Lamy Unic is part of my trinity of telescoping tip pens:
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Aurora Hastil, possibly the first to do this style of tip deployment.
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Lamy Unic, a grippier and more modern take.
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Platinum Z
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What keeps Flat-c from being the perfect pen for me is its clip. It can only be triggered with suitable pressure if you press the red area (technically, the orange area can also trigger it, but it requires way too much force).
Another trouble is the feedback when pressing the clip, itâs my personal preference, I would say it lacks a bit of âimpactâ. The penâs impact is provided by the reset of the rear button, which is sufficient though. But the finger you used to press the clip doesnât feel the clipâs feedback at all: the downward stroke when pressing the clip is too short, and it doesnât have a âclickâ feeling
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Problem solved!
You may try replacing the spring with a slightly stronger one, it may provide you the feedback youâre looking for
Do you know when the black FLAT-C was commonly sold?
There are times when the silver FLAT-C appears, sometimes alone or paired with a Pro Mecha 0.4 mm. But Iâve yet to see a black one and fear bidding competition will be fierce when one eventually comes around.
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Idk, archive webpage only record content from 2003 to 2010, no earlier content, and both silver&black Flat-c have been there throughout this period, not sure if thisâis 100% credible
About 2 years ago someone sold several Flat-c on mercari for 3000 yen each and I bought both 2 color of it. I have never regretted that, although I rarely buy ballpoint pen for more than its original price. Mainly because Flat-c itself is not a level implied by its 1000 yen price tag, nor a typical Ohto level model, itâs way beyond that. And based on recent auctions, seems that 3k is just about the market price
(Which brings me to PD515, 500 yen, nothing special but its nice color combo and clip shape, the price is usually 4000 yen now and I am still waiting for a low enough price)
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Lamy Unic bp was sold in '84 to '03, initially thereâre only 3 model: 290 steel, 291 black (both priced 48 DM), 292 Ti (95DM), and 293 gun metal was added later (before '95). Their prices have changed several times since then.
As for the titanium coat, well, I have 292Ti and 293gm, I would say the touch feeling and appearance texture of their rod are identical, they are just different in color, though Iâve never seen any offical further description of 293 gmâs material
What actually makes Unic Ti outstanding is that, these Ti models are special existense in Lamyâs products. (This is my personal view, not their official statement): If the original model has any exterior plastic parts, they will be replaced with metal parts
And same thing happens to CP1 Ti multi pen 754&654
(Or maybe this ring is just electroplated plastic? I donât have this pen)
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The only bad news about Unic Ti is that, Lamy added a printed mark to Ti model, pretty weak, but thatâs fine, I actually wiped them off easily, and it doesnât looks anything wrong. But when it comes to Unic, the original stamping logo is also repalced by a printed one. Uhhh⌠I have nothing to say, donât want it at all. It is relatively solid, but there is still a risk of wearing.
Now all 4 modelsâ reasonable market price are around 115~165$ each, I donât see significant price difference among them, maybe 291 black is slightly cheaper. I will recommend 291 black & 292 Ti, both are perfect collection, and 291 black is better for casual writting because of itâs matte coating.
Iâm not saying thereâs anything wrong with the quality or touch feeling of 292 Ti, but the surface of 292&293 is like a smooth matte look, so it does get a little fingerprint, just as the 293 gm shown in this pic. This makes me worry that the remained moisture or oil may cause it oxidizing, so I have to wipe it after every use.
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Great info.
Great frustration for those of us who havenât yet gotten a Unic in hand! 
I beg to disagree. I find the quality to be very decent & could easily pass for ÂĽ1000 or even more. Iâm keeping an eye out on Mercari. Hopefully one day Iâll get lucky.
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Ah, thatâs what i just want to say. Itâs a quality of at least 2000 yen. That makes me glad to pay the extra money. Iâve edited that reply
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OHTO made a number of pens in the âNEEDLEPOINTâ series. âNBPâ seems to be the common prefix reference for them. The âFLAT-Câ looks very similar but gets the NKG model prefix instead.
The NBP-1005M nose cone looks to be the same as the one installed on the FLAT-C. I finally have one incoming and will be able to compare to see if the screw threads are compatible.
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Those subtle tints on the Color hex series are soooooo faint the first time I saw them I thought it was another case of bad white balance! It was only when I saw them in a lot, side-by-side that I âgotâ that OHTO was serious when they called it âColor hexâ. >_<
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