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Apologies in advance for any toes stepped on, but I don't actually love the look of the Lamy Safari -- which puts form over function. But the form is important and certain things just "look right" to each of us (or don't, as the case may be). I know that that pen is probably one of the most popular pens out there, and it is popular for a reason, so I lead with this with some trepidation. However, I bought a torpedo-shaped fountain pen in my 30's and I kind of got aesthetic brain-lock on that basic design. You all will understand that what I am talking about is essentially a failure of the imagination here (mine, that is). You get locked in to thinking a certain way about a topic, an idea, or a product, 'cause you tried it at some point and it fit well. So I bought that black, torpedo-shaped fountain pen with the star on top, and then maybe the German stripy one and a couple of French enameled brass tubes, and there the matter sat for about 25 years. I fully acknowledge that the limitation is mine, but that is essentially what personal taste is. Cut to today, when >duh< I realized that it is sort of an interesting time in fountain pens -- there are a lot of choices out there. And Amazon wanted to sell me FIVE Jinhao copies of that basic Lamy-style pen for about 9 dollars delivered. I don't even know how you ship those pens half-way around the world for $9, let alone manufacture them and sell them at retail. The cost to manufacture the pens must be in the low pennies per unit. I realize that the question of design copies is tricky and one that must come up a lot on this particular subforum. But I don't sweat it too much in my own purchasing. I like to tinker with stuff and am much more comfortable taking a dremmel or a file to a $20 copy of a European design than to the more expensive pen itself. Heck, I never even had the nibs and feeds out of my older, classic pens and didn't have the guts to try until I could practice on my less expensive (cheaper?) Chinese copies of the same. And, I rationalize to myself, that no one is going to purchase a $26 P136 rather than a Montblanc. Ever. They are different beasts, except superficially in appearance. If you want the more expensive pen, you scrimp, you save, you sell off your Vida Blue rookie card -- you do what you have to. But I don't think those two pens are actually in competition with one another for the same customer. The Lamy Safari is a bit different though, because the German pen is soooo reasonably priced for what it is. It is worth mentioning though that at $9 for a pack of five copies, the Chinese pens are an order of magnitude cheaper than the original German design. That being said, these days, buying an actual Lamy would mean skipping one or two lunches and redirecting the funds. So I was skeptical, but $9 is well within a my comfort zone for risk on a home/office product. I ordered them and in due course, the pens arrived in five different colors and I inked up the yellow one at random. And whaddaya know? The 619 has an EF nib, but writes smoothly. Really smoothly. It has sat capped for weeks and starts right up. The quality of the nib on paper is great. My conclusion was that I was completely wrong about the design. And having adjusted my outlook/prejudices accordingly. . . Ironically, the ultimate outcome is this: I have just placed an order for two actual Lamy Safari pens, one black and one white. And I would have never ventured forth on this if I hadn't had such a good experience with the "homage" pen in my pen cup. If I were the executives at Lamy (or Montblanc, or Waterman etc. etc.) I would take a very dim view of how my house's brand has been copied abroad. But I think there is a good argument that the Chinese copies can also serve as "gateway" pens for folks who don't live near a pen store and who can't really make an informed decision about whether a particular style fits them unless they can get their hands on something they can afford. I also know from reading reviews on Amazon and elsewhere that not everyone has had the good luck I have in inking up their own versions of the Chinese pen. But so far, I am very pleased. The thing just works, and works well for my purposes.

I have no clue what I just bought! It looks like Lamy Safari Alpine, but it has small German eagle logo on cap. And I have no idea, why there is Cross converter in the picture. Pen will arrive next week to me, so I can take better photos. I recognize that eagle, but I didn't find exact match. Price wasn't that bad (22 euros), and this is nice pair to my Pelikan m100 aka.stormtrooper.

Have just seen a first generation charcoal Safari being sold on the bay for an inordinate sum but am very interested in the W Germany imprint, which Ive never seen before. Does anyone have anything similar to this imprint on their Savanna, Terracotta and/or Umbra from the time please? Photo attached.

