Doodlebud is a very clever fellow. In the box he puts a pen that's yellow. Then out it comes instead In a soft pastel red. Was it engineering magic? Or something almost tragic? Or is it to his credit That it is a happy edit? Then he gives a justification For Lamy's determination To use their own converter. So they are not a subverter. This video has made me in retrospect To give the Lamy Safari more respect.
@@Doodlebud Inspired by a unique approach to look at a pen (and I do these bad verses for really good hiding of a geocache). I admire the engineering angle you take. My god, just that slip of paper that holds the pen and supports the box and done in a way that saves material for economic and environmental reasons. (Compare that to those faux leather contraptions that expensive pens come in.) Lamy is so good at conception, design, execution, and packaging.
I never knew that the Lamy feed had two parts to it. Thank you for that detail. I still think that Lamy should send you to their headquarters in Heidelberg as a token of appreciation. Take care.
The box is so simple its easily overlooked. But when I stop and check it out I think about how much thought went into that one seemingly basic throw away item. Curious how many designs/iterations it took before they finished on what they did. Can't really make it any more simple, cost effective, yet still be 100% functional. Cost is completely minimalized and is also recyclable. I don't expect that box to ever really change much. Maybe a "design refresh/update" one day just to have a new look, but still don't see that happening anytime soon since there's zero need to change anything.
I didn't learn anything new, but you've roped everything into one outstanding video that explains why the Safari is my favorite. Is it the best? No, but it's my favorite. I have about 20 in various colors. Oh... That ink! Wow!
One thing I love about the safari is that it’s a 50+ year design. Yes, there are new pens out there. Maybe they’re cheaper. But this is pretty much a classic pen. It doesn’t look like anything else, it doesn’t copy any other designs. The lamy really is a classic pen
Great detailed overview! The notches shown at 03:20 also act as an anti-rotation to prevent the body of the converter from spinning when you are turning the piston knob. Simple and effective, I wish more companies did this!
I just recently got into fountain pens and discovered I am one of those who rotate their pens/pencils when they write. I bought a bunch of “starter” pens to try out in varying nib sizes, and the Safari is the one that keeps me from rotating the pen and getting frustrated when the ink stops. Swappable nibs is a huge bonus as I love showy inks but also fine lines, and I can have a set ready to go for whatever I’m doing that day whether art, writing letters, or taking notes. The grip feels a little narrow to me, even with my small hand, but the anti-rotation feature is worth it to me at this stage of my exploration. Nice pen at all sorts of levels and I’ll probably keep collecting them for the varying colors they keep coming up with.
The ability to "hot swap" nibs on a Safari is often overlooked. With most other nib/feed designs, it is necessary to empty and clean the pen before swapping nibs; with the Safari (and it's cousins the Al-star, LX, Joy, etc.), it's just swap & go (with very little mess and no need to empty and clean the pen). One of the other features of the Safari is LAMY's choice of ABS (a much tougher plastic than acrylic found in many other fountain pens). This choice makes the pen pretty "kid proof" (which is one of the reasons it's the recommended pen for primary school children in Germany).
Well said! Over time some of my TWSBIs have cracked and the feeds are a bit fragile, but I still have (and use) the first Safari bought in the 1980s and it is working fine!
@@haroldmarenger3435 - I purchased my first Safari in 1992, while living & working in Germany (as a USA citizen). I also purchased Safari's for my (then) school age children. All of those Safari's are still working great!
Hot swap nibs are for me the best feature of most Lamy pen. Another great efficiency feature, you just buy relatively cheap nibs instead of whole units like with Kaweco or entire pens.
'Kombi', a German company, sell cartridges which are Lamy-fit (T10) on one end and International-fit on the other end. Available from 'Cult Pens' and Amazon, UK.
Most excellent! The engineering view is quite satisfying. There were several points in the video where I thought "this is the best part". By the end I was off to my desk to drag all of my Safaris out. The nib change out utilizing the cap is uber cunning!
I’ve had a Safari since 2012 and was always impressed by the design; everything is so well considered and executed. I didn’t love the Fine nib though, so I rarely used it. A couple years ago, we got a bunch of the 2020 Edition Mango Safaris as gifts for my child’s teachers. I always liked the color, so last week I finally got one for myself as well, and it turns out I love it. The Medium nib is much smoother and wetter. I put Kon Peki in it and the bright yellow pen with the bright blue ink is a real mood lifter. One of the first things I did was mix and match the parts with my old charcoal Safari. The gray pen with the mango section is like a secret surprise, and it’s nice to see that the parts all fit together despite the 8 year difference in production dates.
I appreciate your engineering perspective reviews quite a lot, and this is a very fine example of them. This kind of information enhances the enjoyment of fountain pens. Thanks.
Thanks for another great video!😊 I own 21-22 Lamys, in both Al-Stars, & Safaris. And I never knew about the 2 stage feeder assembly. It is amazing how much detail and quality goes into such an affordable WRITER 😍! My Lamys are among my most reliable pens. They rarely dry-out, skip, or railroad. A few nibs came a bit "scratchy," but that was easily remedied with the "brown paper bag" treatment. A great reliable pen and so affordable. I've given away several to friends and family members as gifts to introduce them to the wonderful world of fountain pens. In several cases, they actually caught the bug.😅 Again, thank you for a great review. Cheers all😊
About pen grip: I've always wondered why Americans hold their pen so strange (90 degree angle to the surface), in every movie or TV show I've seen. Since I got into fountain pens I think I now understand: US went all-in on ballpoint, while European countries maintained the "lamy-tringale-grip" at 45 degree angle, that harkens back to the fountain pen days. Great video, I hope it will receive the same cult status in the fountain pen community as your engineering tear down of Lamy 2000 video(s) has.
I'm an American, never used a fountain pen in my life (I have a lamy coming in the mail now). But I've never written at 90 degrees, I've been using the "lamy" grip all my life without knowing it 😂
People are not really taught pen grip in the US. Not with any kind of rigorousness. And so you will see a lot of variety in America's writers. It's common to see this weird grip where the fingers kind of wrap around the pen. Not sure why this spontaneously manifests, but no one here corrects the kids who do this and so it persists.
