I always used to lose pens. I’d leave them everywhere, give them away, dismantle them and lose the springs. I really couldn’t have cared less about pens, namely because I was working through a reserve of junky college pens I accumulated visiting open evenings when I was deciding where I wanted to go to college.
Then The Pen Addict podcast came along. I’d heard of and read posts from The Pen Addict blog before when I saw a link on Twitter, but I never paid much attention, looking at a few hundred words about a single pen bearing down at me felt pretty intimidating as a beginner. I just didn’t know enough.
Listening to the first episode of The Pen Addict podcast instantly pricked my attention though, it was easily digestible and I started learning straight away. So about 3 weeks ago on a day out in Liverpool the sight of a display stand for the Lamy Safari – a pen which gained a mention as early on as the second episode of The Pen Addict – caught my eye.
I’d decided long before that day out that I really wanted a pen that I cared a bit about, that I’d spent a decent amount of money on and wasn’t a junky piece of crap, that I could keep for ages instead of throwing away when it ran out. The Lamy Safari ended up being that pen.
A disclaimer though: I’m left-handed. For that reason I was pretty sceptical about getting a fountain pen as my first pen. Even if Myke does love the fountain pens, and can contort his arm to use them without rendering his writing unreadable, I can’t. So I went with a ballpoint, it’s what I’m used to.
And it’s awesome.
I’ve also ordered some Monteverde Soft Roll Refill’s for the Lamy, which are also fantastic. From my perspective as a complete beginner they’re just a great product, they’re cheaper than Lamy refill’s (+1), have a more consistent ink flow (+1), and they are eligible for Amazon Prime free next day shipping (+100,000,000).
Since I acquired my beloved Lamy then, it hasn’t left my grubby, ink-stained hands. It is my favorite pen I’ve ever owned, I’m now looking to get my hands on:
- A Caran D’ache 849, found via Dave Caolo of 52 Tiger.
- A Retro 51 Tornado (highly recommended by both Brad and Myke on The Pen Addict).
So the big take away from this, for me anyway, falls very much under the final choices school of thought by Patrick Rhone. If you buy junk, you’re going to treat it like junk (I’m looking at you, Dell users) and will toss it away to be replaced a lot sooner than if you had spent more. Because you don’t care about it. Instead, I chose quality as a higher priority, and I couldn’t be happier.
April 27, 2012