Customer Reviews

The Safari is a perfect introduction to the fountain pen world. It is inexpensive, easy to maintain, is built well, has good ergonomics, and flows well with nearly any ink.

I used the cartridge that came with the pen, but have switched to a converter with Diamine Asa Blue. The ink flows extremely well and is very enjoyable to write with. The triangular grip fits nearly any hand, but I personally prefer a rounded grip. You can post the cap on the pen, but I feel it makes the pen quite top-heavy, so I use the Safari unposted.

Much has already been said about this pen, but I feel the clip doesn't get enough recognition. This trademark clip is subtle but very practical, allowing the pen to sit deep in the pocket while gripping the cloth reasonably well. My favorite aspect of the clip is that it curves upward towards the end, allowing me to slip it quickly and easily into my pocket using only one hand!

Absolutely night and day. Compared to my other pens, notably cheaper, pens (Pilot Penmanship and Plumix, and Platinum Preppy) its absolutely perfect comparatively. Smoother, nearly as fine, similar, but better, grip. I loaded it with the converter. I had problems keeping the nib in the ink, but that is the bottle, not the converter or pen. Loaded with Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün, blew me away. Mind you, this is mediocre paper. And it is amazing still.

I hesitated to order this pen because of the low price but after reading the reviews I decided to try one. Do yourself a favor and get one. The pen does not leak, it writes very smooth and the only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because once in a while it will hesitate at the very beginning of a word but it is a minor amount I have pens that cost a lot more money that do not write any better. So far I have only used cartridges since the converter does not come with the pen.

Great pen, wish the tip was a bit thinner, but I guess that's just how German fountain pens are. It also tends to collect ink at the top(nearest the hand) of the nib... I'm used to it, but sometimes when I let somebody borrow my pen..they get ink all over their fingers :P

Great pen though!

I am back to buy another pen just like the first one I bought. They are smooth and do not skip and scratch. So far I have only used cartridge ink and I want another one to keep at home and one in my purse. Get one and you will not be sorry. It even writes smooth on cheap paper!

I really like Lamy pens because the design is so good, and they are durable. I thought I would love this fountain pen, but found that the nib was a bit scratchy for my taste. I'm thinking of purchasing a larger nib to swap out to see if this makes a difference for me.

Also, I don't always write with a heavy hand, but when I do, the scratchiness is very evident, even on my Rhodia paper. And, although I love the design, I can't use this for long note-taking sessions because the grip is so hard. So, I use it for short notes and such. My fav fountain pen for long note-taking sessions is my Pelikan P55 Future fine tip.

If you don't often have fatigue in your hands when writing for long periods of time, this is a great pen.

I have the Aquamarine model. A beautiful pen! Having the right kind of paper for writing makes a big difference, I've found.

I am new to using a fountain pen, and this is the best pen I have never held. I love the grooves for the index finger and thumb, it fits perfectly in my hand. Its light but very well built. Though for a fine nib, the line does seem a bit thicker. It does write extremely smooth. I do prefer to use the pen without posting as it does not distribute the weight equally with the cap on.

This is a wonderful, durable fountain pen that\'s great for first-time FP users, but also expressive enough for veteran users.

Bought and dislike.

I expect my fountain pens to write smoothly and flow consistently. Wth F nib, this thing is scratchy and inconsistent. It disturbs me. I adjust it to write smoothly and consistently by opening up the tins, but this makes the lines broad instead of fine. With this adjustment, it makes writing a little more tolerable, I still get better performance from my under $20 Jinhao pen.

I also use a slightly more expensive Pilot Cavalier that writes fine lines as I would expect - smooth and consistent. If I had to do it again, I would pass on this pen.

Besides being a pleasure to write with, the pen will balance on the clip when laid sideways. This gives it the appearance that it is levitating slightly, which is a cool effect. Plus you can spin the pen with ease when it is balanced on the clip. Good luck finding people nerdy enough to play "spin the pen" with you. Perhaps if you try the line "This pen is just like you, girl: Extra Fine."