Can anyone explain to me why they like the designs so I can appreciate it more? I don’t mean to be rude or criticize people for what they like, I am just curious why you like the look of these pens. Just please reply! I really want to know what the appeal is. Thank you for your help! W. Major

Hello. Just bought my first lamy pen, safari charcoal in EF. I really want to love this pen because I like how it look and feels, it’s a beautiful pen. But I am kind of disappointed with the way it writes. As seen in the photo it writes somewhat faded. But I just want to ask if this is as expected of a lamy EF nib? (Shading?) I guess I am just comparing it with my pilot kakuno EF that writes super thin yet very solid dark lines using the same ink. Any thoughts? Btw I’ve tried flushing the pen multiple times, also cleaned it with water that has dish soap on it. I am using a z27 converter. I also initially used a pilot black ink but it comes out grayish even after writing with it for several days. I’m thinking of getting either an F or M nib but I’m still undecided. Please help! midori md notebook diamine tobacco sunburst ink

https://www.pensandpencils.net/products/lamy-safari-terra-fountain-pen-fine-041 https://www.pensandpencils.net/products/lamy-safari-terra-fountain-pen-medium-041 https://www.pensandpencils.net/products/lamy-safari-savannah-green-fountain-pen-fine-041 https://www.pensandpencils.net/products/lamy-safari-savannah-green-fountain-pen-medium-041

I'm in my 40s and am an artist wanting to learn calligraphy. I'm particularly interested in Copperplate. A recurrent issue is that I have a weird pen grip -- index and middle finger on the pen and thumb high -- a lateral quadrupod, from what I've been able to discover online. While I'm sure there are calligraphers who have the same grip but have found a way to work with it, I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to relearn holding my pen. Having the weird grip is making it difficult to fully enjoy some pens like the Lamy Safari. So has anyone completely changed their grip, and if so, how long did it take you to feel like you're as comfortable with the proper grip as your old one? My hand is currently feeling like a withered claw from practicing writing. It's only day one... thanks, Liora

Hi there, I've been into fountain pens for a while, but thought it time to come out of my shell a bit and connect with other keen people! I'm from NZ and have been into stationery forever. My generation didn't grow up using fountain pens at school, so when I did come across them, they were these expensive glittering objects in glass cases in the stationery stores and you couldn't touch them. But about three years ago, I got my start with a purple Pilot Metropolitan in a medium nib, and Lamy Turquoise ink. I loved it so much that within a few months I had gotten all three of the 'inexpensive pens' available to me here - Pilot Metro, Lamy Safari, and TWSBI Eco. And then, of course, I went down the rabbit hole.... I just bought the infamous TWSBI Draco despite the price! This site keeps getting recommended online and I'm glad to be here!

Hi! Recently wandered across here whilst I was looking at ink differences and thought I'd make a little account! I'm Emma, from the UK and have recently fallen in love with Fountain Pens and everything about them. I wanted one a few years ago but never got round to it, until I got my first one (Lamy Safari - Aquamarine) and have fallen in love ever since. I suppose when you start a new obsession, you fall very hard 🤪 Have always been a lover of all things stationary way back since Primary school (saving the pennies for a new set every new school year!) and its carried on ever since, I've also been Bullet Journaling for the past 5 years and it's what keeps me sane! Hope to speak to some of you soon! 😊

Does anyone know how I might get my hands on one of the old Lamy squeeze converters (pictured below)? Thanks to haywoody for alerting me to the existence of this converter, which is where I also got the image (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/90367-lamy-safari/).

Lamy Japan has new White Black Limited Edition launched yesterday in Japan. Its the White Safari that comes with Black Clip and Blacked out Nib. The Pen has Black Accents and Trims and comes in only EF and F nib options. There is also a ball point available in same pattern. Currently it is available only at physical stores. I am leaving a link below of few stores Itoya Isetan Are you planning to get one ?? Note: All images are sourced from Lamy Japan Facebook Page (link)

Hello! I am new on the fountain pen hobby. Recently I purchased from a web store called lulustar.office, on ebay, a Lamy Safari Charcoal, fine nib, for a very good price (USD 14 + shipping). However, when it arrived, the pen came with no box, no cardboard, no cartridges, no instructions manual, just the pen itself with a converter inside of it, packaged in a cheap plastic bag that only fitted the pen at all, nothing else. I was really suspicious that I actually bought a conterfeit Lamy. However, the pen puts down a really fine line, much finer than my Parker Frontier made in India, which is supposed to have a fine nib, but looks more like a medium one. Also the pen produces a minimal feedback, which seem to be normal, considering the opinions from other Lamy Safari’s users. What bothers sometimes me is that the pen seems a litle dry and skips in very fast writing and traces, though. Can I be before a counterfeit Lamy Safari? I took some pictures from it and wanted to create a topic in this forum in the FPN site, in order to collect opinions from more experienced fountain pen users! Thank you all very much in advance! With my best regards!

