Fountain Pen Review: 2015 Lamy AL-Star Special Edition Copper Orange

Many of us have heard about the 2016 Special Edition Lamy AL-Star, but before we get our hands on the Charged Green pen — and before 2015 ends — let me turn in my review of the 2015 AL-Star.

Late last year, Lamy released an announcement that made their followers and collectors happy: the 2015 Special Edition AL-Star pen color will be a vibrant and happy Copper Orange! I looked forward to a new Lamy fountain pen, and I looked forward to adding a new orange pen to my growing orange pen collection.

Lamy AL-Star is almost identical to the Safari, its older cousin. It is wider in diameter, though, and somewhat heavier at 22g (the Safari is lighter at 17g). Designed by Safari creator Wolfgang Fabian, the AL-Star was launched in 1997 in polished high-tech aluminum, instead of plastic. 

According to Lamy's news release for the 2015 Special Edition pen, Copper Orange gives a whole new meaning to the concept of luminescence: it is pulsing with energy.

The Copper Orange AL-Star pen in this review is a fountain pen, but the line also includes a rollerball pen, and a ballpoint pen. I received the fountain pen in this review at no cost from Lamy's authorized and exclusive distributor in the Philippines, Times Trading Company.

The AL-Star's cap and barrel are made from high-tech aluminum, and the section is plastic, instead of matching the pen's body's material. AL-Star fountain pens measure 5.5 inches while capped, 5 inches uncapped, and 6.6 inches when posted. The cap with the oversized chrome-coated stainless steel clip is 2.5 inches long, the length from the nib to converter is 4.6 inches, while the barrel measures about 3 inches.

Lamy's proprietary piston operated Z24 and Z26 converters can be used to fill the fountain pen with ink from a bottle, but the Z24 is a more suitable converter because it has two tiny nipples that fit snugly into the small grooves in the upper part of the section. When the nipples are fitted in the grooves, the converter stays in place, preventing messy ink spills.

The AL-Star has the same black top cap (finial) of the Safari, which is also what's installed on all of my AL-Star fountain pens.

The AL-Star has the signature triangular section grip, a feature I find comfortable and helpful especially for newbies. Others find it uncomfortable and annoying, but it is designed to make writing easier, meant for users to have a firm grip on the pen. Near the end of the section is an anti-slipping brake which prevents a user's fingers from slipping into the nib while writing. Unlike the Safari pens’ matching body and section materials/colors, AL-Stars have transparent gray plastic section.

The great thing about Lamy fountain pens is the interchangeability of their nibs across most of their product line. The AL-Star shares the same feed and nib with the Safari, Vista, Joy, Nexx, and Studio. AL-Star fountain pens bought in the Philippines have medium nibs, but other nib sizes are available: extra-fine, fine, broad, and left-handed. The AL-Star can also be fitted with an italic nib ranging from 1.1mm to 1.9mm.

The AL-Star fountain pen's barrel has an ink window that allows me to check on my pen’s ink level without having to screw out the barrel from the section. Towards the top part of the barrel is the Lamy logo etched in aluminum. 

Copper Orange AL-Star with Lamy Safari Flame and Lamy Safari Creme Orange.

Lamy AL-Star pens (from top): Aluminum, Graphite, Silver Green, Ocean Blue, Black Purple, Ruby Red, Pearl, Blue Green, and Copper Orange. A Silver Blue AL-Star has recently joined the lot but missed the photo shoot.

Lamy is now offering matching inks with their special edition pens. We are lucky that the Copper Orange ink in 50ml bottles and cartridges was made available in Manila. I got a bottle long before the fountain pen reached the stores, and I filled the pen with the matching ink as soon as I received it.

The 50ml Copper Orange ink is in a Lamy T52 bottle that comes with a roll of ink blotter to clean the pen after filling, or blot writing. The bottle has a small basin at the bottom, to allow filling when the ink level is low. 

The Copper Orange ink is well-behaved, with excellent flow and lubrication. Shading is visible when used in wide nibs (1.1, at least). It may not be a bright orange, but when I look at the ink color, I see yellow, orange, red, and brown all at the same time. This ink is a keeper and I'm happy I got myself a bottle.

I love this AL-Star fountain pen. It is versatile (interchangeable nibs), simple, minimalistic, and helpful to newbies (triangular section grip). The polished metallic finish has a special glow that brings warmth and brilliance to the Copper Orange AL-Star. The AL-Star may be prone to scratches because of its material, but given the proper care, these pens will last for a long time.

If you haven't gotten one of these Copper Orange AL-Stars yet, go get one now!


Lamy Safari pens are widely available from pen sellers worldwide. For a global search of Lamy retailers, visit: http://www.lamy.com/content/find_a_retailer/index_eng.html.

