Lamy Safari vs. Kaweco Classic Sport as first "real" pen

[akapulko2020]

I've came back to my love of fountain pens after after quite some years, and right now I have 2 Chinese pens which are ok -a Baoer and a Jinhao 450(?), as well as an old Sheaffer Prelude.
I want to purchase a sturdy but relatively inexpensive pen for daily use, but can't decide between the two mentioned in the title.
Budget wise (+ there are postage costs involved as I'll be purchasing it online in one of the European online stores due to scarcity of pen shops that sell pens below 100$ in my country )

So budget wise I'm talking about 18 euro/20 $ . Features-wise , I think I want to be able to switch to a different nib in the future, but looking for a fine nib now .

Any advice? Any other candidates so as to make this an even tougher decision ? :blink:

[sharmon202]

Both of these change out nibs easily; the size & shape, radically different.
Kaweco excellent for sticking in your pocket and not worrying about scratches, Safari longer, not as nice in a pants pocket.
Ink capacity, bottle ink, in Kaweco limited, more ink in Safari, converter cost high though. Carts equalize this.
In my experience Kaweco nib inconsistent in their line width and wetness, Lamy more consistent.
Either a good choice, look at size and shape and how you might like holding each for any length of time.
Good luck and start saving your $ because this will begin the desire to try more, such as Lamy Al-Star which I like so much more than the Safari when you can manage one.
Let us know your decision, your experience, and thoughts on it.

[chojo]

I don't have a safari but I do have 2 Al-stars and I've recently purchased a Kaweco. Of the two i prefer the kaweco simply for the way it performs I've tried various nibs on the Lamy's and I'm not really happy with any of them but the Kaweco was great straight out of the box. I f your not that bothered about using bottled ink all the time have a look at the sheaffer vfm at a bargain price it's a good quality "throw in your bag" sort of pen. The only drawback for me on the Kaweco is the size of the converter it really holds a tiny amount of ink, as sharmon202 said the lamy converter is more expensive but holds a good amount of ink. The main consideration I think is the size of the pens and if you have big hands and don't like using a pen when it's posted then the Kaweco will be too small. Hope this helps.

[Laura N]

I love the design of the Lamy, which a lot of traditionalists don't. So I'd always buy the Lamy. I'm a Lamy fan. The best thing about the Lamy Safari, for me, is the ability to swap out nibs, so you can try an ink with anything from EF to stub.

The downside is the grip, which some people just don't get on with. You won't know till you try. Their nibs are just as inconsistent in size as Kaweco, in my experience, and except for Pelikan, Pilot and Montblanc I've found I can say that about every brand I've ever used. You can get a bad nib from anyone, in addition.

The Kaweco Sport is a nice pen. I like the nib. It doesn't have a clip, if that matters, and while you can add one it doesn't look as nice, in my opinion. I find it a little cumbersome to use, but the "small pen turns into big pen" might be fun for others, and would be great if you are carrying it around a lot without a pen case. It was designed to use cartridges, which I don't think gives one as much flexibility when changing inks as converters do. But if you're going to use it just for blue or black ink, then I like cartridges myself. There is a converter, which I've never used, but I've heard very mixed things about it -- maybe that's improved though.

If you are going to use only cartridges, I think you have a much bigger selection for the Kaweco, because I believe it uses the international short cartridge -- those are available from many manufacturers. Lamy in contrast uses a proprietary cartridge.

If you want to use bottled ink, I'd go for the Lamy.

In our family, we have both, and we like them both. But the Safaris are used quite often and Kawecos are used rarely.

[akapulko2020]

Color me utterly confused [emoji6]

[Laura N]

It's a fun decision, though. Buy whatever you like most, you yourself. It's good to get input from others, but the truth is no one will react to something in the exact same way as you do. If it helps, think of it this way: which one will I buy first. :)

[akapulko2020]

And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo

+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

[tandaina]

Lol welcome to our world.:)

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

The coral and the green are the exact two pens I own. I really like them both for different reasons. They are good pens.

I'll admit to being less than thrilled with the Kaweco converter.

[Laura N]

And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo

+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

Illogical? I'd call that brilliant!

[akapulko2020]

Totally, right? Why waste time that can be spent choosing ink samples, or something equally worthy [emoji6]


And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo

+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

Illogical? I'd call that brilliant!

[sharmon202]

LOL, love your quick conversion...
Just do some research on peoples opinion's in this forum. If you end up liking to change ink colors a lot, the small converters for Kaweco are actually a good thing. You can refill cartridges with bottled ink. There are a lot of options as well as great people here to talk things over with. Welcome!!

[VertOlive]

And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo.
+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

I was totally going to suggest that! :thumb:

[Sammyo]

And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo

+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

Can you talk to my wife and convince her that is the way to do it too please ;)

[akapulko2020]

And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo

+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

Can you talk to my wife and convince her that is the way to do it too please ;)
It helps when husband's hobbies are more expensive than mine [emoji6]

[Laura N]

And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo

+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

Can you talk to my wife and convince her that is the way to do it too please ;)
It helps when husband's hobbies are way more expensive than mine [emoji6]

I enjoy that exact same good luck. My husband likes cars. As long as I stay away from boats, I'm good.

[tandaina]

Yup, my husband builds computers and likes fancy $$$ camera equipment. ;)

[sgtstretch]

Aw man, I'm the expensive husband. I like fountain pens, I mountain bike, I like $$$$$ gadgets. I must be doing something wrong. :p

[chojo]

I stayed single so I can buy whatever I want. :dance3:

[Writer]

I would get the pilot Metropolitan. It's very reliable, pilot sells different nibs, and it comes in a fine or medium? Also it's cheaper then the Lamy or the Kaweco. I think its a fantastic first starter pen because it comes with a converter for free. I got a Lamy afterwards and it wasn't as great as the Metropolitan.

[sharmon202]

And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo

+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

Can you talk to my wife and convince her that is the way to do it too please ;)
It helps when husband's hobbies are more expensive than mine [emoji6]

And what are your hubbies hobbies?

[akapulko2020]

And then I went all illogical and bought them both .Just ordered the Coral Lamy Safari and one of the greens in Kaweco Sport [emoji7] from Fontoplumo

+ converters.

Now, I wait [emoji15]

Can you talk to my wife and convince her that is the way to do it too please ;)
It helps when husband's hobbies are more expensive than mine [emoji6]

And what are your hubbies hobbies?
He's a user/collector of tactical flashlights ( meaning that he has way more than one and uses all of them [emoji15]) + into air pistol and IPSC leagues which both cost a pretty penny in our country.

Also, does buying endless toys for the kids qualify as a hobby? [emoji6]

But actually his hobbies are far from being the most expensive I know, for sure .

[Crazyorange]

I stayed single so I can buy whatever I want. :dance3:

I'm with you. No one to monitor fountain pen spending ;)

[akapulko2020]

I stayed single so I can buy whatever I want. :dance3:

I'm with you. No one to monitor fountain pen spending ;)

Monitoring isn't the issue here, really - it's the income vs. spending thing .. :bump2: