Thanks for the video, Garry. I have an Al-Star and didn’t realize it (I got it from a retailer in a “mystery box.” I thought it was a Safari, but when I saw the section on yours, I realized mine must be the same model. Mine is a medium.
I like my Al-Star and the 1.5 nib is special. I might get one more for color variety. I use it mostly for ink studies since the nibs are so easy to change. I like your reviews, keep up the good work. Got to get the ink for the name as I am a Bob.
Hello Gary Very nice review ,i love my Lamy Al-Star too i have it in green shading with a 1.1 Nib.By next time a 14k gold Nib in F size,it bounce better the feedback is clear. The name Al-Star comes from the word Aluminium.The chemical charakter is Al the housing consists of aluminium in contrast to the safari it is made of plastic. many greetings from a fan of your reviews from Duisburg/Germany Helmut PS:Dear Gary i did not want to teach you…that was just a tip for you
Nice review. I have the same AL-Star in purple. Like you, it was the color that made me get it. I also have an LX in Marron and, again, the color made me do it. That's my all day, every day writing pen for my work notebook. One of the things I really like about the Lamys is that how easy it is to change nibs. After watching your review I think I'll have to try out the stub nibs. I've never used one before.
I do like the stub. I'm now using it for writing titles when I'm taking notes. It looks much nicer than underlining the same pen as I am using for taking the actual notes.
Thanks Gary, interesting to hear your thoughts. I have quite a few Lamy fountain pens. My favourite are the matt colours. In the Al Star I like the Shiraz( same as yours) and the LX Maroon. The 1.1 nib is quite dry, I think all the others are wet, especially the medium ( see macchiatoman ink reviews). I really like to use them to test inks and seeing what the ink looks like with different nib sizes. I think Pulp addiction has the best prices in Australia. What I do not like is that sometimes ink can get behind the piston in the converter. For around the extra $10 there should be better quality control.
My first impressions of the Lamy Safari were that it was felt cheap and looked ugly, so I gave it away. I still don't particularly like the obnoxious clip. However, years later, I now own and use Safaris, Al Stars and even put a gold Lamy nib on my Lx Marron! Also, I highly recommend the 1.9mm. It isn't that much more noticeable than the 1.5mm but is excellent to write with! Great to see you moving into broads and stubs.
When I first got a Lamy Safary I really did not like it. It felt really light. I'm glad I tried the AL-Star but don't think I'll buy any more. I may get some nibs so I can change them around.
Hi Garry. I like the metallic dark purple colour of this pen. The ink was a perfect match. I am not a great fan of the design but I know the Safari and Al-Star are very popular pens. Often recommended as a starter fountain pen and robust enough to cope with the lifestyle of a student. Lamy are a bit naughty, in my opinion, for not including a converter.
Thank you for the review, Gary. I received my al-star today. I love the metal feeling and it writes well. However it kinda feels boring and I wouldn't probably even getting one if it wasn't on sale.
When doing these I use a paper towel to get off as much ink as possible, and then its a case of rolling the dice and hoping to too much dilution occurs. For the rest of the pens, once I've cleaned out a pen I then leave it disassembled in a pot with a paper towel. I leave in there for a couple of days so dry out as much water as possible.
I don't find the grip too bad, but I do hold my pens at the bottom of the section and also use that grip style. I think this means my fingers just drop into the right place for the grip.
Thanks for the review.! I really like the color of this pen, however the Lamy is not one of my go to pens to write with, I just do not enjoy them. I have a drk violet safari and an Al Rose Gold, and I think it is because they are just too light in my hand. I love the Twsbi, a Conklin Duraflex. And weirdly, I even love the Kaweco which is a pocket pen.
Thank you this very comprehensive review. I only have the AL-Star from Lamy so your comparison is quite helpful.
Thanks for the video, Garry. I have an Al-Star and didn’t realize it (I got it from a retailer in a “mystery box.” I thought it was a Safari, but when I saw the section on yours, I realized mine must be the same model. Mine is a medium.
