2022 Special Edition Cream Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

The newest addition to the Lamy Safari family, the Strawberry & Cream fountain pens are the ideal combination for summer.

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It seems obvious to us at Choosing Keeping that the fountain pen market is dominated today by German manufacturers. Aside from a general national respect and enthusiasm for industry - indeed Germany is the second largest exporter of goods after China - singularity of vision and commitment to quality have endowed German pen makers with solid, long-lasting businesses. Lamy, Pelikan, Kaweco, and Montblanc are all German owned-and-made household names, while the Parkers, Conways Stewarts and Watermans of this world have been victims of many mergers and acquisitions, and are today either dead or with one foot in the grave...

One German company which deserves particular attention for its unique point of view is Lamy GmbH. Much like Braun and Olivetti, post-war companies interested in ideas of modernity, Lamy broke with the past by creating mass-manufactured quality writing tools with a design focused approach. 

The company was founded by Josef Lamy in 1930. Prior to starting his own business, Josef Lamy had in fact been working as a sales rep for Parker; this influence can be found in Lamy's early pens which used the same filling system as Parker, and whose conservative designs were loosely based on the classic 1921 Duofold. 

Where he and his son, Dr Manfred Lamy, did innovate radically is by the use of moulded plastics - as opposed to hand turned acrylics and celluloids. This functional and democratic material remains at the core of their business to this day. Indeed, from the 1960s onwards, Lamy really hit its stride, producing pens in complete opposition to what was being made in the industry. The most successful Lamy pens were born from collaborations with clever designers for whom Bauhaus values were given full importance. 

Of all Lamy designs - in our opinion - the pen that most exemplifies the above story of innovation, courage to be different, and function over form is the Lamy Safari,  launched in 1980.

As a pen made for high schoolers (and indeed it is used by every single German 10 to 15 year old) it is extremely durable and well balanced for easy and comfortable writing.

Now in its 30th decade, it has become a true design classic and has awesome street cred amongst creatives for whom there is only one acceptable Bauhaus colour: Yellow. 

Lamy, however, generously creates one special edition colour every year to satisfy the stationery addict. This year we are happy to see the return of the black clip, which used to be the standard in the 90s before all the clips were changed to chrome. It is also in a similar matte finish as the black version we sell and an attractive choice indeed. 

Details:
Body material: high quality scratch-free ABS plastic with sturdy metal clip
Nib size: Medium*
Nib material: Stainless steel chrome-plated nib
Cap type: Slip-on cap
Refill type: Takes Lamy cartridges only; available for repurchase here
Dimensions: open 13cm, closed 14cm
Included: one blue washable ink cartridge - other colours available here

*Sold with a medium nib; spare nibs and different nib sizes for the Lamy Safari can be found here.

Tip: When flying - travel on a full or empty cartridge to avoid leakages