Lamy Safari Fountain Pen Review

Lamy Safari

Country of Origin: Germany

MSRP: $35 (as of June 2014)

Street: $20 (Amazon as of June 2014)

Availability: HIGH

Year of Original Manufacture: 1980

Materials: ABS Plastic
Dimensions:                                       169mm posted, 144mm closed; 13.7mm diameter (at cap)
Weight:                                                17g (10g body, 7g cap)

Colors: Numerous (Blue, Red, Yellow, Black, Charcoal, White, S Special Ed., Discontinued)

Nib: Steel (EF, F, M, B, 1.1, 1.5, 1.9, LH) in Chrome and Black

Fill Mechanism: Cartridge(included) or Converter(not included)

Class: Beginner, Everyday School Pen
Other Versions: Ballpoint, Mechanical Pencil

*Highly recommended for new fountain pen users looking for a pen in the $20-$30 range.*

Appearance:

With its industrial and functional design, the Lamy Safari has become one of the most recognizable fountain pens of all time.

The Safari comes in a number of standard colors, and regular batches of special edition colors (dozens over the years) that feature a silver (black for the charcoal version) clip. This is great for matching your pen and ink colors. We have found the appearance of the U-shaped clip to be polarizing. The clip is one of the largest you will find on a fountain pen and we feel that it complements the overall size and theme of the pen.

The body is also unique, featuring two flat sides and two rounded sides. This is ideal on a table or desk, because it prevents the pen from rolling off. On both of the flat sides you will find an ink window (an oblong shape cut out of the plastic) centered on the pen and on one side LAMY engraved in towards the back. This allows light to show through the cartridge/converter and clearly show the ink level in the pen.The cap is slightly wider than the body which creates a slight step where they connect.  The top and bottom of the pen are almost perfectly flat with a slightly concave bottom (allowing the pen to stand up) and convex top (not allowing the pen to stand up). On the bottom of the pen, in small words, is the country of origin: Germany and on the top of the cap is Lamy’s signature X which can be unscrewed to remove the clip. In newer versions, this piece is friction fit, and requires a prying tool to pull it from the top.

Take off the cap and you will find a thick black plastic ring separating the body from the section. The section is unique in that it has two depressed flat sides just above the top of the nib that are designed to help grip the section. The section itself is very large (see Build Quality). The Lamy Safari does not have a visible feed and the nib has a standard, plain appearance.

Overall: We like the appearance of the Lamy Safari, however industrial it may be. Take away build quality and function and we still find the Safari pleasant to look at. Yes, it is made out of plastic and not exactly the most elegant of pens, but Lamy had a clear idea of how they wanted this pen to look and they crafted each element to adhere to that vision. For that, we can not fault them.

Tom’s Rating: I think the Lamy Safari is a great beginners pen and has a very minimalist design. I tend to prefer ornate design, though. 75%

Phil’s Rating: A bit of an editor’s bias here: I like sleek, small, and thin pens. The Lamy Safari is anything but that, so it’s hard for me to give it a high rating, but I appreciate what Lamy has done here and I have nothing specific to dislike about its appearance. The issue is that I do not specifically like anything about it either.  75%

Build Quality / Construction:

The Lamy Safari was designed by Wolfgang Fabian under the direction of Prof. Bernt Spiegel in 1980 and is considered one of the best starter fountain pens available. It is made of ABS plastic, making it very lightweight and surprisingly durable. Between the two of us, we have 5 Lamy Safaris, none of which have had any build quality issues. There are two different types of finishes. The standard Lamy Safari has a very smooth feeling and reflective finish; all of the current colored Safaris have this smooth finish. The Lamy Safari also comes in a matte, charcoal version. This finish is slightly textured and gives it a more rugged feeling. We found that the matte finish is much more scratch resistant than the glossy finish. Lamy does well in making sure that the Safari has a tightly constructed design and we have found no complaints about the overall build quality of this pen and while it will show scratches, it will not lose its original color.

The length and weight of the pen should be fine for people with any sized hands. Unposted, the Safari is a medium sized pen with a slightly thick body. The triangular finger grips help keep the section thin and pleasant to hold. Some users do not like to be told how to hold their pens so this design may not fit everyone's style. At the same time, this triangular hold makes the Lamy Safari an excellent learning tool, providing a guide for new writers. The pen is light and balanced when unposted, but becomes a bit back heavy and awkwardly long when posted. We have had no issues holding the section comfortably as the smooth plastic offers a decent amount of grip.

