LAMY | Safari Fountain Pen | Blue (L14F)

Safari is a cartridge/converter fill pen; the proprietary (Lamy T10) 0.5 mL cartridges are relatively small but sufficient for everyday use. If you plan to write a lot, you would be better off changing to a piston converter (about $5) and refill from an ink bottle. The windows on either side of the lower end of the body expose the remaining ink level. Safari tends to write "dry" (not a lot of ink pours through the nib), which may lead to "skipping" when writing fast; this can be partially remedied by using a fast flowing ink (Noodler's). If you are a very fast writer, test the Safari at the pen store before purchasing. Waterman, Pelikan or Quink inks work well in this pen, but Noodler's is my favorite. Safari's body is made of ultra strong ABS plastic (same as Legos) and comes in many colors. Its clip is a solid piece of springy steel wire, virtually indestructible, shaped in the form of a paper clip giving it a secure clasp. I carried this pen in my shirt-pocket when physically very active sailing, trekking and on photo safari over the years; never lost it. Another great feature of Safari is that the nibs are interchangeable, and available from extra fine to broad, plus unique nibs such as Oblique and stub Italic in widths up to 1.9mm. Most Lamy nibs (Z50) are Fe-Ni-Cr stainless steel alloy. For "lefties" there is the Z50 LH nib and for beginner schoolchildren the Z50 Aufanger helps them develop handwriting skills. Generally steel nibs are not as smooth to write with as premium gold nibs, but Lamy is the exception. Lamy nibs consistently write smoothly and without skipping, provided the right ink is used and the pen is handled correctly. The reader should also be aware that nibs on Eastern pens (Japanese) differ from those produced in the West. The main difference to remember is that a MEDIUM nib on a Western pen is correspondent to a BROAD nib on an Eastern one. If you need a fine line, the extra fine nib on the Safari will not be fine enough! Pens with western nibs write wider lines than their Eastern counterparts. Finally, the Safari is an inexpensive entry-level pen with high-end qualities, its craftsmanship, elegant ergonomic design and overall quality makes it attractive to beginners and veterans alike. It is a great first pen and a reliable everyday go-to pen.

Bought with an adapter that lets me suck ink up into the reservoir. Used for an art project, has a good feel and output quality. The ink level window was a big help, and I like the color options. Lightweight was also a bonus for long texturing sessions.

The LAMY Safari is a great buy for those looking for their first fountain pen, a traveling fountain pen, or a backup/secondary fountain pen. Although the design has been around for a while, it still looks modern and the material, which is or is similar to ABS plastic from what I've read, is very durable as I've owned two Safaris now for multiple years with nothing more than slight abrasions from my keys on them. Both of my pens (one with a Fine nib and one with a Medium) wrote very well out of the box: no skipping and little to no difficulty in getting them to start writing. They still write well to this day (7/1/2016). I do have to mention a couple of things: 1. LAMY Nibs write large compared to Japanese (and even some other Western companies) Nibs. A LAMY Fine nib, for example, might write as "large" as a Pilot Medium nib. It's somewhat difficult to write Japanese/Chinese characters with the Fine nib and very difficult with the Medium nib, although not impossible by any means 2. It didn't come with a converter when I bought it and I don't believe it does now, so you'll need to factor in the z24 converter if you want to use ink from a bottle rather than cartridges 3. You're stuck with LAMY nibs if you want to swap them out. It's easy to do so, but they're proprietary so no using regular #6 or #5 nibs 4. The grip is a dividing factor for many people, although I like it If you're looking for alternatives, the Pilot Metropolitan and the TWSBI Eco both bring good values to the table as well with Pilot's great reputation and price and the TWSBI's demonstrator design at such a low price. Although many also purchase a Jinhao to start off with, the LAMY Safari is a much safer bet Quality Control wise, although the designs of the "Jinhao"s are sound in and of themselves. For those hoping I get to the point, the LAMY Safari is a great fountain pen for those purchasing their first, second, or even fiftieth fountain pen.

This pen is a real bargain. Lamy pens of all kinds are well known for their rugged construction and low price, and this is no exception. It's certainly plastic, and it's very light weight, but it actually looks and feels substantial. The color is an attractive deep blue, and the clip is great. I don't think it would be possible to have the pen drop out of a pocket it's clipped to even if I did a headstand. I've always preferred heavier fountain pens, but heavy pens are a relatively new thing. For centuries, everyone wrote with quill pens dipped in ink, and they are extremely light. After a few days of writing with this Lamy, I really didn't notice the light weight. In fact, I came to prefer it. It seems less fatiguing to use. Other reviewers have commented on the merits of disposable cartridges versus converters and bottled ink. I guess it's a matter of personal taste; they both seem to work fine. However, in the long run, the bottled ink will be cheaper than the cartridges. I'd stick to quality ink, though. You really do get what you pay for. I've had problems in the past with pens drifting out of my possession. It's certainly possible that I just misplaced them, but it's more likely that they were "borrowed" by people I was working with. Fortunately, I've never had a really expensive pen get away. However, even if this Lamy were to wander off, at least I'd only be out about $25. It's something to consider. Finally, if this Lamy were to vanish or get broken, I'd immediately order another one just like it. It's a great pen at a great price.

