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I just going to say it... I personally hate the look of the Lamy Safari and All TWSBIs.


collectorofmanythings

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55 minutes ago, Ste_S said:

 

It depends where you live, the Metropolitan (or the Prera) isn't sold in the UK for example. As for nibs, Lamy offer EF through to a 1.5 Italic for their steel nib pens, where Pilot have a more limited range.

 

I think Lamy are great; they sell an iconic pen for not much money, that actually works well. Love my Neon Lime limited edition Safari which alternates between F,M,B and 1.1 nibs; whilst my wife is up to three Safari's and a Nexx

Wow!! If you like it, good for you! I wish I did like it, or else I would have a problem with collecting them (as I do with the Kaweco Sport). Thank you for your response!

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7 minutes ago, sgphototn said:

I have nothing against the Safari though it's not a pen I like though it is low priced, but too many TWSBIs have cracking and breaking issues for me to trust it.

That’s very fair. Thank you for your response!

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Well, how about I just dont care that you dislike the Lamy Safari and other pens.  I am not interested in why. So, have a good day.

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8 minutes ago, Wolverine1 said:

Well, how about I just dont care that you dislike the Lamy Safari and other pens.  I am not interested in why. So, have a good day.

Ok, fine. I don’t really care if you care. I wanted to appreciate the pen more, even if I don’t like it. I thank the many people who have been kind and helpful, who made me realize how the Safari is a great pen, despite the design. You are not part of that group. Though I have used fountain pens for many years, and just discovered the community last December. All of the people (except for you) in the community have been very kind, helpful, and patient. We don’t need people in the community who discourage people from learning and enjoying fountain pens. I sincerely hope that you have a good day and that you are a kinder person than this post showed. I hope this opened your eyes and that you won’t be as unkind next time and won’t make someone’s days worse.

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22 minutes ago, Wolverine1 said:

Well, how about I just dont care that you dislike the Lamy Safari and other pens.  I am not interested in why. So, have a good day.

Additionally, if you didn’t care then why did you view this post? Why did you respond? Why did you follow this post? Why did you join Fountain Pen Network in the first place? I look forward to your response.

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As for other people, continue to respond. I would love to hear your responses! I really want to learn to appreciate the Safari and TWSBI pens more. And I do thank all the people who posted before that have helped me like the Safari especially a lot more.

Edited by collectorofmanythings
Wanted to make something bold
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My second fountain pen was a Lamy Safari.  I quickly moved on.  I'm not a fan of the large cap and the clip in particular.

 

However, I'm a fan of TWSBI.  Over the years, I've accumulated 3 Diamond 580's, 2 Ecos, 3 Vac 700's, 1 Vac Mini, 1 Diamond Mini, 1 Go and 1 Classic.  I find their pens to be highly functional.  I've never had to tune any of the nibs I've received out of the box.  Most are very comfortable writers, especially the Diamond 580, Eco and Vac models.  All seal very well.  I left an Eco inked for 18 months with very occasional use just to check on it.  It wrote immediately every time.  It outlasted all the other pens I had inked for extended periods, including a Platinum 3776 that completely dried out within that period. :o  Although I admit that they will not win a FP beauty contest :smile:, but they make up for that in cost, comfort and reliability.  I personally recommend TWSBI as the best bang for the buck in terms of usability and reliability.  

 

Interestingly, despite all the accolades, I have only one TWSBI inked and am now focused on other pens since I do have much better looking pens, to my eyes, that are equally comfortable and likely as reliable, though I haven't put them through an 18 months inked test. :D 

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Like an American P-75 (French is 'better in it don't have the Classic Triangle grip of the American version.) I do have a Safari Joy, and keep it because of it's 1.5 stubb nib I use when the moon is green and I try to draw italic calligraphy letters. It allows me to see my mistakes better.

I did buy that at a flea market.

Someone gave me a Safari, and I gave it and a CPN-1 or what ever it was, to someone to get them hooked on fountain pens.

 

I do admit the Safari is a startling 'ugly' pen.............. in the day of Large pens, no more clunky than any other Large pens.

I'm 'conservative' ...somewhat,... so outside the Joy desk pen, bought for it's 1.5 nib, ....no, I'd never buy one.....but the same goes for the 2000. (Unless found dirt cheap).

 

I changed from the Classic Tripod to Forefinger Up quite a while ago.

In there are very few here that use that, I'm just wondering what sort of grips those who complain about the Classic Tripod section use.

I have seen some very, very strange grips here on the com.

 

The Safari is a school pen........up to date '80's early '90's design, 'spiffy'.  Still being made; cloned by Hero in China as soon as the patent ran out.

I don't get enthused by nail pens, P-51 or Safari, and many others.

Safari advantage is it is robust, and no one can unconsciously put your pen in their pocket...........they have to steal it on purpose.....

A hard to steal pen....unless you are a German school kid.

