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(This is my first post on here - eep!) I ordered a Safari (neon yellow, EF nib) a few days ago on Amazon, and long story short, I wound up trying to cancel the order but it was too late and now I will be getting the pen and converter some time in the next week. My question is this - should I keep the pen or send it back? (Assuming money isn't the issue...) Some background that might be helpful: I already have a medium Platinum Preppy ED, an EF Nemosine Singularity (which doesn't seem to write very consistently, at least not with Noodler's Heart of Darkness), and a handmade pen I bought on Etsy that has a F nib but writes just like the M preppyI don't mind the thicker line when I'm journaling or just writing for my own pleasure, but I am a physics grad student and thus for my notes I really need something that lays down a pretty fine, smooth lineAlso, for a pen to be any use for me while taking notes, doing homework, or grading, I also need to be able to have it sit for a few minutes at a time without being capped and then start right away again - realize this is probably a combination of pen and inkI have plenty of ballpoint pens that are ok for taking notes and grading, so I don't need a fp for those purposes, but if the Safari will do it I might be inclined to keep it. If not, though, I don't need another pen laying around that doesn't put down a very thin line because I have plenty of those (and I really love the one from Etsy, so I plan to use that one as my main non-schoolwork pen). Thanks in advance! :-)

Hello All, A few weeks ago, I sent out my Lamy 2000 and Montblanc LeGrand 146 pens for service. Both wonderful pens, used and cared for meticulously; however, I seemed to have quite bad luck recently with each. The Lamy 2000 had a broken piston which needed replacement. One day whilst trying to fill it, the piston made an audible click, and not long after that began leaking ink from the space between the barrel and filler knob, out the end of the feed, and from under the hooded nib. The pen had literally exploded its contents. When I tried to clean it out by sucking water in and out of the pen via the piston, it didn't. As for the 146, I was not quite sure as to what the issue was. When trying to suck ink up into the pen, the filler knob was extremely resistant to turning, and the pen made a quiet popping noise as there was a slight bit of "slack", for lack of a better word, when you let go of the knob which turned back the opposite way a few millimeters. This was a new development, and I had suspected that perhaps the piston and barrel needed to be re-lubricated. I sent the Lamy out via FedEx ground service from New Jersey to Connecticut (the Lamy repair center location) on a Monday morning. By Thursday evening, the pen had arrived back at my doorstep with a brand new piston, tested by the repair staff member who repaired my pen and verified to work perfectly. As you can imagine, I was elated that in three days, and for the cost of shipping and return shipping (free going out from work, and $9.50 on the return), my pen had been brought back to life and I've been using it since that day two weeks ago. Lifetime warranty was honored, and at record pace in my opinion. I hold good customer service in high regard, and it is experiences such as these that lead me to become a repeat customer. I will have no concerns about future Lamy purchases as I can expect the customer service to be outstanding. As far as my Montblanc was concerned, my experience has not been as satisfactory. The same day that I sent my pen out, I visited a local Montblanc boutique at a shopping mall nearby. I explained to the saleswoman there (who I fear did not know much about fountain pens) what I had been experiencing, and she said that she would have it sent out to the repair center in Texas tomorrow morning. She examined the pen and was impressed that for being slightly over two years old, there was hardly a scratch on the resin, and the condition was immaculate. She wrote "good condition" on the repair request form, even though she had just finished exclaiming how well cared for this pen was. From there, she took a look at my warranty card and acted taken back when she realized that the pen was originally purchased at a Paradise Pen Company store, rather than directly from a Montblanc boutique. She closed the booklet, turned to one of the more junior associates there that certainly appeared to be younger than 20 years old, and asked "if he didn't buy it here, it probably won't be covered under warranty, right?". I explained to the associate that regardless of which authorized Montblanc dealer I had purchased the pen from, the fact that Montblanc offers a warranty on its authentic products should obviously supercede my choice to purchase the pen from a dealer other than Montblanc itself. Sensing that I was noticably frustrated, she moved along to packing up my pen, made me a copy of the repair order, and told me I should expect to hear something from them in one to two weeks. Well, today I received a call, exactly 23 days later, explaining that the piston needs replacement, and that they will also be replacing the feed on the pen as well for a total of $56.75, which I would be responsible for when the pen arrives back at the store in approximately one week. I inquired about the warranty that came with the pen, and she stated that the pen was purchased in September of 2011 which is 2 years and two months ago, and that the warranty for any repairs expires after 2 years. Having no other choice, I authorized them to do begin work on the pen. I will provide an update of the service when I go to pick it up and have a chance to try it out. This thread is not meant to be a long, rambling whining session. Rather, I would like to document my experiences for others that may be considering a new pen purchase and for those who consider good customer service to be as important as the quality of the product itself. With Lamy, I was elated with the turnaround time, quality of repair, and even the disposition of the customer service representative I spoke with over the phone prior to sending out the pen. With Montblanc, I am disappointed in the staff at the brick and mortar store who seemed indifferent, borderline annoyed that I had brought in a pen for repair. I would have appreciated a follow up phone call letting me know that their service schedule was going to be delayed, and well, it's a shame that the warranty only lasts a mediocre 2 years on a product you'd expect to be able to give to your children one day, and that I had to exercise the repair center 2 months after my warranty expired at cost to myself. I'm interested to know if anyone else has had experiences with these two firms that confirm or deny my thoughts. Thanks for reading! WriterJP

