Customer Reviews

The Charcoal Safari in Extra Fine writes very, very nicely and its flat black body and glossy black nib are all business. The size, weight and balance of the ABS body make for comfortable writing, cap posted or not. The EF nib glides across any old paper I have so far tried, leaving a sharp, reliable line of blue from the supplied cartridge. I have a converter at the ready once I exhaust the cartridge and anticipate buying a spare nib in a different width, just for some variety.

This pen is just the ticket for the basic pen fan and constant user. For a true beginner still deciding between "yes" and "no" on the subject of the fountain pen, there are alternatives in lower price ranges. If you already love fountain pens and do not have a Lamy Safari, buy one without hesitation and enjoy it as I do mine.

I would rate this pen five stars (and more if permitted to) at a more competitive price.

beautiful writing on standard American notebook paper as many find it dreadful with some fountain pens

no scratch, no feather, little bleed(a small bit more than any 0.7mm ballpoint pen)

love the blue ink! i would describe it as electric, i was going to pop out the cartridge right away for the converter and ink bottle i ordered, but man, i'll stick with this until it's out =)

the EF from Lamy is the exact fountain pen size i wanted with notebook, small, yet it doesn't take detail away from the fact your using a fountain pen.

perfect with cursive script and Japanese! ^^

and no "bling", a every-day pen you can use without looking like your trying to impress somebody

I really went back and forth on this. At first, I wanted to rate the pen a 3. However, I decided on 4 because of the build quality of the pen and the fact that they make an adapter for the ink. Really the review needs two parts.

1. The Pen - This is an awesome pen. The weight is perfect, the hand feel is great. The nib writes smoothly and evenly. It feels good against the paper with just enough tactile feedback.

2. The ink - The ink is horrible. I got the blue ink and it is the worst ink I have ever written with. The blue color is weak and looks like someone took REAL ink and watered it down. It doesn't last. The color fades quickly. I have been using the pen for about 3 months and the stuff I wrote when I first got it looks worse than it did when I first wrote it.

My suggestion, buy the pen and the ink adapter. Never even put in the lamy ink cartridge. Buy some really good ink and enjoy a great pen that writes perfectly and evenly. The pen is great, the ink is not.

Be sure to check the nib when you get it. I somehow received the bold nib version of this (even though the box clearly says "EX FINE"). The bold version has a "B" on the nib, whereas the extra fine has "EF" on the nib.

This is my first entry into fountain pens. I did have some experience with dip pens in college, so writing with a nib wasn't totally foreign, but these days my pens of choice have been the Uniball 207s gels and Vision Micro rollers.

The pen is extremely handsome. The plastic body is thick and feels very rugged while remaining quite light. The pen does, however, feel ever so slightly unbalanced with the cap posted on the back. The EF tip doesn't give a lot of variation in line width, so on paper (with a blue-black Monteverde cartridge) gives a very similar look to a Uniball Vision Micro black. The nib, out of the box, gave a very smooth writing experience... didn't have to deal with a break-in period.

I do have to say that using a fountain pen in meetings with clients has become a conversation starter. I enjoy not only the writing experience, but the psychological effect it seems to hold on people around me when I use it.

Let me start by saying I like my G2's better; at least when you buy a cheap pen and don't like it you can just disgrade it or give it away, not this thing. I bought it to improve my responsibility; who would loss a pen that costs 26 bucks, not me.

To begin with I love the design, it looks amazing. But, its got a set grip with two groves for your thumb and pointer finger, so if you have a different grip you may want to try it first. In general the pen writes well. The chassis works well and the design is very bold and unique; gets attention (positive or negative).

The ink is my biggest gripe, it alone is enough for me to hate the pen. I write on normal loss leaf, and the ink bleeds, feathers, fades, smudges, goes quick, you name it. Ever bad quality ink could have, it has. And it seems like I'm replacing cartridges every week or two. Amazing how this company makes ink that performs much worse than cheap Pilot pens.

Great pen - it works on all types of paper, from Rhodia/Clairefontaine to the regular 20 lb. paper used in our laser printers. I am a fairly new fountain pen user, and I haven't had any problems with this pen skipping or not starting - wish I could say the same for some of the more expensive pens I have purchased.

