Lamy Safari

[English John]

Hi Woody

Glad to see the Cursive Italic from Pendemoniun is still being put to good use ! I wish I hadn't sold it in hindsight.

I have recently had another Lamy medium ground to a CI with a slight oblique for me by Oxonian, and that is brilliant, so I second your opinion about the value of upgrading the nib.

 

My favourite Lamys are Al-Stars - the close cousin of the Safari - bút I do fancy a shiny safari as well !

 

Cheers

 

John

 

 

[pen2paper]

Thanks Skip-glad to hear this. Just passed by Pen Paradise in the local high-end mall to check out the Mont Blanc inks that were being discussed...

Will call Pam Braun and see if she has Lamy F/EF in stock, and schedule a visit.

 

'skipwilliams' I have EF's in two or three of my Safaris and they all perform very nicely. I highly recommend getting one. I've got one in a Safari Al-Star Ocean now with Luxury Blue which writes fabulously.

 

Skip

[Saturninus]

How do you take apart your safari like this? I have a demonstrator that I would love to dissasemble. Are the instructions somewhere?

 

Hi,

 

I was Googling "Lamy Safari colors" a few years ago and found my way to this thread. That was my intro to FPN. The Safari was the first fountain pen I ever spent money on. I remember staring at them in a drafting/art supply store near my university many times before I could bring myself to spend $24 for a pen! I'm glad I did... my Charcoal Safari was my only FP and daily writer for nearly 10 years. It wrote without a problem for nearly 17 years until it developed a leak last year. Not too bad for $24.

 

I have built up a collection of all the colors over the last few years and ended up with some interesting paraphernalia too. This post is the first installment, design changes, with several more to come. The information here is speculation based on the pens sitting in my collection. I doubt it is complete and I am sure there are other variants out there... some of this information is guaranteed to be incorrect. Corrections and additions are welcome.

 

So, aside from the F sticker on the front pen, what is the difference between the four pictured below?

 

 

They are all obviously textured Charcoal but there are minor design changes from the oldest (front) to most recent (back). Lets call them first through fourth generation. How to spot the differences:

 

First generation - launched in 1980 these were available in textured finish with 3 color options - Terracotta orange, Savannah green and Charcoal black. The white pen might have been made this early too but I have not seen one.The easiest way to identify the pen is by the lack of imprint in the bottom of the barrel. Another minor detail that is different from future generations is the cap nut is hexagonal. You can see the flats on it if you shine a light into the cap. The pen was designed for cartridges or the old-style metal squeeze bar converter so there are only two wide slots at the threaded end of the section. I believe the old-style converters were included with the pen in some markets and sold separately in others.

 

Second generation - these appeared sometime in the mid 80's. The "W. Germany" imprint was added to the bottom of the barrel. The inner cap was redesigned (the early material deteriorated quite easily) and the cap nut was changed to a round shape. Other colors were added, including white, red, yellow and blue. Most of these colors were only offered with a smooth texture. The charcoal was still textured and the white was made in both textured and smooth. I have heard rumors of a smooth charcoal but never actually seen one. The Terracotta and Savannah were discontinued.

 

Third generation - these came around 1990 or 1991. There were two changes on this pen: the barrel imprint was changed to "Germany," thanks to reunification, and extra slots were added to the section to accept the snaps on the plastic piston converter. Colors were basically the same as the previous generation but the textured white disappeared and the first demonstrator was added. The demonstrator might be considered the first "LE" Safari. Around the mid-90's they were sold in some markets but I don't know if they ever appeared as a regular catalog item.

 

Fourth generation - this change came in the mid to late 90's and was a big one. The clip, nib and feed remained the same but all other parts were redesigned. The Lamy logo and nib size were added to the nib via laser-etching. The barrel was changed from one part to two. The cap and cap ring were combined into one part. The cap asembly was redesigned to snap together, eliminating the machined top screw and cap nut. I believe this redesign was done as a cost-saving measure. The price of these pens has changed very little in nearly 30 years and this redesign allowed Lamy to lower the manufacturing cost. Total number of parts went from 14 down to 11 and they eliminated two costly machined parts. All done without really altering the appearance or quality of the pen - not bad. The original white pen disappeared, a textured grey was introduced and followed by many LE colors. The demonstrator exists in this generation too but it went away when the Vista was introduced.

