joy black - calligraphy fountain pen with ergonomic grip & polished steel nib in line width 1.1 mm - Calligraphy Fountain Pen with ribbon nib - incl. ink cartridge T 10 blue

I am very happy with it, but there are trade-offs. Summary: I use this pen (with an extra-fine nib) for ink sketching, it is well suited to that purpose and I would recommend it for that. I keep two Lamy Joy pens inked up at all times for sketching (one the regular black-bodied pen and the other is a white version) , one is always loaded with waterproof black ink, and the other with whatever alternative ink I've decided on, usually either a water-soluble black or brown, or with grey ink. For more general use I would recommend the Safari over the Joy, it's just a more well-rounded pen, but the Joy does have some advantages and it is my go-to pen for ink sketches. I swapped an EF nib for the 1.1mm stub that came with the pen, I prefer the EF nib for sketching, although I do use the 1.1 nib in a Safari for everyday writing. Let me first compare it to the more common LAMY Safari, and then I'll talk about a couple of Pros and Cons with this pen specifically. From the ink window forward to the nib the Joy and Safari are identical and completely interchangeable. The most obvious difference is that the stem on the Joy tapers, which is nice in the hand, and allows one to pull their hand back further from the nib, which can benefit looser mark-making. This can done with the Safari too, but it is less comfortable as the cap and clip interfere with one's grip. It's mainly this feature which makes the Joy a better drawing pen. Overall the Joy is longer than the Safari (all in the stem); at first it seems significantly longer, about 40mm but that's bit deceiving because once you post the cap on the Safari that difference drops to a negligible 3mm, and even with the cap posted on the Joy (which sort of works but doesn't really) it's only 10mm longer than the Safari. The wight is very similar, both are light pens, with the Joy feeling just slightly heavier. Again, the Safari with a posted cap, vs. the Joy without (which is how I would suggest using each) leaves the Safari the slightly heavier. They balance very similarly uncapped, with the Joy balance a couple mm further to the rear. With the cap posted the Safari however balances about 15mm further back compared to the uncapped, un-posted Joy. So the Joy is more forward heavy than the Safari, and I find that it feels a little more comfortable, but that's probably going to be a matter of preference and in either case the weight and balance of these pens is of negligible importance.. Pros: It is a LAMY Pen. If you're a fan, like me, then this is a good thing. LAMY, in my opinion, invests value in the right places in their pens, meaning that they are an excellent balance of quality and cost in a writing (sketching) tool. I really like 1.1mm the stub nib. I liked it so much in fact that I switched it to my Safari, so that I could use that for my everyday writing. Both of my Joys are fitted with EF nibs. Personally I like the balance, length and the taper. It's nicer to hold than a Safari and you don't have have to choke up on it. This is an advantage for making freer strokes and is more often how I use it when drawing. Cons: The length is also a drawback, as it cannot easily be carried in a pocket. A jacket's breast pocket would be OK, but not a shirt pocket. The taper makes the posted cap wobbly as it's only snug right at the end, and posting defeats the value of the tapered stem. This leave you with a cap to put somewhere and retrieve when you're done. Not too big a deal, but overall on the negative side of the ledger. (EDIT: to meliorate this, or even move it to the "Pros" category I have found that one can clip the pen to the outside of a sketch book and leave the cap there there when removing the pen to use it for sketching. This means that it isn't a pocket clip, its a book cover clip :) and it works very well as such.)

I learned to write calligraphy with chisel tipped pens, so this was a wonderful find. The Lamy Joy Calligraphy pen with 1.1 mm stub brings me back to the time when I was first learning calligraphy. It's a smooth writing experience with no hiccups, bumps, burps. The pen is so smooth, the only thing smoother would be a felt tipped pen, but why would you want to go back to that after using the lamy? I like the triangular grip, it rests more easily in my grip. The converter cartridge is super easy to use, and the pen works great with an ink that's known to clog other fountain pens (Diamine shimmering ink). I really appreciate the ink window to let me know when it's time to add more ink a thoughtful move on the designers part. The only thing I would want to add to this pen is a flexible nib, but I recognize I'm chasing a modern unicorn of a fountain pen. Otherwise, this is a great pen to add a little flair to your everyday writing.

Have been a fan of the Safari for a long time, and was aware of the Joy, but didn't see the point as far as the odd handle and the stub nibs. I'm not into calligraphy. But it turns out that for art this is an amazing pen, for many somewhat unexpected reasons. The nibs can be switched out in seconds, without having to remove the feed, a unique Lamy feature. This makes the Joy kit with the two extra feed sections a little puzzling. You are better of just buying different nibs and switching them out, rather than switching out the entire nib, feed, and section, and having to clean out the other parts because you have no cap to keep them from drying out. A drawback for artists is that these only come with stubs. I feel the 1.5 is the best size for handwriting. I got the 1.1 and it's not that dramatic in its difference between fine and broad strokes. The stubs are good for cursive and italic writing, but having tried the 1.1 for a while, not my preference for pen and ink drawing. I will be switching to an EF or F. Unintended benefit? The long handle with two flat facets is, along with the stub nibs, the distinguishing feature to the Joy, which seems to be intended mostly for looks to make it appear more like a calligraphy pen or something, but for drawing it's really a revelation. The extra length means you can hold it like a paintbrush which is ideal for fast hatching and shading. The facets align perfectly with the top and bottom of the nib, telling you exactly whether you have the nib facing the paper at the right angle or not. You can reverse write with the nib upside down with an EF or F nib, and get a super fine hairline, again using the long handle, great for light hatching. The stub nibs are not ideal for this, they reverse write but not with a very fine line. However, having no tip sticking up, a very low angle means you can lay down the entire top of the nib on the paper and spread a very broad field of ink for shading large areas, which is kind of unique. I even like the oblong ink window, another Safari signature, again an unintended advantage - it makes two nice depressions for your fingers to anchor to using certain drawing grips. Of course the well known triangular main grip section is a famous Safari feature is well, which I happen to love. I keep discovering little tricks like that that makes me think this is the best drawing pen ever. All Safaris have the snap cap, which I much prefer to a screw cap. I change drawing implements a lot and it's just so fast. This particular model has a satin black finish and an aluminum cap with black wire clip. The other color choices of all black, white, and red, are all gloss shiny plastic which I don't like at all. The soft black on this is really great and tactile, almost feels slightly rubbery. Also Lamy never include a converted which is pretty cheap of them, most fountain pens come with one. So I need to buy both a converter and another nib for drawing. Also the included cartridge is blue not sure why, I would never draw with blue ink. Also I was thinking you could mix and match caps with regular Safaris for different color options which useful if you have different kinds of drawing ink different pens . . . sadly my pebble black plastic Safari cap does not actually fit onto this Joy, somehow. Really Lamy? I'm not even sure Lamy realize what a good fine art pen this is, they don't market it that way. But I have about 40 or 50 fountain pens, brush pens, fude nibs, flex nibs, dip pens, technical liners, etc. This is now at the top of the heap.

