Lamy Safari Savannah Green and Terra Red compared, 1980 vs 2021

[bphollin]

I wanted to do a quick comparison of the new Savannah and Terra (Special Editions) to their original  Savannah Green and Terra Red counterparts. All in all, it is an outstanding job by Lamy. It is very, very close color matching on both models--no easy feat considering the 40-year span of time between models. I'm glad I can finally use these pens! My Savannah has been used and abused, so I never wanted to stress it further. The Terra is stickered NOS, so I felt a little bashful about using it. I'm thoroughly delighted with the new pens!

 

In the horizontal shots, the new pens are at top and the original pens are at bottom; in the vertical shots, the original pens are at left and the new pens are at right.

 

 

 

 

 

There are three big differentiators. First, the original models have no country of origin or are marked with W. GERMANY, whereas the remakes are marked GERMANY. Second, the original models do not accept the modern converter and the remakes do not accept the original converter. Third, the originals have no breather hole in the "plus sign" topper, whereas the remakes do. There are also some slight difference to tooling and mold marks, but these are harder to see.

 

 

 

 

I'm glad I already have the old ones. It's going to be hell trying to tell them apart on crappy eBay listings!

[HDoug]

I JUST ordered a Terra with EF and M. I plan to (try to) grind the M down to a useable italic. I think I'll use Platinum Pigment Brown in it, but I don't know. It was a complete impulse buy! I'm glad to see it's so close to the original. I think this reduces the market value of some collections though. I've seen some pretty outlandish prices for the originals.

[jchch1950]

The original Savannah price will be reduced😭 . But I don't have to keep looking for the original Terra red one😃. I wish Lamy will reissue the original boxes.Thank bphollin  for the photos and the comparison between the originals ant he new Safari pens.

[christof]

Great comparison. Thank you Brandon.

I am still waiting for my savanna and terra red.

Christof

[austollie]

On 2/18/2021 at 6:31 AM, bphollin said:

I'm glad I can finally use these pens!

You and me both!  I've been wanting a Savannah green Safari for many years.  I can't wait to get my hands on one.

 

Thanks for doing the comparison with the original version.  This only confirms my desire to purchase the 2021 version.

[bphollin]

On 2/17/2021 at 9:33 PM, HDoug said:

I think this reduces the market value of some collections though. I've seen some pretty outlandish prices for the originals.

I was fortunate to get my original green for about the price of two new Safaris from eBay.de, but it was in this used-and-abused state. Some of the speculative eBay prices are ridiculous!

 

On 2/18/2021 at 4:57 AM, jchch1950 said:

The original Savannah price will be reduced😭 . But I don't have to keep looking for the original Terra red one😃. I wish Lamy will reissue the original boxes.Thank bphollin  for the photos and the comparison between the originals ant he new Safari pens.

You're welcome! I can't put down my terra red. It is fantastic! Hands down my favorite Safari, which used to be petrol.

 

17 hours ago, christof said:

Great comparison. Thank you Brandon.

I am still waiting for my savanna and terra red.

Christof

You're welcome, Christof! I can't wait to see your pictures. My camera's sensor struggles with oranges and reds (Fuji XE-2), but these seem pretty close to life. I've been writing with my Lamy 2000s exclusively for the past six months. It was a joy to fill up the new Safaris. I'm using them for editing

 

5 hours ago, austollie said:

You and me both!  I've been wanting a Savannah green Safari for many years.  I can't wait to get my hands on one.

 

Thanks for doing the comparison with the original version.  This only confirms my desire to purchase the 2021 version.

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. I am so happy with the re-issues.

[Kho]

Thanks for the comparison. I just received mine today, Terra with M and green with F. I don't have the 1980 versions but I do like these new ones. I bought mine from Endless Pens. Price was good $20 and got a free converter. The pens look legit to me and both write well. 

[kulnet]

Just purchased a terra red with a medium nib from Dromgooles in Houston.

[christof]

I finally got my pens too and just made a quick comparion with the originals from 1980. Actually, the colors are very close to the original. The terra red a bit closer than the savannah...

 

LAMY Safari terra red 1980 und 2021 Logo by C.M.Z, auf Flickr

LAMY Safari terra red 1980 und 2021 by C.M.Z, auf Flickr

 

the new green has a blueish tint:

 

LAMY Safari savannah 1980 und 2021 Logo by C.M.Z, auf Flickr

LAMY Safari savannah 1980 und 2021 by C.M.Z, auf Flickr

 

C.

[Aysedasi]

There's a cheap original Savannah Green on eBay right now......... 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAMY-Safari-1980-1st-Generation-Savannah-Green-Fountain-Pen/174528252749?var=473730269092&hash=item28a2b1cb4d:g:jLIAAOSw4OJfuXnj

 

...and it has a crack in the cap........ 

[christof]

This price seems ambitious indeed...

 

On the other hand, the reissue will never replace the originals, at least not for serious collectors.

 

C.

[Aysedasi]

For my money (thankfully not!), you'd have to be completely nuts to outlay that on a Safari......

[christof]

I believe there were cases where even more was paid.

 

(...and yes, collecting could be called a kind of madness. on the other hand, this gene is in many people, especially here on FPN.)

C.

[Aysedasi]

Yes, I guess you're right.  I collect things as well, tickets to the 24 Heures du Mans.  I have just under 200.  Thankfully they tend to cost a great deal less than an old Safari........;)

[Calabria]

Just received my Safari Terra. The color is wonderful - perfectly terracotta - neither orange nor brown but right in between. 

[bphollin]

Very nice pictures, Christof! I continue to be very happy with the re-issues. My only complaint is that I keep re-inking the orange and haven't tried the green yet! Your pictures show just how close the colors are on the orange pens.

 

I'm glad I have the originals, and even more glad that I found them before Safari prices went insane on the secondhand market. Even the recent dark purple and petrol Safaris are fetching inflated prices.

[Glenn-SC]

On 3/13/2021 at 10:39 AM, Aysedasi said:

Yes, I guess you're right.  I collect things as well, tickets to the 24 Heures du Mans.  I have just under 200.  Thankfully they tend to cost a great deal less than an old Safari........;)

Can you still use the tickets for their original intended purpose?
The "old Safari" still has some functional value as a FP.
The tickets are perhaps recyclable.

 

One persons passion is another's madness.

[Aysedasi]

2 minutes ago, Glenn-SC said:

Can you still use the tickets for their original intended purpose?
The "old Safari" still has some functional value as a FP.
The tickets are perhaps recyclable.

 

One persons passion is another's madness.

 

No, I wouldn't get far presenting a 1957 entrance ticket at the next event......  But I wonder how many of those 'collector' Safaris are actually being used......?  I suspect that most are as ornamental as my tickets....

[Glenn-SC]

Very few I would think.
But they could be if needed/wanted.

[gammada]

Another big difference between the originals and the current editions is the cross finial up top. Besides lacking the breather hole, it is made out of metal and screws onto the cap, you can easily remove it by turning it with a quarter coin. The current versions are friction fit and can only be removed if pushed from the inside.

 

I do use my vintage Safari, but I also plan to use the modern one.