Thanks for another Lamy appreciation video. As a German I always get kinda annoyed when people talk about „how many nib options they have“ because their special nibs are usually hard to come by here. Until a few years ago every time I checked for a 1.1 stub it wasn’t available and 1.5 only when you bought a Lamy Joy (which I already have two of) or a calligraphy sorta gift set. US Amazon always had plenty in stock. Pens with LH or Oblique nibs are still a little harder to find. But what really infuriates me is how I haven’t found a cursive (aka kanji) nib to this day! The irony is that it’s super easy to find a gold nib. Germany really isn’t the fountain pen heaven people think it is. We still don’t have anything like Vaness White Lightning in Europe, that’s how behind we are - having to get it shipped from the US makes it cost 4x more 😂 Anyway, I grew up with these pens and have a lot much fancier pens now but this one just feels like coming home.
Anderson Pens and Appelboom has the cursive nib, and others you mentioned. If you’re still looking for them, you might give them a try. I have also gone to the Lamy website and found accessories (nibs, cartridges, converters, etc. ). Good luck!
@@haroldmarenger3435 Thank you so much! I must be dummy then because I checked Appelboom again and I see all their nibs except cursive. The German Lamy Website has no cursive nibs available, either :(
I really appreciate your 'engineer's view' on this. Very informative. That clip is brilliant. Because of the design, it works on all kinds of pocket and it's not stretched out by using in on a thick fabric pocket...
This is marvellous. Thank you. I’ve just bought 2 new Lamy pens and I cannot wait for them to arrive. Looking forward to finding that tiny cardboard circle.
you sold me this Lamy Safari, I love tiny details behind those function serves well without user even realize it. I watch many review of Lamy Safari before but no one told me that reason behind design like you.
My first fountain pen ever was a yellow Lamy Safari with a Medium nib. I'm extremely fond of it for every reason you listed in this video. Perhaps I should get a gold nib for it one of these days :)
I have observed that the ears on the Lamy nibs can sometimes shave off bits of the plastic feed when you take it out or put it back in. Thus the fit of the nib on the feed becomes loose, and the nib tends move on the feed when writing with the pen. I’ve had to get rid of a Safari due to this and it’s why I’m a bit cautious about switching the nibs on my Lamys too frequently. Apart from that, my Safaris and Al-Stars are among my favourite pens and I always have one of them inked up in my pen rotations.
I have a bunch of Safari's, and I do think they are the best entry pen... I have gifted Lamys to my children to get them into the hobby because they are so reliable. 10/10
I had a Lamy Safari when learning to write in grammar school in the mid '80s. Kudos to them to design a pen that is intuitive to use to a 7 year old. Perhaps because of this, I always have associate the model as being a 'pen for kids', which is not doing it justice.
That's not true, many TH-camrs and people in the fountainpennetwork and fountainpengeeks websites, and the r/fountainpens subreddit have mentioned all of this many many times 🤔
Their cartridges also have a little reserve section at the very back. Just open the pen and flick the tail of the cartridge and, boom. A little more ink.
Lamy Safari in Umbra was my first fountain pen I bought with my own money. I still use it and it'll always be one of my favorites! great for writing and sketching. Only issue I have with this, is the small quantity converter. I wish I could use the Jinhao 9019 conveter in it :P The Lamy 2000 may replace the favorite spot, waiting for it to arrive.
One of the coolest surprises of my Safari is the CLIP. ...It also make a great pen STAND. Try it. ...AND if you put the clip on the feed side, it keeps the nib upright and it at the Perfect angle
Great review. I like the angle you take. These are superb. I have a few of these with nibs on which I have done a little polishing and they write as nicely as an expensive pen. My only moan with these is that they dry out in the drawer. It would be so easy to fix. JFI - This was designed bottom up as a school pen. They won the German Education Dept competition with it and it was adopted for German Schools. I used mine as a cheap way to learn nib tuning.
I picked up one of these earlier this week, with the intention of using it for journaling. It's my first fountain pen and I CANNOT stop using it. It's so lovely to use, I think I might be a total convert now.
Great and thorough review! I have used Safaris since the early 1990s, but there were seveal details here that were new to me. In my experience, the pen cap doesn’t seal as well as it should. My Safaris and Vistas dry out faster than most of my other fountain pens. I have also worn out a pen; the friction fit cap got looser by wear and eventually got so loose that it just fell off.
Thanks for this… I am a big fan of LAMY pens. They are well made, flexible and great designs….really clever… and durable. I have the clear Safari (great to see guts of the pen, and 2 AL Team… a special edition and a purple one…all with converters as I enjoy using the ink from a bottle and a various set of nibs including their 14k gold nib on the special edition. There is a video floating are around about their manufacturing process and for an inexpensive pen… it’s a wonderful balance of automated manufacturing, hand finishing and attention to detail. I have several expensive “pocket candy” pens which I enjoy… don’t get me wrong…. But the LAMY pens are my day to day general use pens. You can’t go wrong.
I didn’t like lamys at first until my wife told me to give it another go. Out of all of my fountain pens, it’s the only one that has taken abuse, traveled and makes my inks look vivid. Although it’s not my favorite pen, it’s been so dependable that it’s earned its place as my EDC -and bought another.
Thank you for the Lamy Safari 101. Quite interesting and informative. I am glad you took the time to go through the details-it saved me (and my pen) from taking mine apart, and probably losing some of the pieces! I like my Lamy Safari (and AL/LX) pens for all the reasons you bring up in your video. The shape of the grip section doesn’t bother me at all, but then I also like the Omas 360. My Lamy Safari/AL and 2000 are among my everyday carry pens. I hope Uniball keeps Lamy intact and doesn’t ruin the product. Thanks again for another great video!
Great video from an engineering and FP lover’s perspective. Like many people, Lamy was a first FP when I got back into FPs. I was surprised that some other metal Lamys leaked. They looked great, but Lamy couldn’t fix or replace it and just terminated the model.
