Lamy Safari

[sine.nomine]

So...I really don't understand why so many people like the Lamy Safari. The construction is decent, but nothing special. Practically any pen costing anywhere from $5-$50 is going to have build quality on par with the Safari.

 

What I really don't understand, however, is how so many people call it "smooth." I've had a broad nib, a 1.1mm italic nib, and I recently wrote with a fine nib, and I found every single one of them to be just horrible. They are each the kind of scratchy that makes me feel like I'm dragging my fingernails down a chalkboard. I'm not exaggerating even a little to say the feeling and sound of the nib on paper gives me an involuntary shudder.

 

Meanwhile, I have a $3 A&W, a Parker Vector, and a Pilot 78G, each of which is under $10, and every single one of them is a far, far better writer than the Safari. It's not even a close comparison. Neither the A&W nor the Vector are exactly kings of smoothness, but neither one is really scratchy, either - while I can't say I really enjoy writing with these pens, both are very serviceable. The Pilot 78G is quite smooth - not "buttery" smooth, but smooth with a small bit of feedback. I do actually enjoy writing with it.

 

The Safari, on the other hand, is something I just cannot stand to use! I see so many of your guys recommend the Safari for first-time fountain pen users. If my very first experience with fountain pens had been with my Safari, I'd have thought people were mad for writing with such things!. I mentioned in another thread that I'm willing to accept the pen I purchased is a lemon, but now that I've written with 3 different nibs on two pens, I'm starting to think lemons might be standard fare with the Safari line.

 

To those of you who praise and recommend the Safari, I have to ask, did it work great right out of the box, or did you have to go through several nibs, send your first back the factory for adjustment, or tweak the pen somehow before it was an acceptable writing experience? Has anyone else been 0 for 3 with the Safari?

[bphollin]

I own about 40 Safaris, give or take. While I recognize that is not statistically significant, the only trouble I've encountered is with the feed keeping up inkflow for fast writing on a 1.9 nib.

 

I hope you enjoy your other pens as much as I enjoy my Safaris.

Edited October 4, 2012 by bphollin

[tripcode]

To those of you who praise and recommend the Safari, I have to ask, did it work great right out of the box, or did you have to go through several nibs, send your first back the factory for adjustment, or tweak the pen somehow before it was an acceptable writing experience? Has anyone else been 0 for 3 with the Safari?

 

Both of my safaris worked well out of the box, but they both were vastly improved by an 18 hour soak in water with a few drops of dish soap, as well as a tine adjustment. I also notice that quite a few problems with scratch on my safaris are due to one of three factors, those factors being (1) my own hand position, which takes the nib off of the 'sweet spot', (2) tine misalignment, which is unfortunately common, due to my hand position, and (3), the feed, which is a tad too dry for me now, but before I soaked my pens, was skipping when I crossed my Ts.

 

So I'd ask you if you've taken a loupe and looked at your tines, misalignment is a killer. I'd also recommend, regardless of what else you do, a nice long soak and air dry, after a thorough flushing. Thirdly, I'd also try taking a kick at the so-called 'brown paper bag' trick, which I assume involves writing on a brown paper bag to smooth out a nib. I haven't done that with my safaris, but I've definitely seen them get smoother, the longer I write with them. I'd also suggest trying a 'wetter' ink. I know, based on my limited personal experience, that Lamy Blue is too dry for me, especially with the Safari's feed, but an ink like Noodler's Blue-Black works quite well for me, in terms of flow, and it seems that my pens are smoother when they're used with inks that flow readily. Oh, and I can't believe I haven't thought of this before, but do try letting up on the nib, as far as pressure goes. Coming from mechanical pencils, I noticed a definite improvement in smoothness when I let off some pressure.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I didn't see the fuss at first either. My original Safari (yellow with blsck nib/clip) was horribly scratchy with any ink I used.

 

Recently I bought FIVE new Safaris. Every nib but the fatter italic. All smooth right out of the box with no soaking or fiddling. The one I originally got must have been a lemon.