Dear all, Well, after a hectic start to the 2019, I had some time to get back to my dear hobby again. Bought some new “toys” such as Hansa 381 airbrush, and while waiting for the 2019 LAMY safari special edition models, I went to “work” and made my own 2019 LAMY safari “limited edition”. Anyone interested how it turned out? Please have a look and let me know what you think … JF_LAMY_safari_LE.19_-_Audi_Nardo_Grey Kind regards, Jan (FLICKR)

https://youtu.be/yviAVt1hPgU Hey Party-People. J. from Carpe Pluma with another review video. This time we look at the Lamy Safari and Vista. Time stamps included if you want to jump around. Check it out if you get the chance. Thanks!

I already own a Lamy Safari fine which is around 2 years old and a Metropolitan fine which should be almost 1 year or so. I have laid my eyes on the Faber Castell Loom for a while now. Just want to know about it a bit more. I want to know the nib size of the fine and the medium sized nibs of the loom in comparison to the Safari. And which type of ink I should use with the Loom. Any help is much appreciated.

Hi. A while ago I bought a bottle of Lamy Vibrant Pink ink to use with my Safari. I have just bought a new nib for it and I'm also changing the ink colour. I've changed inks in my Safari before, but this time it was different. I found the pen really difficult to clean out, and I even had to totally dismantle my converter to get all of the ink out that was stuck behind the piston. Has anybody else had problems like this? Thanks!

Look at the attached image: Lamy call the colour green. I call it lime, whatever...... There are three other nibs as well as the stock M: EF plus 1.1 & 1.5mm Italic nibs. There's even a Lamy converter. What other maker supplies their ink in Lamy cartridges? Has been regularly flushed, but never used with any problematical ink. No Iron-Gall & none that stain. As it says in the title... If you are not a resident of the UK you cannot be considered. You only need to pay postage for all the above listed stuff.

Hello everyone, I have a weird kind of question. It's not a big deal but I wonder if anyone else experience this too. I'm an unstoppable reverse writer. I often do it without realising. Lately I noticed, whenever I use Lamy Safari, the tips of my thumb and index finger get stained with ink. I realised this happens when I write reverse with this pen, and that I tend to hold the pen closer to nib while writing reverse, probably because of the indentations on the grip section to be used while writing nonreverse. The part I marked with arrow in the picture is wet with ink. I wonder if this is normal or I've broken my pen a bit (sadly I've dropped it on the floor many times). Thanks in advance for any response

Dear all, Well, bears are cute, no doubt about it. But! We are big boys (and girls), right? And speaking of limited editions, I had something on my mind for a very, very long time. A few years back, I had the intention of getting into scale modelling and bought couple of kits and tools. Started working on one, but after meeting with Jan_Rosecky, one of the best modellers in Europe, I realized there was NO WAY I could get even close to his results. Still kept the tools, though ... and “the idea”. Then came the Vista_Frost from Christof, and I was behind again J It is AMAZING! Because I am slow, I gave my idea some more thoughts, and couple of years later, I went for it. And since my other hobby is Formula 1, this is what I did: first of all, when you look at LAMY safari very closely, you must admire the timeless design. All the edges and curves on one side and its simplicity on the other. It is not an expensive pen, but the design is nothing short of perfect! I went to my favourite penshop here in Prague and bought a LAMY safari. The owner was very kind to get me a spare nib and a clip as well. Then, I used primer and sprayed the front section, barrel and cap with it. Let it dry and wet-sanded it with micro mesh sanding sheets. Once the parts were smooth, it was time for the paint. I chose the Lotus_black_F1 paint and sprayed four layers of it on the parts. A few days later, I applied decals. The paint dries matt and needs clearcoat_lacquer on top of it. So I sprayed some four or five layers on top of the paint and decals and after that, it was down to wet-sending and polishing with NOVUS polishing kit. Here is the result: More Picture here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lamy_fp/sets/72157696220853034 Kind regards, Jan (FLICKR)

Hello guys. I need some suggestions regarding my Lamy Safari Charcoal. I am attaching three pictures. The nib as seen in the picture has developed some sort of stain near the slit of the nib. I have tried soaking the nib in water for a couple of hours as well as washing it some liquid handwash. Nothing seems to remove the stain mark. Is it because of the ink I am using? Next to the cartridge converter, if you zoom and observe carefully you will be able to see that some little amount of ink is trapped between the contact of the piston edge and the body of the converter. I have disassembled the converter, applied some silicone grease but still, ink gets trapped. It started from after one month of using the converter after the cartridge emptied.( I bought the safari around August last year). How to prevent this?

