My Quest which ended in a DIY Lamy Safari Repair

[PENtup]

The Problem:

My Safari, my everyday workhorse, had a broken clip. It seemed to have "sprung" and did not fit parallel to the body anymore. This was a problem for me because with the clip not working properly, the pen had a tendency to fall out of its cap when in my pocket or shirt. I almost ruined a good pair of pants this way. You can see the picture below of what the cap looked like:

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4146/0515091923.th.jpg

So, what I did next was call the LAMY support # listed on their website. It turned out to be filofax who Lamy contracted their American RMA out to. I got a pretty rude customer service agent who was not at all knowledgeable about Lamy products when I called. I was hesitant to send my pen into Lamy so I decided to look into repairing my pen myself. The first thing that I discovered is that the old Lamy safari's (pre 1995) had user serviceable caps that could be taken apart but that the ones in recent years do not. I looked at the build of my Lamy (2007-2008 model), and it seemed like the cap COULD be taken apart, which I found out to be true. I was able to repair my clip problem, and I will detail how with photo's in the post below. DISCLAIMER: according to the Lamy site doing this yourself breaks you warrant. I am in no means responsible for any injury or damage that occurs. Proceed at you own risk.

 

THE FIX:

First I had to find out how to disassemble the cap. I found that if you insert a metal cylinder into the cap and push down on a flat surface like a table the plastic end piece of the cap will pop off, revealing the inner workings. The picture of this is just demonstration of how one might do this as I took it after I had already disassembled the cap:

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/3328/0515091916.th.jpg

This next image is what the cap looks like after you pop the end piece:

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/1650/0515091920a.th.jpg

Now we can remove the rubber piece which holds the nib in the cap, the O ring that seals the top of this piece from air, and the metal clip:

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4205/0515091916a.th.jpg

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6500/0515091916b.th.jpg

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/6532/0515091916c.th.jpg

Here is a picture of the end-piece which we removed earlier:

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/4059/0515091917.th.jpg

This is what the Safari should now look like disassembled:

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/4499/0515091915.th.jpg

Now, the complicated [not really] part. I looked over the parts and realized that my problem came from a clip that was not manufactured correctly but had not caused a problem until a bend at the tip of the clip that should not have been there had "slipped" against the O-ring. I got some pliers and bent it in to what appeared should be the correct shape. I then assembled the parts of the cap without the actual shell of the cap to make sure they fit together right:

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/6340/0515091919.th.jpg

At this points I also modified the cap a little so that I would be able to cap it a little tighter by arranging the interior parts so that the cap moves about 1mm further down the body of the pen when it is fully assembled. This was mainly for my piece of mind, as my safari had always had a tendency to uncap in my pocket. Be very careful doing this modification because if you do it wrong your nib will crunch against the top of your cap when you cap your pen. I still had about 2mm of clearance and was satisfied that this would not cause me any trouble.

Next, we re-assemble the pen. We start off by putting the body of the pen with the nib covering placed on the nib into the shell of the cap:

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/344/0515091920.th.jpg

Then we re-assemble the whole cap except for the end piece, which takes some pressure to put on. I had to apply quite a bit of pressure on it with my thumb to get it to fit, but eventually it fit smoothly:

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2383/0515091922.th.jpg

Next, put on the body of the pen and admire your repair work:

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6065/0515091922a.th.jpg

I inked up my safari and it everything worked perfectly, just the same as before (sometimes I can't believe that it is a steel nib, it is that good). I carried it around in my pocket and noticed that I had to have the end-piece cap put on perfectly do to my modification or it would protrude about 1/4 mm from the top of the pen. Once I took this into account and very carefully aligned the end-piece it was no longer an issue for me. My repair fixed everything that I needed fixed.

 

Thanks for reading,

PENtup

[zorroflores]

Great!, I was just looking this information to make tighter the clip of the cap of my Safari, you did make a very clear DIY, thanks!,

[PENtup]

Has anyone else had success repairing their own Lamy?

[Souldrifter]

Thanks for this info and the photos. I've got way too many Lamy's and know I'm going to have to do this someday.

 

Just as an aside, I have detested my dealing with Filofax. In a word, they stink. They take forever to send anything, have no idea what in the world they're selling, and they send me the wrong stuff when I order. Never again.

[zorroflores]

Improving the click of the Cap in a Lamy Safari, for those members who like to tinker with their pens

 

Adding to PENtup's DIY, I share an additional trick to improve the click of the cap to the section:

 

The black rubber piece inside the cap that receives the section (see picture 9 in PENtup's DIY above which shows the piece with the clip), has a built-in lip inside, close to its edge, this lip makes the click action against the edge of the section when the pen is closed.

 

The lip is rather shallow and I found that slightly reducing the inside diameter improves noticeably the securing of the section, and hence the capping of the pen.

 

I did the reduction in diameter by tying a thin copper wire around the black piece where the lip is located inside; I twisted the ends of the tying up to the point that I got a satisfactory click, then I cut the remaining of the wire leaving just a couple of the twists. This of course is done while you have the cap disassembled as suggested by PENtup (thanks again!).

 

It sounds complicate but once you see the piece is very easy and straightforward, the clicking is much resounding and the cap stays firmly in place.

 

(I'm thinking that one can pull a similar thin wire out of one of this wire ties that are used to close bread bags and similar).

 

Hope all this is useful and not to obscure

 

Carlos Flores

[runnjump]

I would caution only that tightening the cap in this way may increase the pressure or force beyond what the parts are "rated" for.