[AloofObserver]

My Safari is smooth but not very smooth. With Sheaffer ink it's a only medium wetness, all of my other pens are wetter. Overall it's quite acceptable.

 

I really do like it. It's very durable (I have dropped it) and the clip is very functional. The grip is comfortable and doesn't become slippery (many metal grips do). The ink window is also greatly appreciated. I always find myself unscrewing C/C pens without an ink window.

[Penman222]

I have three Safaris (OK, 2 Safaris and a Vista). They have a medium, broad, and 1.1 Italic nib. They all write smoothly, the broad is actually super-smooth. I would suggest checking out the nibs for tine alignment, but overall I think they are a great workhorse pen for the money.

 

IMHO, the best pen value today is the $7.00 Kaigelu 356 in stainless steel. A VERY close copy of the Parker Sonnet and a super great writer for the price.

[pajaro]

I have had a few Safaris with XF, F and M nibs, and also a 1.5 italic. All great. I have also had a couple of Parker Vectors and a few Pilots, all so-so. I like the Safari for italic work, but I also have better pens that can do line variation. You have only so much time to give to writing with any pen, so why write with pens that give less pleasure? Optimize your time for writing by writing with favorites and don't feel compelled to write with every pen you have. So, dont bother to write with the Safaris, and move them on. Some people will inevitably not like Safaris.

[Bearcat]

So...I really don't understand why so many people like the Lamy Safari. The construction is decent, but nothing special. Practically any pen costing anywhere from $5-$50 is going to have build quality on par with the Safari.

 

What I really don't understand, however, is how so many people call it "smooth." I've had a broad nib, a 1.1mm italic nib, and I recently wrote with a fine nib, and I found every single one of them to be just horrible. They are each the kind of scratchy that makes me feel like I'm dragging my fingernails down a chalkboard. I'm not exaggerating even a little to say the feeling and sound of the nib on paper gives me an involuntary shudder.

 

Meanwhile, I have a $3 A&W, a Parker Vector, and a Pilot 78G, each of which is under $10, and every single one of them is a far, far better writer than the Safari. It's not even a close comparison. Neither the A&W nor the Vector are exactly kings of smoothness, but neither one is really scratchy, either - while I can't say I really enjoy writing with these pens, both are very serviceable. The Pilot 78G is quite smooth - not "buttery" smooth, but smooth with a small bit of feedback. I do actually enjoy writing with it.

 

The Safari, on the other hand, is something I just cannot stand to use! I see so many of your guys recommend the Safari for first-time fountain pen users. If my very first experience with fountain pens had been with my Safari, I'd have thought people were mad for writing with such things!. I mentioned in another thread that I'm willing to accept the pen I purchased is a lemon, but now that I've written with 3 different nibs on two pens, I'm starting to think lemons might be standard fare with the Safari line.

 

To those of you who praise and recommend the Safari, I have to ask, did it work great right out of the box, or did you have to go through several nibs, send your first back the factory for adjustment, or tweak the pen somehow before it was an acceptable writing experience? Has anyone else been 0 for 3 with the Safari?

 

 

Best pens I have ever used for less than $25 delivered (www.amazon.com)

[wastelanded]

I have three Safaris. The 1.1 I don't like so much, I find the 78G with B nib smoother. The M indeed likes a wetter ink. The OB is very smooth, one of my favourites.

 

I've found if a pen doesn't work well, try different inks: something will work out.

[Glenn-SC]

I found every single one of them to be just horrible.

How sad for you.

I have a couple dozen Safaris and they all work just fine right out of the box.

[guild]

I don't understand why they don't offer it with a round grip section. For me its a deal breaker. Everything else is great about the pens.

[2Hearts]

I have about 5 Safaris. 3 different nib types (inc a stub). Each and every one was smooth out of the box. And while I'm left handed, and the grip isn't necessarily friendly to southpaws, I get on with mine fine.

[oshizemi]

My first Safari was terrible. A scratchy medium that I couldn't get to work no matter how I fiddled with it. I got rid of it and moved onto other pens, a couple Pilot 78g pens and Noodler's Nib Creeper flex pens.

