Hey all,

I have a Safari with a fine nib. I'd used Noodlers Purple Wampum and a Lamy blue cart in the white safari, and really liked it. It was writing a pretty fine line, enough that I later ordered a Safari with a medium nib.

Well, then I ordered a bottle of PR fast drying Sherwood Green. I put that in the fine nibbed safari, and it looked like I was writing with a dull crayon---FAT LINE. With that sherwood green in there, the line was much thicker than the medium safari using, say, PR DC Supershow Blue.

Well, I didn't like that at all, so I went back to some Purple Wampum. Now I find that the fine nib is still writing much thicker than it was (although not as thick as with the FDSG).

So, did that green ink ruin my fine Safari? Any tips on getting the line back to where it was? I'm really puzzled by this, and being pretty new to FPs, I thought I'd better poll the collective wisdom. Oh, and I realize I'm talking a lot about ink in this post, but I'm really looking for help with this pen, not with inks. I therefore posted in the "Writing Instruments" forum.

CMaxx

Did you soak it and flush it several times?
The nibs slide off, you could check underneath to see if the Sherwood clogged the feed channels.

First, Lamy's tend to write wider than stated... that is why I use a XF nib to get the fine line I prefer...
Lamy pens also tend to write a bit dry.... and some inks also write dry... combine both of these and you might get exactly what you are looking for out of the pen...
Some inks write wet to very wet and when put in a Lamy that previously had a dry writing ink, you will see a big difference, in line width and wetness both....

Changing ink is not going to do anything physical to the nib to make it write wetter or wider.

As asked, did you flush the pen out completely so all that was coming out was clear water...
Also did you allow the pen to dry out before putting the new ink in it..
IF NOT, then there is a possibility that the water remaining in the feed is causing the ink to write wetter and that is what you are seeing...

I suspect the additional detergents in the Sherwood Green actually cleaned off the feed and increased the adhesion of the water in the ink with the feed and nib, resulting in better flow. I don't have a Safari, so cannot comment on the width of the line, but compare the size of the nib to the width of the line on the paper -- if the line is significantly larger, you have an excessive flow problem.

I would check to make sure the converter is not leaking (a moot point if you are using cartridges), but most likely you now have more standard flow. If it's too great, it can usually be adjusted drier if you prefer, although it sounds as if it was too dry initially and is now working better.

I've had similar experiences with vintage pens, where a change in ink or a proper cleaning suddenly makes a dry writer into a generous one (my current favorite pen, a Sheaffer Stateman did this with a very minor nib adjustment -- I think I cleaned the nib slit while adjusting the tipping slit width, and it's now a joy to use).

Peter