Lamy Safari Grip Problem

[nujnay]

i prefer my safari to my metropolitan. the metropolitan tends to slips in my opinion although it is a better writer than the safari, thus, i always reach out for the safari to write.

oh btw, i was an over-writer and trained for a couple of weeks to get used to under writing. My handwriting was horrible (worse than bad) when i started to learn to write the under-writer way but now it is better (still ugly xD but better).

[LeonW]

Ummm, could it be that the OP is holding the pen nib upside down? Been known to happen...

[Selous]

I love my Lamy Safari. It is stylish, well-engineered, and pleasingly practical; like most Lamys, I suspect, though I only have a 2000 by way of comparison. (Love it. Absolutely flawless. And the matching pencil!!! Words fail me)

 

And as I love it, I would love to use my handsome yellow Safari daily. But I can't. Like many people here, if I hold the pen as demanded by the chamfered triangular front end, the nib simply does not meet the writing surface at the right angle and I am literally unable to make decent marks on the page. To get the nib to meet the paper at the right angle, I have to hold the pen in between the triangular sections: on the raised bit. It goes without saying, this is not very comfortable.

 

So I don't use it. Which is sad. Though I do persevere, and every now and again I get it out of the bottom of my drawer and try it out and tell myself it's getting better and I will surely find I can handle it properly and once the nib has adjusted itself to my grip etc. etc. But it doesn't.

 

I have read with interest the exchanges above. It is clear many/most people find Safaris comfortable and natural to use. Those people seem to assume that everybody else is doing something "wrong". We aren't. I have many fountain pens. This is the only pen I own which I simply cannot use. It just doesn't work for me. Wish it did.

 

In passing, if Lamy were to change the triangular profile to a circular cross section, this would be pretty well my perfect pen. Go to it, Lamy.

 

Regards

[Precise]

I have always liked triangular grips on mechanical pencils and ballpoints. I liked it so much that I made my own stylus with a triangle grip for my old (pre-smartphone) pocket computer.

 

When I learned about the Omas 360 triangular grip I eagerly bought one ($300!!!!). But I found that there's a difference in angle between Omas setup and my preferred triangle grip. Others posted rotating the nib on the Omas and I rotated mine 20 degrees counterclockwise and now it's one of my favorite pens.

 

I wanted to rotate my Lamy nib too. But this link, by a member who wanted to rotate his nib, says the body has a "boss" to force only one orientation. However he pared his boss off with an Exacto knife.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/29679-take-apart-a-lamy-safarivistaetc/?p=2022069

 

I put the bottom of my pen in 165F water (to expand the barrel) and pulled the nib straight out with a rag. There I found two "bosses", like parallel rails. They are on the inside surface of a 7mm hole. So I used a 7mm drill, handheld in a chuck, and turned it in the hole to drill away the rails. Then I re-inserted my nib and feed about 20 degrees counterclockwise from the intended orientation. That suits my "grip" and it writes much sweeter.

 

I took the opportunity to spring the clip out slightly so it's easier to push onto my pocket.

 

Best,

 

Alan

Edited September 26, 2015 by Precise

[Cole_Phelps]

Alan, that sounds like a very interesting way to personalize your lamy. However, I don't have any problems with the Lamy Grips... My daily writer is a charcoal safari and when I had to write exams for school I could write with it for many hours (I think the record was ~20 pages in 4 hours) without starting to feel uncomfortable. I hold the grip section between my thumb and my index finger, my middle finger rests under the pen...

 

C.P.

[Precise]

Alan, that sounds like a very interesting way to personalize your lamy. However, I don't have any problems with the Lamy Grips... My daily writer is a charcoal safari and when I had to write exams for school I could write with it for many hours (I think the record was ~20 pages in 4 hours) without starting to feel uncomfortable. I hold the grip section between my thumb and my index finger, my middle finger rests under the pen...

 

C.P.

Hi Cole,

 

I realized that with both the Omas 360 and the Lamy, I tended to put my forefinger close to the top vertex of the triangle. I had put it on the right side of the triangle with my mechanical pencils and ballpoints. I think the right side is the intended place for the forefinger. So, by rotating the nib about 20 degrees CCW I'm able to put my forefinger on the right side of the triangle where Omas and Lamy intended it to be. My thumb and middle finger are placed like your's.

 

Alan

[wastelanded]

Everyone is different, in writing style and comfort zone. That's why there are so many different kinds of pens, and thankfully so!

 

I am an arthritic lefty overwriter, and I can write longer with a Safari or AL Star than most other pens. If my charcoal Safari was a car, it would have about a million km on it by now. But that's just me.

[IvoryParker]

I am right handed. I have dismissed the Lamy Safari for many years as I felt that the grip was uncomfortable to hold and use I held the pen in the traditional manner (in which one would hold a ballpoint) however now I am glad to post that I am making full use of the triangular grip (index and middle finger on the ridged surface with the thumb on the underneath. The key to my adaptation from ballpoint to fountain was applying little or no pressure at all. This has helped me significantly. Once you start off your handwriting wont be to your specification but over time your new grip will become commonplace and your handwriting will return to normal. It does take time patience and a lot of frustration.

[Snoutmol]

I also dislike the triangular grip.

[Precise]

I tried to drill out the section of the Jinhao (safari wanabe) 599A. But it was a different design, requiring a small (0.201") drill to remove a flat deep in the hole. I got a bit careless and drilled so deep that I destroyed the wall between the feed side and the converter. Fortunately, it only cost $1.51 including postage.

[storyteller]

I am left-handed and the LAMY grip does not work for me. It is very uncomfortable.

 

I have no intention of cramping my writing style to suit just one pen either, there are so many pens with round sections that anyone can use!

[SmurfK]

1) I've misunderstood the tripod grip.

 

That's your problem. The grip is between thumb and index, not index and middle.

 

http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/flounder2009/Lamy%20Safari%20Grip%20Adjustment/LamySafariVistaNibRotation008.jpg~original

 

Gonna be honest, i personally thought that's gonna feel better than it does. I think that it's a little too thin for me. Anyway, it is much better than Parker Vector or Pilot Metropolitan, but not as better as some other pens that have this kind of ergonomic grip.