The Lamy Safari Is Just As Good As Any Other Pen. There: I've Said It.

[lurcho]

Please forgive me for this.

 

This is an exercise in benign trolling. It's sort-of meant to be provocative.

 

I am so annoyed by the consistent inability of very expensive FPs to perform as exquisitely as their price merits that I have generally abandoned them in favour of two cheapos, namely Lamy Vista medium, and a Pilot Varsity (it's called a V-Pen in Britain).

 

Both pens needed tine-spreading and feed-hacking. And that is significant.

 

And nothing writes as well as my circa-2000 M800, with a stubbish-ish point.

 

I must confess that I have a penchant for cheapness. expensive notebooks and paper inhibit their ubiquitous use for me, i.e., scribbling. And I would much rather have a pen that I can afford to lose if I take it out of the house, and pens are the kind of object (like lighters, if one smokes) that are most likely to walk away.

 

And so, despite the delights of the lovely, lovely pens that have passed through my hands over the last fifteen years - Montblanc 149, OMAS Paragon (old-style), L2K (great, but it has a cracked section, and Lamy didn't want to know!) - now that I have a 10X loupe to adjust tines with, and the courage to bugger-about with tine-separation, and feed-cutting, I now have the ability to buy safaris or Vistas that are simply marvellous if they are made wet enough.

 

There is no way that the fifteen quid I have to shell out for one of these pens can be beaten.

 

I also like cheap notebooks, and Oxford (Hamelin, actually, that also do the Black N' Red notebooks, all with the same Optik paper that easily beats Clairefontaine/Rhodia), makes little Moleskine-size notebooks for £4 (casebound) or £1 (spiral).

 

As I said: I am trolling benignly.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[Felix1]

You're entitled to your opinion.

[lurcho]

Please forgive my orthographic lapses. i can't be bothered to edit them.

[lurcho]

Thanks, Felix. I sense hostility, but I believe by describing my post from the outset as 'benign trolling' I set my shingle rather honestly.

 

I obviously invite discourse, otherwise I'd keep my stupid opinions for my wife (who is bores senseless by the whole topic; silly as that sounds).

Edited September 10, 2013 by lurcho

[ddustinn]

I recently got a medium nib Safari and almost want to sell all my other pens. The nib is that good.

[lurcho]

@ddustinn: Did you need to adjust it at all?

 

I've had about four Safaris/Vistas between me and my wife and stepdaughters, and they were all all right to start with, but benefited from tweaking. Also, they all worked much better with a good ink - Waterman Florida Blue (or, as it's now called, Serenity Blue).

[jar]

Some folk like hamburger, others prefer steak. If you're happy with the Lamy Safari then great.

[joshsrn]

"Good" is so relative, I hardly see the point in discussing it. I agree with what I believe is your main point: the price of the pen does not directly, in and of itself, determine the quality of the pen.

[ddustinn]

@ddustinn: Did you need to adjust it at all?

 

I've had about four Safaris/Vistas between me and my wife and stepdaughters, and they were all all right to start with, but benefited from tweaking. Also, they all worked much better with a good ink - Waterman Florida Blue (or, as it's now called, Serenity Blue).

I spread the tines a hair, which improved the flow a little, making the pen even smoother.

 

But as much as I'm enjoying it, I probably won't get rid of my Lamy 2000.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Please forgive me for this.

 

This is an exercise in benign trolling. It's sort-of meant to be provocative.

 

I am so annoyed by the consistent inability of very expensive FPs to perform as exquisitely as their price merits that I have generally abandoned them in favour of two cheapos, namely Lamy Vista medium, and a Pilot Varsity (it's called a V-Pen in Britain).

 

Both pens needed tine-spreading and feed-hacking. And that is significant.

 

And nothing writes as well as my circa-2000 M800, with a stubbish-ish point.

 

I must confess that I have a penchant for cheapness. expensive notebooks and paper inhibit their ubiquitous use for me, i.e., scribbling. And I would much rather have a pen that I can afford to lose if I take it out of the house, and pens are the kind of object (like lighters, if one smokes) that are most likely to walk away.

 

And so, despite the delights of the lovely, lovely pens that have passed through my hands over the last fifteen years - Montblanc 149, OMAS Paragon (old-style), L2K (great, but it has a cracked section, and Lamy didn't want to know!) - now that I have a 10X loupe to adjust tines with, and the courage to bugger-about with tine-separation, and feed-cutting, I now have the ability to buy safaris or Vistas that are simply marvellous if they are made wet enough.

 

There is no way that the fifteen quid I have to shell out for one of these pens can be beaten.

 

I also like cheap notebooks, and Oxford (Hamelin, actually, that also do the Black N' Red notebooks, all with the same Optik paper that easily beats Clairefontaine/Rhodia), makes little Moleskine-size notebooks for £4 (casebound) or £1 (spiral).

 

As I said: I am trolling benignly.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Well, you won't get any arguments from me.

[lurcho]

@jar: I think I'm saying that, in this case, burger > steak. Or, put slightly differently, steak = 10, burger = 8.

 

And I don't for a moment deny that a truly beautiful nib is not a delight. And, moreover, only few people - and that;s the people on this board, and, for example, on Pentrace, would even appreciate the exquisitely fine distinction between a good or great pen. There is a degree of sophistication here that I don't for a moment deny.

 

I am, however, turning increasingly to the view that a nib is a pretty basic thing as a conduit for ink.