 

I did a Lamy Factory tour some 7-8 years ago, and the Safari is still their major selling cheap pens, with 1/3 of the factory floor for the Safari.  When I went through, 1/3 of the factory was not running, or running hard, the middle third was where they make all the other cheap pens....steel nibbed pens. They had three or four models being made there in the middle section.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, maclink said:

My second fountain pen was a Lamy Safari.  I quickly moved on.  I'm not a fan of the large cap and the clip in particular.

 

However, I'm a fan of TWSBI.  Over the years, I've accumulated 3 Diamond 580's, 2 Ecos, 3 Vac 700's, 1 Vac Mini, 1 Diamond Mini, 1 Go and 1 Classic.  I find their pens to be highly functional.  I've never had to tune any of the nibs I've received out of the box.  Most are very comfortable writers, especially the Diamond 580, Eco and Vac models.  All seal very well.  I left an Eco inked for 18 months with very occasional use just to check on it.  It wrote immediately every time.  It outlasted all the other pens I had inked for extended periods, including a Platinum 3776 that completely dried out within that period. :o  Although I admit that they will not win a FP beauty contest :smile:, but they make up for that in cost, comfort and reliability.  I personally recommend TWSBI as the best bang for the buck in terms of usability and reliability.  

 

Interestingly, despite all the accolades, I have only one TWSBI inked and am now focused on other pens since I do have much better looking pens, to my eyes, that are equally comfortable and likely as reliable, though I haven't put them through an 18 months inked test. :D 

Wow! Super surprised that a TWSBI beat a 3776 in not drying out! Thank you for your response!

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2 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Like an American P-75 (French is 'better in it don't have the Classic Triangle grip of the American version.) I do have a Safari Joy, and keep it because of it's 1.5 stubb nib I use when the moon is green and I try to draw italic calligraphy letters. It allows me to see my mistakes better.

I did buy that at a flea market.

Someone gave me a Safari, and I gave it and a CPN-1 or what ever it was, to someone to get them hooked on fountain pens.

 

I do admit the Safari is a startling 'ugly' pen.............. in the day of Large pens, no more clunky than any other Large pens.

I'm 'conservative' ...somewhat,... so outside the Joy desk pen, bought for it's 1.5 nib, ....no, I'd never buy one.....but the same goes for the 2000. (Unless found dirt cheap).

 

I changed from the Classic Tripod to Forefinger Up quite a while ago.

In there are very few here that use that, I'm just wondering what sort of grips those who complain about the Classic Tripod section use.

I have seen some very, very strange grips here on the com.

 

The Safari is a school pen........up to date '80's early '90's design, 'spiffy'.  Still being made; cloned by Hero in China as soon as the patent ran out.

I don't get enthused by nail pens, P-51 or Safari, and many others.

Safari advantage is it is robust, and no one can unconsciously put your pen in their pocket...........they have to steal it on purpose.....

A hard to steal pen....unless you are a German school kid.

 

I did a Lamy Factory tour some 7-8 years ago, and the Safari is still their major selling cheap pens, with 1/3 of the factory floor for the Safari.  When I went through, 1/3 of the factory was not running, or running hard, the middle third was where they make all the other cheap pens....steel nibbed pens. They had three or four models being made there in the middle section.

Wow.. very interesting. Even though I have your standard tripod grip, I still find the Safari uncomfortable because I prefer my fingers to be on rounded grips instead of ones where I feel like I am touching something flat. Thanks for your response!

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27 minutes ago, collectorofmanythings said:

Wow! Super surprised that a TWSBI beat a 3776 in not drying out! Thank you for your response!

Well, I wouldn't necessarily draw this conclusion since it was one 3776 that dried out on me.  I do have another that doesn't seem to so far.  So it may be that the one that dried out had a defect of some sort that I can't find.  It seems OK.  Platinum has marketed its slip&seal tech well, but there are other pens that seal just as well without the tech.

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2 hours ago, maclink said:

Well, I wouldn't necessarily draw this conclusion since it was one 3776 that dried out on me.  I do have another that doesn't seem to so far.  So it may be that the one that dried out had a defect of some sort that I can't find.  It seems OK.  Platinum has marketed its slip&seal tech well, but there are other pens that seal just as well without the tech.

Oh, that’s unfortunate that it may have a defect. Well, I hope it’s not a big issue. But that’s good that TWSBIs have good sealing caps. Thank you for your response!

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I'll admit that the Safari family pens are pretty ugly (OTOH, if they had been around in the 1960s I could easily see one as a prop in the old TV series The Prisoner.... :lol:)

I tried a Safari early on, and didn't like the triangular section.  But I've gotten used to them.  Someone here a few years ago sent me a Jinhao 599 (a Safari/al-Star clone).  And found that I could used to the section after all.  So now I have that, plus three Safaris (Dark Lilac, Violet, and a used French Blue I scored on eBay for way cheaper than NOS ones are), plus a Vibrant Pink al-Star and a Ruthenium LX.  The nibs are good, albeit nails (although I have nothing narrower than an F -- I tried an EF at a booth at the Ohio Pen Show a few years ago and thought an EF was too scratchy for my taste).