I have one Lamy Safari and a total of 4 nibs for it (EF, B, 1.9 stub, and the Cursive). All write excellent. I wasn’t aware of the inner barrel able to hold the cartridge, but I’ll get to try that soon as I just purchased a pack of Lamy violet cartridges to match my violet Lamy Safari. Great review and tips. 👍
Growing up in Germany, in elementary school in the 1980s, literally everyone had the LAMY abc in order to learn how to write. It’s been a while, but I seem to remember that it came with a relatively fine nib. At some point, usually after elementary school, pretty much everyone switched over to a LAMY Safari and typically a broader nib, I guess most kids had an M-nib. Nowadays, I guess the use of fountain pens has somewhat declined in schools. I guess Germany was always a bit of an exception in that regard. In most other countries it was always more commonplace to use ball pens. We had to use fountain pens though. I guess the thinking was that it improves your writing. Though AFAIK, those days are gone now in Germany as well, though many parents still prefer their kids to learn how to write with fountain pens. And the Safari is probably still the go to product in schools.
Lami safari are a classic school pen for 3rd graders and up. That's probably why they're so well designed, they are expected to take daily abuse from 9 y.o. Kids. That's also why it has the ink window and the little ink reservoir on the cartridge, because that gives you enough ink to finish the schoolday and time to find a new cartridge once you get home (or to borrow from a better prepared friend. It's also why they have the red converter with the two nobbly bits, those pens get thrown around, and you don't want books to get ruined by ink spilling in a backpack.
i love my safari - i’ve had mine for the past 1.5 years and i’ve used it almost daily. it truly is an amazing workhorse pen. my only complaint is the snap cap. the cap very weak and hardly caps and because my case store my pen vertically, the body of the pen gets caught behind! and it gets annoying. i’m going to retire the pen in a couple months, but i’m thankful for the experience it gave me these past months
I also like the way the ink window lines up. On the other side - the Lamy logo is not on both sides of the barrel, so depending how you screw the barrel back on the pen it will be either be lined up with the nib or the feed.
I’ve been wondering whether to get of these. I’m a newbie to fountains, other than a Parker I got as a present way back in the 80s that I have never liked using. Having rediscovered my love of journaling a couple of years ago I bought a really inexpensive Faber-Castell Soft Grip and I love it. I’m getting more adventurous with inks now too, so have been looking for recommendations for easy pens. I’ve been peering through your reviews and now have a TWSBI Eco and a Majohn A1 on their way from Ali Express. This Lamy looks like it has one of my favourite features of the Soft Grip - the shaped grip, so I may well end getting one of these too!
Best “beginner” pen. No Bud, it’s a pretty good all rounder given the amount of nib variety. What other pen allows an easy swap nib with so many different tips?
Just watched this and I respect my LAMY Safari series more now! Since I have OCD, there is one little secret you might miss, cause you were lucky when shooting this video. I discovered that the logo on barrel will be either aligned with the nib, and under. So I play the trick by releasing it for one more turn, and screw it back in. I bet we had a discussion about the accuracy in details about LAMY engineering when we met last time, so it inspired me, buddy! Take a look! You may like to edit it, wohahaha…. Thumbs up to your review!!👍👍👍
Hi DB! Funny you should feature the Lamy Safari the very same week I got my first one! Really was not a fan of the styling, but I went ahead and got the Violet Blackberry gift set. Came with a bottle of the special Blackberry ink (was going to just buy a bottle of ink, but the gift set is such a great value I popped for it!) a box of Blackberry ink cartridges, a converter, AND inside the pen, a cartridge of the Lamy blue ink. Noticed right away the clever design to install the cartridges as you showed, but I substituted one of the Blackberry cartridges for the blue one. WOW the pen writes wonderfully! (Fine nib) LOVE the Blackberry ink too! Even though it is not my favorite looking pen, there will be another Safari or maybe an Al Sport in my future! Want to try some of those stub nibs you showed, too! The grip is not a big deal for me as my Kaweco Perkeo has a similar triangular grip. Thanks for showing off the very COOL Safari!
Got two safari a year ago in Italy. The strawberry that you have and the mango colors. They came in different boxes, than those older black boxes, also different from one another. One had the barcode printed in the box and the other had it on a sticker putted on the box. I guess boxes are depending on the distributors.
Thank you for bringing it all together so neatly. Quick question. You have 2 pens with different finishes. I have a matt finish lamy safari and want a smooth shiny finish like the yellow one in your video. Most photos I see on them for sale are quite ambiguous and appear gloss or smooth but I know are matt. Is there a version or age of manufacture difference. Thank
I often see Lamy Safari in shops, and I'm glad I decided to buy the Kaweco Sport Classic. It costs the same but is so much nicer! Even more, Kaweco uses international cartridges!
Lamy and Twsbi are the two brands with end users in mind first. No wonder they are so loved. I like the safari grip design. The first time I held one in my hand, I knew this was the perfect pen for me.
GREAT video! I recently bought a Safari Vista and an LX (my first Lamy’s ever) and the things you covered are invaluable!! All the tiny features that I’ve never heard anyone mention and (THANK YOU!) I know now! I was always timid about pushing on cartridges and converters until you showed this! Wow!🤯 🤩 and especially HELPFUL of changing nibs!! You do great camerawork too! Thank you for all your videos! You really helped boost my confidence in working with pens from this super reliable and eco friendly company!! I hope Mitsubishis doesn’t try to “build a better mouse trap” ;)
I had my converter in wrong after filling it for the first time once the cartridge it came with ran out. Didn't realize until I saw your video since it was still mostly working...was blaming the new ink for it feeling so rough.
There's something that you missed. If you check the threads of the section, you will see that there are stops. These ensure that the barrel is always aligned with the section and that the ink windows will be in-line with the apex and the base of the triangular grip. You can also choose to have the Lamy logo in two different positions (in-line with either the apex or base of the grip) by changing the start position of the barrel when you screw the section into it. It's amazing how Lamy has thought of this. With other pens, as the threads wear out, the barrel no longer aligns properly.
I've retired most of my Lamys. I'll reclean them with my sonic cleaner. But I found my Lamys with F or EF didn't write well (dry up and just stop.) Will a Medium or Broad work better in a Lamy. I love my Lamys because of the bright colors and funky metals. I want to get back to using them. Thx.
