New Safari owner

[Lt. Tom]

Greetings. I'm a brand new fountain pen geek and a new Safari owner. Let me start out by saying, I'm breaking one of my own rules here. My post counts are always low on forums, because I generally don't speak unless I've got something to say. Well, I don't really have any reason for making this post. I'm making it because; a)No one else I know understands my excitement at discovering how simple, straight forward, unmessy, and all around enyoyable fountain pens are to use. And b) I love this pen! I joined FPG in the first place just because it has a Lamy board, and in my humble opinion, it should be more active.

OK, so here's my quick thumbnail review of the Safari from a complete beginner's perspective, incase a search brought anyone to this thread; Theres not much to say. Honestly, whatever drama you may have heard is involved in the use of a fountain pen, doesn't apply. There is no drama involved with owning and using this pen. It's sturdy, it's good looking (IMHO) and it simply works. As long as you remember to cap it when you're done with it, the next time you pick it up, it will simply start writing. Period. I do have a comment about the nib. When buying "lesser" pens, I've always enjoyed medium points. Something I read somewhere made me want to order my first fountain pen with a "fine" nib. I'm probably going to order a medium nib for this one because as flawless as this nib has been, it's not what I need in my current situation. For note taking and journaling I wish it were a little broader, and for filling out forms at work (invariably on cheap copier paper) I wish it had an "Extra Fine" nib. Part of the appeal of the Safari is the ease in switching nibs on it, but really, who am I kidding, it's a perfect excuse for buying more pens...........

(gratuitous low quality pic of the pen)
Safari Yellow.JPG


- Tom -

[KrazyIvan]

The Safari has a special place in my heart. It was the pen I learned to hold properly because, well, you can't hold it any other way. It was also the pen that helped me learn to get rid of me death grip. (Hey, doing all those force choke holds causes death grip. )

[Bogon07]

Hi Lt. Tom,
Congratulations on taking ownership of a yellow Safari. It is a nice cheery colour isn't it. The LE Aquamarine or Green Apple will pair nicely with it or perhaps the ever popular Charcoal Safari.
And you know you won't be able to stop at one, I foolishly thought I could make do with just a Vista & the Coffee Al-Star

Are you just using the Lamy cartridges or have you gone down the Z24 converter path and bottled inks ?

[Lt. Tom]

I ordered the pen and some cartridges to try it out. Tomorrow I'm going on a road trip to pick my daughter up from college, and I've found a shop that carries fountain pens and supplies near her school. So tomorrow I'll have some inks, and a converter, maybe another pen............. anyway, if they don't have a Lamy converter, I live in a small rural town where it is quite easy to find a big fat veterinary syringe.

[Bogon07]

Lt. Tom, something to note with Lamy pens is that they test them in the factory and you will often see some blue ink on the nib. So it is probably a good idea to clean out the nib section if you are not going to use the Lamy blue or black ink cartridge.
I forgot to with Noodler's Cayenne and was at first disappointed with the dark murky colour.

Brian Goulet of GouletPens has an explainatory video
http://www.inknouveau.com/2011/03/cl...-lamy-pen.html


He has also videos on the Lamy Converters Z24(Safari/Vista/Al-Star/Joy) and Z26. The Safari/Vista/Al-Star/Joy can also use the Z26 but it does not have the little locating stubs.
http://www.inknouveau.com/2011/04/la...o-of-them.html
http://www.inknouveau.com/2011/07/la...rter-swap.html

[John the Monkey]

Welcome, Lt. Tom.

I like the Safari a lot (slightly wish it had a round section, but that's old ground ).

The Al-Star is worth a try too, I slightly prefer mine to the Safari - there's also the Vista, essentially a transparent Safari that has a distinct "cool factor" with the right convertor and ink! I also recommend that you try one of the italic nibs, they're a lot of fun, and the 1.1mm is probably narrow enough for general writing too.

[Maja]

It was also the pen that helped me learn to get rid of me death grip. (Hey, doing all those force choke holds causes death grip. )

Ivan:



Lt. Tom: Glad to hear that you've 'discovered' the awesome Lamy Safari! I have a few of them (can't stop at one, eh? ) as I like having different nib widths on each one. I snapped a quick photo of my Lamy Al-Star (an all-metal version of the Safari) in Ruby Red colour at Christmastime last year (it was a present from my parents):


(edited post to add large photo of my Lamy)

[Sailor Kenshin]

Well, of COURSE you need to buy more Safaris. If you want more nibs, get more pens, more colors! Thanks for the perspective.

My first yellow Safari of many years back must have been a lemon. Never wrote well, was always scratchy. Since re-discovering, I bought an Aquamarine B, a blue M, a red F and a yellow XF. And a charcoal 1.1 calligraphy nib.

Maybe I should have kept the yaller one... it had that cool black nib and clip.

[KrazyIvan]

Oh yes! I waited way too long to get an Al-Star after I had my Safari and Vista. Don't make that mistake.

@Maja:

[Bogon07]

Welcome, Lt. Tom.

I like the Safari a lot (slightly wish it had a round section, but that's old ground ).

The Al-Star is worth a try too, I slightly prefer mine to the Safari - there's also the Vista, essentially a transparent Safari that has a distinct "cool factor" with the right convertor and ink! I also recommend that you try one of the italic nibs, they're a lot of fun, and the 1.1mm is probably narrow enough for general writing too.

John the Monkey, have you tried the Lamy Nexx it has a rounder version of the Safari/Al-Star grip ?

[John the Monkey]

John the Monkey, have you tried the Lamy Nexx it has a rounder version of the Safari/Al-Star grip ?

No I've not, although I have it on my "to try" list after seeing a review a few months ago - must bump it up a little

[BK_Starkey]

Anyone know why they stopped making the black clip on the Safaris? I have to with and two without and would really like to find one in Blue with a black clip.

[Lt. Tom]

Based on what I've seen, they started using the chrome clip in 2010 on all but the "charcoal" colored (matt black) Safari. The Charcoal Safari still comes with it, and I believe the Aluminum colored AlStar still comes with it..

[BK_Starkey]

Yeah..I have the charcoal one, but my older red safari has the black clip and I actually prefer them...wonder what made them change? Unless they wanted to maintain a price point.

[The Follows]

Ah the Lamy Safari. My first was the charcoal too. Now, a Vista, an AL Star, and a couple more Safaris later, I still pack them in my EDC. Never had any issues with them! They just work. :-) I really like how easy it is to trade nibs on whim!