 

After I saw the Aquamarine and Apple Green Safaris I *had* to have them, even if I never wrote with them, because I really do like the look of the Safari. I got one in XF and the other in F and they both write beautifully. I have recently purchased another pink medium and it also works plus 2 extra nibs, both write smoothly. I also purchased a white and shiny black from ebay (another XF and F) and both of those write smoothly as well.

 

My first experience was pretty terrible and turned me off to them for 2 years. The 5 I have purchased this year, plus 2 nibs, work flawlessly. The nibs do get smoother with use. The first one was worthless though. In hindsight, buying a new nib probably would have solved my issues.

 

What kind of ink and paper are you using? I was originally using Private Reserve "Arabian Rose"... I've come to find I'm not a fan of how that particular ink worked with any pen. I was using standard notebook paper and inkjet paper at the time, but I had issues on my Rhodia dot pad as well. Any ink I've used so far in my new Safaris has worked... including Kung Te-Ching, Nakahama, and Bulletproof Black as long as they are diluted a bit (they are thick inks). I primarily use Clairefontaine, Rhodia, and Miquelrius grid paper now and they all work just fine.

[HDoug]

I have two Safaris and five Al-Stars and a box of various black and steel nibs. I've learned how to grind a nib (after destroying a bunch) using these nibs.

 

Aside from being able to swap out nibs, I like the triangle grip and balance of the pen which seems to bring out the best in my handwriting. From a utilitarian point of view they are hardy pens that have been utterly reliable for me.

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3251/5748998231_c2e051b686_z.jpg

 

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7646376728_3d89bb324d.jpg

 

That being said, if you don't like them, don't buy one. Part of the satisfaction in life is doing what you want and this sort of stuff fits perfectly into the category.

 

Best,

 

Doug

Edited October 4, 2012 by HDoug

[PAKMAN]

My Safari's have all been great even the extra fines!

[skysora]

I've found if a pen doesn't work well, try different inks: something will work out.

 

I agree!

 

I have EF, F, M, B, 1.1, 1.5 nibs (but only four pens, boo), and I have favorite inks for each of them. Noodler's Red-Black is fabulous with the M, Diamine Kelly Green with the F, and so on. I used to think 1.1 was on the scratchy side until I paired it with Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng. Fabulous! (Some nib creep to be sure, but I'll live with that.)

[arcaneradio]

They may not be overly attractive but I think they are quality pens for the price. The pen is really functional if plain in design.

Well constructed. It's a great everyday pen. I am fond of cartridge pens and refilling with my favorite inks.

 

I would rather run the risk of breaking or losing a LAMY Safari at work than a more expensive pen I was overly attached to. I would like to see more colors being produced or bringing back some past colors.

I would love to have a forest green LAMY.

 

I can't say they are the best pens ever but after buying one I do feel they are worth recognition as being worth owning.

[N2theBreach]

Being new to FPs, a Safari is my only refillable FP (I have some Varsitys and a Bic). I like the Safari. It's a good every day pen, in fact the only pen I use now.

 

I had to take he first one back because it was defective. The store replaced it and this one works great. I use a fine nib, and I bought an extra fine. The EF is terrible. It's so scratchy it picks up paper fibers, so once I get a loupe, I figure I'm gonna learn how to tune nibs!

[Kugelschreiber]

 

I own about 40 Safaris, give or take.

 

 

 

Sorry, but that blew me away. I'd say you really like the Safari.

[penultress]

I've found if a pen doesn't work well, try different inks: something will work out.

 

I agree!

 

I have EF, F, M, B, 1.1, 1.5 nibs (but only four pens, boo), and I have favorite inks for each of them. Noodler's Red-Black is fabulous with the M, Diamine Kelly Green with the F, and so on. I used to think 1.1 was on the scratchy side until I paired it with Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng. Fabulous! (Some nib creep to be sure, but I'll live with that.)

 

I love my 1.1. I'm going to check out Kung Te-Cheng!