Mind blown. I didn't know about the two piece feed. I have an Al-Star that chronically drys out when I leave it capped, so I haven't used it. I like the pen, but got frustrated with the ink starvation. I'm going to clean out the feed (having never taken it out) and ink it, to see if that will improve that issue. Thanks, Doodlebud!
In Europe, we don’t get this box, we get plastic heat sealed nonsense, they used to come with a beautiful vinyl sleeve as well to keep it in with a metal clamp shirt top, that is also also been stopped as well. The Pen is still amazing, though
Small and interesting detail: German company Online (school supply manufacturer) makes Lamy-style cartridge which has international standard opening in the back, so you can use it in Lamy pen or most international standard pens (Online themselves make couple models).
I'm a big fan of their studio its got a round section and if you get the matt black its less slippery than the silver colored section ones and it has the same slip nib. I especially love the 2 part feed because if you have an impoticularly stubborn ink you can remove that middle bit and the ink flows like wild fire which I think is a major feture of this pen :)
I really appreciate this video. Today, I discovered that my TWSBI Eco (limited edition Cement Grey) has a crack in it. I'm sad. After using fountain pens for a decade, and this particular pen for three years, it's the first time I'm experiencing a fountain pen breaking beyond repair. So I'm looking into alternatives to replace it. I already have a Safari that's been going strong for many, many years now, and I might just get another one to replace the TWSBI Eco. It's not the prettiest pen out there, but at least it doesn't f-ing break on me!
Hello Mr Doodlebud, love your videos as always, I feel intrigued to ask a question, are all feeds on the Safaris removable? I ask this because I own a Terracotta that I purchased on 2021, I never was able to remove the feed
worth pointing out in the economy of that manufacture is the quality of those threads. to twist it closed over and over and have the window and logo line up? fuckin amazing. also you Canadiens talk well with your hands and love those self healing mats
I have many Safaris and Joys as well as a bunch of Chinese knockoffs of various qualities. Some of the Chinese pens are fairly good and certainly look very similar, but even the best ones don't have anywhere near the level of thoughtful engineered detail like the original. At this point I just buy the originals because of the interchangeable nibs and perfectly consistent quality. It's also fun to mix and match colors. The Joy in my opinion is the best artist sketching fountain pen shape ever. It's identical to the Safari it just has a longer tapered main body that is interchangeable with any Safari. I also have a Lamy stylus for my Samsung tablets which is awesome. It is unfortunate however that the parts are not interchangeable with regular Lamy bodies. Black only! I have a lot of other more expensive fountain pens but recently I've come back around to the Safari. At this point I always have two or three of them inked up scattered around the house.
Hey Doodlebud is it wierd if my new (only bought one and a half months ago) Lamy Safari Charcoal has a tiny misallignment between the nib+grip section and body section?
Being blunt out of all my pens i own, it's my least favorite... That does NOT mean it's a bad pen. I do like to keep one in my work bag as im not afraid of it getting lost (somehow) or damaged. Its a fantastically smooth writer, it's okay weight for a plastic pen, healthy width to reduce fatigue. The biggest dislike i have, which is completely subjective, is that the triangular grip is not my favorite as i just dont find it comfortable. But yes, everyone should have at least one. Interchangeable nibs is a massive plus for taking it around as if you damage the nib, you can just swap in a new one... unlike the common competitor, the pilot metropolitan (also a fantastic pen i own 2). Though for ~$20 more, you can find lamy stuidos that share a nib with most of the lamy pens.
I feel like I'm gonna have to do this with my Al-star to get it clean. I've flushed it like 8 times and it's still not coming clean. Lol. Also, may I send you a pen to review? It's something im looking to purchase here in the near future, and I haven't seen any reviews on it yet.
At one time, I loved my Safari and Vista. Bought them about the same time. For a matter of months, they wrote wonderfully well. Then they rebelled and refused to write at all. Both of them. Regardless of any amount of cleaning, flushing, etc. From great writers to no writers. The very strangest thing is that they both chose to quit at about the same time in their pen lives. No more Lamys for me. I'll stick with my Jinhaos and Majohns and Twisbis.
Doodlebud is a very clever fellow.
In the box he puts a pen that's yellow.
Then out it comes instead
In a soft pastel red.
Was it engineering magic?
Or something almost tragic?
Or is it to his credit
That it is a happy edit?
Then he gives a justification
For Lamy's determination
To use their own converter.
So they are not a subverter.
This video has made me in retrospect
To give the Lamy Safari more respect.
Your best work yet! 👍👏
@@Doodlebud Inspired by a unique approach to look at a pen (and I do these bad verses for really good hiding of a geocache). I admire the engineering angle you take. My god, just that slip of paper that holds the pen and supports the box and done in a way that saves material for economic and environmental reasons. (Compare that to those faux leather contraptions that expensive pens come in.) Lamy is so good at conception, design, execution, and packaging.
ChatGPT
What makes you think his comment came from chat gpt?
I never knew that the Lamy feed had two parts to it. Thank you for that detail. I still think that Lamy should send you to their headquarters in Heidelberg as a token of appreciation. Take care.
That box is a great example of good engineering, simple and efficient, easy to make and use, as well as green (:
The box is so simple its easily overlooked. But when I stop and check it out I think about how much thought went into that one seemingly basic throw away item. Curious how many designs/iterations it took before they finished on what they did. Can't really make it any more simple, cost effective, yet still be 100% functional. Cost is completely minimalized and is also recyclable. I don't expect that box to ever really change much. Maybe a "design refresh/update" one day just to have a new look, but still don't see that happening anytime soon since there's zero need to change anything.
I didn't learn anything new, but you've roped everything into one outstanding video that explains why the Safari is my favorite. Is it the best? No, but it's my favorite. I have about 20 in various colors. Oh... That ink! Wow!
One thing I love about the safari is that it’s a 50+ year design. Yes, there are new pens out there. Maybe they’re cheaper. But this is pretty much a classic pen. It doesn’t look like anything else, it doesn’t copy any other designs. The lamy really is a classic pen
Great detailed overview! The notches shown at 03:20 also act as an anti-rotation to prevent the body of the converter from spinning when you are turning the piston knob. Simple and effective, I wish more companies did this!
