Cleaning New LAMY Fountain Pens 

I finally understand why my growing collection of Lamy safaris, al-stars and vistas had a show of blue ink under the nib despite being bought from new and still in the retail packaging. I think it's actually a good sign, knowing there is some quality control evidence despite this being such a mass produced generic product line

Ah, this is something I meant to include in the video but left out. The easiest way to do it would be to use a bulb syringe. That's an awesome tool anyway, for cleaning out cartridge/converter pens. Check out my video on RU-vid here called "Ink Nouveau #22- Flushing a Pen With A Bulb Syringe"

I hadn't used my Lamy pen for a time and I couldn't get it to work when I picked it up. I found this channel by good fortune, cleaned my pen as you demonstrated and it works perfectly again! Thanks for this video.

If you drop your pen angle, you may find that this fixes everything. Most people new to fountain pens will write with them like a ballpoint, holding them upright and bearing down hard. Fountain pens are more 'natural' though, you don't have to really put much pressure on them at all, and you just rest the pen at a 45 degree angle as you write. It might take a little practice, but I'd try playing around with your pen angle a bit and see if that helps you at all.

Just ordered a Safari, had questions and your videos answered them all. you and your channel are awesome, thanks a bunch!!

I randomly found this video so I could clean my fountain pen, and it brought a great smile to see a fellow Goulet on screen!

Just got my second Lamy Safari. Your video was a huge help!

Thank you very much for the video. I got the very same Lamy fountain pen featured here as a birthday present! Now I know how to take care of it.

I popped the cartridge in and went to town!

very good tutorial I had problems with my LAMY and now after this tutorial I have resolved,Thanks very much

So much better than the video put out by Lamy itself. Thank you.

I just got a new Vista (my first Lamy) in the mail that came with a popped cartridge. There was ink everywhere and I wasn't sure if I could get it apart to clean it. Your tape tip was super helpful!

Superb advice just received my lamy lx and noticed this great vids

So helpful! Thank you so much!

@FUBAR956 I hold a paper towel to the open end and shake the converter. That gets almost all of it. Whatever's left just gets mixed in with the ink I'm using, it doesn't hurt it. Ink is water-based anyway, so it just dilutes my next converter fill by at most 1% or so.

This has been very helpful. Thank you!

That was an awesome video. Concise, great camera angles and fantastic explanation of why you’re performing each task. Well done!👏🏼

Hey Brian I wish I had remembered that Lamy does test there Pens before they leave the factory & get to you because I had just got a New Lamy Vista & a New 4.5 OZ Bottle of Noodler's Blue Ghost with a Noodler's Charlie Fountain Pen which I can't wait to use but the Lamy had the Blue Ink in it and it Mixed as I was drawing the Ink up from the Converter and I had seen what was happening...! I was very irritated that I had forgotten that Lamy does this with there Pens. Oh well just a good excuse to make some other Ink by mixing another colour in with the Blue Ghost and make it a Bulletproof Coloured UV Ink. Great Video Brian. Keep up the great work. Nick.

Huge thank you for this video (well for all of them actually) .. I found it yesterday by accident (while doing my research before getting my first ever fountain pen - Lamy Vista) and I would probably run into some serious trouble - apart from not being scared of the blue residue (because I knew what to expect), I decided to try out quite bright orange ink and if I wouldn´t notice it myself, it would probably make some kind of unplesant mix in the feed .. I am currently using cartridges, so the video also tipped me over to purchasing a convertor right away (which helped with the first-flush, and I am also prepared for purchasing a bottle of ink now, yipee) .. so thank you again for the information it helped me tremendously .. you rock :)

Thanks a lot mate...really helpful! Cheers

thank you :D my first fountain pen Lamy It's coming soon.

this SO helped me with cleaning out dried ink from my pens after not using for some time!

I just bought my new LAMY and my 12 years old son told me the pen suits him much more than me.

thank you for the good info

Thank you, that was very hepful.

Wow. Such a helpful video. I thought I was sent a sample or a pen that was a return! Also, I wish I knew this before inking my new Safari pens so as not to mix inks!

@TheOriginalStevenH what nib size do you have, what ink are you using, and what paper are you using? I definitely recommend flushing any fountain pen before using it the first time. If you're still having skipping issues after the flush, it could be a whole variety of reasons. Shoot me an email if you'd like to chat about it more.

