On a recent trip to the local shopping centre (aka shopping mall, for our North American friends), I walked into a designer stationery and accessories store. I knew they stocked the LAMY fountain pens - the pen I had decided would be my starter fountain pen.
Here I was, like a kid in a candy store. Money in my hands and I knew what I wanted - a LAMY Safari in blue.
A salesperson approached and we chatted. I like fine tips on my pens, so a fine nib on a fountain pen seemed logical. I did some test writing. The writing was ok. Not as fine as I liked or was used to.
Was this how writing with fountain pens would be?
I asked if they had a finer nib. She said the LAMY pens do come in an Extra Fine (EF) nib but they didn’t currently have one in stock.
However…
She had another pen with a fine nib. Would I be interested in trying it out?
But I had done all my research and settled on a LAMY Safari!
What’s the harm. I agreed. And she unlocked a cabinet (while the LAMY’s were hanging on a wall) and withdrew a case.
I was onto her. She was trying to upsell me! I wasn’t born yesterday. But, I played along.
Sure, I’d love to try it.
Hmmmm. It was smooth, and the writing was fiiiiiine. Just the way I like it.
The LAMY Safari cost $50. I wasn’t looking to pay more for a first pen. She understood. But she was relentless.
I was in luck, she said. The Pilot Metropolitan was also $50.
I was no match for this super salesperson!
I am overjoyed with this pen and can highly recommend it as an inexpensive first fountain pen.
P.S. As I didn’t have a notebook that could handle fountain pen, I also bought a Midori MD Notebook A6 - Gridded.
What a wonderful notebook this is. It is Japanese paper excellence at $15! I will certainly be buying the A5 notebook version.
From the next issue, this newsletter will move to a more templated format, where I will provide weekly links to resources, some tips, and fun facts about fountain pens.
Sure, she is a great sales person. As she should be. But she was also very right. You can do all the online research you want, but you have to write with the pen.
When we bought my son's frst fountain pen, he saw a very nice one. The sales person simply said: I'm not selling you that one. Maybe if you're 18, you come back and we'll talk.
So glad you let her show you something else. Stay curious, it will help the rest of us!