Hello! This is technically my second topic, but I only just found out about this introduction forum. I've been pretty active on reddit.com/r/fountainpens (my username is the same as on here) these past couple months, but I thought I'd join this forum as well! I've been using fountain pens since I was 13 I think, but around sometime last year I kind of started collecting more pens. Up to that moment I had written with a cheap (around 3 euros) fountain pen from a Dutch store. That one had been used and abused a lot, so I wanted to buy a new pen. At this point I didn't know much about fountain pens, so I got a Parker Jotter, thinking it would be a good pen (because it was a Parker). I also just really love Parker's arrow clip and have pretty small hands, so I thought I'd like it. I didn't, and started using my old pen again, mostly. Then later I got a Jinhao x750 (white) and a Lamy Safari (Petrol, F) and I really liked those. I started buying more inks, and ended up with a couple more Chinese pens, including a black matte x750, a Jinhao 992 and a Jinhao 911. A few days ago I got a Parker 45 CT Flighter with a 14K nib (a Fine, I'm pretty sure), which is my first "serious" pen, I suppose. I recently got a bottle of Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün. I'm usually not a fan of bright colours, but this one is such a joy to use. Other than that I've been using Lamy Petrol, Pelikan Brilliant Brown and Waterman Absolute Brown a lot. I'm planning on ordering some iron gall ink and other permanent ink soon, I'm currently looking at KWZ Mandarin, Turquoise and Noodler's Black. The latter not being too exciting, but the only black I currently own is Waterman Intense Black and it's not permanent and not, well, intense enough for me. I'm planning on buying a black Pilot 91 with a SFM, FM or SF nib this month. I actually have a question about that to anyone who owns a Pilot soft nib: would you say it's suitable for quick, daily note taking? Or would I be better off with a stiffer, regular nib? Also, would you say a SFM would be too wet to use on cheap paper? I'm a college student, so being able to use it on cheap paper would definitely help. Sincerely, thespyingdutchman

I like fountain pens, I like ink, I like paper and i like machines. So I use them togerther. The below image started out as a doodle and I felt I should see it through to the finish. The image is drawn using a Lamy Safari with and EF nib. The paper is 110# card stock and the ink is Aurora Blue. If you enjoyed this drawing I have others on my YouTube channel: Joseph Solinger

Ink Review: Robert Oster River of Fire Robert Oster is an Australian ink manufacturer and has developed a large number of colors in recent years. I have tried several of these inks, and have found most of them to behave quite well. Some of the colors are unique, and have unique names. Overall I like the brand and the inks that I have tried. River of Fire is a lovely dark green ink with a very nice red sheen, especially when used on Tomoe River paper. I purchased a sample of this ink from Anderson Pens last fall during a period of time when I was trying many dark green inks. This ink does not disappoint. It behaves very nicely in every pen I have tried with it. It is deeply saturated and flows well. There are some not so positive issues with the ink. It does show through on lesser quality papers, and also bleeds through when pooled. While I would likely not use this ink to take notes at a conference (conference materials are generally printed on very cheap paper), I would not hesitate to use this ink at work on even good copy paper. While it does have a nice sheen, it does not shade well. Here is my handwritten review of the ink: This is a very nice ink which I do recommend.

Hello all! I am looking for suggestions for my first ink in my Lamy safari Dark lilac medium nib. I am looking for something that I can use professionally but something that has character! I looked at Diamine eclipse but it seems too black, then I looked at PR ebony purple but it seems to have mixed reviews...I was hoping for something with a little more purple. I prefer the bluish purple, not the ones that tend toward red. I am just reaching out to you because you have so much more experience than I do! Hoping someone can offer me some advise! So grateful!!