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

You can't beat a Lamy fountain pen. It has the most comfortable grip for calligraphy and every day writing. If you use the converter, you never run out of ink, but don't worry. Using the cartridges is no problem because the ink in them is every bit as black as your best fountain pen ink. I was writing a check out at a shop and the clerk noticed the pen. He's a self professed pen-aholic and couldn't take his eyes of it. When I let him give it a spin, he immediately asked for your web site. In addition to the comfortable grip, multitude of colors, you can buy one inexpensively or upgrade a little and they're still reasonable. And I've had them for years and never has one leaked or spit on me. One of the best pens on the market for my money and my handwritng.
Neena for Baltimore

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.

I ordered the Safari after using a Pilot Varsity for a few weeks and really liking it. According to all the reviews and information I found, it seemed like the Safari was THE go-to fountain pen. I agree with that assessment and I love the pen so far. However, I'm no expert on fountain pens so I won't even try to detail the technical aspects of this pen.

What I do think I can add though, is some perspective on the nib size as compared to the Pilot Varsity. I looked around for a comparison before I ordered and couldn't find one.

I was unhappy with the medium nib - it pours ink onto the paper. I've recently been working on improving my penmanship and the ink flow was far to fast/thick for me (likely because I'm writing slow and carefully). The medium nib produces a much wetter and somewhat wider line than the Varsity.

I was disappointed when I got the pen but I knew it was just a matter of replacing the medium nib with a finer one. But, how much finer? Having two options and not wanting to gamble again, I just ordered both the "Fine" and "Extra Fine" Lamy replacement nibs.

I tried the extra fine nib first. It definitely solved the problem of my letters bleeding together but it produced a much more narrow line than I wanted. I noticed it being a very little bit scratchy, but still easy and comfortable to write with; not quite what I was looking for though.

Next, of course, I tried the "Fine" nib. If you're familiar with the Pilot Varsity and like the line size, flow, etc. than this is the one you want. It's a little bit dryer than the Varsity but still a nice, smooth, dark line.

I love the color of this pen! This is my first fountain pen from Lamy and it is excellent.
The point is extra fine and it does not ruin my pattern of having small handwriting. I am definitely going to order more Safari pens from Lamy.

I don't think you can wrong with a Lamy, particularly the Safari. The problems the reviewer below had are rare. I've purchased 5 different Safaris, including the white model - which I love - and had no trouble. The pen is of solid make and design, durable, fun. With some fountain pen experience, I imagine any trouble with the nib could be easily fixed with just a few tweaks. Don't let an overall review score scare you away from this one. It's a fantastic pen.

I bought this off a friend in the office who is a pen enthusiast like myself. I had a handful of Preppy's, and a Pilot extra-fine fountain pen. I had read about the Safari's on this site and was hoping to get an extra fine when they came back in stock. I traded him a Pilot G2 with a Mont Blanc refill and some cash for this pen, and I have to say this pen is by far my favourite of my collection. I've been using it for school notes lately and the medium nib makes it so smooth to write with, and doesn't bleed at all. I used up the cartridge and loaded in the converter with J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir. and it's a machine. No problems with it at all. Worth every penny in my opinion.

This was my first Lamy fountain pen, and I love it! I got it to take with me to clinicals, as I am a nursing student. I ended up purchasing a Fine nib and switching from the Extra Fine that I ordered (there's a really simple video on youtube for changing Lamy nibs!) and I like it much better. I liked the EF but in the situation that I was using it in, I wrote way too fast for an EF nib. It's very durable and professional looking. My classmates are always asking to write a few words with it because they love the feel of it too! I also love how it is refillable and that there is a converter available. I ended up taking the converter out though, because (once again, specific to my situation) it is easier to carry an extra black cartridge with me in a hospital than a bottle of ink!

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.

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.

I love the color and the smooth fine tip!

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.