THE EMPIRE
As Tested – Lamy Safari Al-Star Blue Edition – RRP $69.99
So, there’s a joke that I’m fond of telling people. It’s a dad joke, so forgive me in advance, but it’s relevant. In a terrible German accent, I ask:
“As a German, do you know what really grinds my gears?”
When the inevitable “No, what?” is asked, I reply “Nothing, our engineering is flawless.”
It’s elicited a few laughs, and even my German wife quite enjoyed it, so it’s amongst my more successful jokes. It’s also an entirely accurate summary of this Lamy fountain pen. It’s a phenomenally well engineered writing instrument. Every part of it fits together in a way that I can respect, even if I don’t find it to be the most elegant of pens to use.
I’ve had a few Lamy Safari fountain pens over the years. I had some in high school, and the one that I own now is its slightly more refined big brother, the Al-Star. Instead of an ABS plastic cap and barrel, the Al-Star has powder coated Aluminium finished parts. The section is plastic, and is also pretty large, with two flat surfaces and a curved back. This is meant to encourage a good writing grip, but I personally enjoy holding my pen at a bit of an angle, so it doesn’t sit quite right in my hand. There is a precision to all of the parts going together that is oddly satisfying. For example, the barrel has two flat surfaces as well, and whenever you screw in the section it always, and I mean always aligns perfectly. It’s very German in that respect. Also, it writes incredibly well, by which I mean that the ink flow is precise, no dry spots, and even after not being used for some time, it works straight away. Again, all signs of a well engineered product.
The nib of the pen is polished steel, and because it’s a well-engineered pen, you can purchase nibs for LAMY pens and they all swap out between each other. So, I can buy a calligraphy nib for this and just switch it out on a whim (and with some dexterity), meaning that if I were a little less obsessed, I would only really need to have one pen.
All of these things are nice, but this isn’t a flawless pen, just very well engineered.
I’m not a fan of the look of the pen. It’s big, chunky and although light in the hand, can feel a little cumbersome when you’re writing with it. A lot of this is personal preference, but this is a very distinctive pen for Lamy, they’ve produced it for a long time and it would probably be considered their ‘introduction’ fountain pen.
I honestly struggle to criticise this pen though. It is an utterly reliable, thoroughly dependable writing instrument. It’s light weight and flexible in its setup. You can use Lamy ink cartridges in Parker pens and vice versa (and by extension, converters too). In the event of an apocalypse, it will be the instrument that the cockroaches learn to write with because it will survive along with them. It’s just a bit ugly, and I can’t get it to fit comfortably in my hand.
Scores
Price – 4/5 – Starting at $40 for a basic fountain pen, up to $70 for the Al-Star, the Lamy Safari is a very affordable pen.
Construction – 5/5 – Seriously, this is just really well engineered. Everything fits together so well, and the fact that you can swap out the default nib with other Lamy nibs makes it a highly customisable pen.
Ease-of-use – 3/5 – A lightweight design makes the pen feel balanced, but the cap is pretty big. If you decide to post it for writing this can throw off that balance. I’m not a fan of the flat surfaces in the section of the pen. If you’ve got any old Parker cartridges lying around, you can quite happily use them here, adding versatility.
Writing – 4/5 – A medium thickness steel nib produces a solid, reliable line. Ink flows well from the pen, even if it’s been a while since it’s seen use. Utterly dependable.
Total – 16/20 – The Lamy Safari is a quintessentially German product. It is flawlessly engineered, but will not be to everyone’s taste. However, it is also affordable, reliable, flexible for users and has large cartridges meaning that it doesn’t need to be refilled as often as other pens. If you’re okay with how it feels in your hand, it’s a no-brainer.
– Dave
Dave
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