Lamy Studio Palladium - 14K Medium

Most people know of the Lamy Safari or the Al Star, which are some of the most popular starter pens out there. If you’re looking for a slightly higher end Lamy Fountain pen, you will probably know about the Lamy 2000, the iconic Bauhaus piston filler. But if that is a bit out of your price range, or you enjoy the Safari or Al star nibs and you’re just looking for something a bit sleeker, you might have looked at the Studio.

The Studio comes in many finishes with a variety of prices making it a good choice if you enjoy the look but want something a bit more cost effective than the Platinum version for example. There are also the occasional limited edition colours, which can be interesting.

The Studio sports the same style of nib as the Safari and Al Star, the entry level Studios (like the stainless steel version) has the same steel nib, while the higher end options (like the Palladium and Platinum) sport a beautiful Gold nib. Just keep a close eye on what the pen comes with – I’ve seen different retailers sell the Palladium edition with both Steel and Gold nibs, so if the price looks too good to be true for a gold nib, then its probably got a steel.

Nevertheless, like the Safari and Al Star, the nibs are interchangeable, so if you decide you want to upgrade later on, you absolutely can. The gold Lamy nibs are a bit softer than the steel, as you might expect, although if you were hoping that the consistency between gold nibs would be better than their steel, then think again. Lamy Safari/Al Star nibs are well known for their inconsistent performance, and the gold ones are no exception. I originally purchased this pen with a gold fine nib, but it was so scratchy I couldn’t bear it and replaced it with this medium. This nib writes beautifully and is soft, smooth and springy.

This pen takes a converter, similar to the Safari and Al Star, although Lamy have Z27 which have a bit of steel on it and can be used on all of their pens and a Z28, which is red and can only be used on Al stars and Safaris. If you plan to buy different Lamy fountain pens, I would encourage you to pick up the Z27 so that all of your converters are interchangeable.

I really like the look of this pen, but there are a few downsides in my opinion. The clip is not the most stable and seems to move from side to side – I particularly notice when uncapping, I must put pressure down on the clip when I do this. What it means is that the clip will scratch up your pen lid in the process. On mine there are minute horizontal scratch marks on the pen lid.

The other downside of this pen is that because its so sleek and metallic, its extremely slippery to use. I tend to death grip this pen when I write with it so that, even though its quite light and comfortable in hand, its not so to use. The stainless steel edition looks like it has a rubberised grip, but this is the only one that does.

I really like this pen, but because of its slipperiness it doesn’t get as much love as it should. Its just that much more uncomfortable to use that I reach for something else more often that this, which is a real shame because it is a beauty.