Customer Reviews

Lamy Safari Blue Fine Point Fountain Pen - L14F

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this pen less than one month ago and I already see the price has gone up by $5. Probably a consequence of the devaluation of the dollar. Either way, it's still a great deal. It is reputedly the best pen below $100, and of course, at a price less than a third of $100, I would be the last to argue. And I'd like to point out that the lightweight plastic construction is not a bad thing at all. Consider just how light in weight an old-time quill pen would be. Literally, featherweight, right? I believe the light weight contributes to better writing form, and believe me, personally I need all the help I can get in terms of improving my handwriting. This pen works perfectly and has helped my with my handwriting-improvement project immensely. The "Fine" nib is perfect for me and the way I understand it, Lamy's "Fine" is about the same as many other pen manufacturer's "Fine-Medium." That is to say, it produces a good thickness of line and is perfect for anyone, like myself, who writes a medium-size script. I think that a person would have to be inclined to write a very small size script to need an extra-fine nib. But, perhaps for addressing Christmas cards and such, you know, sort of "bold" larger writing, the medium nib might be a good choice. (Loose guidelines, based on my internet research.)

This pen works well when converted for using bottled ink. I had some skipping when used with Lami's cartridges, but it writes smoothly with a good-quality ink like Noodler's.

I have two of them for everyday use. I am writing quite a bit by hand. I started with one and I quickly bought a second one. Now, one year later, I can say they are durable, and despite a low weight when compared with the average fountain pen, they write very well. I am extremely pleased.

When multitudes of participants in Everydaymatters sang the praises of this pen, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try one. I've used fountain pens for sketching and quick calligraphy for years. I've never had one that flows as well (without leaking) as this one: whether with cartridges or the converter. I use Noodler's ink in mine because it is relatively waterproof and holds up to watercolor washes. Nice for security on checks and correspondence, too. Not overly fancy but beautifully engineered.

I love my Lamy. This is the second one I own, the first being a red Safari. Right now it has purple ink in it. I wish they made a purple one so I could keep red ink in it.

The point is fine and really I prefer the extra fine, but I didn't know that at the time. It feels "right" in my hand and doesn't leak. I carry both the red one and the blue one (filled with blue ink because sometimes the document requires blue ink) with me at all times. I highly recommend this pen to anyone who like to write with a fountain pen.

I have had this pen for less than a day, but it is a great writing instrument. It comes with one ink cartridge (blue). It feels good in my hand and writes very smooth. This is an excellent pen for the price - I purchased this one to keep at work and not have to worry too much about it getting lost or stolen.

I bought a blue Lamy pen and ink cartriges and was utterly pleased with how quickly they arrived at my door and have been incredibly happy with the product ever since. Thanks!

I take this pen with me everywhere. The body is rugged plastic. The completely blacked-out look doesn't scream for attention, so I don't worry too much about somebody stealing my pen.

One of the great advantages of traditional fountain pens was being able to pull ink from a bottle. Long-term, it's so much more environmentally responsible to pull ink from a bottle than to through those cheap plastic cartridges in the trash regularly. I didn't throw my ink cartridge out, but I did put it away in a drawer somewhere, unused, where it will probably never get used. The first thing I did was install a Lamy Z24 converter, and honestly I would have paid a few more bucks if the pen had this installed from the factory.

For ink, I went for the Noodler's Black bulletproof ink. It's a good quality ink, which is something you should use if you're going to spend more than $10 on a pen. I filled the converter with ink, then drained it back into the bottle, and then filled it again. This eliminates air from the ink system and renders the pen immediately ready to start writing.

And honestly, this pen is a joy to write with. It floats across the paper, even cheap copier paper, effortlessly. I went for the Medium nib, but I rather wish I had gone with the F or even EF nibs. I think Lamy does under-rate just how wide their nibs are, so bear that in mind when you select your nib.

If you're trying to decide between this and the Al-Star, I have both, and while the Al-Star looks great sitting next to aluminum Apple products, the Safari is the rugged pen that I want to take with me everywhere. Save a few bucks, get this pen, and apply the savings towards a converter. And don't forget to budget for a decent ink!

I love these pens. They write smoothly and are reasonably comfortable in the hand. It's also significantly cheaper than most fountain pens out there. However there are some problems, my last pen broke a few months back just in front of the threads. I think it was probably my fault (I haul it everywhere for field sketching so it probably took a beating) but it was still annoying to have to replace it. so as long as you don't go crazy, it should serve you well. I recommend it.

Excellent and very smooth to the touch. Gives the flow of a very expensive pen.