Thank you. Now I understand my Lamy Safari so much better. Every fountain pen collection has to have a Lamy Safari in it.
I have an al star
I just recently got into fountain pens and discovered I am one of those who rotate their pens/pencils when they write. I bought a bunch of “starter” pens to try out in varying nib sizes, and the Safari is the one that keeps me from rotating the pen and getting frustrated when the ink stops. Swappable nibs is a huge bonus as I love showy inks but also fine lines, and I can have a set ready to go for whatever I’m doing that day whether art, writing letters, or taking notes.
The grip feels a little narrow to me, even with my small hand, but the anti-rotation feature is worth it to me at this stage of my exploration.
Nice pen at all sorts of levels and I’ll probably keep collecting them for the varying colors they keep coming up with.
The ability to "hot swap" nibs on a Safari is often overlooked. With most other nib/feed designs, it is necessary to empty and clean the pen before swapping nibs; with the Safari (and it's cousins the Al-star, LX, Joy, etc.), it's just swap & go (with very little mess and no need to empty and clean the pen).
One of the other features of the Safari is LAMY's choice of ABS (a much tougher plastic than acrylic found in many other fountain pens). This choice makes the pen pretty "kid proof" (which is one of the reasons it's the recommended pen for primary school children in Germany).
Well said! Over time some of my TWSBIs have cracked and the feeds are a bit fragile, but I still have (and use) the first Safari bought in the 1980s and it is working fine!
@@haroldmarenger3435 - I purchased my first Safari in 1992, while living & working in Germany (as a USA citizen). I also purchased Safari's for my (then) school age children. All of those Safari's are still working great!
Hot swap nibs are for me the best feature of most Lamy pen. Another great efficiency feature, you just buy relatively cheap nibs instead of whole units like with Kaweco or entire pens.
'Kombi', a German company, sell cartridges which are Lamy-fit (T10) on one end and International-fit on the other end. Available from 'Cult Pens' and Amazon, UK.
Most excellent! The engineering view is quite satisfying. There were several points in the video where I thought "this is the best part". By the end I was off to my desk to drag all of my Safaris out.
The nib change out utilizing the cap is uber cunning!
I’ve had a Safari since 2012 and was always impressed by the design; everything is so well considered and executed. I didn’t love the Fine nib though, so I rarely used it.
A couple years ago, we got a bunch of the 2020 Edition Mango Safaris as gifts for my child’s teachers. I always liked the color, so last week I finally got one for myself as well, and it turns out I love it. The Medium nib is much smoother and wetter. I put Kon Peki in it and the bright yellow pen with the bright blue ink is a real mood lifter.
One of the first things I did was mix and match the parts with my old charcoal Safari. The gray pen with the mango section is like a secret surprise, and it’s nice to see that the parts all fit together despite the 8 year difference in production dates.
I appreciate your engineering perspective reviews quite a lot, and this is a very fine example of them. This kind of information enhances the enjoyment of fountain pens. Thanks.
Thanks for another great video!😊 I own 21-22 Lamys, in both Al-Stars, & Safaris. And I never knew about the 2 stage feeder assembly. It is amazing how much detail and quality goes into such an affordable WRITER 😍! My Lamys are among my most reliable pens. They rarely dry-out, skip, or railroad. A few nibs came a bit "scratchy," but that was easily remedied with the "brown paper bag" treatment. A great reliable pen and so affordable. I've given away several to friends and family members as gifts to introduce them to the wonderful world of fountain pens. In several cases, they actually caught the bug.😅 Again, thank you for a great review. Cheers all😊
About pen grip: I've always wondered why Americans hold their pen so strange (90 degree angle to the surface), in every movie or TV show I've seen. Since I got into fountain pens I think I now understand: US went all-in on ballpoint, while European countries maintained the "lamy-tringale-grip" at 45 degree angle, that harkens back to the fountain pen days. Great video, I hope it will receive the same cult status in the fountain pen community as your engineering tear down of Lamy 2000 video(s) has.
I'm an American, never used a fountain pen in my life (I have a lamy coming in the mail now). But I've never written at 90 degrees, I've been using the "lamy" grip all my life without knowing it 😂
Disagree... I have used ball points too but never hold my fountain pens at 90 degrees...
People are not really taught pen grip in the US. Not with any kind of rigorousness. And so you will see a lot of variety in America's writers. It's common to see this weird grip where the fingers kind of wrap around the pen. Not sure why this spontaneously manifests, but no one here corrects the kids who do this and so it persists.
Love my Lamy Safari pens! Excellent pens and I never appreciated the design as much until this video. :)
Valeu!
Hey thanks so much!
Thanks for another Lamy appreciation video. As a German I always get kinda annoyed when people talk about „how many nib options they have“ because their special nibs are usually hard to come by here. Until a few years ago every time I checked for a 1.1 stub it wasn’t available and 1.5 only when you bought a Lamy Joy (which I already have two of) or a calligraphy sorta gift set. US Amazon always had plenty in stock. Pens with LH or Oblique nibs are still a little harder to find. But what really infuriates me is how I haven’t found a cursive (aka kanji) nib to this day! The irony is that it’s super easy to find a gold nib. Germany really isn’t the fountain pen heaven people think it is. We still don’t have anything like Vaness White Lightning in Europe, that’s how behind we are - having to get it shipped from the US makes it cost 4x more 😂 Anyway, I grew up with these pens and have a lot much fancier pens now but this one just feels like coming home.
Anderson Pens and Appelboom has the cursive nib, and others you mentioned. If you’re still looking for them, you might give them a try. I have also gone to the Lamy website and found accessories (nibs, cartridges, converters, etc. ). Good luck!
@@haroldmarenger3435 Thank you so much! I must be dummy then because I checked Appelboom again and I see all their nibs except cursive. The German Lamy Website has no cursive nibs available, either :(
I really appreciate your 'engineer's view' on this. Very informative.
