Lamy Al-Star

            I recently made a stop at the Bromfield Pen Shop in Boston, MA, while visiting a friend. Brick and mortar pen stores are fading, this is the only store in New England that specializes in almost all aspects of fountain pens. Selling pens, inks, and doing repair work are their specialties. Today’s pen was purchased at their store, let’s look at the Lamy Al-Star.

            Stats:

Diameter – Body 13mm

Diameter – Grip 9mm

Length – Body 130mm

Length – Overall (Capped) 140mm

Length – Overall (Posted) 170mm

Weight – 22g

Available Nib Sizes – Extra Fine (reviewed), Fine, Medium, Broad, 1.1mm and 1.5mm Italic

Street Price – $40, extra $5 for converter

            Looks

            The Lamy Al-Star is a pen almost every pen collector owns. They come in a very wide variety of colors, some of which are special or limited editions, and is a pen that every pen retailer carries. My Lamy Al-Star is in the 2014 Special Edition Bluegreen color, which is a very nice shade of teal. The aluminum body gives slight shine and adds to the overall industrial look to this pen.

            The flat finial of the cap is black and resembles a cross-shaped flathead screw. Immediately following the finial is a metal U shaped clip, which is almost reminiscent of a paper clip. Following the cap the body is a cylinder, except the cylinder has two flat-parallel sides. On these flat parts of the body are windows to view how much ink you have left in the converter. Sadly these windows are not sealed off making this pen impossible to use as an eyedropper filled pen.

      
            Popping off the cap reveals a transparent grip that tapers to a smaller nib. The grip has two notches for your fingers, which are positioned well and aren’t a pain to hold. It is pretty cool to see the ink flow through the fins of the feed as it makes way to the nib. Lamy nibs are made of stainless steel, however they all write somewhat smoother than other steel nibs. With the Al-Star you can swap nibs incredibly easy, just slide it off! You could slide one nib size off and replace it with another in the middle of writing a letter if you wanted. Unscrewing the grip from the body reveals a proprietary Lamy converter or cartridge, either of which holds more than your regular Standard International Converter.

            The aluminum body of this pen is smooth to the touch and pleasant in the hand. As far as weight goes, this pen is extremely well balanced.

            Writing experience and Writing Sample:

            Writing with this pen is pleasant. The feed keeps up well with most inks, and the nib puts down a consistent wet line. Here is a writing sample with this pen: 

            Final Thoughts:

            The Lamy Al-Star is a great pen. Having an overall modern looking pen makes it stand out in your collection as well as in daily use. Most people wouldn’t expect to see something like this pen when they think of a fountain pen. The bluegreen color is pleasant, and pairs well with many inks. If this color doesn’t entice you, I highly suggest looking at the other colors in this line. The Lamy Al-Star is a fantastic pen that I highly recommend.