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Safari With Hairline Cracks On Section By Nib


cancoi

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Greetings! Hoping to get some advice. I have a Safari Orange Flame (orange plastic with red clip & dot button) & I love this pen. However, I noticed that there are 2 hairline cracks at the nib end of the section. There is a scant amount of ink leakage & inky fingers; otherwise, the pen writes like a dream. I'm wondering if I should try to fix this or just deal with the issue. I've looked to see about either a replacement or parts, but pricing I've seen is upwards of $150-350 USD on fleabay and I can't seem to find a replacement section. I'm a bit leery of sending it to Germany or dealing with Lamy CS in TX, as I don't really want to lose this pen.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Jen.

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Hi Jen, Not your expert, but just to bump this topic until experts with ideas arrive... ask to clarify this is the orange ABS section, not the feed correct?

 

I've never seen a crack in ABS, but of course it must be possible. Perhaps fractured in a fall, or manufacturing glitch in a run? ABS is tough stuff, even in hot environment, but perhaps storage, or chemical contact??? But you're seeking a fix, not reasons for the fail.

 

If it's the old orange finding a replacement may be tough, unless someone has a pen body that lost its cap.

 

My initial thought was whether those who use chemical welding, (such as Ron Zorn), might have a fix or filler to remedy this issue?

If weld or filler isn't possible, I'd post on every possible pen board, including .de Germany to see if anyone has an early orange section.

Does Lamy keep spare old color parts? Somehow I don't think so... ??? Edit to add, see a recent Lamy 2000 post regarding Lamy service. Sending to Germany was the successful resort, but no communication in the process, so you may need to have someone verbally inquire IN Germany as to whether sending to receive an Orange Flame section is even possible.

Edited by pen2paper
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I can't offer much to the conversation but if everything else fails, perhaps you could consider getting a grip section (along with feed and nib) in one of the regular production colors and make a frankenpen. (I've seen them being sold separately on ebay)

 

A red section would probably fit nicely the Flame's clip and dot button.

A matte black or a white or even a vista would most likely do the trick too.

Edited by inotrym
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Yes, this is the section & I'm surprised as you at the cracks in ABS. I live in a house inhabited with LEGO & have seen one break over 10 years, so this surprised me. I also thought about sending it to Germany, but read another thread where a limited edition was sent for repairs, only to return a completely different pen.

I hadn't thought of the Frakenpen idea, but I like that idea with a red section; it would look nice, actually.

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Hmm, if it is a crack in the ABS plastic than that's going to be tough one. Lamy makes those coloured, special edtion Safaris in one massive run and then cleans out the molds. The main Lamy headquarters in Germany probably have a few odds and ends of that particular run laying around. Would they release them for a few years out of warrenty job? They might and they might not.

 

Doesn't hurt to try. But, you may be reduced to just living with the cracks if they don't hurt the function of the pen, or of doing what was suggested above, making a 'frankenpen'.

Semper Faciens, Semper Discens

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  • 1 year later...

I'm sorry to learn that this happened to your Safari. I recently noticed that my LE Safari Lime (the original one long out of production, not the more recent neon version) had developed a hairline crack in the section, too. I'd never heard of a Safari developing cracks in the ABS without a major trauma, and came across this post when I searched FPN. I wonder how widespread this phenomenon is, and if LE's are somehow more prone to this kind of defect than their standard production colors for whatever reason?

 

I contacted Lamy but didn't receive a reply. If anyone who reads this post knows what the official line from Lamy is (if there is one) about this issue, I'd be interested to know what they have to say. Otherwise, I guess I'll be on the lookout for an Al-Star section to make a Frankenpen (or, as suggested above, a Frankenari).

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My Safaris have lines there too, but if they are across from each other they might be mold marks? It might not be the section is cracked, but the mold lines are not as finished as they could be.

Just a thought.

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I thought the same thing, maybe they are the lines where the mold halves meet, each side, in line with the straight edge on the nib.

Edited by Mike 59
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Thanks for the suggestion (and the image). It would be nice if this was a case of simply making a mistake about the "mold lines" - but, unfortunately, that's definitely not the case. When you look at the section head-on, the mold lines are subtle but distinct markings at 3- and 9-o'clock. As in your picture, they are most observable in the concavity just behind the molded clutch ring. (Presumably because that's a difficult spot to polish out.)

 

The crack I'm seeing is additional to the mold lines at about 1-o'clock. Significantly, the crack is through the clutch ring, seems to leak (a small amount of) ink -- as in the case of the OP, and is less of a line and more like, well, a crack. (Being a hairline, it's difficult to capture in a photo but is pretty clear under a loupe.)

 

Incidentally, I did actually get a response from Lamy sometime in the night. They referred me to Rediform here in the US. It's not a promising reply, but I'll see what Rediform has to say...

Edited by ahtzib
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Chances are that it will open up again because of the stresses, but try this:

If you can get the nib and feed out, clean out the crack in an ultrasonic, get the water out of the crack and solvent weld it using Tenax 7R, or another liquid model cement that contains methylene chloride. While the initial bond is quite strong, you should let it sit 24 hours before using it for close to full strength.

Don't do it with the feed in the section - because chances are that you will solvent weld that in place too if you do.

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Thanks, Ron. Assuming that Rediform doesn't stock lime sections, I'll try welding the crack per your instructions -- and hope that I can get a lasting repair made to the section.

 

I should note that some time ago, I followed your procedure for repairing a cracked Sheaffer TM barrel using Tenax. I was able to repair that pen -- which I thought was toast -- and it's been working perfectly since then. (It's not a beautiful repair, but certainly a functional one.) I am extremely grateful for the information you posted. Thanks again!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

I've had exactly the same issue, a couple of hairline but leaky cracks in the section, on a yellow Safari I purchased probably in the mid-nineties. It only seems to have developed recently; at least I never got any ink on my fingers till this year. And the pen has not had any accidents nor been subject to any unusual stresses or abuse. The cracks are minute but clearly visible with a 10x loupe. The (black) ink they've filled with makes them more visible, as it's a yellow pen.

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Swapping the section from Vista or Al-star is a good idea. Translucent Black section looks nice on Safari.

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Also you can always go with a complementary color. Will look good.

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Two options...

 

1) It may not be a crack... Just molding lines. (Happened with the weirdo who made this post. :) )

 

2) Slap it in Lamy's face. Or kindly send it to them. I heard good things 'bout their customer service....

 

I wish you luck. We all have this Q/A part in our pen journey.

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Coloring plastics is a tough job, since added coloring changes stress characteristics of the plastic itself. More saturated colors, especially some reds are known to dramatically change characteristics. Maybe these highly saturated safaris are not equally well resistant to time's effect on plastics. I want to re-stress that it's not Lamy's fault. It's a known limitation of coloring plastics.

 

This should be the article that I've read earlier.

Edited by bayindirh
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