Lamy makes a few different fountain pen converters and it’s not always clear which one you should buy. Lamy doesn’t offer much guidance on this, but don’t worry, it’s easy to figure out which one you need.
Which Lamy Pens Use a Converter?
First of all, any Lamy fountain pen that uses a T10 cartridge, can use a converter. This means any Lamy fountain pen with a modular nib, or basically any Lamy that isn’t the 2000, can use one of these converters! It’s pretty simply
Lamy Converter Models
There are two current models of Lamy converters: the Z27 and the Z28. Here is what you need to know about each:
- Lamy Z27: Lamy’s universal converter, black tip, replaced the Z26
- Lamy Z28: Lamy’s Safari, Vista, Al-Star, Joy, and Lx converter, red tip, replaced the Z24
Lamy Converters Explained
Z24? Z28? Z57? Are you wondering what is going on with all these model numbers? Don’t worry it’s not that hard. (And the Z57 is a nib, so sorry about the trick!)
- If you want a red converter handle and you have a Safari-style pen, get the Z24 or Z28
- If you want a black converter handle and you have a Safari-style pen, get the Z26 or Z27
- If you want something that fits any Lamy fountain pen, get a Z26 or Z27.
- Fountain pen shops will typical sell these by the new names (Z28 and Z27) while Amazon sells them with the older names (Z24 and Z26).
Lamy Converter Cheat Sheet
Want easy answers without the video watching or research? Read below. Keep in mind one big thing: all these nibs are functionally equivalent! They look different but are essentially the the same.
Lamy Z24 vs Z28
The Z28 replaced the Z24. The Z28 has a metal band in next to the red handle, the Z24 has a black, plastic band. The Z28 has a shoulder at the bottom where the Z24 is a straight cylinder but this shouldn’t make any difference in practice. Both converters have guide posts on the sides for use with the Safari-style pens (Safari, Vista, Lx, Al-Star, Nexx, and Joy).
Lamy Z26 vs Z27
The Z27 replaced the Z26. The Z27 has a satin metal band in next to the black handle, the Z26 has a chrome band.
Lamy Z24 vs Z26
The Z24 is red and has guide posts on the sides so it can’t use with with slim pens like the CP1 and Linea. The Z26 is universal to Lamy modular nib pens and has a black handle.
Lamy Z27 vs Z28
The Z27 has a black handle and no guideposts while the Z28 has a red handle and does have the guide posts, which limit its use to the Safari-style pens.
Lamy Fountain Pen Compatibility Matrix
If you are an advanced user of Lamy pens then you might have noticed that there are some exceptions to the above rules. That is to say that some fountain pens will work will multiple converters, or even all Lamy’s converters. The matrix will give you a more granular view of which converters break the guidelines and work with each pen.
This is a work in progress.
Other Lamy Converters
As is usually the same with Lamy, no models numbers were left out. Anything missing has just been used and forgotten!
Lamy Z23 Converter
This was the converter sold with the Lamy Persona. It’s similar to a Z26 but it can screw into the pen. It has some knurling built into the top which would aid in moving the piston up and down.
Lamy Z25 Converter
This was the converter sold with the Lamy Lady and Lamy Accent. Like the Z23, it’s threaded.