WH Smith currently has Lamy Studios (amongst other pens) on sale. The Studio is down to £23.99 for the brushed steel finish, in medium nib only. If you're a member of Quidco you get 10% cashback, too.

I'm a student and am trying to find a good pen setup for myself. I'm a bit heavy handed with a pen; I tend to ruin ballpoints by pushing the ball upwards with a little writing, and with felt tips tend to grind the felt tip down before the ink runs out. I decided to try a Pilot Vpen and it went really well as I developed a lighter writing style with it (which helped with hand cramps too). As Pilot Vpens are pretty expensive throwaway pens I was thinking of getting a re-usable fountain pen when my friend gave me a Lamy safari for my birthday. I'm now finished the first cartridge but have had quite few problems with it and am hoping I can change some things to get it working well so it can be my main pen. The problems I've had are mainly that the ink doesn't flow very well or very fast especially compared to how the Vpen worked. With the Vpen I was able to write really quickly but with the Lamy I had to write slowly or else I'd have sections of my writing where no ink came out and so letters were missing. Also, after a while the ink from the nib dried up completely. I removed the nib and ran water through it and it worked again for a while before becoming quite scratchy. I have a size M nib - would an L nib be better at letting the ink through without clogging up? Also, a problem I had with both fountain pens was that when I used a highlighter over my writing the ink became very pale - would that be because the ink is water-based? Is it possible to get a fountain pen ink that doesn't do this? Finally I'm wanting to switch to a refillable cartridge and find a different ink. Is it likely that I could find a cheap ink to use with the Lamy that won't clog up? As a student I do a lot of writing but don't have a lot of money to spend on stationary.

I bought a Lamy pen a while back after a fair bit of research. My main criteria were metal body and metal refill cartridges. I also bought an Ohto, which is my favorite. The Lamy, however, has been a major disappointment, at least as far as the refills are concerned. (I also bought the fp version of the same Lamy pen and I love it.) The M63s don't seem to last very long at all. That's annoying but I could live with that if they wrote well. They don't. They skip, fail to start and fade. I'm on my third one so I can no longer hope I just got a bad one. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm looking into alternate refill options, but c'mon! This was an expensive pen. Is this really what I should expect from Lamy? Mike PS - I've seen reference to 'broad' and 'bold' refill options. Mine has the numbers 211 at the end. Does this tell me what flavor I have?

Hi Everybody! Hi doctor Nick! I recently found out that LOVE turquoise as an ink color! I was looking at these two brands specifically and can't seem to fine any review of the two from the same person (I can't tell from different people as scanning methods and setting change) I was going to have this ink as a sort-or companion ink to use instead of my Noodler's Eel Turquoise if It works better in a different pen- okay...maybe I just want a different turquoise...too Has anyone here tried both and could tell me (or pics ...jk...) how they look and there writing characteristics? (wetness...smoothness?) I suppose drying time because I'm left handed...but then again...all inks seem to dry slow in the sketchbook If this matters at all- The pens I will use this in are Parker Vector - Fine Parker Frontier - Medium (a dry writer from what I have read?) Pilot Metropolitan - Medium Thank you! edit : I draw a LOT ... and I tend to use this as a sketching color to be inked over...but It's a good writing color too! (I've been using ballpoints...may I burn) and I use walmart linedpaper...but the made in mexico kind seems to be a bit FP friendly so very little worry there- teehee

