I have two Lamy Safaris (fine, extra fine) and they're good pens. I think the barrels are ABS plastic - very durable, good if you're going to toss the pen in a

I have two Lamy Safaris (fine, extra fine) and they're good pens. I think the barrels are ABS plastic - very durable, good if you're going to toss the pen in a backpack or aren't too careful about how you carry it around, easy to clean. The converter was saving me roughly 5 - 10 times over the cost of ink cartridges. The drawbacks: The grip seemed a little slippery, even though it's sculptured. The extra fine nib produced a line that was a little wider than I wanted. The converter doesn't hold much ink. I switched to the TWSBI Eco extra fine. The line is tight and precise (good for subscripts with subscripts), the pen is easy to grip, the piston fill gives roughly 3 times the ink capacity as the Lamy converters, and the clear barrel allows you to see how much ink is left. The TWSBI is roughly the same price as the Safari. I do much more writing since I started using fountain pens, and it's changed my work habits. I think better when writing than when typing (maybe) - but in any event, it's fun to write with good instruments. Reading physical books and writing with pen and paper are good ways for me to resist the urge to stare at a screen. (I get my pens from JetPens. I noticed a while ago complaints on Amazon about some of the Lamys possibly being counterfeits - no way to confirm, don't know if it's still an issue.)