My initial thoughts on this pen: It writes REALLY smoothly. I fell in love with the fluid movements the pen made when I put it to paper. I'm a ballpoint pen user, and I like pens that can write fast. I write in a journal regularly and I have a tendency to fill out 10-20 pages if I'm really in the mood and I have material piled up (my life is exciting, as you may well know.) I made a gasp for joy when I discovered that this pen makes such crisp, effortless lines. For reals. I did have some quips with it though. I bought the Fine, blue color. It feels really nice and solid. It's the good kind of plastic. It's got a good weight in my opinion. However, I don't like the color. It's a solid, basic blue, basically the primary color blue. The picture makes it look a lot more premium that it looks in real life. However, it's bright and maybe that adds some life to my collection of black pens and utencils. I like how if we pair this with a converter thingy-ma-bob, you can use your own ink. That's new to me; I'm used to spending a lot of moolah on dozens of tiny little cartridges. I filled on cartridge with Noodler's Ink and I barely skimmed the top of the bottle. This is going to last a long time; I can imagine becoming best buds with this little guy. I just have to pray that the pesky trolls living in my house won't snatch it away from me. (The only reason my refillable pens vanish into eternity.)

I really like the Lamy brand fountain pens. They write very smooth and are built to be very durable. After using this one for the last year on a daily basis the metal tip became a little loose. Totally my fault because I sometimes would use a little too much pressure because of using ballpoint pens for most of my life just like most people. Plus others would notice me using a classic fountain pen and would ask to try it out and they also just by habit would use to much pressure. After noticing that it was wobbling at the tip. All I had to do was clean it thoroughly then the tip just pulls right out. Using just slight pressure at the area where the tip is slid onto the pen it returned the tip back to the original size and once slid back together it's just like it was the day I bought it. The medium size was bigger than I had expected so for regular daily large writing it does very well. I have purchased a few others in different sizes. If you must write very small like most legal forms are designed to be written at I have found that the Extra Fine tip does an excellent job. In my opinion I like using the Fine tip for signing my or filling out regular forms that have plenty of room. I carry Three fountain pens one of each size with me everywhere I go in a nice little fold open leather case that fits perfectly in my jacket pocket. Every time I open it to write I have found that using a fountain pen is a great conversation starter.

Note: upon unboxing this pen, I immediately equipped it with a converter and Noodler's Baystate Blue. The following describes how I perceive this pen after a few days of writing with it and the previously mentioned ink. I will say the design and appearance of the safari is unique, and to me, futuristic. The norms of traditional pen design seem to be forgotten in LAMY's design department. Let this not be a complaint, but a expression of my fondness of the design. The triangular grip almost forces a specific way of being held. Its a very natural-feeling grip and forced me to change from the death grip I had used for ballpoints/gels. Its surprisingly comfortable considering this pen is made of solid ABS plastic. The nib was a bit scratchy out of the box, but has significantly improved after writing a few pages. Even on the cheapest of papers, its a very smooth and wet writer (even though BSB is known to be a dry ink) If you are expecting a thin line, i would recommend getting an extra-fine nib. I got the fine nib expecting a thinner line that what i had wanted, but it is thin enough I guess. (for reference, i would consider it just slightly thicker than a pilot precise v5 and comparable a pilot varsity) Keep in mind I am the kind of person that if given a pilot g2, would immediately remove the current cartridge and stick a 0.38mm into it (always kept one spare in my bookbag in case I had to borrow someone's pen.) The pen shows promising signs of being a very durable tool. it already has had to face an unfortunate drop of a few feet after separating from the cap, of which it survived with only a tiny scuff. The price on this pen is very reasonable, even considering the fact it comes without a converter. If you are considering throwing half a c-note for a pen/converter/ink bottle, seriously consider this pen

This is my third Lamy fountain pen. I bought it as a backup for my Lamy AL-Star, which I also bought through Amazon. After having it for almost a year, I can honestly say it's one of the best pens I've ever owned (second only to my AL-Stars). The ABS plastic is extremely durable. After almost a year of being thrown around in my backpack and dropped on the parking lot pavement, this pen doesn't even have a single scratch. The nib it comes with is a fine point, so I have to make sure not to press too hard on the paper and cut through it, but this is normal for fountain pens. I use mine with an ink converter and Noodler's Black ink that I got here on Amazon. The ink works very well with this pen. I bought my girlfriend a Lamy Safari pen as well which she uses with Scheaffer ink, and it's her favorite pen. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to get a good quality fountain pen at low cost. It's better than some pens I've tried that cost five times the price. The only problem I've ever had with it is that the grip sometimes comes unscrewed from the body, but I just screw it back in a little tighter and it's fine.

Muito boa caneta, apesar de cara

書き味はややかたいですが、ガシガシ書き込めます。ラミーのサファリはキレイですね！フォルムといい色といい。他に色違いを数本持っています。集めたくなるほどの万年筆です。

Love!!

Es una pluma que permite una escritura suave con un flujo de tinta perfecto, buena ergonomia al agarre

I write with a fountain pen many times every day. This pen writes very well, no scratching and always ready to write, no waiting for the ink to get to the paper. It is now one of my two go to fountain pen.