Lamy Safari Gripping

[Grayhart]

I just got my Lamy Safari today. As many seem to have a hate/love relationship with the grip section, I too found it somewhat uncomfortable even though I have a decent tripod grip (I think). The problem I have is slipping. Here are two solutions that I find useful, but I don't know if I should (pictures provided):

 

1) Rubber band strips:

• Can fit on grip section in a stripe pattern, multiple
• Can fit when capped
• Least risky of the two (when used with school glue)

I'm afraid of that last part as I don't want any super strong adhesive to ruin the section. I tried wrapping and twisting the rubber band without adhesive, but it doesn't fit in the cap.

 

2) Rotating the nib inside ~90 degrees

• Index & middle finger fit snugly in cutouts, thumb on round part
• I do not know how to do this

...scary...

Edited February 13, 2014 by Grayhart

[Grayhart]

Oh here's something interesting:

 

I went ahead and glue stick'd just the grip grooves, put the rubber band strips on, then realized they failed. Then I removed them, but noticed the stickiness from the dried glue (washable) created some grip. Gonna test this out some more...

[Inkling13]

if you grip lower down, you will naturally hit the waist of the grip section and slid no more. It's there for a reason. However, you can't rotate the nib, as the nib is stuck to the feed, and the feed is not cylindrical, and the section that houses it is made to hold it only that one way. However, I do have a suggestion. Find some thin strips of black rubber, such as used on laptop feet and such. You'd just need one or two. Just attach it to the grip with some CA glue, and you should be all set. you could even just slip an oring onto the grip and glue it into place, or glue an oring on the face of the grip. Just test fit it so you DON'T ruin the section. Even then, a Lamy is cheap to play with, and I think Lamy offers replacement parts. *i bought a roller ball section once to turn that exact pen into a eyedropper.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Inkling13

[Grayhart]

Thank you for the response and suggestions!

 

That is true, I have better grip all the way down toward the nib. However, since I have large hands, I have to rotate my wrist a little more, making me write more with my fingers instead of my wrist/forearm/shoulder girdle. That's why I grip a little farther up.

 

Well, I guess I'll have to retrain my muscles a little.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Grayhart

[wnclee]

Hello. First, DON'T use glue of any kind... Just not an option you can reverse. "Less is more". I find if you un-screw & re-screw, the gripping section tends to shift slightly to a different little degree each time you do this. This happens to all of my screw pens. Try using a little strip of tennis tape on the pen. It sticks to itself, no glue!!! Just cut vertically & horiz 'till u get the size u want. Good luck. LeRoy p.s. The Lamy Safari's & All-Stars are among my fav. inexpensive pens, don't ruin it...LWL

 

[Grayhart]

I am EXTREMELY sorry to those I offended while tinkering with the Safari. I realized that a fountain pen is not meant to be messed with. It has a soul and life that many appreciate.

 

That said, I've been writing with it since my first post. My wrist is kind of tired. But I'm learning it's quirks, and I would very much like to be well acquainted with it.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Grayhart

[ac12]

@Grayhart

Don't worry about offending anyone by modifying your pen. It is YOUR pen.

I used a file and sandpaper on my P45 in college to get more grip on the smooth section, so my sweaty/oily fingers would not slip. Looked ugly as heck, but my fingers did not slip.

 

If your wrist is tired, think of what you are doing that might cause that.

Might be because you are tense when you write.

I used to be a finger writer until the end of last year. I practiced and practiced and practiced for months, until moving my arm rather than my fingers became natural. I'm still not all the way there, but at least it is a lot easier to write with my arm than when I started.

BTW, I hold my pen with my fingers 2.5cm from the tip and my thumb 4cm from the tip.

[Grayhart]

The file and sandpaper is a good idea!

 

I also thought about cross-hatching the grip with a crafting knife to imitate a knurled grip found on a lot of drafting pen(cil)s.

 

As for my wrist, I was basically writing for ~10 hours straight. And maybe the coffee + 1 hour sleep was to blame yesterday... ohohoho

 

Even then, I should get more practice so it won't hurt! Breaking the habit of a previous fountain pen is a lot more than I expected. But today during class, I had much better results even without knurling it!

 

Thank you for the constructive responses!

Edited February 13, 2014 by Grayhart

[wallylynn]

Heh, yet Noodler pens are designed to be tinkered with. Mr. Noodler promotes tinkering with his pens.
I've seen posts where someone took sandpaper to their Lamy 2k (or maybe it was a Studio) since the chrome was too slippery.

