Lamy AL-star silverblue

[Hans-Peter Ording]

I don't think that many Al-Star/Safari owners know the model number of their pens. And using model numbers would be quite confusing concerning the Safari limited editions like "Flame" and "Blue & Red". They all have the same number (019) - probably because they weren't available (or produced) simultaneously.

 

 

[wege]

Fair enough...for the ltd editions.. but...for the others?... This is not the thread for the discourse.. being a review.

 

Apols for the sidetracking.

[HDoug]

Fair enough...for the ltd editions.. but...for the others?... This is not the thread for the discourse.. being a review.

 

Apols for the sidetracking.

 

Actually it's a development of the thread, and a good suggestion. Watch aficionados make reference to watches and movements by number so it would serve us pen folk too if models were specifically numbered. I'll do some research. Meanwhile if anyone comes up with information, please post here or start a new thread and let us know.

 

Doug

 

[Juan in Andalucia]

It would be too confusing. Bear in mind that only the yellow one is the safari. The other colors have different names. Right now I have an all black "safari" which is called S2 or something.

The vista is easily identified because it's transparent, and the alstar designates all the metallic ones.

 

[Hans-Peter Ording]

Bear in mind that only the yellow one is the safari. The other colors have different names. Right now I have an all black "safari" which is called S2 or something.

Lamy just got rid of the different names - at least on their website. Now they call them all Safari, too. They also removed the model numbers, by the way: Lamy.com

 

The Safari names can be found here: Lamy Safari colours

 

[wege]

gosh.

It is dead easy to get the numbers.. of the standard lines etc.

 

I can just scan the Lamy 07 catalog. I will be getting the 08 one soon, just unsure when.

I should have a 06 and maybe a 05 around somewhere at work... I hope.

[Juan in Andalucia]

One question: My AlStar (silver, black clip) got scratches very esily. The one I have inked now is a safari allblack matte (it was called the S2) which tolerates desk and pocket normal use with no scratches.

 

How do the polished plastic models do? I know these are not expensive pens but I still want to know.

 

 

 

[Conan the Grammarian]

 

My blue (M) has picked up a few scratches - more than, say, my uni-ball disposable roller balls have in the same circumstances. My AL Star (EF) just picked up a scratch yesterday (and it's new, so I've been babying it). My matte finish charcoal (EF) seems to be the most scratch-resistant.

[Eleventh]

There is great attention to all the functional details. There are tiny latches to grab the tiny protrusions on the converter to keep it locked in place. You can see the internal collector/feed fill with ink through the smoky transparency of the section. And the steel nibs slide straight in and out.

The internal collector/feed filling with ink kind of bothers me. Is this supposed to happen?

[myles]

There is great attention to all the functional details. There are tiny latches to grab the tiny protrusions on the converter to keep it locked in place. You can see the internal collector/feed fill with ink through the smoky transparency of the section. And the steel nibs slide straight in and out.

The internal collector/feed filling with ink kind of bothers me. Is this supposed to happen?

 

Yes. As I understand the situation, it's a standard buffering system used by many (probably most) modern fountain pens, helping give a more even ink flow without skipping or blobs of ink.

Most pens (and even many demonstrators) hide it within an opaque section, which looks tidier but is the loss of a learning opportunity, particularly in demonstrators. I applaud Lamy for showing it in all its inky detail.

 

Regards, Myles.

 

(Edit to replace neater with tidier and qualify it as my understanding, possibly incorrect)

Edited March 6, 2008 by myles

[HDoug]

There is great attention to all the functional details. There are tiny latches to grab the tiny protrusions on the converter to keep it locked in place. You can see the internal collector/feed fill with ink through the smoky transparency of the section. And the steel nibs slide straight in and out.

The internal collector/feed filling with ink kind of bothers me. Is this supposed to happen?

 

Yup, it's supposed to happen. The warmth of your hand forces the ink out of the reservoir (cartridge or converter in this case) and it collects here rather than burp big blue blobs of blue ink onto the paper.

 

Doug

Edited March 6, 2008 by HDoug

[Philip1209]

A Lamy Al-Star and a Macbook pro. What more does a person need? Nice review, nice pictures, and nice background in the pictures (AKA the computer).

