I Bought A Safari In Yellow And Black - Now I Have Several Questions

[heldercgrande]

Hey guys,

 

I bought a second hand Lamy Safari in Yellow and Black, which I believe is out of production since 2009, right?. As far as I can remember, the first ever Safari that I saw in my life, was one just like this pen, in the hands of a friend. Then months later, I bought a white Safari, and that was my first fountain pen.

 

I was very happy to be able to find this model, in this color, with a fair price. As you guys can see in the picture, the cap belongs to a rollerball Safari, note the top of the cap, it is the screw driver type, not the philips one.

 

 

I did not care for this detailed, because the interior part of the cap is identical to my others safaris.

But after I noticed other weird difference. The barrel end is different too. See the picture (Sorry, I failed to take a good picture of it).

 

 

There is a round thing inside the end, very different from the currently design. Also, the round thing is loose, I can hear it moving when I shake the barrel. I can even rotate the external part where is written germany

 

So, is it normal? Maybe this barrel is also from a rollerball Safari?

 

Why there is no imprint in the nib?

 

Why did Lamy change the color of the clip/nib? Why? Why? Why?

Edited July 2, 2015 by heldercgrande

[christof]

Your pen looks fine and I like the box it came with.

If the barrel of your pen would be a roller ball barrel, a converter would not fit. Just try.

I also prefer the black clips.

C.

[prashant.tikekar]

Rollerball safari barrel doesn't have ink window. So it is not Rollerball barrel. The pen is very pretty and hopefully write well. after all Safari is well known for that.

[christof]

Now, alt least some of the old colors had this windows too on the roller ball version. But don't know when this changed...

C.

Edited July 2, 2015 by christof

[Alohamora]

Nibs without imprints were the norm on older pens. I have an ALStar that I purchased 2nd hand, also no imprint. Somewhere on FPN I think I once read what mfg date that implied, but I've forgotten.

[arcadeflow]

This is probably from the 90s. Interesting find. Since I noticed you are Brazilian, it not uncommon to find older models and special editions around here. Fountain pens easily become NOS pieces around here, inventories move slowly. I found a sky blue with red clip rollerball Safari the other day, too bad it was no fountain pen. Also, if you check http://www.victorinoxstore.com.br , they have the green AL-star without ink windows. I wonder how it happened. http://www.peritodoscachimbos.com.br have a matte gray Safari for sale still. A lot of past limited edition colors are available in some websites, but the prices are not very good. I wish I could find a pearl white Studio for a good price.

[mixedfeelings]

Oh wow - that gray safari is exactly the pen I am looking for and at a good price. Too bad they don't ship outside of Brazil! Do you know any Brazilian dealers who do?

[arcadeflow]

I don't. Our mail system is too expensive, I don't see many people selling overseas.

[heldercgrande]

Your pen looks fine and I like the box it came with.

If the barrel of your pen would be a roller ball barrel, a converter would not fit. Just try.

I also prefer the black clips.

C.

The pen is in a very good condition, almost new, only few small scraties. I also like that the yellow is a bit darker than the new yellow. safari.

The converter fits well in the barrel. It also has the ink window, so, possibly it is the fountain pen barrel.

 

Rollerball safari barrel doesn't have ink window. So it is not Rollerball barrel. The pen is very pretty and hopefully write well. after all Safari is well known for that.

Well noticed, thks. It writes super well. The safari was my first pen, and I write a lot with them. It feels just right in my hand.

 

Nibs without imprints were the norm on older pens. I have an ALStar that I purchased 2nd hand, also no imprint. Somewhere on FPN I think I once read what mfg date that implied, but I've forgotten.

Thks, I also find some pictures on the web showing such nibs. I wonder when Lamy changed them, I could find it.

 

This is probably from the 90s. Interesting find. Since I noticed you are Brazilian, it not uncommon to find older models and special editions around here. Fountain pens easily become NOS pieces around here, inventories move slowly. I found a sky blue with red clip rollerball Safari the other day, too bad it was no fountain pen. Also, if you check http://www.victorinoxstore.com.br , they have the green AL-star without ink windows. I wonder how it happened. http://www.peritodoscachimbos.com.br have a matte gray Safari for sale still. A lot of past limited edition colors are available in some websites, but the prices are not very good. I wish I could find a pearl white Studio for a good price.