Do you have access to some bathroom/window caulk? Just a small thin smear should help lots.

 

Another option is the lamy nexx. Unfortunately you can't swap its section with the safari section.

[Flounder]

Grayhart, you use a perfectly fine, comfortable and relaxed tripod grip so why cramp up your fingers just because the Safari's a control freak? You can modify the feed and section so that the nib fits in a more genus compatible angle of incidence.

 

Have a look here: http://flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com/2013/06/lamy-safarivista-grip-adjustment.html

 

it's a bit of a ballache to do, but I just couldn't use the Lamy before fettling.

[Abner C. Kemp]

I wish somebody would make a round section for these pens. I do not use a tripod grip but I can get along with the pen alright. Still, I'm never really gripping it correctly and the whole thing just annoys me. I still use the pen frequently because I love the ability to swap nibs and the durability it offers but if I could get a round grip I know I would use the pen at least twice as much.

[ehemem]

There is a very simple fix to your problem. It doesn't involve any modification to the section at all. All you need to do is rotate the pen so that your thumb and forefinger fit into the slots. The pen was designed for the tripod grip with that pen orientation. Learn to accommodate you tools.

[Grayhart]

Heh, yet Noodler pens are designed to be tinkered with. Mr. Noodler promotes tinkering with his pens.

I've seen posts where someone took sandpaper to their Lamy 2k (or maybe it was a Studio) since the chrome was too slippery.

 

Do you have access to some bathroom/window caulk? Just a small thin smear should help lots.

 

Another option is the lamy nexx. Unfortunately you can't swap its section with the safari section.

No, unfortunately no caulk

 

Grayhart, you use a perfectly fine, comfortable and relaxed tripod grip so why cramp up your fingers just because the Safari's a control freak? You can modify the feed and section so that the nib fits in a more genus compatible angle of incidence.

 

Have a look here: http://flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com/2013/06/lamy-safarivista-grip-adjustment.html

 

it's a bit of a ballache to do, but I just couldn't use the Lamy before fettling.

Thank you very much for providing an in-depth tutorial (and humor ohoho)! All I have is a knife, which should suffice. I'll eventually get around to this and update on when it's successful (or I goofed).

 

I wish somebody would make a round section for these pens. I do not use a tripod grip but I can get along with the pen alright. Still, I'm never really gripping it correctly and the whole thing just annoys me. I still use the pen frequently because I love the ability to swap nibs and the durability it offers but if I could get a round grip I know I would use the pen at least twice as much.

I agree, a round section would have been nice. Before acquiring the Safari, I thought the fit would be perfect. I got too used to the thicker barrel on my Sheaffer's No-Nonsense...

 

Actually, one of the reasons why I got the Safari was its EF nib, along with its price. I cannot for the life of me find an F or EF for the Sheaffer.

 

There is a very simple fix to your problem. It doesn't involve any modification to the section at all. All you need to do is rotate the pen so that your thumb and forefinger fit into the slots. The pen was designed for the tripod grip with that pen orientation. Learn to accommodate you tools.

That actually was the problem: my fingers didn't feel comfortable in the slots, even with a tripod grip. The photo I provided with the thumb on the round section was what I wanted as it felt the most comfortable (with the nib correctly rotated). Maybe this wasn't the right pen for me? But I am slowly getting used to it, and found I would rather leave the Safari unposted.

[Darqest]

Not to be rude, or to sound condescending or anything, but I don't think your grip is the proper or "decent tripod grip" (judging by the picture above as it seems like you use the third, middle finger as a main finger and the thumb and index fingers as support instead of the other way around). My tripod grip suits the Lamy Safari grip perfectly. Perhaps, try and learn to hold the pen properly by forcing yourself to place your thumb and index finger on the grip sections on the Safari - you will find that this will improve your fountain pen experience a lot. I used to hold my pen in a death grip, then I learnt in a week or so to write with the proper tripod grip by forcing myself to change my bad habits, so I can give you this advice from personal experience. That way you won't have to modify any pens at all (most pens designed for a proper tripod grip).

 

Sorry if this offended you in any way. I'm just trying to help you prevent the problem (and future problems related to the way you hold your pen) instead of finding a cure for it.