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3717/10480056673_7264bcb295_z.jpg , on Flickr

Hey, everybody, take a look at my first handwritten review:

It is commonly said that Lamy nibs are wider than other brands, but that is never quantified. I've attached scans of Lamy EF, F and two M nibs, alongside a Parker Vector M and Tachikawa School and School G, for really fine (but unusable, for me) nib comparisons. The dots on the paper are 5mm apart, for a scale. For a company known for making wide nibs, I was surprised at how wide and wet the Lamy Violet seems to be, which exaggerates the issue. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7325/9981204476_583c09723a_b.jpgNib Sizes - DotGrid - 1 by murraypaul, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/9981135775_3e8f7b611e_b.jpgNib Sizes - DotGrid - 2 by murraypaul, on Flickr

Hello, I am very happy to join this network, sometimes my English could fail a little bit, because is not my native language, but I always try to do my best. I start buying fountain pens like 2 or 3 years ago, i don't have a huge collection, but i have some nice ones. I will try to start posting as soon as possible Thank you.

I'm fairly new to the forums, though i have poked around and have found quite a bit of information on here!. Though i need some help now! I have a Lamy Safari with a 1.9mm nib and i went about trying to make the nib more wet, i watched videos and consulted info on here to do so. I was coming near the end and thought i had did a quite good job, though after the pen set for a little bit, the ink will retract back further into the tines of the nib so much so that it will not start. The only way i can get the pen started from there is to twist the converter or shake the ink down, though once it gets to writing its perfect! I wouldn't suppose somebody would know if i have the nib spread out to far or what is happening? It would be much appreciated! Thanks!

hi guys, reaching out for a little help. my wife recently got me a Lamy black CP1 because of its look and feel, however, i'm really not a fountain pen type. i have recently tried the Schmidt 6040 fine liner and loved it! wondering if anyone can shed some insight on how to get a part to replace the fountain pen tip so it can take a fine-liner, and if there might be a fine-liner similarly to the Schmidt 6040 (6040 is too long)? thank you!

Can anyone verify what this Safari fountain pen is in terms of year, version, whether limited edition or not? I know I did not purchase this pen last year and in doing a basic search for a Safari Lime Green, the version which comes up when doing an internet search as the crown of the cap being the same color and mine is black. Thanks

We all have one. That certain pen that we are going to get "one of these days". And then when we finally get around to it, too late! They are sold out, discontinued, etc. (Some of)Mine are: 1. Waterman Phileas - I really wanted one of the "early" red marble ones (before there was any white in the swirl) 2. Lamy Safari Orange - they were serious about "limited edition" 3. Mont Blanc Meisterstruck - yes, I know these are still available, but at a substantial premium over what they sold for a few years ago. So what are some of yours?

Hey everybody Looking to buy my first brand new pen A friend has a Lamy Studio which seems to be a really good pen Did some research and apparently it is one of the best pens for that price My questions is, what are the differences between the various finishes? I know the standard one is the cheapest, then the palladium then the platinum Their price do vary substantially but apart from the finish, are there real differentiations at all? I wouldn't want to pay an extra $200 for the platinum one which is what I'm looking to if the writing experience is the same as the $150 base model Looking forward to your opinions Thanks Keefe

Hi guys, Recently, my wife became interested in fountain pens after seeing me use them daily. I bought a large set of Lamy Safari and Al-Star Pens and she commandeered about 5 of them and she's been using them for a couple of months off-and-on. She started an internship with the city recently for her last year of graduate school and has started carrying her pens daily. She has a mix of Medium and Broad nibs on her pens. She was telling me that her pens were leaking and I looked at one of them and noticed some nib creep. I figured it was normal and explained it to her that it was just nib creep. She said it was worse than that, but that she cleaned it off. She sent me an image this morning of her Lime Green Safari inked with Kon Peki and the whole section and inside of the cap was covered in ink and when she uncapped it, the ink went all over her desk and hands. I noticed on another of her pens (a light gray Safari) that the back of the pen is covered in black ink where she posts the pen. Is it the ink or are her pens defective? Should I be looking to replace feeds or send them to Lamy for repair? She's quickly becoming discouraged from using fountain pens and actually said she might like for me just to sell them for parts or as-is just so she doesn't have to mess with them anymore. I hate that she's discouraged and would desperately love to hear your thoughts. I've changed inks multiple times and tried Sailor, Noodlers, Private Reserve, Iroshizuku and Lamy and they still leak. It's not all of the pens, just 3. It's rather annoying, regardless. Any thoughts? For what it's worth, this is what she sent me this morning after carrying her pen from her desk at home to her desk at work. Maybe a total of 10 minutes in her purse. She doesn't ride a horse to work anymore since we got the Gremlin so it couldn't be the jostling of horseback riding. And she doesn't do parkour in a skirt because it isn't ladylike. So I'm not sure how her pen could possibly leak this much in that short amount of time... http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2830/9687648520_3fb4a163cc_z.jpg

