. The PVD coating makes the Z 52 nib more durable, glossier and a darker shade of black compared to the black versions of the Z50 nibs that come with some Lamy 'Al-star'/Safari'/'Vista' pens and which aren't PVD coated.

I ordered an 'Lx' with a Medium (Z 52) nib, and it writes the same as my Medium Z 50 nibs. The 'Lx's nib is more stiff, though, but this is just an observation -- I don't put any extra pressure on either type of nib because they're not flex nibs.

Happily, these beautiful 'Lx' Z 52 nibs are available for purchase separately in four nib widths (EF, F, M and B)! They fit a lot of different Lamy fountain pens, so I got one for my Lamy 'Accent' from Stylo.ca in Montreal for $30 CAD + shipping. That's not cheap for a steel nib, but the plainer Z 50 nibs cost $22-$25 each from the same seller; for only a few dollars more, you can get a Z 52 nib that gives your pen a decidedly more upscale look.

Another difference -- the Lamy 'Lx' comes with that posh packaging you saw at the start of this post! Instead of Lamy's cardboard packaging (which is admittedly much better for the environment) for its 'Al-Star'/'Safari'/'Vista' models, you get an anodized aluminum tube in a colour that matches your 'Lx' pen....

...and the tube is lined with a black rubbery material that gently holds your pen in place and protects it from damage.

The tube makes for nice gift packaging ... or you can also use it as a pen holder for your desk...

Above: my other Lamy 'Lx' --the Rose Gold fountain pen-- with my Marron.

Note that the trim on these two 'Lx' models isn't the same; when they introduced the "Marron", Lamy said (in their YouTube video description) that it had a "bronze colour metal clip and details PVD coated with bronze".

In addition to these two colours, the Lamy 'Lx' also comes in Gold, Palladium, and Ruthenium, and is available in fountain pen, ballpoint and rollerball forms. Lamy hasn't added to the 'Lx' lineup since the "Marron' was released in 2019, so if you want to collect the whole set, you only have to buy five different models :)

So, do I think the 'Lx' fountain pen is worth the extra money? I'd say "Yes!" for three reasons: the lovely, shiny metal finials (and matching clip), the beautiful nib design that's unique to the 'Lx', and because the pen's trim matches the body of the pen (g
iving it an aesthetically-appealing uniformity of appearance). All of these features add a touch of luxury to what is already a well-made, smooth-writing, reliable fountain pen. Many thanks to Laywine's for this beautiful pen!

(photos & review by Maja)

P.S. I recently got a new Lamy 'Al-star' so I'll be posting a review of it here on Saturday (July 30) and I'll include some comparison shots of the 'Al-Star' and the Lamy 'Lx'.

2 comments:

Ben Rogers said...

Very nice pen! I really like the write-up too!

Vancouver Pen Club said...

Thanks very much, Ben! It took me ages to write because I didn't want to miss anything (but that made the review longer than I wanted lol). It's a lovely pen and paying with Sezzle spreads out the payments nicely :)
Best wishes,
~Maja