I just wrote with this pen for the very first time and i have to admit.......the best fountain pen i have ever written with! this safari is GREAT! The moment i inserted the ink cartridge 10 seconds later, i found myself writting on paper. Not only was it perfectly smooth but also had the right kind of lightwieght balance in my hand. I know some other reviews i read stated that it was "SCRATCHY" but not the one i got haha because it writes as smooth as a feather (if that makes any sense lol).

I would really recommend this Lamy fountain pen to everyone. The Extra Fine Nib is the way to go if you want an awesome writing experience although ive heard there really isnt much defference between EF and F nibs. If you are doubting whether to buy it or not--- don't because it's a no brainer, you got to have it :)

It appears I've received the only dud Safari in existence. It has to be an outlier, because my pen's performance bears no resemblance to these glowing reviews. I checked the nib--it does indeed have EF stamped on it, however the line it produces is absolute garbage. I would put it at about 2mm on a Moleskine page, with bleed, skips, feathering, and pools of ink all over the place. I've tried it on four different kinds of paper, and the result is the same. I've had crayons leave a finer line. I can't imagine how fast this thing shoots through ink. Fortunately I'll never have to know, because I'm sending it back. I've used Sailor pens until now, and it looks like I'll be using them in the future as well.

Wow is really all I can say. I'm new to the fountain pen experience maybe messed around with them when I was young and in art class like most but that was calligraphy stuff never really just writing. So this was my second pen first one was the dirty cheap Platinum Preppy and for the price that worked just as I expected a $3 pen would work. Now the time I'm mainly using pens are when I'm note taking in college so I to write pretty quickly. The Preppy was Ok at that it had a lot of bleed on my mead notebooks so when I got this pen Lord Jesus it was a world of difference no bleed and now i have neat looking notes to archive for later studying. the only complaint is that i wish the pen body was a little more of a deep darker charcoal black besides that nothing to really complain about. If your trying to get into fountain pens this is the way to get into it its a smooth pen and wonderful. Glides like butter over paper. fine crisp lines and it never ever skips a beat. Once you buy one you'll want to get another and another and another. You wont regret this pen!

A balanced fountain pen, lightweight but solid feel, the grooves on the gripping area help a lot to maintain a firm hold of the pen. A bit childish/teenagy looking, mostly because of the cap and the wire clip, without those, it looks like a piece of modern art worthy of a museum display.

Tremendously smooth writer. I have the medium nib and am very satisfied with it. This immediately moved to one of my favorites for a daily writer. I find the grip section very comfortable and also aids in holding the correct nib position in alignment with the paper so that it consistently makes great contact in long writing sessions. There is nothing I could say poorly of the pen. Buy it. Stop fretting - it's a great pen at any price range.

I recently purchased this fountain pen from JetPens and I am completely in love!

I used up the cartridge that came with it, then I got a converter and used my own inks.
The pen writes beautifully. The nib is so smooth and fine, I literally feel like I'm gliding across the page. There's barely any friction. I absolutely recommend this pen, especially as a great starter to fountain pens.

This is a very good beginner's fountain pen. I use it for sketch and it is smooth on all the paper I tried. The only short coming is that it does seem a little bit bolder than my other EF nib from "Pen & Ink" (which only sketch smoothly on Moleskine sketchbook...) but it is still thinner than F nib on rotring initial.

This is a very good beginner's fountain pen. I use it for sketch and it is smooth on all the paper I tried. The only short coming is that it does seem a little bit bolder than my other EF nib from "Pen & Ink" (which only sketch smoothly on Moleskine sketchbook...) but it is still thinner than F nib on rotring initial.

Holy Crap! This is gonna save me a fortune. I am a brush and ink artist who does a LOT of prliminary work in his sketchbook. For years, i have been designing my ideas using Micron pens. Then comes SAFARI, loaded with a converter and Noodlers bulletproof black ink. Bye bye microns (no offence to Sakura who makes some fine disposable pens). This will do the trick. Great feeling pen, easy to refill and smoothe as butter writing/drawing. Delivered early before we went on vacation so it will be going to California with me for its first outing. Thanks Jet Pens once again.