I am not an expert in materials science. Perhaps someone could comment on whether the ABS plastic or the rubbery material of the inner cap would experience excess fatigue or wear.

 

  zorroflores said:

Improving the click of the Cap in a Lamy Safari, for those members who like to tinker with their pens

 

Adding to PENtup's DIY, I share an additional trick to improve the click of the cap to the section:

 

The black rubber piece inside the cap that receives the section (see picture 9 in PENtup's DIY above which shows the piece with the clip), has a built-in lip inside, close to its edge, this lip makes the click action against the edge of the section when the pen is closed.

 

The lip is rather shallow and I found that slightly reducing the inside diameter improves noticeably the securing of the section, and hence the capping of the pen.

 

I did the reduction in diameter by tying a thin copper wire around the black piece where the lip is located inside; I twisted the ends of the tying up to the point that I got a satisfactory click, then I cut the remaining of the wire leaving just a couple of the twists. This of course is done while you have the cap disassembled as suggested by PENtup (thanks again!).

 

It sounds complicate but once you see the piece is very easy and straightforward, the clicking is much resounding and the cap stays firmly in place.

 

(I'm thinking that one can pull a similar thin wire out of one of this wire ties that are used to close bread bags and similar).

 

Hope all this is useful and not to obscure

 

Carlos Flores

 

[yossiantokolitz]

Thanks a lot. Much needed information I couldn't find.

[MJSchuelke]

Do Al-Star caps work the same way? I've been trying to get the end piece out of a light blue Al-Star cap with a lose clip, but I can't seem to push it out as described...

[hilasmos]

Thanks for the instructions. My pen was in the pocket of my shorts last night, and the spring got caught on something as I walked. The only thing I did differently is pry off the cap at the end with the tip of a pocket knife, because I could never get it to pop off by pushing from the inside.

[AutomagV]

Brilliant! Thank you so much. I was just about to hit "order" on a replacement cap for my Vista when I did a quick search and found this post. A friend of mind bent the clip on my cap while "testing it's build quality" with his fat freaking thumb. It was loose to say the least. Thanks to this thread I successfully popped the top, and bent the clip back into place and reassembled. It's like a new pen! Thanks again!

[jakespeed]

  AutomagV said:

Brilliant! Thank you so much. I was just about to hit "order" on a replacement cap for my Vista when I did a quick search and found this post. A friend of mind bent the clip on my cap while "testing it's build quality" with his fat freaking thumb. It was loose to say the least. Thanks to this thread I successfully popped the top, and bent the clip back into place and reassembled. It's like a new pen! Thanks again!

 

All you need now is a mod to turn the clip into some kind of mousetrap, so the next time your fat-thumbed friend goes at your pen he gets a surprise.

[AutomagV]

  jakespeed said:

  AutomagV said:

Brilliant! Thank you so much. I was just about to hit "order" on a replacement cap for my Vista when I did a quick search and found this post. A friend of mind bent the clip on my cap while "testing it's build quality" with his fat freaking thumb. It was loose to say the least. Thanks to this thread I successfully popped the top, and bent the clip back into place and reassembled. It's like a new pen! Thanks again!

 

All you need now is a mod to turn the clip into some kind of mousetrap, so the next time your fat-thumbed friend goes at your pen he gets a surprise.

 

Not a bad idea! Though, I think I've learned my lesson about letting the uninitiated use my favorite things. From now on I will luxuriate alone in the joy of putting pen to paper with my Vista while others will have to make due with the cheapo ball points that always seem to sneak into my collection. Take that chubby thumbs!

[aquatroll]

Sorry for hopping up this thread but i've got the same problem with an Al-Star and this DIY does not work for me. I would appreciate a lot if some one can tell me if I', doing something wrong or if I have to try other methods on this fountain pen.

[LDB415]

Was this pen carried in a pants pocket? I'd suspect it was and the clip was "sprung" due to flexing it wasn't meant to have. Pants pockets are not and never were meant for carrying pens (and I have the Kevlar/Nomex shorts to ward off the flames and arrows). Pens should be carried in the pocket of a decent looking shirt. Anyway, just curious if the clip "injury" was due to pants pocket carry.

[aquatroll]

My problem was because I past to close to my cars door and the clip hooked to the door while the pen was still in my pocket. As I walked away, the clip was streched untill the whole pen (happy for me it kept the cap on) flew 2-3 meters away.

[ZeissIkon]

  aquatroll said:

My problem was because I past to close to my cars door and the clip hooked to the door while the pen was still in my pocket. As I walked away, the clip was streched untill the whole pen (happy for me it kept the cap on) flew 2-3 meters away.

 

Hey! You've invented the Fountain Pen Catapult!! :roflmho:

[Augustine]

I have a Vista that I sprung the clip on. This thread was exactly what I needed; it's good as new now!

[Pfhorrest]

Can you reassemble the pen without the clip? I would like a Safari without a clip.

[nuntym]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I found out that the best way to remove the plastic end-piece was by using a blunt-ended Philips screwdriver: I only used quite a small force when I tried this.

 

I just thought it might help someone.

 

Kudos to Mint for a brilliant and useful post ^___^

[Rev. Nathan]

I JUST posted a thread about this about 4 days ago. Thank you! Will do this later today. Begs the question: How common is this problem? Is this the Safari's biggest fault?

 

EDIT: My pen, embarrassingly, clipped to a metal sign while in my pocket. I guess the pressure was enough to send my clip flying, ruining the pressure of my clip. I guess no fault to Lamy specifically, but I would think the clip would be more durable than that, being so thick and all.

Edited April 23, 2010 by Rev. Nathan