Lamy Safari As Eyedropper — What *if*?

[NewPenMan]

if it weren't for those 2 openings on either side of the barrel..

 

Is there any way to close them up and have it be safe for the ink inside? I have to think somebody has thought about/tried this.

 

This might be crude, but how about this idea: Take the Safari, while assembled, and with a cartridge inside. Mix some epoxy, and dab into those two oval holes, pressing gently — enough to fill the holes but not so much pressure as to force the epoxy to ooze through to the cartridge, thereby permanently entombing it..

 

..and not so much that oozings would produce areas where ink would hide and be hard to clean..

 

would the resulting epoxy-to-Safari-barrel be seal enough to hold in ink?

 

To me it seems almost tragic that the Safari has everything needed to be an epic eyedropper — were it not for those ink-level holes...

 

 

Idea #2 — admittedly, I'm getting a little weird here, but what if a balloon or some inflatable object could be inserted into the Safari barrel and inflated enough to keep the epoxy from intruding past those holes? The epoxy would stick to the inflatable material of course, so you'd need to tear that away, or perhaps a dusting with talcum powder would enable the inflatable material to release after the epoxy set?

 

#3 —maybe there is an object of just the right shape and diameter to insert into the Safari Barrel during this epoxy-ing, and gentle twisting after setting would release this object and leave behind a smooth inner wall where the epoxy set?

 

#4 — maybe a sincere letter campaign would encourage Lamy to make an eyedropper Safari?

 

;-)

Edited August 23, 2015 by NewPenMan

[dompred]

Wouldn't it be easier to get a rollerball barrel and use that instead? Some people have done this with a Vista and a Vista rollerball (still some sealing was required).

[NewPenMan]

wow..hadn't even considered that... sealing required, as in the application of silicone grease/o-ring to the threads/section, or something more drastic?

[Brian C]

It's been done:

[shawndp]

It is possible, but the question is why... The Z24 holds enough ink for me to write and yet not enough for me to become bored of the colour. Yes you can try to seal the slits in the barrel and hope that it doesn't leak, yes you can use a rollerball body (did you know that the FP body can't be used on the rollerball with refill) but why...

[NewPenMan]

I have 2 uses for fountain pens: 1. Writing. 2. Drawing.

 

In either case, I need to get into the zone and forget about the pen, which includes ink level. Loading up a pen with 3+ ml of ink will help me do that. Of course the opaque Safari barrel prevents me knowing easily how much is left, but 3ml is a lot of writing.

 

If I need color excitement, I have a pile of other fountain pens which can hold any of my 6 or so Noodler's colors..If I need more color than that, I can get out the watercolor and oil paints.

 

I don't much tire of ink colors, really...they're all pretty nice to my eye.

 

Edited August 23, 2015 by NewPenMan

[pepsiplease69]

I think it's a completely valid endeavor.

 

For one thing, an eyedropper conversion may improve ink flow through the nib and feed.

 

For another, it may improve the balance when completely filled with ink.

 

I really like using them this way, and didn't much care for my safaris or vistas before I converted them to eyedropper fillers.

 

I did a blog entry / youtube video in 2 parts on precisely this. I go about explaining everything very slowly and I meticulously go through all the details so both videos are a bit longish.

 

https://nibandlens.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/lamy-vista-eyedropper-conversion/

 

I used scotch tape to stop up the windows as you'll see in the videos, and then I used sealant for plumbing purposes to close the windows. It's been a few years since I did my first one and I've had no leaks, no chemical reactions. It seems super stable. Almost my throw-about pen.

 

I've done about 5 of these already and am pretty glad I did.

[Mr.Rene]

[wastelanded]

I must admit, an eyedropper Vista would be quite fetching...

[FOUR X FOUR]

I could not agree with you more.

[FOUR X FOUR]

...

[FOUR X FOUR]

...

[FinalEleven]

I actually did this. I bought some rollerball barrels from Bureau Direct and converted my Lamy Vista to an eyedropper. I just had to seal the bottom of the pen with some hot glue so it doesn't leak from the bottom. I then used silicon grease on the threads just to be safe. Works really good, though the pen writes much wetter than before.

 

For a regular safari, hot glue can seal the holes on the side.

Edited August 24, 2015 by FinalEleven

[watch_art]

Ha ha! I remember that video. Gave that pen to a guy at pen club forever ago. Don't know if it's held up though.

[NewPenMan]

 

I don't get it..

[Biber]

Find a test tube or some sort of closed end plastic tube that would fit into the barrel of the Safari and epoxy it in place.

[NewPenMan]

There are other reasons for wanting to have a pen be an eyedropper besides huge ink capacity.

 

Filling by the nib/feed in the case of a convertor/piston works great as long as your ink bottle has enough depth to facilitate submerging the nib and feed.

 

But when it doesn't, you're forced to do a kind of eye dropper procedure anyway.

 

The biggest downside I can see to eyedroppering is the drooling that's said to happen when the ink warms up in the hand, and the air in the chamber is greater in volume than the remaining ink. Dunno whether all pens are prone to this...that could really be lousy..

[ceac]

have a look at a Lamy Nexx ....

[NewPenMan]

have a look at a Lamy Nexx ....

Why?