Battle is just comparison between the two as far as it goes. Wait right until you speak with blurb about the Vista and the LX well even though I’m not sure you get an LX is gonna match the other two in color but I mean Lamy does have a total of four of these pens are almost all exact way it’s up for like mine are finishing. I do however like the fact that with the lawn is at least if you don’t like nib could always swap them out and Lamy does make a hell of a lot of nerve options.

Lewis, I’ve had the same thing happen with a lot of fountain pens just after filling the converter, not just LAMY ones. I don’t really know the mechanics behind this issue (I suspect it’s just an initial ‘rush’ of ink flowing through and loading the empty pen too quickly), but I’ve found that if I dry the nib well with some tissue paper after filling the pen, let the tissue soak up a bit of ink, then scribble a bit with the pen on a bit of scrap paper, I reduce the chance of getting a blob.

Lewis,

Here’s a few thoughts that may help you based on my experiences. Please post what the final outcome was as this seems like a rarity and I’m curious to find out.

Q: Did you clean the pen before first use? After this problem?
Reasoning: I would strongly suggest doing so as all LAMY fountain pens are tested prior to leaving the factory. Perhaps this was an effect of either the ink used in testing or any chemical treatments used on the nib in the final steps of manufacturing. I read that it’s a best practice to clean every LAMY pen before first use. BTW, if you look closely enough at the nib, you could sometimes see some of the ink used during testing. It’s also the reason why the pen may start writing in a totally different color. I recently saw this myself when I started using a pen with red ink for the very first time, but only slight black was first coming out.

Q: Did you make sure the nib is on tight?
Reasoning: The nibs on the AL-Star simply slide down and off. You could use a piece of tape to help grip it if need be. Reseating it may resolve this problem. Just listen and feel for the ‘click’ to ensure that the nib is on all the way when reseating it.

Q: What about trying an ink cartridge or different converter?
Reasoning: It could be a problem with either. The LAMY ink cartridges are a bit of a pain to insert as the seal is a bit hard to break, but you could at least verify the problem this way. Maybe try ‘reseating’ the converter.

Q: What kind of ink are you using?
Reasoning: Yes, it absolutely could make a difference as ink that’s too ‘thin’ could cause this or other leakage problems, just like ink that’s too ‘thick’ may cause clogging issues. I would try the LAMY OEM ink to see if it occurs and go from there.

Q: Finally, what kind of paper were you writing on?
Reasoning: I actually use either toilet paper or paper towel to ‘draw’ out the ink when it doesn’t write while first starting new ink. I would think it’s because of the absorption capability being so great with these kinds of paper and we know that anything high pressure moves to an area of lower pressure to even out (homeostasis). Perhaps the paper is too absorbent? Have you tried other paper, or even paper and ink combinations? I’d certainly make that the next stop in trying to figure this out.

If all fails, it certainly could be the pen, but after all I’ve read about LAMY pens this doesn’t seem to be an often occurrence. At least LAMY AL-Star pens have a 2-year manufacturers warranty, so I’d start by sending LAMY an e-mail to see what they recommend. Worst case, they should replace your pen if all else fails as long as it’s still within the warranty period. Here’s LAMY’s warranty page to see what they allow regarding “defects:”

https://www.lamy.com/en_us/warranty/

Cheers!

Wow! Although I am fairly new to LAMY products, “Wow!” is most definitely the very first word that comes to mind after using one! I have used many [fountain] pens over the last 25-or-so years to include the ‘obvious’ ones like those produced by Parker and Cross, some of the more ‘pricey’ ones such as Sheaffer and Waterman, as well as numerous other outliers. Like many of you that arrive on a ‘versus’ page within a pen blog, I too am a self-styled writing geek (though I tell others I am an aficionado ;) As a writing geek, one could never own enough quality writing instruments (yeah, that sounds so much nicer than “pens!”)

So, LAMY finally entered my world about a month ago. I ‘heart’ Parker and thought that nothing could ever replace a solid Parker as it writes so smooth. Interestingly enough, this is my exact gripe with Cross in general. Cross manufacturers some beautiful designs (and to be fair, a few hideous ones), yet their pens don’t write smooth — at least for me — their fountain pens further put out far too much ink for the size of their respective nib. LAMY does the complete opposite with its writing being extremely smooth and true to the size of the nib. It was the first time that I was so impressed in a very long time.

My first purchase was a LAMY AL-Star in Ocean Blue (Fine) and I made sure to get a lot of blue ink with it as it’s my favorite color to write with by far. Six days later I bought a Black AL-Star with an Extra Fine nib. Just three days after that I purchased a Vista and a Red Safari, more Extra Fine nibs as I like to write small, and additional ink cartridges in more colors. I got both Z26 and Z28 converters as I knew that these are going to be my staple writing instruments for some time to come. Finally, I purchased a LAMY Joy calligraphy set (the black and red edition) just a few days ago as it will make an awesome entry into this hobby. I then told myself that I must gain control and order nothing anything else unless it’s actually necessary within the immediate future (read: LOL, not LOL)!

If I never actually tried LAMY before, I would think that five brand new fountain pens with oodles of trimmings within a one month span was a little more than just a ‘bit’ excessive, but I did get the privileges of trying this wonderful example of German engineering. It made me realize something that I frankly haven’t thought about in a long time. We pen collectors, unlike those that collect many other things, have the choice to use what we collect. Some of us enjoy using those pens from within our collections, yet others despise this very thought. I feel like ‘things,’ pretty much anything really, is made to be used and not designed as a ‘museum piece.’ So, I put my LAMY’s to use and remembered just what it’s like to write with a great pen. As we segue from Winter to Spring, we get to take those breaths of fresh air — and that’s exactly what the utility of writing with a LAMY pen is like — taking a breath of springtime air after three months of bitter cold and excessive darkness.

If you haven’t already guessed it, I would most definitely say to try a LAMY if you haven’t already done so.

Enjoy the springtime,

Cheers!

Should have washed the nib assembly in warm soapy water before first use. In your case, some ink flow was held back by the chemical which was used when producing the unit and then being released uncontrollably. Just wash it now, dry it and refill, and that should cure it.