Lamy Safari Clogging?

[dbellisario]

Hi All,

 

I'm new to fountain pens; I recently bought a fine tip Lamy Safari after having tried out a few and loved them.

 

After only a few days of ownership, it started to have trouble writing, with the ink sometimes not coming out and me having to squeeze the cartridge to make it flow again. This happens frequently. I have rinsed it twice, including once right after purchasing it (to clear out the ink I used when trying it out in the store). I have used it almost every day, so it hasn't been sitting around for long, and have not left it sitting uncapped.

 

Does anyone have an idea of what the issue could be?

 

Thanks!
Darin

 

[shawndp]

Darin

 

While there may be a way to fix this, the Safari is an extremely relaible writing instrument and if it was me, I would get it swapped under warranty from the store you bought it at. I have over a dozen and none of them choke, even after a week or two of not being used. With any mass produced item, some bad apples will slip through quality-control, but don't make someone else's problem your own - just get one that works...All the best!

 

Shawn

[graystranger]

There can always be bits of stuff in the feed groove, like plastic, machining trash, nib polishing compound, etc. after manufacturing. I would take Shawn's advice and get it returned or replaced. My Lamy has never given any problems at all. I have a 1.5 mm stub nib on it and the ink flow starts immediately and never chokes down at all. And a 1.5 mm nib needs a large ink flow to keep up. It writes nicely wet every time I put the nib to the paper. Return the pen.

 

Oh, also: squeezing an ink cartridge can result in the cartridge being cracked. A better method is to remove the cartridge and insert the tip on the nib into the cartridge for a while. The ink in the cartridge wicks up into the nib and feed getting it wet again. If you have a converter, you can carefully turn its piston and drive fresh ink into the nib.

 

Another way that works very well is to just hold the nib under tap water for a few seconds, wipe off with a paper towel, and start writing.

Edited April 3, 2016 by graystranger

[Mike 59]

Hi, This could 'just' be the new pen issue, where I have found over several years and pens of many brands, that it's a good idea to flush the pen through with cool or warm water with a drop of dish detegent mixed in.

With the Safari, the twist converter is a great way of doing this, as it's then possible to draw the ink up through the nib and feed, and then force it back down again, repeating this for as many times as you can stand, 20 or so, should be enough.

I do this with my own pens, although some writers will say it's not needed as new pens most likely are very clean, BUT I don't know that !

To drain the water out, as you don't want it to dilute the next 250 words you write, is to fold up a paper towel, and lay the nib upside down on the paper for 10 minutes. Shake out any water in the area where the cartridge/converter fits, and refit the cartridge.

( If it's not urgent to use the pen, it's best to leave the nib and section to really dry out overnight, the water can weaken the strength of the ink by a large percentage.)

Edited April 5, 2016 by Mike 59

[dbellisario]

Thank you so much for the advice all! I'll go back to the retailer and see if they'll exchange it, in the hopes that the next pen doesn't suffer the same issue!

[pickwickink]

  On 4/3/2016 at 1:10 PM, dbellisario said:

Hi All,

 

I'm new to fountain pens; I recently bought a fine tip Lamy Safari after having tried out a few and loved them.

 

After only a few days of ownership, it started to have trouble writing, with the ink sometimes not coming out and me having to squeeze the cartridge to make it flow again. This happens frequently. I have rinsed it twice, including once right after purchasing it (to clear out the ink I used when trying it out in the store). I have used it almost every day, so it hasn't been sitting around for long, and have not left it sitting uncapped.

 

Does anyone have an idea of what the issue could be?

 

Thanks!

Darin

 

I was having a similar issue where the ink would stop flowing and I would shake the pen to get it to write again. it would start writing again but the line width would be inconsistent. In my case it was paper fibers getting stuck in the nib. So now when I write in that particular notebook, I keep the brass shims handy.

