WARNING: China is producing a fake version of Lamy’s high end fountain pen the Lamy Dialog 3. Its not just a copy, it has the Lamy brand name on it. as well as on the nib the markings are identical. It will be common for us to see scammers selling these as the real thing for high prices.on the second hand market. Not only deceiving people but marring the good name and quality reputation of Lamy themselves.
I was intrigued after seeing a YouTube review in seeing how a Chinese fake Lamy Dialog 3 holds up on its own and against the genuine Lamy. Living with the constant struggles of hemiplegia meant everything including the simple pleasures of fountain pens has become a hardship for me, So began my quest for a grail pen for a disabled person with only one working hand. Though I quickly found the Pilot Vanishing Point I still keep an open mind for improvements and good design. I eventually I saved and got the Lamy Dialog 3 which is a good pen but its twist motion proved too firm for my reduced dexterity and its clip to be too shallow too, I wear t shirts so I want a pen I can clip to the neck and be ready immediately. I later got the Curidas too but for me overall its still long below the Pilot. Anyway the Lamy Dialog 3 is a curious pen. its unique twist to expose/hide the fountain pen nib is distinctive. Its price tag makes it a gamble for most users who can afford it and just too pricey for most of us period. So it tends to remain an unknown experience. I think its still about $600 retail (of course prices vary from RRP to sale prices across all retailers. However those clever Chinese, The leaders in fakery have created a copy at around $60, known as the LM Dialog Focus 3. So I was curious and grabbed one. I dug out my Lamy and washed and inked up both pens, been using them for about a week or so now alternatively just to see how they compare from a practical point of view.
First up, like most Chinese fountain pens, this one came without a box or any presentation, just the pen in a plastic condom sleeve. My Lamy is the Piano White colour option so i got the same option for the copy. Clearly the Chinese just copied the name and don’t translate to understand that Piano White should be glossy as fuck. The copy is a very dull white and not a very good white. The paint is obviously poorly, thinly and unevenly applied to the metal body and the top half of my pen is darker in appearance because the metal is showing through. Whereas the real Lamy is highly glossy with a strong white that’s uniform across the whole pen. The fake had a couple of small marks on the white surface too. After use the real Lamy is unblemished and the fake has not picked up any more either. My pens are for use not for babying because of their price. Doesn’t mean I abuse them, but I will toss them onto the desk when done writing and the nib protected. Second thing is the two tone nib didn’t show the gold well. under magnification the fake one has thinly applied gold that’s uneven and blotchy. Very ugly compared to the smooth uniform gold on the Lamy. Feel in the hand the Lamy is obviously a premium product, the fake clearly isn’t.
The fake is faked all the way through, so it works the same. The Lamy has very tight fitting tolerances and high quality machining so its action is firm (not loose) and smooth so it twists around nicely and the nib fully extends. Its quiet and on its own just shows its a quality product. However the fake shows the ordinary machining used and it twists unevenly with a slight grinding sound and feel as a result. The nib requires forcing the twist beyond where it feels its at its limit to get it to extend fully. Having the Lamy yo compare I knew the nib should extend further than it seemed to on the fake. I don’t know others would notice it .
The meat of the pens though: writing. My Lamy is a F nib, the fake an EF. and I inked up both with the lubricating Noodlers Polar Blue and line widths on regular paper seem the same, So I don’t know what nib sizes mean to the Chinese or if there’s a difference on quality paper both seem to write like a gel pen with no line variation. Both are smooth writers and over a weeks use both pens have proved reliable to write with Can’t say much more they are pens and they work, pretty much all you need from a pen so no comparison samples of my appalling shaky handwriting. As a tool in the hand though, the Lamy just feels so much better and the glossy finish is grippy while the fake ones dull finish is slipperier. So overall I’m more confident with the Lamy in my hand, but its only a small margin. At no time however with the fake did I feel I was holding a quality item.
The Lamy weighs 6g heavier than the LM and the densely packed mechanism makes them both heavy pens. Solid and firm unlike many plastic body pens. The Lamy is uniformly 13.7mm wide everywhere along its length while the fake is sometimes 13.7mm and 13.6mm. I can’t tell if that’s entirely due to uneven paint thickness or variations in the machining of the metal body itself.
So at this point I’m in two minds about this clone. So much of it offends me in so many ways. Its existence as a fake (every identifier on it, its name, nib markings, etc. say Lamy and are identical to the Lamy. Its a fake in every sense not a mere clone. It gives others a false sense of what a real Lamy would be like and Its a joyless experience, It des work as a pen but for around $60 its way overpriced for the result of what it is. I couldn’t possibly recommend it as an alternative or “try before you buy” option for the Lamy. There is enough uncertainty around buying a Lamy Dialog 3 as it is and I would say save a bit longer and buy the real thing. The Lamy Dialog 3 is in every way pleasurable to own and use, its not a revolutionary writing experience and ideal pen so its hard to say who it is best for, its not an every person pen. The LM Dialog Focus 3 is poorly made, looks poorly, operates poorly and I just couldn’t recommend it to anyone, buy a variety of Pilot Metropolitans instead for $60, they work feel and write nicely and you can probably buy four or five of them in different colours for your favourite ink colours.