Ink and Nibs for Lamy Safari....

[spaciousmind]

Hi, I'm new to fountain pens but I got a Lamy Safari a few months back and have been using it to draw with almost on a daily basis ever since.

I purchased the medium round (MK) nib and the extra fine (EF) nib with it.
the medium roud nib is absolutely useless, hard starts all the time.
So I have decided to get a second safari pen so I can have different line widths in my drawings. figured I'll go with a broad nib to get the biggest variation from the extra fine. hopefully it shouldn't have the same problem as the medium round.

I've been using the LAMY cartridge inks which are very economical but now I would like to get a bottle of waterproof ink (I already have the converter). I'm in NZ and would prefer to buy locally if I can to save on costs. There's not many options but at the online store where I got the pen they stock Waterman, Pelikan, Parker, Lamy, Herbin and Cross inks.

can anyone tell me if any of these brands have a good black waterproof ink that won't damage my pen?

[snedwos]

Um, none of them? Afaik. I am not familiar with cross inks, but the others aren't known for permanence, at least not the blacks. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.


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[Laura N]

Sailor and Platinum both make a pigmented waterproof black ink for fountain pens. They shouldn't damage your pen, though they may call for more attention to maintenance. Platinum's is called Platinum Carbon Ink and Sailor's is Nano Black. I'm linking to a U.S. store, but I am sure you can find one of them locally.

[ac12]

@spaciousmind
Question, WHY waterproof ink?
Do you have a specific requirement/situation that calls for waterproof ink?
Waterproof cuts out a LOT of nice inks.

I use Waterman, Cross (Pelikan) and Sheaffer inks in all my pens.
I primarily use Waterman and Cross.
- I usually start out a new pen with Waterman ink
- Then if the pen is writing too WET with the Waterman ink, I switch to Cross ink to slow down the ink flow.

As for your Medium nib, it might just need an adjustment.
I have a Fine nib that is a HARD starter. But I replaced it with a 1.1 italic nib, so I did not bother to try to adjust that bad F nib. Although I might go back to adjust it, just as an exercise to see if I can adjust the nib to flow in properly.

@snedwos
Cross ink is made by Pelikan, probably the same Pelikan 4001.

[spaciousmind]

okay thanks heaps for the info guys.

@Laura - I can't seem to find those specific inks locally, also after reading up on it I think I might be better off using a non pigment based ink in my fountain pens, if I have to import anything I'd probably go for the noodlers waterproof for that reason (easier maintenence, not having to worry about my pens clogging etc)

@ac12 - I'd like to put watercolours over them. Can't really do it with the cartridge inks I'm using at the moment because they would just get incredibly muddy.
Don't know if I'll ever find a 100% waterproof ink but the reviews I've seen of noodlers waterproof show it seems to serve this purpose well.

as for adjusting the nibs how do you go about it? I read somewhere of someone getting a floss up in there and cleaning the gunk out, it's worth a shot I guess? Would you use something with it like nail polish remover, or rubbing alcohol etc?

I think I'll get a bottle of Cross black (don't know if its the same as brilliant black or 4001 or whatever, looks pretty generic) just because its the cheapest by far, just to see how it goes. Can always import a bottle of noodlers later on if I feel I need it!

[ac12]

Flossing a nib usually means running a piece of THIN brass sheet (0.001 or 0.002 inch thick) thru the slit to clean it of any gunk.
Also if the slit is TIGHT that could very well be why you get little to no ink flow. The ink cannot travel down a slit that is virtually closed. Using the brass sheets to try to open up a tight slit usually helps the ink flow.
Check on YouTube for Stephen Brown's video on tuning a pen. He shows how to do it.
The good think about the Lamy is you can remove the nib to easily work on it. I find it very hard to work on the slit of a nib while it is still on the pen.