[ingwe]

I've been using Noodler's Blue-Black recently and love it. Only problem is a bit of nib-creep.

I'm now up to four Safaris. I also got a hand-turned wood FP from this guy who was displaying his stuff at the Charlotte Audio Society Trade Show last month.

I'll have to take some photos one of these days.

Oh, there's a Pen Show in Atlanta in a couple weeks. I think my wallet is going to be in sad shape.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftnose /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the black Z24 has been out of production for some time. The current black Lamy converter is the Z26 which is designed for the higher level Lamy pens like the Studio. While it will work with the Safari, it is missing the tabs that snap into the section. My advice, just get the red Z24 and call it a day. Bottled ink will be by far more cost effective. Aurora black as recommended above is an absolutely excellent black (I use it myself) but it actually does run a bit on the expensive side for a bottled ink. I would suggest staying away from the Noodler's Bulletproof inks until you get the hang of dealing with bottled inks and stick with more traditional inks. Vinyl is right, stay away from the Noodler's Baystate inks entirely with Safaris. I might even suggest staying away from the high saturation inks like Private Reserve that have long drying times but I wouldn't push that one very hard. I'd suggest starting with Aurora Black, Visconti Blue, or Waterman Havana Brown depending on what color you want. These are all more traditional inks and will be easier to handle for a beginner. These three colors plus Noodler's Legal Lapis (a bulletproof which, unfortunately, is not available right now) are the four colors I always have inked and ready to go in a pen. I use other colors in rotation depending on how I'm feeling.

Thanks for that! Yeah, I can't find an inkling of a trace concerning the black version of the Z24, so I guess the red is the only way to go.

Lamy Charcoal Safari FINE
Ink -- Lamy Ink Converter #Z24
Ink - Aurora 45ml Bottle Ink BLACK

Without shipping and tax added in so far, it's under $40, which seems to be pretty decent. Any second opinions before I go through with this?

 

[jonathanjong]

Well...I have a charcoal too and I'm partial towards my Vista. Easier to see when the ink is nearly finished. It look more plasticky, obviously, but it's still a bit of an eye catcher (in a positive way, I think) next to everyone else's plastic ballpoints.

 

[mrarroyo]

Anyone here uses Levenger's inks?

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathanjong /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well...I have a charcoal too and I'm partial towards my Vista. Easier to see when the ink is nearly finished. It look more plasticky, obviously, but it's still a bit of an eye catcher (in a positive way, I think) next to everyone else's plastic ballpoints.

Nice, now my cart is $75 (because of the Vista, another ink bottle and a converter).

Still afraid to pull the trigger for some reason.

 

[Zodduska]

The nice thing about the Charcoal Safari is that the finish is a bit roughed up which provides a nice feel and texture, a few other colors have this same surfacing as well but the rest might have a more slippery plasticy feel. IMHO I'd get one for now then see how you like it, then if you like it a lot and want another go for it.

One thing that was great for me to try with my Safari was an italic nib, they are pretty easy to swap so if you like safaris be sure to try at least one! http://store.nexternal.com/shared/St...S=swisher&All=
They come in 1.1 and 1.5, I've got the 1.5 and like it quite a bit.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zodduska /img/forum/go_quote.gif The nice thing about the Charcoal Safari is that the finish is a bit roughed up which provides a nice feel and texture, a few other colors have this same surfacing as well but the rest might have a more slippery plasticy feel. IMHO I'd get one for now then see how you like it, then if you like it a lot and want another go for it. One thing that was great for me to try with my Safari was an italic nib, they are pretty easy to swap so if you like safaris be sure to try at least one! http://store.nexternal.com/shared/St...S=swisher&All= They come in 1.1 and 1.5, I've got the 1.5 and like it quite a bit.

Thanks for the advice; it saves me a decent amount of money.

Italic nib = calligraphy nib? (LM-LZ50/1.5)

 

[Zodduska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the advice; it saves me a decent amount of money. Italic nib = calligraphy nib? (LM-LZ50/1.5)

No problem, yep that's the right nib, the 1.5 might be a little wide depending on how big you write.. if you tend to write on the small side the 1.1 might suit you better.

The cool thing about calligraphy/italic nibs is that they give you line variation so even average handwriting tends to look a bit fancier. If you are right handed a line drawn from top left to bottom right will be bold at the widest part of the nib, a line from the bottom left to top right will be quite a bit more narrow.

a random web example:

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zodduska /img/forum/go_quote.gif No problem, yep that's the right nib, the 1.5 might be a little wide depending on how big you write.. if you tend to write on the small side the 1.1 might suit you better.

Hmmm...well if I'm choosing the Fine nib for the original Safari, then the 1.1 maybe be a better match to it? I'm trying to write bigger, but I can imagine that by writing small, the ink "bleeding" will make small writing more difficult to read.

 

[Zodduska]

Yeah, I'd say you're exactly right. Even 1.1 would be considered fairly large for day to day writing. Bleeding is more of a problem with some ink and a lot of paper sold today, I hate to cost you more money but If you're interested in paper that wont bleed or feather with fountain pens you might want to look at some Rhodia pads.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Awesome, thanks again for your help. I'll be ordering all this stuff tonight!

EDIT: lol nooo, I can't afford special fancy paper too; I'm just going to be using this pen to write notes in class (for now).

 

[Zodduska]

You're welcome, enjoy and give us an update when it comes in.

 

[leftnose]

Zodduka has given you excellent advice, even on the Rhodia pads. That 1.1 mm italic nib is a good starting point. I have an F on my Charcoal Safari and a 1.1 on my Vista.

If you're going to pick up an Italic nib, grab a bottle of Noodler's Ottoman Azure. It'll give you some great shading with the Italic.

 

[leftnose]

Oooh, Oooh.

I just noticed that Pendemonium has Legal Lapis back in stock!

 

[vpivinylspinner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftnose /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oooh, Oooh. I just noticed that Pendemonium has Legal Lapis back in stock!

I guess I need to ink up one of pens with my bottle of Legal Lapis to see what all the fuss is about.