 

Same pens with the section threads showing. The slots for the piston converter were added on the third generation pens

 

Tops, generation 1-4, left to right

 

Bottoms, generation 1-4, left to right

 

Autopsy shot - third generation pen

 

Autopsy shot - fourth generation pen

 

Converters and a cartridge

 

If you have a Safari which falls outside the descriptions above, please post (and let me know if you are interested in selling it ).

 

Next installment... nibs

 

/Woody

 

[Matt]

I stumbled on this thread rather late. Like many of you, I also am a big fan of Lamy Safaris. One of my first fountain pens was a smooth charcoal Safari that I bought in the late 80's. I used it for many years, and still ink it up occasionally. In fact, I didn't know the charcoal came in a textured version until I read this thread.

 

Thanks for all the interesting information.

 

Matt C.

 

[menick]

I stumbled on this thread rather late. Like many of you, I also am a big fan of Lamy Safaris. One of my first fountain pens was a smooth charcoal Safari that I bought in the late 80's. I used it for many years, and still ink it up occasionally. In fact, I didn't know the charcoal came in a textured version until I read this thread.

 

Thanks for all the interesting information.

 

Matt C.

 

Smooth charcoal?

 

Wanna sell it? I'll give you a good price! Don't have any smooth charcoal in my collection!

 

nick

[rookieboyliu]

I can now safely declare that you have inspired me and I am now a very proud owner of a 4th generation Safari with F nib.

[johnpeterson1982]

awesome-great work, thanx alot

 

regards

________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________

 

john

 

[Matt]

I stumbled on this thread rather late. Like many of you, I also am a big fan of Lamy Safaris. One of my first fountain pens was a smooth charcoal Safari that I bought in the late 80's. I used it for many years, and still ink it up occasionally. In fact, I didn't know the charcoal came in a textured version until I read this thread.

 

Thanks for all the interesting information.

 

Matt C.

 

Smooth charcoal?

 

Wanna sell it? I'll give you a good price! Don't have any smooth charcoal in my collection!

 

nick

 

Thanks for the offer Nick, but that pen has too much sentimental value.

 

Matt C.

[menick]

I stumbled on this thread rather late. Like many of you, I also am a big fan of Lamy Safaris. One of my first fountain pens was a smooth charcoal Safari that I bought in the late 80's. I used it for many years, and still ink it up occasionally. In fact, I didn't know the charcoal came in a textured version until I read this thread.

 

Thanks for all the interesting information.

 

Matt C.

 

Smooth charcoal?

 

Wanna sell it? I'll give you a good price! Don't have any smooth charcoal in my collection!

 

nick

 

Thanks for the offer Nick, but that pen has too much sentimental value.

 

Matt C.

 

Good answer,

 

We need to stick with our safari!

 

nick

[andy1m]

Just happened to read this wonderful thread. Simply GREAT!!

[adam11]

This is indeed very useful. We need more posts like this. Thank you!

[diplomat]

Second generation - these appeared sometime in the mid 80's. The "W. Germany" imprint was added to the bottom of the barrel. [...] The Terracotta and Savannah were discontinued.

 

Woody,

 

I just received a Savannah I won on ebay Germany last week, and... it has the "W. Germany" imprint on the bottom of the barrel! (I already have a second one without this imprint).

So I guess the second gen Safari range had the two early colours for some time.

 

Best,

[pen2paper]

LINK TO Safari Colors On Parade

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...p;#entry1200906

shows the current range of colors to date..

Thanks Diplomat, and QM2 for your pics!

not including the new, not yet released, Al Star black-purple color...