[Brian]

HDoug, For sure a well done and informative review. Good points about the design. It reflects quite a bit of thought put into the pen over time. The only thing I don't like: earlier versions of the precursor to this pen, the safari, were constructed with threaded cap screws so you could service the clip or cap on your own provided you had the parts. The new versions don't allow this so if you have a cap in a discontinued color with a broken clip and want to cannabilize it from a new cap you are out of luck. The thing I like and you point out is the convertor with the plastic tabs that clip into the section. What a great and inexpensive design solution that keeps the convertor from wiggling around! This little thing they did speaks well for the company and shows that they care and really like pens!

 

Thanks for a good review, and I am sure we can all use one more All-Star or Safari.

 

 

[acs1886]

HDoug, thanks for writing on this. I'm from Singapore and have the exact same experience. I bought a metallic blue al star some time last year and noticed the colour change after a few months. at that time i wasn't sure if i had bought the purple coloured one i was seeing and thought it might have been due to lighting in the shop.

anyway, i dropped the pen off the table one day and the nib spoilt. a few weeks later i went to buy another and asked the shop for a metallic purple one and they told me there was no such colour. i bought the metallic blue al star and compared it with my older one and the colour was definitely different. but now again its looking exactly like yours. in yellow lighting it appears more blue but it looks as if its changed colour mostly to this purple.

 

but i still like the colour!

Edited April 28, 2008 by acs1886

[Dianne47]

I'm shopping for an Al-Star at the moment, so this thread is very interesting. Could the difference in the appearance of this misty blue/lilac color possibly be due to manufacturing changes or different "dye lots" at the factory or the like? Although that seems unlikely, given German QC, it could explain why different Al-Stars look like they're another color.

[HDoug]

Could the difference in the appearance of this misty blue/lilac color possibly be due to manufacturing changes or different "dye lots" at the factory or the like?

 

No, it's definitely a lighting thing. Mine turns lilac to blue and back and forth depending on the lighting. Quite an interesting phenomena.

 

Doug

[Dianne47]

A physicist could probably explain it then, something to do with the wavelength of light in those colors. Plus the iridescence of the metallic coating (?) on the pen. I had pretty much discounted buying the silver blue color, but your remarks make me reconsider, since any variation of purple is my favorite color.

[HDoug]

A physicist could probably explain it then, something to do with the wavelength of light in those colors. Plus the iridescence of the metallic coating (?) on the pen. I had pretty much discounted buying the silver blue color, but your remarks make me reconsider, since any variation of purple is my favorite color.

 

It's very hard to explain, only a little easier to show. When I am walking down the sidewalk looking at it, it looks something like this:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/hdougmatsuoka/images/pen/LamyASB/LamyASBCappedCLilac.JPG

 

When I get into my office it looks like this:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/hdougmatsuoka/images/pen/LamyASB/LamyASBCappedC2.jpg

 

So if you like purple/lilac, then you would have to consider this an outdoor pen. I haven't heard of the other colors changing from the lighting. Very strange. I've come to like the lilac and its dependable return every morning.

 

Doug

 

 

 

[MYU]

Y'know, this makes me wonder... wouldn't it be cool if Lamy introduced an "art" series on the Safari/Al-Star? Or a contest--you buy any mono-colored Lamy Safari, style it as you wish, then submit a photo of it in a Lamy sponsored contest. Lamy would then have a judging for the top 9 picks plus a grand prize winner. Prizes could vary from a set of inks to a trip to the Lamy factory in Germany.

[tlaine]

I have just purchased a silverblue Al-Star from pear tree pens a few days ago, and it looks exactly like the 2nd picture that has been altered to the lilac color. I love how it looks. I tried to take pictures of it as well but the color turned out to be more a silver-blue in the picture than the lilac color I am seeing in person. I'm indoors right now, sitting under fluorescent lighting and it looks lilac to me.

 

 

Dianne47: Purple is my favorite color also, and I, like you, was hesitant about buying this color at first until this thread. I am SO glad I got one, it's lovely and I know I definatly wont get tired of this color.. which seems everchanging so it never gets boring. (I previously purchased a graphite grey al-star and the color is just "blah" next to this one)

Edited May 3, 2008 by tlaine