Lamy brand

[mollymom]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Lamy? I just purchased the Safari model, fine point and was interested in anything anyone might know about it.

 

What other pens do you recommend? I own several, my Waterman fine point being my favorite.

 

Thanks!

[EventHorizon]

Hello and welcome to the FPN!!

 

LAMY is a highly revered brand here. I have two LAMY Al-Stars and one Safari and can never say enough good about them. Other members have LAMY Studio's and LAMY 2000's which are also spoke highly of. Once in a while I will see a small issue about the 2000 but not often. Other recommendations are wide and varied but as pens to start with or "the Trinity for Beginners" there is the LAMY Safari (which you have), the Waterman Phileas and the Pelican M200 or 250. Pilot VP pens are widely recommended as is Stipula and Omas. Vintage pens (which I focus on) are another catagory shall we say so if you want to lean that direction, we will offer suggestions there also.

[gregamckinney]

Welcome!

Lamys are very popular and (almost entirely) well liked pens. I have several (Safaris, AL-Stars, Studios and 2000's) myself. If you do a search on lamy, you'll find many great threads.

 

Regards, greg

 

[swarden43]

Welcome mollymom!

 

I like the Safari. I just purchased my third - a blue one with a fine nib. I also own a yellow with a fine nib and a charcoal with a medium nib. Great pens.

[Rocket Jones]

Welcome!

 

I've got a yellow Safari with an XF nib, and a Vista with a medium nib, and I love both!

[PAKMAN]

I absolutely love my Lamy 2000 extra fine. My next pen purchase will probably be a Lamy Studio Palladium.

Edited July 18, 2008 by pakmanpony

[the hobbit]

Just to add in my twopence here...

 

Lamy Safaris are some of the best starter pens out there. I carried an Extra Fine Vista (the clear version of a Safari) in my backpack all last semester, and put a ton of ink through it. It might start a little toothy (almost scratchy, but a little nicer feeling) but by the end of my first year of college, the thing writes brilliantly, especially considering I use cheap filler paper with it 90% of the time.

 

I've actually owned two, a Fine Black special edition that I lost ( ) and the Vista. In addition, my little bro owns a Charcoal Safari Broad, and my mum uses a Aluminum All-Star Medium. So I've written with all four basic nibs. Plus the 1.1mm italic, but that got lost when we were moving.

 

Safaris are great because you can swap out the nibs very easily. Want a finer pen? Buy a $12 nib, and you're set. Want to try Italics? Ditto.

 

I have heard of a few people taking issue with the nibs (saying they are scratchy, etc) but that's mostly been with a EF nib, and is easily fixed with 1) A brow paper bag, 2) A quick tune up, or 3) sucking it up and writing for a while. All three wear the nib down a bit and make it an incredibly smooth pen for the money.

 

That said, a Parker 51 beats a Lamy hands down every time. And Waterman Phileases are some of the best starter pens out there. But both cost more, and are more delicate than the Safari.

[vermiculus]

One of my pens is a vintage Lamy - an 81. It's a wonderful, wonderful writer with a nice, medium-wet, semiflex oblique medium nib. The nib is a 14kt, but is platinum plated to blend in with its very plain black-and-steel design.

 

My Brother has a CP1 and that's a great pen too, which I recently fixed for him.

 

If you browse the Lamy site, they credit all their designers - it's nice to see a company which doesn't just absorb individuals' work into the branded conglomerate.

[Yoda]

There are some great pens mentioned here to consider. One of things that I like about Lamy pens is that most of them are available for a great price. Combine that with, from what I have read here, great service and you have a very positive experience.

 

I have a Safari with a Fine nib that is very smooth and feels almost bulletproof. Plus for the cost, I do not have to worry about it. I also have a Studio which uses the same nib as the Safari which is handy. If you can, you really should try out a studio in your local pen shop. They are much nicer in person and have a nice heft to them. Lastly, I also have a 2000. This pen is iconic and built to last. It and the VP are the two smoothest writers I have come across.

 

Not to mention that if you buy a Lamy and later choose to sell it, they do tend to sell well on the market here.

 

 

[wednesday_mac]

I had my doubts about Lamy, but went ahead and bought a Safari a few months ago. It's become one of my favorite pens to use. It never fails to start, I left it uncapped for two hours accidentally and it still started. I love the little window that shows how much ink is left. Yeah, it's plastic, but it's a hard worker.

 

I ended up with a fine point after dip-testing it against a medium in the store. The medium wrote too broadly for my tastes.

 

I love that if I hurt or lose it, I can get another for not very much money, but it seems indestructible.

 

[biffybeans]

5 Lamy's here.

 

4 Safari's, 1 Al-Star and a 2000.

 

I like em'.

[Thornton]

I have five Lamy FP's about with four other Lamy writing instruments. I love them all. As far as fountain pens go I have a 2000, Al-Star, Logo, Studio, and Vista. All regularly make it into my pen rotation and none of them have ever given me trouble. Good luck with your Safari and any future Lamy purchases.

[RayMan]

I own 4 Safari's, a Vista, a Studio, and I love them all. Extremely reliable pens, and pleasant to write with.

 

I recommend the Waterman Kultur as another inexpensive and reliable pen, which has a superb nib.

[Philip1209]

I am also a big Lamy fan. Their Safari and Al-Star models are very rugged and dependable. Their 2000 (their flagship pen) is also dependable, but rivals much more expensive pens in smoothness and features.

 

 

5 Lamy's here.

 

4 Safari's, 1 Al-Star and a 2000.

 

I like em'.

 

4+1+1=5?

 

 

[jmkeuning]

5 Lamy's here.

 

4 Safari's, 1 Al-Star and a 2000.

 

I like em'.

 

There are three kinds of people: those who are good at math and those who are not.

[the hobbit]

4+1+1 does = 5 for exceptionally small values of 4 and 1, and exceptionally large values of 5.

[Philip1209]

5 Lamy's here.

 

4 Safari's, 1 Al-Star and a 2000.

 

I like em'.

 

There are three kinds of people: those who are good at math and those who are not.

 

Hahaha. Sorry Biffybeans! No hard feelings. I lost many points on a math quiz recently for using 1 foot=60 inches as a conversion factor for the problems. I got the calculus right, but that dang customary unit system still screws me up!

[Philip1209]

4+1+1 does = 5 for exceptionally small values of 4 and 1, and exceptionally large values of 5.

 

Or, as my math teacher once wrote on the board, 2+2=11. After we all stared at him in a befuddled manner, he put a subscript of 3 by all of the numbers and it magically became correct. (aka 2+2=11 in the base three number system )

 

 

P.S. (back on track) Lamys are great pens! Their fine and extra-fine nibs are great for math calculations (and they are so dependable that they will survive a paper on non-Euclidian geometry!)

Edited July 19, 2008 by Philip1209

[PacificCoastPen]

Ditto to all comments above.

I might add that the Lamy Joy calligraphy pen is a cursive, italic. The 1.1 nib can be a wet mop depending your ink.

I use it often for letter writing. Reproducible reliability with every purchase. Love that aspect.

Wanda

[Pippin60]

I love the Lamy brand. I have several (avoiding the math LOL) Safari's, Vista's an Al - Star, a Joy, as well as a 2000. I was one of the few that had a problem with the 2000 and still waiting to receive it back from repair or replacement. (only 3 weeks now) but highly recommend the brand. I'm looking at a studio next perhaps a palladium or regular stainless.