Is noodler's standard bulletproof black too thick for Lamy 2000? There is almost little flow in my Lamy 2000 fine nib... Noodler's is so wet in my other pens. I wonder if my copy of Lamy 2000 is wrong or noodler's black and 2000 is a poor combination.

I have a Lamy Studio on order, and wasn't quite sure whether I would settle down to prefer the EF or F nib, so have ordered with EF fitted, and with a spare F nib. The instructions here make it sound pretty easy to change the nibs over. Is it really that easy? How much of a risk is there that I will end up distorting one of the nibs?

Limited Edition Lamy 2000 among the accessories of the new S-class. "Available in a limited edition of 1000 is the LAMY 2000 piston fountain pen, "made in Germany" by LAMY exclusively for Mercedes-Benz. The fountain pen is made completely out of stainless steel with a satin matt finish and features a Mercedes star on the cap. The platinum-finished and hand-polished 14-carat gold nib is in the width F (fine). The fountain pen is delivered in a set with an ink pot, in a gift box printed with the Mercedes-Benz logo inside and out." http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BgoCuAgweKo/UfOqQPXvtPI/AAAAAAAAvI0/-7nU8xABsWE/s1600/Genuine+Accessories+for+the+new+S-Class+(1).jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wx_TeGCtfwk/UfOqTBqSqCI/AAAAAAAAvJc/5HuRTTMUGe0/s1600/Genuine+Accessories+for+the+new+S-Class+(2).jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0OeV31UmhY/UfOqVgsSZ8I/AAAAAAAAvKU/5qrhDnmW4ns/s1600/Genuine+Accessories+for+the+new+S-Class+(26).jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--98JJaWTciI/UfOqWCWgrFI/AAAAAAAAvKo/mo2LjfQKtgY/s1600/Genuine+Accessories+for+the+new+S-Class+(27).jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_J4TK8kTj6o/UfOqXE0zGyI/AAAAAAAAvLg/2adOG8TsAZk/s1600/Genuine+Accessories+for+the+new+S-Class+(29).jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y5BBctIkBRg/UfOqXrkb4lI/AAAAAAAAvK8/DMZcTLVkkIc/s1600/Genuine+Accessories+for+the+new+S-Class+(30).jpg via mercedes-benz-blog

Hello FPN!! I've had my eye on two pens for quite a while and have finally decided to go ahead with a purchase. My problem is my budget restricts me to only be able to buy one of these for now. I have to choose between The Kaweco Sport Classic and the Lamy Safari in matte black, both with fine nibs. Which one would your'l suggest I get because I really cant put my finger on which one I seem to like more. Im looking for a smooth writing, everyday pen. I may also later on want to fiddle around and fit it with a stub nib. Im hoping your'l can help me make a better decision Thanks in advance

Sorry for the bad cell phone photos, but has anyone ever seen a white CP1? I'm curious as to how rare/valuable it is. The photographs show it next to a matte black cp1, and a closeup of the Lamy brand on the cap. Anyone else ever see one? Anyone? Bueller? Pam

Does anyone have experience with Lamy Safari M nib and ABC nib? ABC has only one size of nib -- medium. So far it looks different from the Safari M nib, but is interchangeable with Safari. Any difference?Which is superior?