In the Philippines, the AL-Star Copper Orange fountain pen and ink (and other Lamy products) are made available by Times Trading Company, through their kiosks at National Bookstore branches around Metro Manila. 

Lamy products are also available at Scribe Writing Essentials, a specialty store offering fountain pens, inks, and paper products, Eastwood Mall, Shangrila Plaza Mall, Glorietta 5, SM Aura, and SM Megamall. For their complete location/address, contact numbers, and store hours, visit http://www.scribewritingessentials.com/stores/.  

A Comparison of Blue Fountain Pen Inks

Black and blue are the two ink colors that are commonly used in fountain pens for everyday writing, and most people use blue inks for business and professional purposes. Blue is my 'go to' ink, and I have more than 30 bottles of blue fountain pen inks, but not all blue inks are the same. I have a few favorites, and I categorized them into three categories: Regular/Standard Blue, Dark Blue/Blue-Black, and Turquoise.

REGULAR/STANDARD BLUE INKS

This category has the widest selection of blue inks, including the basic and true blue inks. Some blue inks in this category have green and red undertones, but the ones I included here are the true, vivid blues. These ink colors can be used everyday in business and and legal documents, in note taking, and even journaling.

J. Herbin Éclat de Saphir is a vivid, bright blue ink with excellent flow and lubrication. It's a wet ink, and shades well, especially in broad or stub nibs. Éclat de Saphir is a beautiful, bright blue even after it dries on paper. It doesn't stain the pens I've filled with it, and is easy to wash off.

J. Herbin Éclat de Saphir

American Blue is my favorite Private Reserve blue ink. It is bright, saturated, and has excellent flow. Shading is best in broad and stub nibs, where I occasionally see a distinct red sheen. American Blue is a well behaved saturated ink, and does not stain or clog my pens. My PR bottle is a fast dry ink, and it dries really fast!

Private Reserve American Blue (Fast Dry)

I have Noodler's Baystate Blue, and I love its bright color, but I am more drawn to the depth and richness of Noodler's Blue. It's a saturated blue ink, and takes longer than most inks to dry. I usually use it on my broad-nibbed pens.

Noodler's Blue

DARK BLUE/BLUE-BLACK INKS

Whenever I want to try a different ink color that's still blue, I go through my box of blue-black inks. They are still blue, but darker, and yet lighter than black. I use blue-black inks to sign documents, and in note taking at the office.

Noodler's Midnight Blue and Bad Belted Kingfisher (BBK) were my first blue-black inks. I prefer BBK because of its depth, shading, and lubrication. It's a saturated ink, smooth, and a true blue-black ink that doesn't become teal after it dries. The only downside to this ink is its drying time. It takes a while to dry, around 20-25 seconds, especially when it's used on a wide nib. It also takes a while to wash off.

Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher

Pelikan Blue-Black is my favorite blue-black. It's from Pelikan's 4001 ink series, and a dry ink, so I use it mostly in broad and stub nibs. It's very expressive, turning grayish blue from dark blue, and the shading is simply awesome. It doesn't feather or bleed on thin paper, and dries fast.

Pelikan 4001 Blue Black

My bottle of 1670 Bleu Ocean came from this ink's first batch. It doesn't have the additional gold flecks, and I like it that way. Most people avoid this ink because it is heavily saturated, but I love its deep, dark blue color, and my Lamy Al Star Ocean Blue is always inked with it. The pens I filled with this ink wrote smoothly, and Bleu Ocean dries faster than its older sibling Rouge Hematite, which is a notoriously slow drying ink.

J. Herbin 1670 Bleu Ocean

TURQUOISE INKS

When I was a fountain pen newbie, my first ink love was Waterman South Sea Blue, a turquoise ink. It has been discontinued several years ago, and I have found a few turquoise inks in place of South Sea Blue. While turquoise inks are lovely, I use them more for journaling.

Bleu Pervenche is my introduction to J. Herbin inks. It is a lovely turquoise ink, with subtle hints of green. Bleu Pervenche has excellent flow and lubrication, shades well, dries fast, and easy to wash off.

J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche

Pelikan 4001 Turquoise is a bit darker than J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche, but has the same hints of green. It has nice shading, excellent flow, and dries fast (around 10 seconds). Although it's a light blue ink, it becomes a bit darker when it has dried.

Pelikan 4001 Turquoise

Below is a photo of the ink swatches on a page.

These inks are my favorite blue inks. They are the most behaved, easy-to-maintain-in-pens inks, they do not clog nor stain my pens. The pens in my EDC are always filled with one or two of them.

I got these inks from different stores at different times, but in Manila, they are available at Scribe Writing Essentials. For availability and prices, contact Scribe through their website, or visit their stores in Eastwood Mall, Shangri La Plaza Mall, Glorietta 5, SM Aura, and SM Megamall.