3 ms·

I ignored fountain pens for a long time because I'm not a calligrapher or artist and I mostly want writing to be easy and convenient. On a whim, I finally orde

I ignored fountain pens for a long time because I'm not a calligrapher or artist and I mostly want writing to be easy and convenient. On a whim, I finally ordered a LAMY Safari and was really surprised at how much better the writing experience was. I noticed my penmanship improved and I was able to write more easily on parts of the page that I normally struggle with, such as near the binding in some notebooks. I attribute most of this to how easily the ink flows compared to other types of pens, although I'm sure the pen shape is also a factor. Anyway, if you write a lot and just want to write more easily and a little better, I'd recommend giving a fountain pen a try, and I think the LAMY Safari is a great place to start (it is relatively cheap and the cartridges are convenient). I also love JetPens and order most of my pens and stationary from them.

iammjm 3y ago
Lamy pens are great. Safari is a really nice choice, it's hard to beat price/value -wise
quercusa 3y ago
Among the obituaries of a former Conservative Minister a few years ago, there was one delightful snippet. A line in The Daily Telegraph described how, when she received the letter from Mrs Thatcher appointing her to the Lords, Lady Blatch initially believed it to be a hoax, because the letter was signed in Biro and she had been ‘brought up to believe that nobody who matters uses a Biro’. https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/style/unparalleled-joy-writing-fountain-pen-five-beautiful-examples-175439 https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/style/unparalleled-joy-...
- Infernal 3y ago
  TIL that "Biro" is British English for "ballpoint pen".
  - ron_k 3y ago
    It’s the same in Italian. It comes from László Bíró.
blackoil 3y ago
What were you using before? Curious if they are better than Uniball and Pilot.
- pyrophane 3y ago
  I'd tried quite a few but had largely settled on the Uniball Jetstream as the one I always had on me.
0xdeadbeefbabe 3y ago
I owned a safari and lamy 2000, but my favorite was the parker 51. Wish someone would do a modern remake.
godelski 3y ago
The thing I really noticed is that I could write for much longer with far less wrist fatigue. They are just incredible and underappreciated pens. If you write a lot, then they are really worth it. I also suggest not buying cartridges but refillers. Bulletproof inks are just superior to anything else I've used in even fancy pens, where the ink won't bleed or go away until basically the paper does too. It's also nice to have some unique colors, not to mention saves on a lot of plastic (and ink can be useful for other things).

iammjm 3y ago

Lamy pens are great. Safari is a really nice choice, it's hard to beat price/value -wise

quercusa 3y ago

Among the obituaries of a former Conservative Minister a few years ago, there was one delightful snippet. A line in The Daily Telegraph described how, when she received the letter from Mrs Thatcher appointing her to the Lords, Lady Blatch initially believed it to be a hoax, because the letter was signed in Biro and she had been ‘brought up to believe that nobody who matters uses a Biro’. https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/style/unparalleled-joy-writing-fountain-pen-five-beautiful-examples-175439 https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/style/unparalleled-joy-...

Infernal 3y ago
TIL that "Biro" is British English for "ballpoint pen".
- ron_k 3y ago
  It’s the same in Italian. It comes from László Bíró.

blackoil 3y ago

What were you using before? Curious if they are better than Uniball and Pilot.

pyrophane 3y ago
I'd tried quite a few but had largely settled on the Uniball Jetstream as the one I always had on me.

0xdeadbeefbabe 3y ago

I owned a safari and lamy 2000, but my favorite was the parker 51. Wish someone would do a modern remake.

godelski 3y ago

The thing I really noticed is that I could write for much longer with far less wrist fatigue. They are just incredible and underappreciated pens. If you write a lot, then they are really worth it. I also suggest not buying cartridges but refillers. Bulletproof inks are just superior to anything else I've used in even fancy pens, where the ink won't bleed or go away until basically the paper does too. It's also nice to have some unique colors, not to mention saves on a lot of plastic (and ink can be useful for other things).