Who's got a Lamy Safari?

[ashbridg]

I bought a medium-point Safari last week that skipped and also took a quarter inch to start. I exchanged it today for one that writes perfectly and also bought a fine-point Safari, which writes perfectly, too.

 

The Safari's plusses are: they are amazingly smooth writers (if you get a good one), the nibs change easily, and the pen's construction is rugged.

 

The minuses: My 2 Safaris, one medium and one fine point, draw lines that are not very precise. In fact, compared to my good pens the lines are downright mushy looking. Not a big deal to me though. For the price of the pens their smoothness more than makes up for the lack of crispness. Also, judging from my own experience and from reading the Fountain Pen Network, Safaris may not be consistent in quality (despite the fact that every pen is factory-tested prior to shipping).

 

My suggestions: First, dip-test a Safari before buying it if you can. Next, people with very large or very small hands beware - the barrel section on the Safari is flattened where it meets the thumb and forefinger. And the grip is one-size-fits-all. It happens to fit my hand beautifully, but people whose hand the pen doesn't fit will have a very unpleasant writing experience.

 

Ashby

 

http://ashbridg.com/music_150.jpg

Edited March 22, 2010 by ashbridg

[RHutch]

I have four, charcoal (my first pen), Orange, Pink and White, I can't help but get the yearly colour.

[piembi]

I like then as my toss around pens. And they are the pens for any kind of high maintenance inks, too.

All of them are ebay cheapos (Vista or Al Star) and I don't mind if something my happen to those pens. But so far no accidents or losses

[Sparkle]

I have a Pink Safari and it's perfect for me. I didn't want a gimmicky, heavy or flashy FP, just a good functional FP that works well.

 

only 2 issues I have;

The first is that tiny rim at the bottom so when wiping off your nib after filling you want to be really careful about cleaning that little rim.

 

Secondly was that I was having surface tension problems. Cartridge or convertor, made no difference. By the time the convertor/cartridge was half empty the pen would write drier and drier until it stopped altogether.

 

Finally fixed it by putting a plastic ball from a Cross cartridge in my convertor. Now it writes fine from full convertor right until it's empty.

[BillZ]

Bought a charcoal Safari at Dromgoole's mostly out of curiousity. Wanted to see what all of the hoopla was about. For the price plus the converter it's a good writer. Only two complaints:

Proprietary cartridges-I can't buy them locally hence the converter

I originally inked it with Noodler's Bulletproof Black.It matched the pen. With it and Noodler's Blue the Safari was a very wet writer. Too too long for the ink to dry even with the EF nob. Put a Lamy BB cartridge in it and it works great. Haven't tried other brands of ink,yet.

[Fuddlestack]

I have an OB nib in mine. With Diamine Jet Black it does write wet, but not unacceptably so. Ordinary strokes are dry at 5 sec, but the wee blob left at the end of a heavy stroke will still smear generously at 30 sec, a little at 60 and is dry at 75.

 

Anyway, it gives you a good excuse to buy one of those nice mahogany Herbin Mini Rocker Blotters.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Fuddlestack

[figosmum]

Quick add-on:

 

having taught high-school both in Germany and Switzerland, I can safely say that (depending on the year they're in) between 30 and 70% of students use FPs, and about half of these use Safaris or Al-Stars. The other half uses one of the cheap Pelikan models. So add these to the vote, although they won't show up on FPN to tick the box.

 

Regards,

Katinka

[pranishk]

My first fountain pen that I used was a charcoal Safari with EF nib. I still use it. I always have it in my bag or pocket at work and when I'm just out on the town. It's tough ( I don't worry about letting people that need a pen use it) and it's always stood up. I even let a friend who wanted to give a FP a try borrow it for a week and when I got it back it still wrote fine.

 

 

[Scylla]

I have about 10 of them, different colors and nibs. One has a custom ground italic nib which is the best of the lot. It really is a workhorse of a pen. Uncap it and it writes first time, every time.

[Renholder]

I had a safari,is very sturdy but what I did not like about it was its looks,and the nib IMHO is not that special when writing,there are more pens that cost less and write better...

 

 

Are there really more pens that cost less and write better?

 

My Lamy is pretty rocking. Starts writing instantly, always. I don't have to use any pressure, the nib just floats across the paper. I paid $30 for the pen, 3 cartridges and a converter. Seems like a pretty cheap, awesome writing pen. But, I only have one other pen, and it is a Pilot Plumix (which feels like running fingernails on a chalkboard to write with)... so, I definitely don't have tons of experience.

[LostInThought]

They're not the prettiest looking pens on the market, but they're cheap, tough, reliable and are available in good variety of nib sizes.

 

I guess that's why I have over 10 of them...

[plistumi]

I have a couple. When I was in graduate school and post-graduate training, I used them to underline books and write notes on the requisition sheets of my cases.... Still do. They are most certainly workhorse pens. Not my favorite, but write so well for the price I am happy with them.

[Julio]

I have all the colors to include the "vista." Good looking pens!

[xuan87]

i managed to get a couple of the limited edition safari that were out of production. so happy!

[jjdeal]

I purchased a black Safari with broad nib a few weeks ago, and I LOVE IT. I also have now ordered a yellow with medium nib, and it should be here shortly. Check out Passion4Pens for great deals...$24.95 and they throw in a FREE convertor. It's a great deal...

[Fuddlestack]

i managed to get a couple of the limited edition safari that were out of production. so happy!

 

Salivating madly, I googled "safari limited edition" and came up with this. $10,000 is a wee bit steep, though, and it won't even write.

[spaniard]

I've got two Safaris (M&F) and one Al-Star M, all of them write very well

[whereisandy]

I use both a blue and charcoal Safari at work - each inked with a different color. I'm not afraid to leave them laying around on my desk if I have to leave for some reason. It won't be damaged if someone needs to jot me a note and I won't be devastated if one gets lost or sprouts legs and walks off.

 

As others have mentioned else where the Safari nibs are inconsistent. The F on the charcoal Safari is closer to an EF and the F on my blue Safari is on the medium side.

[johny]

A black Lamy Safari fine nib was my first fountain pen purchase (and it wasn't that long ago). I bought it just to see if I would like writing with a fountain pen. I use it all the time at work now. It's been the 'gateway drug' to my new found fountain pen addiction, with 2 subsequent FP purchases and one in the mail!

[DenimDan]

The Vista with an EF nib was my first fp. A sturdy pen, for sure.

I have never been fond of writing with it. The nib is inconsistent, the line too fat for an EF, and the grip is uncomfortable for me.