Greetings to all- I have been a member of the forum for a few months now. However, this will be my first official forum post. I usually spend most of my FPN time in the Classified section where I've had the opportunity to meet wonderful members who were more than generous in sharing with me their beautiful and timeless pens. I was introduced to my first fountain pen roughly summer of last year. Though I have experience in using dip pens for illustration, I have not tried nor even considered fountain pens as an alternative to creating artworks. My chance encounter with my first pen occurred in a quasi-melodramatic manner. As if fate had its hand in this, the usual art store that I often visited was closed for a month-long renovation process and I decided to take a trip at another art store far from where I live. I was new to that swanky store and as I fumbled my through the labyrinth-like aisles chocked full of rows and rows of paints, brushes, paper goods, and all the artsy fartsy supplies that will make even Rembrandt wet his pants in his grave, I ended up in the fancy fountain pen department that was managed by a mild manner older gentleman who happened to look like Gandalf the Wizard from Lord of the Rings film! And to add to his near-authentic looking gray hair, beard, and mystifying expression, he also sported an oversize white button-up shirt that, I swear at certain angles, glowed with faerie magic under the track lighting above! My first impressionable notion was, "Oh... my... hot potato... Gandalf is here!" He saw my big raccoon eyes staring at him, and in return he waved his modern day magic staff at me as if offering me a rare blessing into knighthood--or the last rites before you face a fire breathing dragon and become a charbroiled burger. As I walked closer, his staff was a Porsche Design fountain pen in carbon fiber trim with a rhodium nib. "Can I interest you in this pen that we now carry in stock," he said. "It is just one of the BEST writing pen around!" He followed with an upselling tactic, "Once you write with this, you'll never go back to ballpoint pens again." You know when Gandalf says that a pen is the best, you do not question the 'white wizard' of Lord of the Rings... and of Two Towers... and of The Return of the King! His word... is EPIC! I immediately grabbed the pen like a giddy kid being handed an ice cream on hot day. For a moment there, I felt the wizard's life giving aura flow through me with such vitality. It was legendary. Then I saw the price tag. "Are you nuts?!" Okay, so I didn't say that directly to him. "Oh sonova@%&*%#!" And not that one as well. Yes, the price tag quickly depleted the life giving energy from me. I felt like one of the... forsaken. I turned down Gandalf. I had to. Ofcourse, now that I think about it again, some of the pens I would like to acquire someday are worth double or even triple that price tag. But still, at that time, the whole 'shock and awe' feeling had me walking away with a Lamy Safari outfitted with an EF nib instead. I enjoyed my Lamy--yes, in white color to honor the white wizard--and as my first official cartridge converter pen, it was a wonderful instrument that allowed me to fall in love fountain pens slowly but surely. Sadly, I had to part with the pen a few months later as I found myself convinced by better 'wizards' in the Classified section of the Fountain Pen Network forum who wield pens of true power and harness mystifying concoctions of indelible inks than Gandalf! The Classified section is a place where magic meets your wallet. Thus, is my story... my tale. I hope to meet and more more FPN members soon! Thank you, all! Cheers! Ced P.S. The art store really does exist and the gentleman is still working there. He is really a kind fellow without whom I probably would not have given a thought about fountain pens.

Hey guys! Just thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a 19 year old Pharamacology student (pre-med) and I actually just recently took an interest in fountain pens (about a week ago). I then went out and purchased a pack of Pilot Varsities from my local OfficeMax to see whether FP's are for me. I loved the way the FP's wrote, and now I can't even fathom how nice it would be to use a better FP for my daily writing. My professor even complimented my pen while we were taking a quiz last week. I'm currently awaiting my shipment of FP's and Ink to arrive. I ordered a Lamy Safari (F), a Pilot Metropolitan (M), The Lamy Z24 Converter, and some Waterman's Havana Brown ink. I've basically been getting my fix of FP's from Youtube video's this past week. LOL. I also went out and purchased a dip pen a few days back and a bottle of Higgin's black Ink. It's been a fun few days. I'd appreciate it if you guys could give me some advice on how I can make my FP experience as enjoyable as possible. I'd love to here from all of you FPN veterans. Also, I'm looking for suggestions as to what my next pen in my collection should be. I'm thinking of upgrading to a gold plated nib that write nicely. I'm also a college student so please keep suggested pens relatively cheap. Thank everyone! -Fahad

Hi, recent purchased a Lamy Safari Fountain pen, the swedish version of blue with yellow clip, my friend is got the package for me and when she took photos to show me, the clip doesn't look like bright yellow, but more like the standard yellow clip, does it mean this pen is put together using the normal blue safari with a yellow clip? The one i received has blue body, yellow clip and black cross cap. So does the yellow clip supposed to be a different colour compare to the yellow body from the Taiwan special edition of yellow and red clip? If any one happen to own both, can you let me know... so frustrated!!