Lamy Safari Fountain Pen
Freeflowing fountain pen
Most fountain pens are appealing for their authoritative weight and the prestige of pushing an antique technology around the page. However, the Lamy Safari pen (designed by Wolfgang Fabian) re-thinks the fountain pen with comfort and accuracy in mind. It comes with a sturdy ergonomic grip similar too, but not as comfy as, the Dr. Grip. The pen is also made out of plastic making the weight (and cost) much less than a traditional fountain pen.
The Lamy weighs in at a meager $20 with ink costing about $2 to $5 dollars a bottle. The Safari is also frugal on ink; it runs a much smaller and tighter line than many pens meaning that the ink dries faster on the page, but do beware using ink from a different pen in the Lamy can clog it. You can see the ink cartridge at all times because a small part of the casing has been hollowed out.
Finally, the refillable cartridge snaps into place in the pen and is refillable through the pen’s stylus hence you don’t have to take everything apart when you want to refill (you do have to unscrew the top of the pen to get to the cart’s screw, but not the bottom) and also eliminating that first air bubble you get when placing traditional carts back in the pen. The plunger is operated by a screw action on the top making it easy to hold the pen in place while you refill it. It is also available as a left-handed version.
Lamy also sells other pens with a similar design and grip if you’re looking for a more expensive or stylish pen, but despite the Safari’s minor flaws (I had major problems the first day getting it to write consistently until I watered down my ink) it’s quickly replaced my old Picasso pen for everyday scribbling. I now own two Lamys, using one for correcting tests and the other for everyday writing. The over-sized clip is also a bonus as it’s less likely to get bent out of shape by clinging to pockets, belts, etc.
08/1/19(This is a Cool Tools Favorite from 2012 — editors)
Lamy Safari Fountain Pen ($20+)