 

I think, for instance, that John Mottishaw goes over the top in his description of Sailor nibs.

 

And I'm not at all trying to provocative at this point. I'm only putting forward my view, and my view is based on a fair amount of experience.

 

Having said all this, I will also say that my feelings about FPs changes dramatically all the time, and I daresay that anybody reading this will have had the same experience.

[lurcho]

@ddustinn:

 

Me neither. But I discovered a section crack in my L2k the other day, and I was incredibly disappointed that Lamy in Germany referred me to the British retailer I got it from.

 

I do love the subtle line variation in my medium L2K nib, and it's probably my favourite stay-at-home FP. But - it's not THAT much greater than my Vista!

[lurcho]

Sorry to add, annoyingly, perhaps, to my own belaboured post, But shouldn't writing be ordinary? It's ordinary for most people, with their biros and pencils (and I love pencils myself).

 

Shouldn't we be able to really, really love writing with a fountain pen that doesn't cost the earth, on paper that one can buy in any shop?

 

Writing with an object that is effectively a jewel seems wrong to me.

 

That's why I want a pen and a pad and an ink that I don't have to THINK ABOUT.

 

However - and I mean this - there's absolutely nothing wrong with collecting or using pens that are gorgeous. That are wonderful to hold and behold.

 

But all I've ever really wanted is to write with a fountain pen on paper. And not really worry about it.

 

That's all I really meant.

[ddustinn]

@ddustinn:

 

Me neither. But I discovered a section crack in my L2k the other day, and I was incredibly disappointed that Lamy in Germany referred me to the British retailer I got it from.

 

I do love the subtle line variation in my medium L2K nib, and it's probably my favourite stay-at-home FP. But - it's not THAT much greater than my Vista!

I sent mine to the Lamy headquarters in the US and mine was completely replaced, except for the nib. I'm not sure how it works in the UK though.

[Keyless Works]

If you want a watch that is good a keeping time and nothing more then buy a Timex. They keep better time and are more durable than watches that cost hundred of thousands of dollars. If you are interested in handicraft and functional objet d'art then you need to look elsewhere; it's the same story with the Safari.

 

I am a romantic and I want my watches and pens to be manufactured with a storied tradition. I use my Safari a lot...it's a great tool. I think the nibs are a bit scratchy (I have a medium and 1.1 stub) but I am sure they could be fixed by a nibmeister for 2x the price of the pen. No complaints with the way Pilot Varsitys write. I do believe that most of my high end fountain pens are better writers than my Safari; they are smoother, and less toothy. Gold nibs tend to have more personality...and that's really the most important thing.

 

The Safari to me is a white good like a toaster or a blender, I want something with an X-factor.

[tonybelding]

The Lamy Safari is the best pen in the world if you are OK with the toy-like styling and the odd grip doesn't bother you and you are OK with C/C filling and you happen to get a converter that fits right and doesn't leak and you happen get a good nib and you don't mind that it only accepts Lamy cartridges...

[Tresconik]

I had to get the nib of my Safari exchanged because it was scratchy. But my word I love the pen.
Most of the people here find it to be a cheap pen, but not me. It's extremely expensive and I take great care of it.

It's also the best pen I've written with

[cedargirl]

Sorry to add, annoyingly, perhaps, to my own belaboured post, But shouldn't writing be ordinary? It's ordinary for most people, with their biros and pencils (and I love pencils myself).

 

Shouldn't we be able to really, really love writing with a fountain pen that doesn't cost the earth, on paper that one can buy in any shop?

 

Writing with an object that is effectively a jewel seems wrong to me.

 

That's why I want a pen and a pad and an ink that I don't have to THINK ABOUT.

 

However - and I mean this - there's absolutely nothing wrong with collecting or using pens that are gorgeous. That are wonderful to hold and behold.

 

But all I've ever really wanted is to write with a fountain pen on paper. And not really worry about it.

 

That's all I really meant.

 

Same. I love my pens and use them. None of them were very expensive - in fact many were very low priced. I fiddled and adjusted as necessary. That is part of the adventure. I'm not attracted to collecting for collecting's sake, though I can understand why some people are.

[brunico]

Hamburger. Steak.

 

One can be happy with both equally. One can prefer steak but be content with hamburger.

 

But a hamburger made with good beef and cooked properly is a hundred times better a dish than a steak made with indifferent meat and cooked all wrong.

[martinbir]

Much to my surprise I go a long way to agreeing with you, Lurcho. I have an Al-Star bought several years ago but not used much because I did not like the Lamy cartridges and it is IMO extremely ugly. Earlier this year I got a converter and I am amazed. With a bit more use and a wettish ink it works beautifully and I am so impressed by the attention to detail e.g. anti-rotation lugs on the converter, top of the ink window only just below the converter piston, transparent section really lets you know when you are low on ink, barrel screws on so the flat aligns with the nib face - all these things show great attention to detail. Maybe their QC is iffy and another will be a great disappointment, but for now I am very impressed.

 

That said, and whilst I would never pay for bling, my favourite pen is a Pelikan M600. Is it worth 10 x the price of a Safari? As a functional item, of course not. But it is beautifully made, fits my hand perfectly and has the smoothest nib. Yes, I am pleased I bought it but prefer to keep it at home because I would be sad to lose it. The Al-Star has a more exciting life coming out with me but has to live with the fact that no tears would be shed if one day it failed to return.

 

So, logically, the Safari family are all I could ever need. Wheras the Pelikan not only lets form follow function but does so beautifully.