 

edited to add: an earlier thread on Lamy Safari Colors:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=22180

LAMY USA Website:

http://www.lamyusa.com/

Biffybean's review:

http://www.biffybeans.com/2008/09/lamy-saf...review-one.html

Lamy Vista cartridge size...and inks:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...c=122967&hl=

Lamy Nib thread:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...c=123300&hl=

 

was looking for the Al_Star link that showed the new dark purple color, but late friday brain-drain has hit the brick wall.

Edited September 12, 2009 by pen2paper

[FearNot]

Man ... am I glad I found THIS thread. I'm continually amazed at the depth of knowledge and the willingness to share on this site.

 

Thanks so much (even if we don't rate our own sub-forum

[kmpn]

the purple Al-star just arrived ,

 

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n9/kmpn/pen/lamy/safari/30acd11c.jpg

[WECIII]

This is a very cool post. The Safari was my first fountain pen purchase too, so I really enjoyed all the dissection and information. Thanks a lot!

[Inka]

The new feed seems to have angle adjustments, as if to control ink flow, as the new one pictured left looks set at a lower angle then that of my Vista feed with nib removed...

 

 

My Vista writes way too dry with my 1.5mm Italic nib, was hoping I could fix the flow and if so how do you change the angle of the feed tip?

If it is adjustable, does the feed need be removed from section to do so and if so how to do this without damaging the feed?

 

Thanks for all the work you've done and thanks in advance should you have an answer to the feed angle question.

[haywoody]

The new feed seems to have angle adjustments, as if to control ink flow, as the new one pictured left looks set at a lower angle then that of my Vista feed with nib removed...

...

My Vista writes way too dry with my 1.5mm Italic nib, was hoping I could fix the flow and if so how do you change the angle of the feed tip?

If it is adjustable, does the feed need be removed from section to do so and if so how to do this without damaging the feed?

 

Thanks for all the work you've done and thanks in advance should you have an answer to the feed angle question.

 

I played with a few pens and as far as I can tell the feed is not adjustable in any way. The attachment to the section is designed as a one-way snap, meaning it is meant to be snapped in and held tightly but not removed. Removing the feed is possible but doing so might mean a loose fit once you reinsert it.

 

I would also like to figure out how to increase the flow on a Safari. I have a flex nib which I would like to be able to use but the standard feed doesn't deliver enough ink. Anyone have any suggestions for us? Flow adjustment is outside my skillset.

 

/Woody

[Violet]

Nice! Where did you buy it?

 

*Vi

[Inka]

It's the LAMY feed that has me puzzled a bit, it's a design I'm not familiar with and it's probably simple and I'm just missing something in the design looking at them.

When I want to increase ink flow on other nibs/feeds I'll generally open the slot to the back of the nib, then bring the tips back together nearly touching and that typically works for me.

On some pens I've had to run some shim stock down the feed channels to open them up a bit but I save that as a last resort after working/opening the nib slot first.

I haven't even tried opening the slot back on my LAMY 1.5mm Italic nib, I probably will later now that I'm not getting feedback that the feed tip may be adjustable.

It just looks like there may have been a pivot point, seeing that picture seems to show the feed tip angled downward more than the feed tip on my Vista, even looks like that center part is lifted higher than mine is.

Then again it's a semi-blurry macro-picture at the feed tip, so I may not be fully getting perspective.

Great little pens for the money, actually not "little" at all as the Vista when posted feels just about right for my large hands.

If I'd known about the Safari and Vista pens years ago I'd probably have a bunch of them by now, the best fountain pen/s for the price I've yet to have the pleasure of writing with!

Just goes to show, you don't need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to get a fountain pen that writes right, if that's what matters most.

Sure I still love the feel and the looks of fine celluloid and resin pens, I like plunger and vacuum-fillers, I like a nice gold nib, but none of that really makes them write much better, it just adds to the overall experience.

This is my first LAMY Vista [or clear Safari basically] and it's one of the most comfortable, smoothest writers I have or have ever tried.