The silver clip (Black on Charcoal version) is one of the best we have used. The U shape results in many points of contact with whatever it is you are clipping it on and the slight raise at the front of the clip means that it will not require any additional pushing to slide on to clothing. The clip is moderately springy and does not bend out very far (fits tightly on the bill of a cap)

Tom’s Rating: Personally, I like the simple design, and the light-weight body. It does feel cheaper, but for the price tag it’s the pen I recommend in this price range. 90%

Phil’s Rating: Don’t be fooled by the “plastic” design: The Lamy Safari is built like a tank which makes it a perfect “throw around” pen. The clip is wonderful, the ink window is appreciated, and the tight construction is expected from Lamy. 85%

The Feed:

The Lamy Safari comes with a standard plastic feed that is not visible to the user. It clicks into the section of the pen. In our experience, the feed has kept up with any type of writing we have thrown at it with any ink we have used (and we have used many). I did have a few start up issues with my EF nib, but nothing that can not be fixed with a little adjusting. Unfortunately, the feed is very difficult to take out of the pen (see cleaning). 

Overall: We experienced very good ink flow ranging somewhere between medium and heavy. The combination of German nib sizes and high ink flow means that a Fine nib might be a little too thick for some, but we have no real gripes with the feed of the Lamy Safari.

Phil’s Rating: No issues with flow. The Lamy feed performances amiably. 85%

Tom’s Rating: I also didn’t find any issues with the feed. It keeps up with all of my nibs and I haven’t noticed any skipping. 90%

The Nib:

The nib comes in two versions. The first and most common is made of polished stainless steel, and includes the name LAMY and the nib size centered just below the tines in black. The second version is a black coated steel nib with LAMY and nib size in silver. There is no design on the nib.

Lamy designed their nibs to be easily exchanged on their pens by the user. These nibs are easily removed from the feed by pulling the nib off of the feed, and can be replaced by nibs of varying sizes. We recommend removing the nib with a small piece of Scotch tape (put tape on nib and pull directly outwards). Lamy nibs come in black and chrome (steel) in sizes: EF, F, M, B, Calligraphy (1.1, 1.5, 1.9). They also carry a left handed nib.

*Black nibs do not come in Calligraphy or LH

We have tried several nibs and have found them all to be fairly smooth and write well. There are some variances in each of the nibs, so if you feel that the nib is not smooth you might have gotten a “bad” one. Also, the EF nib can feel “toothy” so we recommend jumping up to a Fine (though this is a big jump in line width). Anything above Fine is also very smooth. Finally, the nib is made of standard hard steel and therefore does not exhibit much flex.

Phil’s Rating: I have had 3 different Fine nibs and they all wrote differently. While they were all relatively smooth, I did have some feedback issues at times (especially with EF). With a low price, no design, and decent performance the Lamy nib is about as average as it gets. A good kind of average. 70%

Tom’s Rating: The nib is very inexpensive and writes reliably well. I tend to prefer medium and broad nibs, and Lamy has provided very smooth nibs in both sizes. 75%

Capping/Posting:

There is nothing significant about the way the Lamy Safari caps. The cap has a simple plastic inner cap that does not provide any feedback when fixing it on to the body. There is, however, a nice bit of feedback provided by the inner cap that clicks on to a ridge positioned before the nib on the section. This inner cap is designed to keep the nib from drying out and preventing start up issues.

Overall we found the pen to require a medium amount of force to uncap and recap and there is no reason to believe that the cap will become loose from the body.

Posting, on the other hand, is not ideal. We found that while the pen posted tightly, the overall size and balance was thrown off. With the cap posted on the back of the pen, the Safari became slightly back heavy and also slightly oversized. It is hard to explain why it makes the pen uncomfortable to write with, but we believe that the combined length and slight unbalance attribute to this discomfort.

