One step up from Lamy Safari?

[caligatia]

I love love love the way the nib of my extra-fine Lamy Safari writes. It makes my handwriting look all old-fashioned and elegant (in my opinion, anyway). But the pen's grip has these weird hard edges to it that hurt my fingers after a while.

 

Is there a Lamy model that uses the same nib but has a more comfortable grip to it?

[alexalex]

I would recommend Lamy Studio. J-san has written great review of this pen. Well... this review made me buy my lovely blue Studio Besides Studios, there are few Lamy pens which use the same nib as Safari, for example: Al-Star (it is fancy style Safari, with the same section), Logo (slender and understated), Accent (interesting - with changeable grip).

 

 

Regards,

alex

[skipwilliams]

As mentioned, the Studio uses the same nibs as the Safari. It's a very nice looking pen. But I found the pen too slippery and the stylish clip not secure enough, and quickly sold it. YMMV.

[BillTheEditor]

I love love love the way the nib of my extra-fine Lamy Safari writes. It makes my handwriting look all old-fashioned and elegant (in my opinion, anyway). But the pen's grip has these weird hard edges to it that hurt my fingers after a while.

That just seems strange. How hard are you gripping the pen? How hard are you pressing down on the nib?

 

Try relaxing your grip, easing up on the down-pressure, and maybe putting the pen down for a minute or two every ten or fifteen minutes.

[ericthered2004]

Faced with the same situation I bought a Lamy alu, which is now one of my favorite pens. The Studio and Accent I found a bit heavy, but they're nice too. The cp1 and Linea (?) are close in design to the alu. Some of these are hard to get in the US, but The Writing Desk (usual disclaimer) is a fast and reliable source in my experience.

Cheers,

Eric.

[caligatia]

That just seems strange. How hard are you gripping the pen? How hard are you pressing down on the nib?

 

The ridges (finger guides?) make me hold my fingers too close to the nib, which makes me grip harder. I'd rather be able to move my hand up a little...

[BillTheEditor]

That just seems strange. How hard are you gripping the pen? How hard are you pressing down on the nib?

 

The ridges (finger guides?) make me hold my fingers too close to the nib, which makes me grip harder. I'd rather be able to move my hand up a little...

Try a Pelikano Jr. Ten bucks. Medium only, but you can have it reground to a fine nib if it turns out to be too wide (in the photos, it looks like a narrow medium to me, but I don't own one.) Yes, it's designed for schoolkids, but it's a fun little pen that a lot of adults on FPN seem to enjoy using. And it doesn't look "kid-like" (IMO). Or get one of the "discontinued" colors, which have a slightly different kind of grip. See them at http://www.penseller.com/pages/pelpelikanojr.htm.

 

More than one step up: Get one of the original Parker 75s, with the triangular ergonomic grip. But it might set you back a hundred bucks or more.

Edited June 4, 2007 by BillTheEditor

[RLTodd]

That just seems strange. How hard are you gripping the pen? How hard are you pressing down on the nib?

 

The ridges (finger guides?) make me hold my fingers too close to the nib, which makes me grip harder. I'd rather be able to move my hand up a little...

 

That is the way I've seen many hold a ball point to get the angle up, so the ball mount doesn't drag on the paper. I find holding farther back on the section, with a light hold as necessary to controll the pen, and with a shallower angle to the paper makes writing more comfortable. As always YMMV.

[alexalex]

The ridges (finger guides?) make me hold my fingers too close to the nib, which makes me grip harder. I'd rather be able to move my hand up a little...

 

Try to hold it a little higher - I find it most comfortable to hold Safari almost at the ring between section and barrel.

 

 

Regards,

alex