Lamy Safari Fountain Pen - Charcoal - Fine

When you first learn the basics of fountain pen writing, you need a no-nonsense pen that writes reliably, consistently, helps you learn the best way to hold a pen, is sturdy enough to be dropped off the desk more than once, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.The Lamy Safari does all of that.And when you are ready to go to the next level, try different nibs, or try bottled ink instead of cartridges, the Lamy Safari is still there with you. Since it's a cartridge/converter pen, you can choose how you feed it ink. And if you are capable of putting a one inch long piece of Scotch Tape over your nib and pull it straight out, the nib comes right off and can be replaced by any other Lamy nib (except Lamy 2000 nibs), to include the $130 14k gold nib. Lamy even offers stub nibs in different sizes compatible with the Safari.The nibs are usually steel, and relatively stiff, so line variation is minimal at best. If you put too much pressure on it, and ruin the nib, you can get a replacement from online retailers in 4 regular sizes (EF, F, M, B) and three stub widths (1.1mm, 1.5mm, 1.9mm) as well as a "Cursive Nib) that's designed to write East Asian scripts, starting at $16 each. Installing your new nib takes about five seconds, wait for the feed to fill the nib slit with ink (you can help to prime the nib by squeezing a drop of ink from your cartridge/converter), and you're back in business.The pen's grip section is tri-lobed; the round nib sections has three relatively large flat spots on it to help guide your fingers to hold it in a way that gives you maximum control and the least amount of fatigue. If you've used a different grip to hold your pens/pencils, this may present a bit of a learning curve, but if you have no "bad habits" to unlearn, you'll be writing like a pro in no time.If you're coming from the world of Biros (ballpoint, gel rollers, rollerballs), it will take you a couple of writing sessions to teach your hand that you don't have to press down on the pen to get it to write. The stiffness of this pen's nib will be forgiving for too much pressure without damaging it. A properly tuned fountain pen should be capable of leaving a clearly defined solid line by you holding the tail end with two fingers, the nib on the paper, and you pulling the nib on the paper; downward pressure on the nib is not required, unless something is wrong with the nib, or the ink.With the sturdiness of this pen, and very little abuse, this pen can easily last 20 years...that means it can take you from grade school all the way to your ABA exam...or whichever career goal you have in mind.

The Good:- Pen is super smooth and easy to write with. I tend to write very small and precise, and my grip on a normal pen is quite tight. That leads to my hand getting tired quickly when writing, which means I don't do a whole lot of it. This pen has renewed my desire to write stuff down, which is a great feeling.- Design is solid, very light and easy to write with. Nice matte/satin finish.- Ink dries quickly in my grid Moleskine notebook that I use as a Project Journal for my hobbies, and I don't see any bleed. I wait a few seconds before turning the page, and I don't have any problems.The Bad:- The "fine" nib is a joke. It's way more like a medium, unless you write enormous. I'm used to using the small Zebra metal pens, as I like how precise they are. I found that the Lamy Fine nib produces a line that is just a tad too thick for my liking, but I don't really see much of a difference between the Fine and EF writing comparisons that I've seen. I may give an EF nib a shot eventually, but for now I'll just deal with it. I didn't dock a star because the pen really is great, and it may just be my small handwriting. This is by far my biggest complaint with the pen. I see that it is a common complaint, but I really didn't expect it to be so thick.- The ink dries quickly, but has a very faded look to it. This looks cooler with premium inks, but with the Lamy ink it makes it look lower-quality. I mean, I didn't really expect incredible ink, but it just doesn't look like anything fancy.Great pen for beginners, I highly recommend it.

Writes smooth, ink flows good. I love the black nib. Don’t forget to buy the z28 converter if you want to use bottle ink. Great deal on a great pen.

Pros- Great price for an excellent entry level pen. Cheap enough to see if you'll enjoy writing with a fountain pen.- Low key- Durable construction- Comfortable grip- Window to see ink levelCons- Not very durable finish- A bit bulky for pockets, pen holders and notebook spinesAs a child going through school I was very enthusiastic about my writing instruments. The need for putting pen to paper has been on the decline until recently. Now in my early 30's my corporate job requires a certain amount of hand-written note taking to organize my thoughts. I wanted to see if I could reignight some of that same enthusiasm for hand-writing with this pen. I can happily say that over the past 9 months, this Lamy pen served as a gateway for the other 2 pens I have bought recently.The following are the highlights for this pen:1) Buy the refillable cartridge.Provided you don't lose the pen, the cartridge and ink will pay for itself in money and time saved from having to order refills etc. The act of refilling the cartridge and dipping the nib also keeps the pen from getting clogged . If the pen does ever get clogged, you can also use the catridge to purge water or ink through to clean things out.2) Use the fine nib.I find that thick/artistic nibs may cause the ink to seep through notepaper or blotch and make my handwriting (even more) difficult to read. The Lamy typically comes with a fine nib, but if you're given the option, I would suggest sticking with it.3) Low key and comfortable.This Lamy pen is mostly made of plastic (with exception of the clip). While it means this is not the perfect anniversary gift or graduation present, it is something I look for in a functional "workhorse" pen. Aside from the materials and grip being comfortable it is not cold to the touch. This is something you wont think about until you own a metal body pen. I am not one to collect and compare time pieces (....watches), tie clips, money clips and business cards. I do not want to project the image of being a pompus executive when all I want to do is enjoy the mundane task of taking notes during a meeting. One of the pro's for this pen is how low key it is. This is a working pen that looks good, but not obnoxious.4) Durability.The Lamy is solid and had survived many drops, accidental throws and countless disassemblies for refilling the cartridge. While the mechanics are solid, the aesthetics have been about average. More specifically, the subtle matte finish on the plastic body has worn a bit inconsistently. The spots where I handle the pen the most are now polished, which gives the overall pen a bit of an uneven finish. Take a look at the spacebar on the keyboard you are using right now. The effect is less pronounced, but very similar. While this is obvious to me, only someone paying close attention would notice.5) Bulky.Not something you would think of when shopping for your fountain pen, but this Lamy does not fit into the compartmentalized pen holders in all of my briefcases. Due to the large body and squared off ends (as opposed to the traditional "torpedo" shape), it can be akward getting this pen into the compartments when I am in a rush. The size and shape also makes it difficult to fit into the spine of my notebooks.Overall, this is a great pen for the price. I took away 1 star because of my durability and size obserations, but recognize it is due to the way I use the pen and my specific applications. I would still recommend this pen to others.