Safari Issues

[afishhunter]

Genuine Safari. (black)

Original Medium nib. Fairly wet, not a dry writer.

Lamy Converter. Noodlers "bulletproof" Black.

I've also tried: (diluted) Lamy Blue Cartridge; (undiluted) Pilot Blue-Black; Noodlers 54th MASS; Diamine Twilight; and Birmingham Pen Co. Burnt Walnut bottled inks, since getting the pen about two months ago.

The pen and converter (when used) were cleaned at each ink change.

I put the black ink in the pen at roughly 15:00 (3:00 P.M.) on 09/21/22

 

The issue:

After sitting nib up and capped (cap clicked in place, so not loose.) for five (5) minutes, the pen is very difficult to start. (I make sure the ink surface tension isn't keeping the ink at the end of the converter or cartridge, away from the feed.) It doesn't matter which ink I have in it.

 

It sat capped, nib up from approximately 21:45 (9:45 P.M.) to 11:05 A.M.

At 11:25, I gave up, un-inked and cleaned the pen and cartridge. (ink in the cartridge was put back into the bottle. No reason to waste it.)

 

Out of 32 pens, including three vintage lever fill, and a c.1965 Parker Super 21, the Lamy Safari I have is the only one that is hard starting.

Most of my inexpensive Jinhao, and the even less expensive Hero 616 start writing right away, even after sitting unused for over nine (9) consecutive days, using the same inks (and a couple different colors by the same makers plus Monteverde bottled ink and Jinhao bottled and cartridge inks.)

 

This Lamy is retired (fired?) until I figure out what's wrong with it.

 

I haven't pulled the feed and scrubbed it with a toothbrush.  However, I did run hot soapy (Dawn Dish soap) water in and out using the converter before inking the pen the first time. I have removed the nib and washed it in hot soapy water using a toothbrush.

 

Based on all the glowing reviews I've read, and have seen on You Tube, Hard Starting is not "normal" for a Lamy Safari, or any other Lamy pen.

 

I'm open to suggestions. Any idea(s) why my Safari is hard starting, when the same inks in different pens isn't?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Azulado]

Does the hard start occur only at the beginning of writing or also when stopping for a moment - without putting the cap on - and restarting writing?
You say that the nib is wet, so you can rule out feed problems.
That problem can occur because there is too much clearance between the nib and the feed. But that's quite rare on a Lamy. You say it's too wet, it could be that there is too much separation of the tines. That can break the ink flow.
Look at the tip against the light just before writing. See if there is ink all the way to the end of the slit.

Have you tried it on different papers?
By design, it is very rare for a Lamy nib to have a baby's bottom. All my Lamy nibs (4) perform very well. I have yet to find a malfunctioning ink in the Lamy.

Don't put the Safari away, I'm sure it can be fixed.

[arcfide]

The two things that come to mind, both of which are rare in my experience with Lamy, would be an excessive tine gap or a gap between feed and nib. To test the feed and nib spacing, you'd empty the pen of ink, dry it, and then see if the feed touches the nib along the length of the feed. Then, to test the tine spacing, you'd ink up the pen, write it out a little bit to unsaturate the feed, and then put the pen, nib up, to rest for a few minutes. After that time, uncap and look at the nib closely without "tipping" the pen over (that is, keep it upright this whole time), and check that the ink is still all the way to the end of the nib, and that there isn't a .5mm or thereabouts gap between the end where the ink reaches to and the tip of the nib. From that point, you tip the pen over so that it is nib down, and observe the ink closely. Does the ink flow all the way to the tip? It should do so fairly readily. If not, there is either something in the tines that is impeding capillary action, or the tines could be too widely spaced, leading to the nib not being able to flow ink to the tip. There should be a gentle taper in the tine gap from the breather whole down to the tip, so that capillary action can bring the ink forward. This capillary action should still work even when the nib is upside down, when well tuned. 

[DaveQuail]

I had a similar problem with a black Safari Fine nib. Skipping, slow starting, etc. Tried all the usual methods to check the nib (tine spacing, gap to the feeder, etc.)

Nothing worked. Sent the pen back to Lamy. They replaced the nib under warranty, and I haven't had any problems with the new nib since.

[afishhunter]

Maybe I'll just get a black Lamy Fine nib for it. (too bad a black cap with black clip isn't available) I'm not a big fan of a medium nib, anyway.