I like my Al-Star and the 1.5 nib is special. I might get one more for color variety. I use it mostly for ink studies since the nibs are so easy to change.
I like your reviews, keep up the good work.
Got to get the ink for the name as I am a Bob.
Hello Gary
Very nice review ,i love my Lamy Al-Star too i have it in green shading with a 1.1 Nib.By next time a 14k gold Nib in F size,it bounce better the feedback is clear.
The name Al-Star comes from the word Aluminium.The chemical charakter is Al the housing consists of aluminium in contrast to the safari it is made of plastic.
many greetings from a fan of your reviews
from Duisburg/Germany
Helmut
PS:Dear Gary i did not want to teach you…that was just a tip for you
Nice review. I have the same AL-Star in purple. Like you, it was the color that made me get it. I also have an LX in Marron and, again, the color made me do it. That's my all day, every day writing pen for my work notebook. One of the things I really like about the Lamys is that how easy it is to change nibs. After watching your review I think I'll have to try out the stub nibs. I've never used one before.
I do like the stub. I'm now using it for writing titles when I'm taking notes. It looks much nicer than underlining the same pen as I am using for taking the actual notes.
Thanks Gary, interesting to hear your thoughts. I have quite a few Lamy fountain pens. My favourite are the matt colours.
In the Al Star I like the Shiraz( same as yours) and the LX Maroon. The 1.1 nib is quite dry, I think all the others are wet, especially the medium ( see macchiatoman ink reviews).
I really like to use them to test inks and seeing what the ink looks like with different nib sizes. I think Pulp addiction has
the best prices in Australia. What I do not like is that sometimes ink can get behind the piston in the converter. For around the extra $10 there should be better quality control.
My first impressions of the Lamy Safari were that it was felt cheap and looked ugly, so I gave it away. I still don't particularly like the obnoxious clip. However, years later, I now own and use Safaris, Al Stars and even put a gold Lamy nib on my Lx Marron! Also, I highly recommend the 1.9mm. It isn't that much more noticeable than the 1.5mm but is excellent to write with! Great to see you moving into broads and stubs.
When I first got a Lamy Safary I really did not like it. It felt really light. I'm glad I tried the AL-Star but don't think I'll buy any more. I may get some nibs so I can change them around.
@@GarryEves Understandable. Can't disagree with you there. Still, they may grow on you in the years to come. Thanks Garry!
Great review… 👍🏽
I love Lamy pens.
@@DLFfitness1 👍
Hi Garry. I like the metallic dark purple colour of this pen. The ink was a perfect match. I am not a great fan of the design but I know the Safari and Al-Star are very popular pens. Often recommended as a starter fountain pen and robust enough to cope with the lifestyle of a student. Lamy are a bit naughty, in my opinion, for not including a converter.
Safari-style pens are slowly growing on me. I'm not sure if I would buy any moe though.
Thank you for the review, Gary. I received my al-star today. I love the metal feeling and it writes well. However it kinda feels boring and I wouldn't probably even getting one if it wasn't on sale.
How do you dry your washed pens and converters to avoid diluting the ink?
When doing these I use a paper towel to get off as much ink as possible, and then its a case of rolling the dice and hoping to too much dilution occurs.
For the rest of the pens, once I've cleaned out a pen I then leave it disassembled in a pot with a paper towel. I leave in there for a couple of days so dry out as much water as possible.
I don't like the way those tripodesque grips feel, but I must admit it helps me limit my tendency to roll the pen in my fingers.
I don't find the grip too bad, but I do hold my pens at the bottom of the section and also use that grip style. I think this means my fingers just drop into the right place for the grip.
@@GarryEves Actually I often choke up high on the barrel, above the section.
Thanks for the review.! I really like the color of this pen, however the Lamy is not one of my go to pens to write with, I just do not enjoy them. I have a drk violet safari and an Al Rose Gold, and I think it is because they are just too light in my hand. I love the Twsbi, a Conklin Duraflex. And weirdly, I even love the Kaweco which is a pocket pen.