Lamy Safari help

[Doc Dan]

A friend of my wife's had a Lamy Safari in her purse that was out of ink. It had dried a bit. She said when she used it, glops of ink would fall from the pen from time to time and she didn't like it. I took it home to clean it. I soaked if for several hours in dish soap and water and then rinsed it out. Everything looked great. I didn't take out the nib, though. 

 

When I inked the pen, it wrote very thin with hardly any ink.

 

What is happening with this pen? Is the feed stopped up somewhere I can't see? What do I do about it? What is the problem?

[A Smug Dill]

The channel in the feed may be clogged up. If you aren't using an ultrasonic cleaner to try to break up and shake out particles that just won't easily dissolve, and you aren't using a good pen flush solution to try to dissolve what plain ol' water can't, then you may have to consider disassembling the pen to inspect the feed, and use mechanical means (e.g. a brush) to remove any clog you see.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/336133-accidentally-pulled-out-the-feed-on-my-safari/?do=findComment&comment=4053859

[Doc Dan]

Thanks! I did take off the nib after I posted this thread, but it made no difference after I cleaned it, again. I may have to pull the feed, which I didn't want to do. Me and my big mouth! "Let me clean it for you. Lamy is a good pen. It's easy." Sure. 

[Sailor Kenshin]

1 hour ago, Doc Dan said:

Thanks! I did take off the nib after I posted this thread, but it made no difference after I cleaned it, again. I may have to pull the feed, which I didn't want to do. Me and my big mouth! "Let me clean it for you. Lamy is a good pen. It's easy." Sure. 

Just a few questions: Was the ink in a cartridge or a converter? Do you have an ultrasonic cleaner?  Do you know the kind of ink the friend used?  (If it was India or other shellac-type ink, we're in trouble).

 

Sometimes a pen will write poorly when it's been cleaned and the ink's still watery.  Time fixes that; you could dip it in ink until it writes well, or leave the pen nib-down for a while.

 

Good luck with it!

[Doc Dan]

9 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Just a few questions: Was the ink in a cartridge or a converter? Do you have an ultrasonic cleaner?  Do you know the kind of ink the friend used?  (If it was India or other shellac-type ink, we're in trouble).

 

Sometimes a pen will write poorly when it's been cleaned and the ink's still watery.  Time fixes that; you could dip it in ink until it writes well, or leave the pen nib-down for a while.

 

Good luck with it!

The pen uses a converter and the ink was some sort of blue water based ink. It wasn't permanent/India ink, but it had crusted on the nib and feed close to the pen body. I got the ink out of the converter and off of the nib.

 

I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner but I am going to buy one, today. They are only $3 or so. 

 

Yes, the ink was a bit thinned out and watery. I expected that, though. It got thinner and would stop writing, instead of thickening and flowing. I soaked the nib unit overnight in soapy water. I might try some hot (not boiling) water like Jinhao recommends, if that didn't work. 

 

I wonder, since it is a Lamy, if the nib needs some work. Apparently, this pen never wrote well from the beginning. 

[Sailor Kenshin]

17 minutes ago, Doc Dan said:

The pen uses a converter and the ink was some sort of blue water based ink. It wasn't permanent/India ink, but it had crusted on the nib and feed close to the pen body. I got the ink out of the converter and off of the nib.

 

I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner but I am going to buy one, today. They are only $3 or so. 

 

Yes, the ink was a bit thinned out and watery. I expected that, though. It got thinner and would stop writing, instead of thickening and flowing. I soaked the nib unit overnight in soapy water. I might try some hot (not boiling) water like Jinhao recommends, if that didn't work. 

 

I wonder, since it is a Lamy, if the nib needs some work. Apparently, this pen never wrote well from the beginning. 

 

Oh, yes, I had one of those.  Back then, I didn't know how to fix any pen issues, so I gave it away (though it probably just needed cleaning).  You got the nib off, right?  Did anything look wrong with it?

[Doc Dan]

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

Oh, yes, I had one of those.  Back then, I didn't know how to fix any pen issues, so I gave it away (though it probably just needed cleaning).  You got the nib off, right?  Did anything look wrong with it?