I have use this pen for years and find that the nib size you will need is based on two factors:

1) Size of your handwriting
2) Smoothness of paper

The Extra fine nib WILL catch or grab if you do not have small handwriting and good paper. Consider a regular nib or a fine first. If the regular or fine give two broad of a line for your handwriting and are not catching the paper, try a EF.

In summary, if this is your first fountain pen, do not go small than a fine.

This is a great starter fountain pen, though I found the extra fine nib to be a bit too scratchy for my tastes. It is very easy to clean, and the interchangeable nibs are a great addition, since it helped me figure out which nib I liked best. Between extra fine, fine, and medium, it ended up being fine; sets down a line that is in the "goldilocks zone" for me. Fine and medium are extremely smooth, and surf along the page on a nice wet line... extra-fine kind of stalls (though it's alright if you write at a very slanted angle. Better for cursive, printed letters are very sketchy.)

The matte plastic of this model is great if you hate fingerprints on the barrel, since this does not show them at all. The cap is secure enough without being too tight, and the clip is very strong, but still flexible. I love that it takes cartridges and a converter... great for me, since I change my mind about colors very often. The converter is great for your favorite workhorse ink that you end up using a lot of.

All-around very good, but I just don't like this thickness of nib. If you have somewhat broad handwriting like myself, try the fine nib instead.

I'm very pleased with this pen. It is the smoothest writing fountain pen I have ever used. I gave up on fountain pens long ago (20+ years) because they always got ink on my fingers. Of course, I'll admit that I never had an expensive fountain pen, just those cheap ones they sold everywhere, so I guess I got what I deserved! The only drawback about the Safari is its looks. The body is functional and will show you when you are running low on ink, but with the ultra-large clip, it is frankly pretty ugly. But I guess there is less chance of someone wanting to steal it.

Excellent pen, as many of the previous reviews have said. The ergo-grip is double edged- some days I love it, some days I wish it was just cylindrical. Another thing against the design is that the base unscrews very easily after a period of use. That means that you might take it out of your pocket or whatever and have to tighten the barrel assembly. Not a bad thing, just a little quirk that no one has really mentioned. Oh and horrible nib creep. Overall a terrific budget pen - although I actually prefer using my Kaweco Sport as a daily writer.

I've been using Lamy Safari pens for years now and they are among the best, if you like a lightweight pen that flows smoothly, never blots or leaks, and looks good. I recommend the medium or fine nibs, but not the extra fine: it is scratchy and the ink doesn't flow well. However, Lamy's interchangeable nibs make changing easy and relatively cheap.

Ordered it on Monday, arrived on Thursday. Worked perfectly right out of the box, with the extra fine nib being big enough to give my writing some consistency without making it bulky.

Writing (with the lamy blue ink cartridge included) is incredibly smooth and unbroken, requiring only the contact of the pen on paper--no pressure.

I immediately noticed that the pen becomes top heavy when posted, but it is very light if the cap is left off. The grip forces my hand into the proper position for writing, managing to do in seconds what my mother tried to teach me years ago :)

I am definitely going to buy the converter for the pen and try it with some Noodler's ink.

Certainly a good pen, and I have to say I like the utilitarian look as well!

This is my third fountain pen, I bought so that I would not have to worry about my more expensive fountain pens disappearing off of my desk at school. I love the extra fine nib. It works very well with all of my J. Herbin inks. A great pen for beginners, as well as a good all-around inexpensive pen for everyday use.

This is the first fountain pen I ever bought, and for a beginner, it makes writing much more enjoyable. The EF nib is a bit scratchy, I'd suggest swapping for an F nib (I barely noticed a difference between the two, it's really slight). Design-wise, it's a quirky-looking pen, I like it, but others may not. The plastic is very durable, and the matte body is great since it wont really show any scratches from wear. With the cap posted, it feels top-heavy or unbalanced. Otherwise, it's super lightweight, and for me, reduces any stress on my hand.

Jetpens shipped this to me quickly!

I love the Safari. The cartridge ink and extra-fine nib works well on my Moleskine with no bleedthough, little echo, and no feathering. Sometimes I do get these very strange feathers almost 2-3mm long, but that only happens once in a while and you cant really tell when you're reading that it's there. The black nib on charcoal black barrel is definitely a nice color scheme.