That clip is brilliant. Because of the design, it works on all kinds of pocket and it's not stretched out by using in on a thick fabric pocket...
I’ve watched tons of videos on the Lamy Safari, and I learned several new tips and tricks that weren’t in any other videos. Thanks for sharing!
Well I fell down a TH-cam rabbit hole and now I want a fountain pen 😂
This is marvellous. Thank you. I’ve just bought 2 new Lamy pens and I cannot wait for them to arrive. Looking forward to finding that tiny cardboard circle.
you sold me this Lamy Safari, I love tiny details behind those function serves well without user even realize it. I watch many review of Lamy Safari before but no one told me that reason behind design like you.
My first fountain pen ever was a yellow Lamy Safari with a Medium nib. I'm extremely fond of it for every reason you listed in this video. Perhaps I should get a gold nib for it one of these days :)
I have observed that the ears on the Lamy nibs can sometimes shave off bits of the plastic feed when you take it out or put it back in. Thus the fit of the nib on the feed becomes loose, and the nib tends move on the feed when writing with the pen. I’ve had to get rid of a Safari due to this and it’s why I’m a bit cautious about switching the nibs on my Lamys too frequently.
Apart from that, my Safaris and Al-Stars are among my favourite pens and I always have one of them inked up in my pen rotations.
I have a bunch of Safari's, and I do think they are the best entry pen...
I have gifted Lamys to my children to get them into the hobby because they are so reliable.
10/10
Picked up my first Lamy earlier today. I very much appreciate this great video detailing its design and construction. Very helpful. Thanks.
I had a Lamy Safari when learning to write in grammar school in the mid '80s. Kudos to them to design a pen that is intuitive to use to a 7 year old. Perhaps because of this, I always have associate the model as being a 'pen for kids', which is not doing it justice.
Another great & informative video Doodlebud. I believe you are the only person that shown the proper cartridge installation and nib removal. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Agreed. That little cardboard ring initially threw me off on my first Safari😊
That's not true, many TH-camrs and people in the fountainpennetwork and fountainpengeeks websites, and the r/fountainpens subreddit have mentioned all of this many many times 🤔
Great video! I maintain the Safari is all you really need.
What a good video! Thanks for sharing all this; I learned a lot. It makes me extra happy that I just purchased my second Lamy.
I got it on a gift box set, really nice fountain pen, easy to use, etc. Good work horse. Nice review!
Their cartridges also have a little reserve section at the very back. Just open the pen and flick the tail of the cartridge and, boom. A little more ink.
I first learned about that feature in Parker cartridges.
Lamy Safari in Umbra was my first fountain pen I bought with my own money. I still use it and it'll always be one of my favorites! great for writing and sketching. Only issue I have with this, is the small quantity converter. I wish I could use the Jinhao 9019 conveter in it :P
The Lamy 2000 may replace the favorite spot, waiting for it to arrive.
One of the coolest surprises of my Safari is the CLIP.
...It also make a great pen STAND. Try it.
...AND if you put the clip on the feed side, it keeps the nib upright and it at the Perfect angle
Great review. I like the angle you take.
These are superb. I have a few of these with nibs on which I have done a little polishing and they write as nicely as an expensive pen.
My only moan with these is that they dry out in the drawer. It would be so easy to fix.
JFI - This was designed bottom up as a school pen. They won the German Education Dept competition with it and it was adopted for German Schools.
I used mine as a cheap way to learn nib tuning.
I picked up one of these earlier this week, with the intention of using it for journaling. It's my first fountain pen and I CANNOT stop using it. It's so lovely to use, I think I might be a total convert now.
Love your videos - thanks for such clear info. You're such a natural speaker!
Thanks so much
Great and thorough review! I have used Safaris since the early 1990s, but there were seveal details here that were new to me. In my experience, the pen cap doesn’t seal as well as it should. My Safaris and Vistas dry out faster than most of my other fountain pens. I have also worn out a pen; the friction fit cap got looser by wear and eventually got so loose that it just fell off.
Another useful design feature are the flat sides on the body, to prevent the pen from rolling off the table, possibly damaging the nib.
Wow. Fantastic video.
Again, extremely interesting video. Who else does that on TH-cam? You the only one. Badly needed & highly recommended!
Thanks 👍
I wish they would make more colors in the matte option.
Thanks for this… I am a big fan of LAMY pens. They are well made, flexible and great designs….really clever… and durable. I have the clear Safari (great to see guts of the pen, and 2 AL Team… a special edition and a purple one…all with converters as I enjoy using the ink from a bottle and a various set of nibs including their 14k gold nib on the special edition. There is a video floating are around about their manufacturing process and for an inexpensive pen… it’s a wonderful balance of automated manufacturing, hand finishing and attention to detail. I have several expensive “pocket candy” pens which I enjoy… don’t get me wrong…. But the LAMY pens are my day to day general use pens. You can’t go wrong.
This is a great video. Thanks. I want to buy pens now.
Thank you so much for the wonderful video! It reinforced my faith in the product!
I didn’t like lamys at first until my wife told me to give it another go. Out of all of my fountain pens, it’s the only one that has taken abuse, traveled and makes my inks look vivid. Although it’s not my favorite pen, it’s been so dependable that it’s earned its place as my EDC -and bought another.
Great overview 👏👏👏👏👏
Ah the Lamy safari. The very pen that took me down the fountain pen rabbit hole.
Thank you for the Lamy Safari 101. Quite interesting and informative. I am glad you took the time to go through the details-it saved me (and my pen) from taking mine apart, and probably losing some of the pieces! I like my Lamy Safari (and AL/LX) pens for all the reasons you bring up in your video. The shape of the grip section doesn’t bother me at all, but then I also like the Omas 360. My Lamy Safari/AL and 2000 are among my everyday carry pens. I hope Uniball keeps Lamy intact and doesn’t ruin the product. Thanks again for another great video!
Great video from an engineering and FP lover’s perspective. Like many people, Lamy was a first FP when I got back into FPs. I was surprised that some other metal Lamys leaked. They looked great, but Lamy couldn’t fix or replace it and just terminated the model.
Ths is a great pen even for experienced users.
