Review: Lamy Scala Special Edition Fountain Pen @fontoplum0 @Lamy

Thank you to Fontoplumo for sending this gorgeous pen for review!

ABOUT

Body Material: Steel/Lacquer
Trim: Chrome
Length (capped): 140.9 mm/5.54''
Length (uncapped nib-end): 130.7 mm/5.14''
Length (posted): 170.2 mm/6.70''
Barrel Diameter: 10.3 - 11.8 mm/0.40'' - 0.46''
Section Diameter: 8.8 - 10.8 mm/0.34'' - 0.42''
Nib material: Steel
Weight (all): 44 g
Weight (cap): 20 g
Weight (body): 24 g
Fill type: Cartridge/Converter
Price: €140,00
Where to buy: Fontoplumo (use the codes below for a discount!)

PACKAGING

This Special Edition Scala has minimal packaging, according to Lamy. Considering it houses a heavy pen and a glass bottle of ink, it isn't terribly overpackaged. The grey box is labeled with Lamy on the top, and it opens to reveal a blue velvet bed where the pen and the bottle of blue-black ink are nested. I think it's decent packaging, although it's not a box I feel the urge to keep.

APPEARANCE

The Scala has a simple but sophisticated design. It is round from end to end - the cap is widest at the top and the pen gets ever so slightly thinner towards the end. Both ends are blunt and flat, in shiny chrome. The finial is just a shiny, smooth, flat chrome top. The clip is attached to the chrome top - it is sharp, edgy, and blocky. Lamy is engraved on the side of it.

The body is beautiful. It's glossy, which really brings out the deep, shimmering blue-black finish. It glitters in the light, showing it's more than just a plain blue-black.

The section is chrome, smooth, ad quite long. It tapers slightly towards the nib, ending in a thin, sharp lip before the nib (to catch the cap).

The shape of the pen doesn't appeal to me all that much, but the shimmery blue-black and shiny chrome scheme is gorgeous. Since I'm somewhat on the vain side when it comes to pens, its beauty factors in strongly. The pen is really well-made - no dodgy bits or spaces between anything. It's all really tight and looks and feels great.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib is Lamy's standard interchangeable steel nib. This is a broad - it has a single slit and breather hole. The nib is marked with Lamy and B (nib size).

I've used a lot of Lamy nibs and for the most part, they have all been pretty smooth and write well. This broad nib is one of the unusual nibs - it was on the less smooth side. The nib wasn't scratchy but it definitely gave feedback while I was writing. It wasn't terrible - not to the point that I disliked it, but it was more noticeable than other Lamy nibs I've used. The nice thing about these nibs is they are easy to change, and they're affordable. Otherwise, some quick smoothing would clear this up.

The pen wrote reliable and consistently despite this - no hard starts, no skips. It was a little on the dry side, and drying times were pretty quick. With some pressure, I could squeeze out a little bit of line variation, but it wasn't really noticeable, and it just doesn't feel right to apply pressure to these firm, steel Lamy nibs (at least, not to me).

This isn't my favorite writer, but I can't get over how pretty the finish is...

IN HAND

The clip is great and springy, though not very snug, given the weight of the pen. The edge of the clip is very sharp. It hurts a lot if you scratch yourself on it, so be careful.

The section is similar to that on the Lamy Studio. The smoothness can become slippery with longer writing sessions, or if it's humid and your hands are warm, it can happen even faster. I found that the weight of the pen combined with the smooth section resulted in the pen continually slipping forward as I wrote. In addition, the lip at the end of the section (to secure the cap when closed) was quite sharp. Of course, this is what I often gripped to prevent slippage, especially because I tend to grip low.

Unposted, and ignoring the section, the pen was slightly heavy, but it felt well-balanced. The cap has a rubbery sleeve inside of it, which makes it a lot of fun to post. It posted deeply and felt very secure, but the pen then became very long, very top heavy, and unusable for me.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

This is a beautiful, sophisticated pen, with a modern shape. The nib is just a Lamy steel nib, but if you are looking for something a little more upscale than a Safari, this is something to consider. Keep in mind it is a pretty heavy pen, and mind that sharp clip. If you want, you can also acquire this with the gold nib, which I prefer over Lamy's steel nibs (they're quite lovely).

I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. No affiliate links.