lamy is awesome. I love the broad tip. 1.0

This Lady Calligraphy Pen has become my absolute favorite for both Calligraphy and any kind of writing. It's a smooth grip that is comfortable, holds plenty of ink - or, if you have some cartridges handy, you can get a new one in very easily. Several different nib sizes, too. A true delight to use.

The brand I used before this went out of business, and I was guided to this brand, and it was a step up, for half the price!! The ink flow is consistent and has not caused any performance issues. The pen is well balanced - as long as you leave the cap off! It fits well in my small hands as well as the very large hands of my friend who has used them often as well. I have also not had a problem with the ink drying up and gunking up the nib, even after a few months of it being left in its case with its cap on. To me, that’s a major miracle! Easy to clean when it is time to do so. Only thing that drives me insane about this product is the fact that they do not use the universal size ink cartridges, you must buy Lamy cartridges or have the fun of filling your own with Lamy’s ink filler cartridge. Still worth it to me.

You may be shopping for fountain pens and you've landed on my review of the Lamy Joy AL. You can stop searching. I am a beginner/intermediate calligrapher. I bought the Lamy Safari with 1.5 nib a couple of months ago and have been practicing with it and love it! The Safari has an excellent ink flow and makes terrific lines. If you don't have a Lamy Safari 1.5 you should consider it as a purchase also. However, I wanted a slightly narrower nib and the Joy AL 1.1 was the answer. Ink flow is every bit as good as the Safari and the 1.1 nib makes exactly the lines I hoped for. Also, it is much longer than the Safari and is a very comfortable writing instrument. Price vs Performance...this pen is a no brainer! Also, consider the Lamy Safari 1.5 nib pen as well. As I continue in my practice of calligraphy, I'm sure I will order the Lamy Safari 1.9 nib pen too. I can certainly see using it for larger lettering. Note: I do use the Lamy Safari converter Z24...not the included blue cartridges. I also use Noodler's black bulletproof ink. Sometimes Noodler's gets a bad wrap. It works great for me. Good flow and good cleanup.

I bought this pen as an alternative to the Rotring I used primarily due to the italic nib, bottle ink support with converter and to try out an alternative pen and maker. For starters, I was expecting the black pen like in the picture, however I got one with a black body and red highlights. Not exactly, what I was hoping for, but it still works quite well. The 1.1mm italic nib is very nice to write with and the shape of the pen makes it quite comfortable to hold. The lack of a metal case and the much larger cartridges makes it last quite a long time and is easily carried. That being said, the shape of the pen body is quite stylish and the easily replaceable nibs a major plus. The coolest thing is the little windows in the body side allowing the ink level to be glimpsed. Even more interesting, the body of the pen when screwed on serves to puncture the ink cartridge and secure it onto the feed, which is a clever idea. On the downside, half of the metal clip on the cap of mine was not even secured in place and will not sit even no matter how much I push. The pen body, while nicely sculpted for a hand hold and billed as soft touch feels like a very smooth and fairly slick plastic. Ink comes off of it pretty easily if you dunk the pen too far on accident as opposed to a more textured grip, which is a bonus if it's your first step into fountain pens using ink bottles. For my annoyances, the nib is fairly dry and likes to stutter when writing at times. The cartridges are this odd two piece proprietary design, so when you think you ran out of ink you can shake it hard and then you have a bit more ink, then you know you have to swap soon. A better idea would have been cartridges that contain an ink that doesn't foam up, so you could just use the built in ink window to actually check the levels. As it stands, the cutout hole is basically a fancy design touch that is nearly useless. I use it as my everyday writing pen, as I have a converter and ink for it. For a student taking notes, the italic nib is a bit too thick and a full fill will last about a week if you're doing three classes of lecture. The pen not coming with a case is a nice touch, as you can slip it into pockets and other things to carry it around or use your own case. My complaints with it seem to basically sit with Lamy as a whole system and not just the pen, however with the proprietary converter, there is no other choice if you wish to save money on cartridges by buying bulk ink. If I had known before buying it what I do now, I can say I would have likely bought a different pen, like a Pilot Penmanship or Platinum Carbon, as I do love the longer tapered desk pen style. Both of those pens use proprietary cartridges and converters, however pilot makes exceptionally good pens and Platinum makes a very nice drawing/writing pen with the carbon, while Lamy has some questionable QC with their nibs, and the ownership of the pen has been less than exciting, and less than always amazing, especially with the Lamy converter.