Really like my Lamy. Value also.
I have one Lamy Safari and a total of 4 nibs for it (EF, B, 1.9 stub, and the Cursive). All write excellent. I wasn’t aware of the inner barrel able to hold the cartridge, but I’ll get to try that soon as I just purchased a pack of Lamy violet cartridges to match my violet Lamy Safari. Great review and tips. 👍
Thank you sir. I'll be ordering a Fountain Pen now. Time to re-learn calligraphy!
Growing up in Germany, in elementary school in the 1980s, literally everyone had the LAMY abc in order to learn how to write. It’s been a while, but I seem to remember that it came with a relatively fine nib. At some point, usually after elementary school, pretty much everyone switched over to a LAMY Safari and typically a broader nib, I guess most kids had an M-nib.
Nowadays, I guess the use of fountain pens has somewhat declined in schools. I guess Germany was always a bit of an exception in that regard. In most other countries it was always more commonplace to use ball pens. We had to use fountain pens though. I guess the thinking was that it improves your writing. Though AFAIK, those days are gone now in Germany as well, though many parents still prefer their kids to learn how to write with fountain pens. And the Safari is probably still the go to product in schools.
Lami safari are a classic school pen for 3rd graders and up. That's probably why they're so well designed, they are expected to take daily abuse from 9 y.o. Kids. That's also why it has the ink window and the little ink reservoir on the cartridge, because that gives you enough ink to finish the schoolday and time to find a new cartridge once you get home (or to borrow from a better prepared friend. It's also why they have the red converter with the two nobbly bits, those pens get thrown around, and you don't want books to get ruined by ink spilling in a backpack.
Do other pens break that easily?
i love my safari - i’ve had mine for the past 1.5 years and i’ve used it almost daily. it truly is an amazing workhorse pen. my only complaint is the snap cap. the cap very weak and hardly caps and because my case store my pen vertically, the body of the pen gets caught behind! and it gets annoying. i’m going to retire the pen in a couple months, but i’m thankful for the experience it gave me these past months
I also like the way the ink window lines up. On the other side - the Lamy logo is not on both sides of the barrel, so depending how you screw the barrel back on the pen it will be either be lined up with the nib or the feed.
I’ve been wondering whether to get of these. I’m a newbie to fountains, other than a Parker I got as a present way back in the 80s that I have never liked using. Having rediscovered my love of journaling a couple of years ago I bought a really inexpensive Faber-Castell Soft Grip and I love it. I’m getting more adventurous with inks now too, so have been looking for recommendations for easy pens. I’ve been peering through your reviews and now have a TWSBI Eco and a Majohn A1 on their way from Ali Express. This Lamy looks like it has one of my favourite features of the Soft Grip - the shaped grip, so I may well end getting one of these too!
From my POV, the best thing about the Safari is the excellent Left Handed nib, which works exceptionally well. I fitted one to my Jinhao 80.
Best “beginner” pen. No Bud, it’s a pretty good all rounder given the amount of nib variety. What other pen allows an easy swap nib with so many different tips?
Just watched this and I respect my LAMY Safari series more now! Since I have OCD, there is one little secret you might miss, cause you were lucky when shooting this video. I discovered that the logo on barrel will be either aligned with the nib, and under. So I play the trick by releasing it for one more turn, and screw it back in. I bet we had a discussion about the accuracy in details about LAMY engineering when we met last time, so it inspired me, buddy! Take a look! You may like to edit it, wohahaha…. Thumbs up to your review!!👍👍👍
Hi DB! Funny you should feature the Lamy Safari the very same week I got my first one! Really was not a fan of the styling, but I went ahead and got the Violet Blackberry gift set. Came with a bottle of the special Blackberry ink (was going to just buy a bottle of ink, but the gift set is such a great value I popped for it!) a box of Blackberry ink cartridges, a converter, AND inside the pen, a cartridge of the Lamy blue ink. Noticed right away the clever design to install the cartridges as you showed, but I substituted one of the Blackberry cartridges for the blue one. WOW the pen writes wonderfully! (Fine nib) LOVE the Blackberry ink too! Even though it is not my favorite looking pen, there will be another Safari or maybe an Al Sport in my future! Want to try some of those stub nibs you showed, too! The grip is not a big deal for me as my Kaweco Perkeo has a similar triangular grip. Thanks for showing off the very COOL Safari!
Nice review thanks :)
What is that little transparent yellow pen you are referring to when you show nib materials @7:15 ?
Info with a link in the description
@@Doodlebud Many thanks 🙏🙏
Got two safari a year ago in Italy. The strawberry that you have and the mango colors. They came in different boxes, than those older black boxes, also different from one another. One had the barcode printed in the box and the other had it on a sticker putted on the box. I guess boxes are depending on the distributors.
I love my Lamy’s!
Thank you for bringing it all together so neatly. Quick question. You have 2 pens with different finishes. I have a matt finish lamy safari and want a smooth shiny finish like the yellow one in your video. Most photos I see on them for sale are quite ambiguous and appear gloss or smooth but I know are matt. Is there a version or age of manufacture difference. Thank
I often see Lamy Safari in shops, and I'm glad I decided to buy the Kaweco Sport Classic. It costs the same but is so much nicer! Even more, Kaweco uses international cartridges!
The only criticism I have of the Lamy is the proprietary cartridges.
Lamy and Twsbi are the two brands with end users in mind first. No wonder they are so loved. I like the safari grip design. The first time I held one in my hand, I knew this was the perfect pen for me.
GREAT video! I recently bought a Safari Vista and an LX (my first Lamy’s ever) and the things you covered are invaluable!! All the tiny features that I’ve never heard anyone mention and (THANK YOU!) I know now! I was always timid about pushing on cartridges and converters until you showed this! Wow!🤯 🤩 and especially HELPFUL of changing nibs!! You do great camerawork too! Thank you for all your videos! You really helped boost my confidence in working with pens from this super reliable and eco friendly company!! I hope Mitsubishis doesn’t try to “build a better mouse trap” ;)
Interesting fact I did not know about Lamy. Thanks
I had my converter in wrong after filling it for the first time once the cartridge it came with ran out. Didn't realize until I saw your video since it was still mostly working...was blaming the new ink for it feeling so rough.
