Fake vs. Real Lamy Safari Guide

One of the downsides of the popularity of some fountain pens is that fakes have hit the market. Sometimes these are clones, but there are also outright fakes that are sold as the original. One of the pens that has been affected is the Lamy Safari.

Fake vs. Real Lamy Safari Guide

 

This video should help you identify a real Lamy Safari fountain pen, ballpoint, rollerball, or mechanical pencil. It’s really the fountain pen that has been subject to fakes, but the guide will be accurate for all the writing instruments in the family. This should hold true for the Lamy Vista as well.

Real Lamy Safari? What To Check For

There is no silver bullet when it comes to knowing the difference between a real vs. fake fountain pen but there are some things to check for. They include:

1. Did it ship in a slotted box made from textured Gmund paper? This is the main box the Safari ship in. It’s not the only but but if you got one of these it’s a good sign. There is a rectangular paper box as well.
2. The Safari includes one blue Lamy T10 cartridge. It should be inset the pen, but not pressed down. That is to say it should not be ready to write because the cartridge is not punctured and mounted to the pen’s feed
3. There should be a piece of cardboard between the grip and barrel of the pen. This prevents the pen from being fully screwed down and the cartridge from being activated.
4. The fountain pen should not ship with a converter. The Safari and Vista pens don’t come with converters.
5. Unless you bought a special edition, the color of the clip should match the color of the pen. The exact pen will be able be found on Lamy’s website or on the site of an official
6. The embossed logo on the side of the pen should be really clean and professionally done.
7. When you screw the barrel and grip together the “wings” inside the pen should not be visible. The pen should have a clear stopping point.
8. The nib should clearly say “Lamy” on it along with the size of the nib, which will be a Lamy nib size, like “F” or “M”.

My New Lamy Safari Has Ink On It

Many people thing their new Safari is fake because it arrived with a little bit of blue ink on the nib or feed. The exact opposite is true! This is a sign of authenticity.

The ink — which should always be blue — comes from Lamy’s quality control process. All the Lamy pens are tested before they leave the factory. This is done with a quick dip in blue ink and then a writing test.

Clones and makes of fake Lamy pens don’t quality control their pens and don’t do writing tests before they ship, so the ink won’t appear. This process would be easy to fake so it’s not the best sign your pen is 100% authentic but its definitely not a sign your were defrauded!