I agree. Not many people using fountain pens around here. I wonder if this is the reason for the not so good prices. Ual at http://www.peritodoscachimbos.com.br they have one old Lamy Lady Waves, super old. They also have a blue with black clip safari there. Oh boy, this will be another month longer than my salary.

 

Btw, in the box the pen came with, there were the receipt with the information about the purchase. It was bought in 2009, in a shop called Ravil, in São Paulo city. Very cool.

Edited July 4, 2015 by heldercgrande

[Robert Alan]

Nibs without imprints were the norm on older pens. I have an ALStar that I purchased 2nd hand, also no imprint. Somewhere on FPN I think I once read what mfg date that implied, but I've forgotten.

All black nibs, found on Safari and early CP1 fountain pens, with no imprint are early, 1980's vintage. Also, rollerball barrels used to have the ink view window. The important aspect of a Lamy Safari fountain pen barrel are the internal ridges that force the cartridge into position when the barrel is screwed on (the correct way to install a cartridge).

Regards, Robert

[heldercgrande]

All black nibs, found on Safari and early CP1 fountain pens, with no imprint are early, 1980's vintage. Also, rollerball barrels used to have the ink view window. The important aspect of a Lamy Safari fountain pen barrel are the internal ridges that force the cartridge into position when the barrel is screwed on (the correct way to install a cartridge).

Regards, Robert

 

Well, my barrel doesn't have the ridges as I tried to show in the picture, in the first post.

 

But, I just tested the barrel with a cartridge, and it works the same way you describe, it forced the cartridge into position. My barrel also works fine with a converter.

 

So, it works, but has a different design. Maybe it was a rollerbal barrel, that somehow, was adapted to be a barrel for the fountain pen?

 

Or, the pen is just too old, and the fountain pens barrels were a bit different in the past.

Edited July 5, 2015 by heldercgrande

[Robert Alan]

 

Well, my barrel doesn't have the ridges as I tried to show in the picture, in the first post.

 

But, I just tested the barrel with a cartridge, and it works the same way you describe, it forced the cartridge into position. My barrel also works fine with a converter.

 

So, it works, but has a different design. Maybe it was a rollerbal barrel, that somehow, was adapted to be a barrel for the fountain pen?

 

Or, the pen is just too old, and the fountain pens barrels were a bit different in the past.

I stand corrected. I happen to have a first year savannah green Safari fountain pen that I bought with the original, narrow aerometric (squeeze)converter (in Vancouver, BC, Canada), and I just checked the inside of the barrel. The barrel of this early Safari appears to be slightly narrower than the newer versions (I cannot accurately measure and compare them), and it does not appear to have the internal ridges (I could not see them). A new Safari barrel will not thread onto the older section. Also, you may have an early yellow pen if the front section does not have the notches for the new style snap-in piston converter. Someone may know when the first black-clipped yellow Safari was manufactured.

 

The biggest issue, in terms of collectability, of course, is the cap. The fountain pen should have the "X" top. For usability, it shouldn't matter.

 

Another point of interest is that the early Safari nibs without "Lamy" and nib size markings were painted black and not anodized so the paint can wear off to reveal the steel beneath. They kind of acquire a black and silver 'camo' look, with use.

 

BTW, I never saw the terracotta red Safari pen in any shop. I'm sure I would have bought one, but I was always happy with the green version. It seemed more 'Safari-like' anyway and it came in a cool cargo box.

 

Regards, Robert

[christof]

"...Someone may know when the first black-clipped yellow Safari was manufactured..."

 

 

Yellow came in 1994.

C.

Edited July 9, 2015 by christof

[Cole_Phelps]

I have a LAMY Demonstrator labeled as "W. Germany". It also does have this ring at the end of the barrel, but everything is tight, nothing spinning...

 

Maybe the plastic manufacturing technics weren't so improved back these days, so they couldn't produce it the way they do it nowadays.

 

C.P.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Cole_Phelps

[gammada]

Just to add some info regarding yellow Safaris, collectability-wise, the most sought after yellow pen is the so-called transitional model that wears the current generation yellow body with a black clip. So far, I've never seen one for sale.

 

Also, just checked my late-model yellow/ black clip pen ( with an imprinted black nib) and it has the ridges on the inside barrel and also the notches for the converter. The section screws just fine into the current yellow one.