No, the nib was fine at first glance. I didn't check the tine spacing. I'll do that later. It is soaking. I still think the feed is blocked, somehow, though with a Lamy I'm sure the nib needs tweaking. 

[Doc Dan]

I just ordered an ultrasonic cleaner. It was about $2.50 or so. 

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, Doc Dan said:

I just ordered an ultrasonic cleaner. It was about $2.50 or so. 

 

Good luck.

[Doc Dan]

The cleaner will be here in a couple of days.

 

I managed to get the pen to write. It is dry, scratchy, and thin, but the ink color is good. There seems to me, looking through a 60x loop, that there is not the slightest gap between the tines. I compared some of my other pens and there is a more visible line on them. I tried to get a fingernail in between, but that was a no-go. I don't have my ancient feeler gauges with me. I could slide one of the thinnest in between, I think. 

 

This is supposed to be a medium nib, as indicated by the M on the nib. However, it is finer than my TWSBI fine nibs. 

 

I like the color of the pen and not much else. 

[Brandywine]

Well, I just checked it on penexchange.de:

The feed can be removed. It is not screwed but just stuck in.

But be careful:

The feed will only go back in in one special way as there are special linings to keep it in the right position.

Using too much force while pushing it in may ruin the feed.

AND the feed has two parts that should be reassembled exactly as it was before.

So make sure you pay attention what it looks like when you pull it out.

 

In this special case I fear it will be necessary to remove the feed to clean it properly.

Good luck! 🤞

 

Edit:

Be informed that I do not have a Lamy Safari, I am just reporting what I have read in a thread on penexchange.de

I have not tried to do that operation myself!

Edited February 29 by Brandywine
added disclaimer

[Lithium466]

7 hours ago, Doc Dan said:

I just ordered an ultrasonic cleaner. It was about $2.50 or so. 

That's suspiciously cheap, but good luck.

 

Worst case scenario you can buy spare feeds for Lamy copies on Aliexpress or elsewhere, the one I tried work well enough.

[Sailor Kenshin]

3 hours ago, Doc Dan said:

The cleaner will be here in a couple of days.

 

I managed to get the pen to write. It is dry, scratchy, and thin, but the ink color is good. There seems to me, looking through a 60x loop, that there is not the slightest gap between the tines. I compared some of my other pens and there is a more visible line on them. I tried to get a fingernail in between, but that was a no-go. I don't have my ancient feeler gauges with me. I could slide one of the thinnest in between, I think. 

 

This is supposed to be a medium nib, as indicated by the M on the nib. However, it is finer than my TWSBI fine nibs. 

 

I like the color of the pen and not much else. 

 

Got any old film or negative stock?  I use that as a shim with pretty good results.

[Doc Dan]

3 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

That's suspiciously cheap, but good luck.

 

Worst case scenario you can buy spare feeds for Lamy copies on Aliexpress or elsewhere, the one I tried work well enough.

Most are that price, here. They are from China, of course. You can buy the ones that cost $50 to $60 USD and it is the same picture as the ones costing $2.50. That is what the markup really is in retail. I used to be the regional manager for a high end men's suit chain. The $1000 and up suits (at that time very expensive) only cost the stores $30. Think about how Macy's can have a 75% off with take an additional 20% off with coupon and still make money.

[Doc Dan]

41 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

Got any old film or negative stock?  I use that as a shim with pretty good results.

Good idea. I don't. 

[Sailor Kenshin]

1 hour ago, Doc Dan said:

Most are that price, here. They are from China, of course. You can buy the ones that cost $50 to $60 USD and it is the same picture as the ones costing $2.50. That is what the markup really is in retail. I used to be the regional manager for a high end men's suit chain. The $1000 and up suits (at that time very expensive) only cost the stores $30. Think about how Macy's can have a 75% off with take an additional 20% off with coupon and still make money.

And to think we were thrilled to buy a backup ultrasonic at a thrift store for five bucks.  😉

[Lithium466]

I've seen a review of a cheap ultrasonic cleaner that just had a little motor to make it vibrate (like cell phones) and not the real deal.
You can check by putting a finger in the water while it's on, if it's the real deal you'll feel it!

[Sailor Kenshin]

One other test: try a Lamy cartridge and see if ink flows a little better.