As for TWSBI?  I have a 580-AL and a 580-ALR.  I'm less concerned with the cracking issues (my understanding is that they changed the material to something more rugged -- and I can attest that I've dropped the 580-AL on the sidewalk (accidentally, not on purpose!) and it was unscathed.  OTOH, I'd be hesitant to ever buy another piston filler model (even though I like the look of the purple trim Eco a lot): the piston does not extend all the way to the back of the feed, and you can get air bubbles blocking ink flow if you're not careful.  I've read that the Eco and Eco-T pens have the same issue.  I personally think that's a design flaw.  I also haven't used the 580-ALR much -- the 1.1 nib is a firehose (and wrote better upside down!) and it's really hard to get ink out of the grooves in the section after filling.  So, while I like the look of the new color (especially not being a huge fan of "demonstrators" to begin with), I'm hesitant to buy one.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Oh, for ever more!! The LAMY safari is a great pen for people who actually use or need a writing instrument.

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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Oh I quite agree with you there!  But I can see how the Safari grip might deter people (it deterred me for several years).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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So I have a couple Lamy Safari's and they are my most used pens. I like everything about them including the look and the grip. I think they are fine looking pens. Especially when compared against the pilot metropolitan which just looks cheap like a knockoff of a fancier pen IMHO. These pens look like what they are. I dislike a pen that has fake gold trim and tries to pretend it's plastic is something fancier. The Lamy doesn't do that. It's an honest looking pen. It looks like what it is, and I like that. They don't look fancy or fussy but like pens someone would use. That is the appeal. I would never collect these pens I only need a couple because I use them. 

 

I got the basic shiny plastic ones that everyone seems to be hating on. I like the paper clip style grip and that little ink window. I like the size of the cartridges. I use my vista the most right now but that might be because it has my favorite ink in it. 

 

I would say these pens look young. Like it's the pen I would see in the hands of a 20 something art kid in a cafe. I'm a woman in a city and I don't want a pen that makes me feel like a target in a public space. No one is going to mug you for a Lamy Safari so just toss it in your bag and don't worry if it gets scuffed up. 

 

It was also my entry point into getting more into fountain pens. 

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21 minutes ago, mouse2cat said:

So I have a couple Lamy Safari's and they are my most used pens. I like everything about them including the look and the grip. I think they are fine looking pens. Especially when compared against the pilot metropolitan which just looks cheap like a knockoff of a fancier pen IMHO. These pens look like what they are. I dislike a pen that has fake gold trim and tries to pretend it's plastic is something fancier. The Lamy doesn't do that. It's an honest looking pen. It looks like what it is, and I like that. They don't look fancy or fussy but like pens someone would use. That is the appeal. I would never collect these pens I only need a couple because I use them. 

 

I got the basic shiny plastic ones that everyone seems to be hating on. I like the paper clip style grip and that little ink window. I like the size of the cartridges. I use my vista the most right now but that might be because it has my favorite ink in it. 

 

I would say these pens look young. Like it's the pen I would see in the hands of a 20 something art kid in a cafe. I'm a woman in a city and I don't want a pen that makes me feel like a target in a public space. No one is going to mug you for a Lamy Safari so just toss it in your bag and don't worry if it gets scuffed up. 

 

It was also my entry point into getting more into fountain pens. 

A fun read. :DI agree about the Metro. 

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Well, admittedly I do have a couple of Metropolitans (one of the plain silver-color ones, with a medium nib, and the grey/herringbone Retro-Pop, with the stub nib), and I do like them as well; I have small enough fingers that the step down from the barrel to the section doesn't affect me although I gather it does for people with larger hands.

If I like a brand/model, I'm more likely to get another one in a different color and/or a different nib width.  But I'm not one of the C-worder people who do the Pokemon "gotta get 'em all" thing -- I like certain colors and completely abhor other colors, and also have very few duplicates.

For Safaris, I tend to like the colors where the clip is also colored -- so it looks less like a giant paperclip.  And like someone else said earlier, I tend to like the matte finish rather than the shiny.  I held off on the al-Star for a really long time, and then got it from Vanness Pens' clearance page -- so paid less for it than I did for either of the purple Safaris (and the French Blue, being no longer made, I lucked out and didn't end up paying any more than MSRP, since it came with a converter already installed).  The LX?  I got that when Lamy's old US distributor had a closeout sale; although I couldn't get a converter there I still paid a lot less than the usual US retail price.

Oh -- you should know that I'm a consummate cheapskate; even my most expensive pen, the Pelikan M405 Stresemann, I saved money because I bought it from Missing Pens in Germany off Rolf Thiel's eBay store: I didn't have to pay the Chartpak markup and he didn't have to charge me VAT either....  Okay, it isn't the "correct" rhodium plated nib, but I don't mind (and figure that if there's ever an argument with someone over whose Stresemann is whose?  I can say, "Uh, uh -- that one is MINE!" :lol:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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1 hour ago, inkstainedruth said:

Oh I quite agree with you there!  But I can see how the Safari grip might deter people (it deterred me for several years).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

For me it would be like complaining about a Craftsman screw driver handle. I’ll adapt

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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:lol:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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