AL-Star Limited Edition 2026

[Astronymus]

Big thanks too rubicon on penexchange.de for finding this on Instagram.

 

[Astronymus]

Man, I've been hoping for a fir or pine green for almost 10 years now.

[inkstainedruth]

The "Pine" does look nice, doesn't it?  Except I'm not overly enamored of the translucent section on it OR on the "Flamingo" (which I can definitely pass on, unless I see one of those in person and that causes me to change my mind -- but I doubt that it will, since somehow that's NOT really a very attractive shade of pink.

And of course I'm now curious as to what they'll release for this year Safari SE colors....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[AmandaW]

The silver-colour nib is disappointing on both of them. And strange given all the other black accents.

 

I will pass and hope for something more interesting in the Safari offerings too.

[Penguincollector]

  Are AL-Star and Safari sections interchangeable? If so, then one could just find an opaque Safari section that would look good with the AL-Star and switch the nib for a black one (or a Z57).

[inkstainedruth]

@AmandaW Well, depending on where you might be getting one of them from, you might be able to swap the "standard" nib for a black one.  I was able to do that when I got the Dark Dusk Safari SE (and in fact TWICE, since I thought I'd lost the first one at something I was at, and had been showing it off to a guy I know slightly who is a pen person.  Then, after getting the second one, the first one turned up... under some stuff in my living room. 

As for me?  I'll have to see what's available (and where) when they get to places stateside.  And decide then if I want one with a "standard" nib (the Dark Dusk "default" nibs were, IIRC EF/F/M), a nib in a less standard width, and (if that is an option) a black nib vs. a steel one.

[inkstainedruth]

@Penguincollector -- No idea about the sections, and whether they could be bought individually.  I don't know whether, say, their [current] US distributor would have that information or not (and actually don't know who that is at this point -- just that their former US distributor had that closeout sale about 8 years ago (I had to look at my inventory notes to see when I got the Ruthenium LX, because that's when and where I got it from).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[jchch1950]

Two more for the collection.

[Penguincollector]

@inkstainedruth, I was more thinking that if they did interchange, that one could just buy two pens, or trade with someone who would enjoy a demonstrator section. Unfortunately, I only have AL-Stars, so I don’t have a way to check.

[Astronymus]

3 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  Are AL-Star and Safari sections interchangeable?

Yes, they are. You just have to remove the ring on the Safari section, because on the AL-Star it's a fixed part of the barrel.

[Penguincollector]

  Ok, so then it is possible to make your own solid section AL-Star with a donor Safari. 

[jchch1950]

The almost standard configuration of the Safai, Al-star and Lx Lamy pens, together with different nibs, you can play a lot with them to find your perfect combination of colours and writing wide.

[jchch1950]

Thanks for the information on the limited Al-star pens for 2026. Now let's wait for the Safari colour😊s.

[Misfit]

Oh, I like the pine Al-Star!

[boilermaker1975]

I have to have the Pine.

[inkstainedruth]

I keep thinking that too (or at least going, "Maybe..." if I see one in person (wondering now if they'll be Stateside for the B/W Pen Show next month).  Of course, I haven't heard what this year's Safari SE colors are going to be yet....  And trying to decide if I get one what nib width I should get for either.

It's kind of ironic that I don't have ANY of the standard Safari or al-Star colors.  My husband has one of the standard blue Safaris (I was a bit surprised when he didn't want one of the "reboot" ones of the original colors), and of course I have the Ruthenium LX -- but all the other Safaris and al-Stars in the house are various SE colors, including the original version of the Harry Potter "Ravenclaw" pen.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[chravagni]

Pine is beautiful, but flamingo is fun 😍 I have to see them in person, but it seems difficult not to buy them. 

[inkstainedruth]

Oh, I'd definitely have to see both in person.  But I had a completely different reaction to the Flamingo from you -- I didn't like that shade of pink (at least how it came up on my screen) at ALL.  OTOH, I couldn't WAIT to get my hands on a Vibrant Pink al-Star SE from a few years ago....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Astronymus]

I got the newsletter. I'll order both tonight for my collection.

[GutSchrift]

The Pine looks great! I am really pleased that Lamy seems to be widening the range of colors for the clips, as with the Pine.