Phil’s Rating: Nothing special about the cap: it works. Posting, however, is not something I would want to do when writing more than a quick note, so I will have to take off for that. 65%

Tom’s Rating: The capping and posting works reliably with no complaint. 75%

Filling System:

The Lamy Safari is a cartridge-converter pen. It comes with a Lamy ink cartridge, but no other means of filling the pen. For those people seeking to fill their pen from ink bottles, Lamy offers the Z24 and Z26 converters (for around $5.00). This plastic piston-type cartridge clicks into place with the help of two small plastic appendages that click into notches in the section. This provides a solid connection between the two. Note: The Z26 does NOT have these notches and therefore does not fit as tightly as the Z24.

Tom’s Rating: I think the Z24 is a necessary accessory for the Safari, and would have preferred if it were included. 50%

Phil’s Rating: I Agree with Tom, the Z24 is a must and should be included. The Z26 does not have the same fit that the Z24 has, so I do not recommend it. 60%

Cleaning:

Taking the feed out of the section is a challenge and makes thoroughly cleaning the feed challenging for this pen. I don’t think it is required if well-behaving inks are used and the pen is regularly flushed with a bulb syringe.

To clean, remove the cap and clean out any ink residue in the inner cap. Regular usage will result in drops of ink in the inner cap. The barrel can then be removed and cleaned. To clean the feed and nib, run water through the section, feed and nib. This is most easily accomplished with a few full bulb syringes of water. For well-behaving inks, this serves as a reliable way to clean out the Safari without removing the feed. For a more thorough cleaning it is necessary to remove the nib and feed from the section and clean the parts separately. The nib can be easily removed with some scotch tape. Removing the feed is challenging, especially for the first time. To remove the feed, use some grippy material like a non-slip rug pad or rubber gloves to grab the center of the feed from the top and bottom sides, and pull the feed directly out. Do not turn or otherwise apply lateral pressure to the feed or you could break it. Once the feed has been removed, soak it in water and dry it off before returning it to the section.

To rebuild, align the feed with the section; there is a rail on the inside that must align with the bottom of the feed. Push it and it should click in place. Slide the nib onto the feed, connect the converter, and slide the barrel back onto the section. Cap the pen and you’re done.

Tom’s Rating: I prefer thoroughly cleaning my workhorse pens on a monthly basis, and the feed is particularly difficult to remove in this pen. 50%

Phil’s Rating: Again, I agree with Tom here. The inability to take out the feed is a real pain when trying to get a thoroughly clean pen. The big disadvantage is that you can not dry the pen out and therefore have to wait to put in new ink (or have it diluted for a while). 50%

Value:

The Lamy Safari can be purchased for around $20 from one of many online dealers. Even with an extra $5 for the converter, this brings this pen to around $25 shipped. For the build quality, simple design, and writing experience, we would highly recommend this pen for the $20-$30 price range.

Competition:

Listed below are several pens that are competitors with the Safari in the same price range. We considered the build quality, writing experience, class and price when deciding on the pens. We will provide a link to any reviews we have written on the pens below.

1. Pilot Metropolitan: $15 price with similar performance.

2. Lamy Al-Star (Aluminum Safari) / Lamy Vista (Clear Safari): $47 / $37

3. Kaweco Sport: $25

4. TWSBI ECO (Upcoming): $25-$30??

5. Nemosine Singularity: $18

Conclusion:

The Lamy Safari is considered by many as a “must have” fountain pen and it is easy to see why. Like the rest of the Lamy line of fountain pens, the Safari follows the Bauhaus motto, ‘Form after Function.’ In almost every way the Lamy designers have created a simple and robust fountain pen. With its sturdy industrial design, reliable performance, and numerous customization options the Safari is one of the best low budget fountain pens on the market. Of course, no pen is without fault and the Safari’s uninspiring appearance, bulky overall handling, and plasticy feel might keep it away from some prospective buyers. That being said, the Lamy Safari is a GREAT starter pen for anyone considering getting into fountain pens, however, its novelty might quickly wear off as you start spending a little more money on higher end pens.

Overall Scores:

Phil’s Ratings: Tom’s Rating:

Appearance: 75% 75%

Build Quality/Construction: 85% 90%

Feed: 85% 80%

Nib: 70% 75%

Capping, Posting: 65% 75%

Filling System: 60% 50%
Cleaning: 50% 50%

Average Scores: 70% 71%

Adjusted Overall Score: 78% 75%