Mendel's Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

[Mendel]

Greetings from Mendel!

While in NYC this past weekend for the B & B meet up, I purchased my first fountain pen - a Lamy Safari in black charcoal at Art Browns. It originally had the broad nib, but I recently purchased a fine nib, which I like much, much better. I love this pen! I feel fountain pen AD is on the horizon.

I also purchased the following sample inks from Goulet. What are your thoughts?

Diamine Onyx Black

Noodler's Tiananmen

Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue

Sailor Jentle Epinard



And now for the next big question. Which fountain pen should I consider for my next purchase? I would like to stay in the $75-$80 range. I don't want a super expensive fountain pen yet as I'm afraid I might lose it.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[brianw]

Nice choice on the ink. I would wait on the next purchase of a FP ..... Just sayin

 

[bastimret]

I really like my Shaeffer 300 and Goulets has them on clearance right now iirc. I have it dedicated to a blue ink for work, and my lammy safari has Noodlers Black Swan in Australian Roses for a more lighthearted color in my notebook.

 

[litespeedone]

I have a Safari Medium and two AL-Stars (1.1 italics)...fantastic writers! Great choice, and those are nice inks you chose, too.

I'm partial to Sheaffers and have a couple of Preludes...you might consider one of those in the $75-80 range. They are very nice pens.

 

[Dave258]

Nice choice on the ink. I would wait on the next purchase of a FP ..... Just sayin

UH OH..... I knew I should have picked up that dime I saw today!

 

[Squidma]

Mendel,

I really like that bright blue ink. Since the get together I have doubled my FP collection (I now have 2) and purchased 3 more inks, one being the aforementioned black swan in Australian roses. I am not sure yet, by I may be tagging along with you on the FP AD train!

 

[drathgeb]

Tiananmen is a popular ink. Congrats on the new addiction. You should pick up another Lamy or two or atleast some different nibs so you can get a bit of variety without paying too much.

 

[RichieRich3902]

How did your Lamy do out of the box? I've been thinking about getting either a Safari or an All-Star, but I keep hearing about how they often need some work before they will write correctly. I'm torn between one of those or another vintage Parker.

 

[FLJeepGuy]

Pretty much all Lamy's (with the exception of the 2000) use the same mass-produced nib units, so you do get a bit of variance from the factory. The absolutely best thing you can do for a Lamy (and pretty much any other new pen) is to thoroughly clean it before inking it the first time. There are manufacturing residues that get left behind and in Lamy's case some ink residue from testing at the factory. Make sure you pull the nib from the pen and insure the slit between the tines is clear and that the underside of the nib and the feed are clean before reassembly. Beyond that, familiarizing yourself with basic tine alignment procedures will also help overcome slight nib issues. It's not uncommon for modern pens to arrive with nib alignment issues.

I find now that going through a five minute cleaning and nib checking process on my new pens avoids a lot of out-of-the-box issues that used to make me nuts.

I should also add that I have several Lamy's (two 2000s, two Safaris, one AL-Star, one Vista, one Studio, one Nexx-M) and several additional nibs, and all of them are excellent writers. Some did require a minor nib tweak or alignment, but none had any significant problems.

Nice selection of inks there too! At this point in my collecting, Diamine and Private Reserve are my top brands due to their consistent excellent performance across their offerings. You may want to take a look at Levenger ink as well. Their Cobalt Blue, Cocoa, and Raven Black are permanent members of my ink inventory plus they are competitively priced and their bottles are in my opinion the best in the business.

 

[maxman]

Woo hooo! You've joined the fun.
maybe sample some ink to find out what you like.

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

A Parker Facet can be had for around $25. They used to retail around $75-$80 not long ago. It's a gorgeous pen.
I'm loving your ink selection, though I am an admitted extreme newbie to FPs.

 

[joshua1970]

love those colors Mendel! especially the Noodler's Tiananmen.

highly recommend the Goulet sampler packs... a great value and if you don't like the color on paper/characteristics you're not out of pocket much.

 

[oc_in_fw]

And now for the next big question. Which fountain pen should I consider for my next purchase? I would like to stay in the $75-$80 range. I don't want a super expensive fountain pen yet as I'm afraid I might lose it.

Thank you for your feedback.

If you want to stay in that price range, look at the Lamy Studio. The nibs interchange between it and the Safari. The Studio is a heavy pen, so keep that in mind. You might look at an italic nib- they really make your writing look better.

If you can jump up to $105, isellpens has Pelikan M200 for that price. It is a piston fill, and holds a lot of ink. I may never buy another converter pen again- the Pelikan has spoiled me against them. It is a great writer, too. I used to rotate pens, but I carry the M200 at least 70% of the time. I have to make a conscious decision to carry any thing else.

 

[brianw]

The only problem with a M200 is it's relatively small size. I have a great suggestion..............











well maybe not.... Just sayin......

 

[oc_in_fw]

The only problem with a M200 is it's relatively small size.

I was worried about that, too. But now that I have it it feels right. It has caused me no problems, and I usually like heavy pens (like my Studio and Gui Guan, which is even heavier than the Studio).

 

[brianw]

I have a M200 with a Binder Italifine nib. Great nib, but I only use it when I put some ink in it when I go to a meetup for people to try.

I also have a M800 I bought last year at Pen City when they had their "Black Monday" sale. Bought it for 248.00. After getting the B&B LE 2012, that pen has also languished in the pen chest.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I have a M200 with a Binder Italifine nib. Great nib, but I only use it when I put some ink in it when I go to a meetup for people to try.

I also have a M800 I bought last year at Pen City when they had their "Black Monday" sale. Bought it for 248.00. After getting the B&B LE 2012, that pen has also languished in the pen chest.

What color is the M800? Ever think of selling it? I cannot swing it now, but it is something I would keep in mind.

 

[brianw]

It's black with a medium nib.....Selling,... hmmmmmm that's a word that seems to rarely cross my mind. Might have to think about that someday

 

[oc_in_fw]

It's black with a medium nib.....Selling,... hmmmmmm that's a word that seems to rarely cross my mind. Might have to think about that someday

I am hot and bothered for the green or red. I cannot believe you got it so cheap. Some guys have all the luck.

 

[zethreal]

I've actually started searching the 'bay for pens and, while I've seen a few that look good, I've always hesitated because I've never worked on one before & wouldn't know where to start.

I'll probably stick with my plaisir for a while.