I see you take inspiration from Paul Akers!
I am also a Lean Manufacturing fan 🙌🏽
I'm not familiar with Paul Akers but I'll take that as a compliment
Thanks for the vid❤🙏
I like how my Lamy Vista demonstrator has an ink window. It's system redundancies like that that make German engineering so worthwhile. 😉
There's something that you missed. If you check the threads of the section, you will see that there are stops. These ensure that the barrel is always aligned with the section and that the ink windows will be in-line with the apex and the base of the triangular grip. You can also choose to have the Lamy logo in two different positions (in-line with either the apex or base of the grip) by changing the start position of the barrel when you screw the section into it.
It's amazing how Lamy has thought of this. With other pens, as the threads wear out, the barrel no longer aligns properly.
I've retired most of my Lamys. I'll reclean them with my sonic cleaner. But I found my Lamys with F or EF didn't write well (dry up and just stop.) Will a Medium or Broad work better in a Lamy. I love my Lamys because of the bright colors and funky metals. I want to get back to using them. Thx.
Mind blown. I didn't know about the two piece feed. I have an Al-Star that chronically drys out when I leave it capped, so I haven't used it. I like the pen, but got frustrated with the ink starvation. I'm going to clean out the feed (having never taken it out) and ink it, to see if that will improve that issue. Thanks, Doodlebud!
I wish I could twist the nib on Lamy, then I could easily write lateral tripod grip
Most kids in Germany learn to write in school with the Lamy Safari.
In Europe, we don’t get this box, we get plastic heat sealed nonsense, they used to come with a beautiful vinyl sleeve as well to keep it in with a metal clamp shirt top, that is also also been stopped as well.
The Pen is still amazing, though
Small and interesting detail: German company Online (school supply manufacturer) makes Lamy-style cartridge which has international standard opening in the back, so you can use it in Lamy pen or most international standard pens (Online themselves make couple models).
I'm a big fan of their studio its got a round section and if you get the matt black its less slippery than the silver colored section ones and it has the same slip nib. I especially love the 2 part feed because if you have an impoticularly stubborn ink you can remove that middle bit and the ink flows like wild fire which I think is a major feture of this pen :)
I really appreciate this video. Today, I discovered that my TWSBI Eco (limited edition Cement Grey) has a crack in it. I'm sad. After using fountain pens for a decade, and this particular pen for three years, it's the first time I'm experiencing a fountain pen breaking beyond repair. So I'm looking into alternatives to replace it. I already have a Safari that's been going strong for many, many years now, and I might just get another one to replace the TWSBI Eco. It's not the prettiest pen out there, but at least it doesn't f-ing break on me!
Wow, learning about the Lamy design philosophy definitely increased my affinity for Lamy.
I'm gonna go play with my Safari now!
Great review DB. have two Safari's a Charcoal and a Brown AL with a Gold nib. Both are great pens, specially the Gold nib one.
Ya know, I've never really been interested in the Safari, but this did get me interested in the Aion, which I had never seen before 🤔
Hello Mr Doodlebud, love your videos as always, I feel intrigued to ask a question, are all feeds on the Safaris removable? I ask this because I own a Terracotta that I purchased on 2021, I never was able to remove the feed
What colour blue pen is that one in the background? Thanks ahead.
worth pointing out in the economy of that manufacture is the quality of those threads. to twist it closed over and over and have the window and logo line up? fuckin amazing. also you Canadiens talk well with your hands and love those self healing mats
I have many Safaris and Joys as well as a bunch of Chinese knockoffs of various qualities. Some of the Chinese pens are fairly good and certainly look very similar, but even the best ones don't have anywhere near the level of thoughtful engineered detail like the original. At this point I just buy the originals because of the interchangeable nibs and perfectly consistent quality. It's also fun to mix and match colors. The Joy in my opinion is the best artist sketching fountain pen shape ever. It's identical to the Safari it just has a longer tapered main body that is interchangeable with any Safari. I also have a Lamy stylus for my Samsung tablets which is awesome. It is unfortunate however that the parts are not interchangeable with regular Lamy bodies. Black only! I have a lot of other more expensive fountain pens but recently I've come back around to the Safari. At this point I always have two or three of them inked up scattered around the house.
Hey Doodlebud is it wierd if my new (only bought one and a half months ago) Lamy Safari Charcoal has a tiny misallignment between the nib+grip section and body section?
How to open the ink feed? I can't do it with my Safari. I tried to pull it off but did not work 😢
They need to go back to the all black clips.
Being blunt out of all my pens i own, it's my least favorite... That does NOT mean it's a bad pen. I do like to keep one in my work bag as im not afraid of it getting lost (somehow) or damaged. Its a fantastically smooth writer, it's okay weight for a plastic pen, healthy width to reduce fatigue. The biggest dislike i have, which is completely subjective, is that the triangular grip is not my favorite as i just dont find it comfortable. But yes, everyone should have at least one. Interchangeable nibs is a massive plus for taking it around as if you damage the nib, you can just swap in a new one... unlike the common competitor, the pilot metropolitan (also a fantastic pen i own 2). Though for ~$20 more, you can find lamy stuidos that share a nib with most of the lamy pens.
Yup that grip can be polarizing
It is a great pen. I just can't get past the polarizing grip. I can't use it.
Ca-pillory action?
I feel like I'm gonna have to do this with my Al-star to get it clean. I've flushed it like 8 times and it's still not coming clean. Lol.
Also, may I send you a pen to review? It's something im looking to purchase here in the near future, and I haven't seen any reviews on it yet.
At one time, I loved my Safari and Vista. Bought them about the same time. For a matter of months, they wrote wonderfully well. Then they rebelled and refused to write at all. Both of them. Regardless of any amount of cleaning, flushing, etc. From great writers to no writers. The very strangest thing is that they both chose to quit at about the same time in their pen lives. No more Lamys for me. I'll stick with my Jinhaos and Majohns and Twisbis.
Why don't Lamy have a Fude nib for the Safari?