Nibs on Lamy Safaris & Al-Stars

[QM2]

Yesterday, I was happy to receive the latest addition to my Lamy Safari/ Al-Star "gray-scale collection" -- the beautiful white summer edition Safari, EF nib, from Pear Tree Pens. As I was ordering the pen, James P asked me if it was all right for the pen to have the black rather than the chrome nib. That's when I realized that some of my Lamys come with the black and others with the chrome nib. Personally, I prefer the black nibs. But is there a difference in terms of performance, manufacturing process, year made, or perhaps what type nib is supposed to go with what model? The white Safari looks fabulous with the black nib BTW, I highly recommend it!

 

QM2

Edited June 15, 2007 by QM2

[FrankB]

I had a yellow Safari with a M nib that was black. I gave that pen as a gift a couple years ago, so I bought a new one a few months ago from Swisher Pens (no affiliation). I ordered a 1.1 mm italic nib, which turned out to be chrome. I assumed the chrome nib was because I ordered a non-standard nib for that pen model. That is my only experience with the different Lamy nib colors. - The 1.1 mm italic writes like a dream, by the way.

[blueiris]

I happen to have 2 Lamy pens here with me today, one black and one plain steel (chrome?). Both were re-ground into cursive italics by Pendemonium. Aside from the color, I haven't noticed a difference between them in terms of performance. When they do perform differently, it is because of the particular ink loaded in the pen (I have tested this--sometimes one seems to flow better than the other, but when I switch inks, the issue disappears).

 

I have several Safaris/Al-Stars. My silver Al-Star came with a 1.1 italic nib, which is plain steel. My blue one with red clip came with a black nib. My orange one with red clip came with a steel nib. I use the nibs interchangeably, without paying much attention, so at the moment, the orange one has the black nib on it.

 

Enjoy your new ones!

[QM2]

Aside from the color, I haven't noticed a difference between them in terms of performance.

 

 

I have 5 Safari & Al-Stars: 3 have the black nibs and 2 the steel-colored. Same as you said -- the performance differences on mine are independent of the nib color. But it seems to me that the materials used have different feels to them, and I prefer the black. Although it's possible that it is all in my imagination, just because I think the black looks better. At this point, I have switched around the nibs so often that I don't recall which came with which pens. I was thinking that maybe the Safaris are supposed to come with the black and the Al-Stars with the chrome, or vise versa?

Edited June 15, 2007 by QM2

[Hans-Peter Ording]

I think the "beginner" pens like Safari and AL-Star have black nibs, while the Vista (and the black and white Safaris) and the higher-priced pens like Logo and Accent have silver nibs.

 

Regards

Hans-Peter

[Penache]

I can confirm that my Vista has a silver nib and my husband's Graphite Al-Star has a black nib.

[Nellie]

All regular Safaris have black nibs whereas all 'Joys' (calligraphy pens) and special editions like the 'Flame' or the 'Vista' have chrome nibs. I do not know about the Al-Stars.

[James P]

All regular Safaris have black nibs whereas all 'Joys' (calligraphy pens) and special editions like the 'Flame' or the 'Vista' have chrome nibs. I do not know about the Al-Stars.

 

The Silverblue Al-Star comes from the factory with a chrome nib. I believe, but am not cetain (I'm not near the shop), all other Al-Stars have the black nib.

 

James

[twdpens]

I think the "beginner" pens like Safari and AL-Star have black nibs, while the Vista (and the black and white Safaris) and the higher-priced pens like Logo and Accent have silver nibs.

 

Regards

Hans-Peter

 

The Smile has the silver-colour nib.

 

The black Accent (97, not 98) also has the black nib.

 

James P: yes that is correct.

 

edit: the cp1, alu, linea and logo etc all have silver-coloured nibs.

 

Martin

Edited June 15, 2007 by twdpens

[Hans-Peter Ording]

 

Maybe it's all about matching nib and clip colour?

 

The black Accent (97, not 98) also has the black nib.

I know. I consider it as an exception that proves the rule.

 

Regards

Hans-Peter

[twdpens]

Maybe it's all about matching nib and clip colour?

 

I thought you were onto something there, until I checked and saw this:

 

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/lamy/alstar_26_fp.jpg

 

and this:

 

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/lamy/joy_al.jpg

 

Not forgetting this, of course :

 

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/lamy/accent_97_fp.jpg

 

Martin

[obmike]

my vista that i just received from a board vendor has the silver nib. i MUCH prefer the black nib. however, it is just an aesthetic thing.

[ChristineR]

My Studio came with a chrome steel nib.

[QM2]

The Silverblue Al-Star comes from the factory with a chrome nib.

 

Ah, that explains where one of my 2 chrome nibs came from. Aside from the silver-blue, my other two Al-Stars are the light silver and the dark silver, and then I have the charcoal and the summer white Safaris.

 

[boy, do I love those pens! Just writing about them makes me want to get them out and take turns writing with them all... ]

 

[scribbler]

I have both chrome and black nibs and I don't think there's any difference, unless the black is a coat and thus needs wearing off on the nib if scratchy. The LE only had a fine nib as the smallest size, whereas I suppose one could get a chrome EF nib on a Vista.

 

[Tricia]

I was going to line up all my Safaris and Al-Stars and Vistas and take a pic of their nibs... then I remembered that I'd swapped around a few of the whole sections to get matches I liked better. Unfortunately, I cannot recall which ones I switched, so no pic as it would be pointless.

 

Sorry.

[mr T.]

I prefer the black nibs. But is there a difference in terms of performance, manufacturing process, year made, or perhaps what type nib is supposed to go with what model?

 

No difference in performance. The main difference is the paint/coating applied on the nib. It's just a matter of aesthetics. The black ones are for the aluminium models (but not the blue aluminium), the Sky and the (yellow) Safari.

Edited June 16, 2007 by mr T.