 

Kev

[Grayhart]

Not to be rude, or to sound condescending or anything, but I don't think your grip is the proper or "decent tripod grip" (judging by the picture above as it seems like you use the third, middle finger as a main finger and the thumb and index fingers as support instead of the other way around). My tripod grip suits the Lamy Safari grip perfectly. Perhaps, try and learn to hold the pen properly by forcing yourself to place your thumb and index finger on the grip sections on the Safari - you will find that this will improve your fountain pen experience a lot. I used to hold my pen in a death grip, then I learnt in a week or so to write with the proper tripod grip by forcing myself to change my bad habits, so I can give you this advice from personal experience. That way you won't have to modify any pens at all (most pens designed for a proper tripod grip).

 

Sorry if this offended you in any way. I'm just trying to help you prevent the problem (and future problems related to the way you hold your pen) instead of finding a cure for it.

 

Kev

Whoa, I think I created a huge misunderstanding! I didn't take offense, not to worry

 

To be clear: the picture above is NOT how I grip the pen usually. The picture is intended to give an idea of how I would like to hold the section. The only thing wrong in the picture is the nib! Basically, imagine a normal tripod grip in a normal writing fashion. The way I want the nib is to be rotated exactly where it's supposed to be. I will provide another picture to clarify as I'm horrible at explaining. This is what I was trying to explain to ehemem.

 

How I hold my pen normally (index and thumb on grooves):

 

How I want to hold it, but wished the nib would face up like the previous picture (index and middle in grooves):

 

Hopefully this cleared up some things... Maybe I should edit the first post?

 

Well, in other news, I'm becoming more accustomed to Lamy's intended grip. Sometimes it makes me pinch too hard as it's a narrower grip than what I'm used to, afraid it'll slip or fall out. Again, I will take into consideration everyone's suggestion thus far (and future ones too!).

Edited February 14, 2014 by Grayhart

[Anne-Sophie]

I think the fatigue and hurt comes from writing with the same pen for a long period.

 

Adding a couple of round grip, plastic student pens like the Lamy Nexx, a Pelikan Future, a contemporary Sheaffer No Nonsense or a new old stock (no longer produced but still available) Shaffer No Nonsense would help tremendously.

 

Taking notes or writing essays is much less tiring with a fountain pen or pencil than with any ballpoint or rollerball, but the more fatigue, the more death grip, not matter which writing instrument is chosen.

Edited February 14, 2014 by Anne-Sophie

[rwilsonedn]

There is a very simple fix to your problem. It doesn't involve any modification to the section at all. All you need to do is rotate the pen so that your thumb and forefinger fit into the slots. The pen was designed for the tripod grip with that pen orientation. Learn to accommodate you tools.

I can't imagine a worse approach to writing than to give up techniques that work for you and bring you pleasure in order to conform to some other person's arbitrary standards of behavior. If the Safari grip gives you problems (as it does for many people) lose the Safari (as many people have done). The designers of the pen were not final authorities on how everyone should write. They were merely conforming to some dictate from, apparently, German public-school administrators of a prior generation.

ron

[Grayhart]

Adding a couple of round grip, plastic student pens like the Lamy Nexx, a Pelikan Future, a contemporary Sheaffer No Nonsense or a new old stock (no longer produced but still available) Shaffer No Nonsense would help tremendously.

Thanks for the recommendations!

 

I can't imagine a worse approach to writing than to give up techniques that work for you and bring you pleasure in order to conform to some other person's arbitrary standards of behavior. If the Safari grip gives you problems (as it does for many people) lose the Safari (as many people have done). The designers of the pen were not final authorities on how everyone should write. They were merely conforming to some dictate from, apparently, German public-school administrators of a prior generation.

ron

This is true. I was thinking of giving up on the Safari.

 

 

Thanks everyone for your constructive feedback! I'm still going to try that mod Flounder wrote. Otherwise, I am signing out of this topic. If there are anything else future Safari users might find interest in the grip, please do give a shout!

[Tdot]

I gave up on the Safari for the same reason. It just doesn't fit me. It's a very good pen, it's a very popular pen. But I hate it, it's uncomfortable and ugly. If I ever have another one the first thing I'll do is hack the grip with an Xacto blade or Dremel with wire brush bit. There is nothing sacred about the Safari, It's fun, but it's a cheap plastic student style pen, don't adapt your hand to it. Make it fit you or get rid of it without guilt.

[rudyhou]

my problem with lamy grip section is NOT the 'slipping'. but the design of the grip section itself. the way i hold a pen to write just not meant to go well with the grip design of lamy pens. too bad, i really like the look of lamy pens. i've purchased 3 lamys in the past but the reality is i just can't write well with lamy's grip section design. hence, i've given up on lamy.