Lamy Safari: My first

[joshmpdx]

Right out of the gate, i'll mention this is my first fountain pen. Lusting and reading about these little things for the last few days had me in a super excited mode.

The construction, weight (which was a slight concern) and overall appearance are beyond my expectation. The thing is exquisite. It even sits in my hand perfectly which, as i understand isn't the case for everyone.

I picked up the 'Fine' nib and my understanding is that there is somewhat of a 'wear in' period for the nib, and im certainly hoping that is the case. Im using the ink cartridge it came with and have used it quite a bit today. Mine seems to be fairly scratchy, only somewhat consistent of a writer and the smoothness of the ink flow is also what i would deem sub par.

Regardless, I love using it!

I just hope it breaks in a bit.

 

[Dave258]

A Safari was my first pen too, and I had the same exact feelings you have! It did break in, and I love the pen now. I can not comment on the ink, because I have never used the cartridges that come with them. I have been mixing my time today between my Safari loaded with Noodler's Heart of Darkness and my new Edison Hudson loaded with Noodler's Bad Green Gator.
I even ordered a new Lamy Allstar today from isellpens because I finally bought a Libelle 20 pen case, and felt the need to add some kind of pen.

EDIT: Great picture BTW!

 

[Greyfox]

Congrats. Still waiting to purchase my first.

 

[ouch]

It looks great in white, Josh.

 

[nemo]

Man, those new white ones are pretty (I have an older one with black trim)

Congratulations and enjoy it, they're quite utilitarian. I used mine for field work and the light weight was a real plus.

 

[superbleu]

The ink in the lamy carts is pretty dry and doesn't lubricate the nib well. And the lamy nibs are a bit scratchy feeling out of the box, so your experience isn't out of the norm.

If it really bothers you, you can try to draw some figures 8s on a brown paper shopping bag. This might help smooth out the nib.

Or if you are really brave do this on some 2000-4000 grit wet dry sand paper.

If you do this be very careful, use a light hand and do a little at a time, it's very easy to grind away the nib to nothing in a matter of minutes.

 

[Bloomey]

Josmpdx:

Your right, there will be a wear in time, particularly with the fine nib, will take about 2 to 3 weeks or the first cartridge u use up, whichever comes sooner... either way brill pens and still continue to use mine, 15 years after I bought a medium red.

 

[nemo]

I do recommend using the pen normally for a period to wear in the new nib, but any sort of sanding should be left to those with mucho experience.

This is Josh's first fountain pen, the scratchiness may be just his first impression of writing with a fine nib, period.

 

[joshmpdx]

 

[superbleu]

I do recommend using the pen normally for a period to wear in the new nib, but any sort of sanding should be left to those with mucho experience.

This is Josh's first fountain pen, the scratchiness may be just his first impression of writing with a fine nib, period.

The lamy nibs are easily replaceable and about 5 dollars a pop. If one wants to practice nib smoothing I can't think of a better option besides a pilot varsity.
Heck even the nibmeisters had to start from scratch.

 

[Vintage Razor]

I have the Lamy Safari XF nib in black with a converter.. Fantastic writing pen, I have been thinking to buy other nibs to try.