[graystranger]

You can get brass shims for clearing nibs here: http://www.gouletpens.com/goulet-brass-sheets/p/GPC-BrassSheets

 

However, I recommend the complete nib tuning kit, which includes the brass shims and a lot more: http://www.gouletpens.com/gpc-package-tuning/p/GPC-Package-Tuning

 

Just be sure to watch the video before you do any more than clear the slit.

[dbellisario]

Thanks guys! A bit more diagnosis.

 

I took it back as suggested and they cleaned it out with soapy water once more, and popped the black cartridge back in.

 

I'm still encountering the problem however, but I've diagnosed it a bit more: it writes fine for a while, maybe 2-3 minutes of continuous writing, and then stops entirely. When I remove and re-introduce the same cartridge, doing nothing else (no pinching or wiggling or anything), it works again right away.

 

Does that sound like an issue of the ink going from the cartridge to the 'loader' region? Such that I keep emptying the loader and then removing and re-adding the cartridge causes the ink to re-fill it?

 

Or does that sound like the paper fiber issue mentioned above? I haven't tried shaking it.

 

Thanks!

Darin

[Sailor Kenshin]

  On 4/19/2016 at 4:32 PM, dbellisario said:

Thanks guys! A bit more diagnosis.

 

I took it back as suggested and they cleaned it out with soapy water once more, and popped the black cartridge back in.

 

I'm still encountering the problem however, but I've diagnosed it a bit more: it writes fine for a while, maybe 2-3 minutes of continuous writing, and then stops entirely. When I remove and re-introduce the same cartridge, doing nothing else (no pinching or wiggling or anything), it works again right away.

 

Does that sound like an issue of the ink going from the cartridge to the 'loader' region? Such that I keep emptying the loader and then removing and re-adding the cartridge causes the ink to re-fill it?

 

Or does that sound like the paper fiber issue mentioned above? I haven't tried shaking it.

 

Thanks!

Darin

I write on all kinds of paper, from Tomoe River to 'paper towel' grade, and the Safari does not balk. What you describe should not happen. Of the dozen or so Safaris/Al-Stars I've had (yeah, I went LE-crazy for a while), only one was a lemon that was dry and scratchy and did not want to write.

 

At this point, exchanging the pen sounds best. Good luck!

[Mike 59]

To me it sounds more like an ink issue, and the combination of all new pen, feed and cartirdge.

If you have any other fountain pen inks it would be very worth trying them in your Safari, a reliable brand I've used for years is Waterman.

Your problem could just be the fact that everything in your pen is new, and it's an on-going issue that the ink in some cartridges just doesn't want to flow well until the pen has been used and cleaned out repeatedly, then they start to work as designed.

To refill ink cartridges you need to use a blunt needle syringe, the type that is used to refill inkjet printer cartridges.

 

With new cartridges I will use them up, if possible, then fill and empty them a dozen times over with warm water with dish detergent mixed in. The idea is to reduce the 'oilyness' of the plastic (probably polythene) to the point where ink will flow out of the cartridge.

If that seems too fussy, one easy trick that I have found works, is to take the cartridge out of the pen, find a wooden cocktail stick or match if you have any, then into a small bottle cap add one drop of dish detergent, and add to that tap water.

Dip the cocktail stick into the mixture and drop it into the ink cartridge. One drop should do, maybe two.

Refit the cartridge and test. I have used this idea and it worked for me. Hope that helps.

( You can still return the pen if you still don't get the results you expect, no harm is done to it.

I have six Safaris, all most reliable writers, but they do get better with use and cleaning through.)

Edited April 19, 2016 by Mike 59

[gryphon1911]

It could be the cartridge is not making a proper seal into the feed unit. I would try another cartridge, or if you got the converter, put ink into the converter and see if it still does the same.

 

I've had similar issues with other pens and needed to use a tooth brush on the feed to get machining gunk out of it.

 

After those items above, if it still does not write correctly, I would exchange it.

[Witsius]

It could just be the ink itself. I've found Lamy blue, for example, to be one of the worst flowing inks I've ever tried. It's made more than one of my pens skip. Try using a converter and a bottled ink of a different brand.