The same way I just did, but you can pull the converter off the back too if you want. Either way works, but if you're pulling off the converter and filling that, you'll need to force some ink down the pen after you put the converter back on, to get the ink moving. When you fill through the pen, the feed will already be primed, but when filling just the converter, you'll need to prime the feed manually. Make sense?

Thanks for posting. After the pen has been flushed do i need to wait for it (and the converter) to dry fully before I can fill with my own ink and start using?

Hello, thank you for your awesome videos, they are helping me a lot learning about fountain pen. I was just wondering myself if AFTER the process you've shown in the video we should let the pen DRY for a certain amount of time before refilling and reuse it. I don't know if there might be some water residual inside of it (like in the converter or the feed/nib). Thank you in advance for you help

Got my Lamy safari with 1.1mm and 1.9mm Italic. Getting F, M, B all in black and 1.5 soon. All I do with the free cartridge is flush out the cartridge and cut an opening so I could fit a syringe and it cleans nicely.

Thanks great video

Lol this happened to me. Didn't know about the testing. I had my new red ink in it and it wrote brown.

Aye it does, thank you very much.

I bought a Lamy pen in Paris a couple years back and it never would for ink correctly to write. I just set it aside because someone bought a Waterman pen for me. I may just give this a shot with my converter! I would love it if I could get it to finally work!

Brilliant!

Thank you

Cleaning it couldn't hurt. It could just be a defect in the nib...it happens sometimes. If you're not able to get it working, it may be worth contacting the retailer who sold it to you for an exchange (probably just the nib, the pen is likely fine).

I have to exact same clear Lamy as you and I’ve had it for 8 years . The lid has lots of ink around the metal band in it and I was wondering if you can remove it? I washed the inside with water and soap and now it’s really cloudy ?

Of course! That's the whole point of them, you can use them, clean them out, and reuse them with a different color. Converters last for quite some time, usually a few years.

Good video, Brian. Any more info on disassembling a Lamy converter for cleaning?

You're very welcome!

Love the instructions! I didn't buy any ink for the new pen, do you also have any recommendation for which brand of ink to use with the Lamy pen?

Does this apply to all fountain pens? Should we really be cleaning before the first inking? Thanks.

thanks

I have the lamy vista and the ink flow in that pen is like it has a rock in the feed. Even when I had cleaned he pen throughly I find that there is something that is blocking the ink flow. What do I need to do to fix that issue.

How do yo dry out the converter? Will the residual water left affect the ink?

How would I clean it if I don't have a converter and I'm switching colors between the proprietary cartridges?

I am looking into getting myself a lamy Al star pen and would expect to be cleaning it out when it arrives. Does that come with all the pens or is it bought separately? Sorry for a seemingly obvious question :)

Can you use a bulb syringe on the lamy vista? Or do those cutouts prevent you from creating that seal?

I just bought this exact pen, should I flush and clean it if they still send it with the cartridge in it? I also just bought a Noodlers Ahab Demonstrator should I clean it too if there is a cartridge in it? Also got a Pilot MR Animal print fountain pen, and 2 Pilot Parallel pens I'm super excited to get my hands on them! Thanks so much, love the channel btw!

Novice question coming up. How do you fill the converter? The same way you just filled it with the water or by removing the converter and filling it directly? Thanks.

I seem to have the little ball from an empty cartridge stuck up the part of the pen nearest the nib. 1st how can I get it out. And do Lamy do left handed nibs.. I was told this pen is, but cannot see a difference. Best regards Lou.

1:14 I search for this for a really long time thanks

I don't know if you will see this, it is an older video. I feel like I did as your instruction indicated, but it dries out so fast. I have filled my converter with my pink ink and I wrote maybe a pages worth and it stops writing. I don't know what else to do. I am not super savvy and am worried about hurting it. I also don't want to dump the ink in the converter if I can help it. Please help!

I just got a new Lamy Safari pen and this was exactly what I needed to know. Thanks. Just s silly observation - it's not you, it's all you tube videos. Why doesn't whoever is doing the video also do the closed captioning. There are always so many mistakes. They had about 5 different ways to spell Lamy but they didn't get it right once. My favorite was about the "Islamic blue" ink. Lol.

What ink do you recommend on the lamy safari?

So I've tried changing the angle all over the show and yet I still have times when it just won't write! Is the only thing left to give it a clean?

Hi Brian. I’m nee to fountain pens. I use pigment ink for my drawings. I got confused when I did a waterproof test, where I used 2 pens, one is Lamy, another is a different brand. Both loaded with same ink. The Lamy output comes out waterproof but the other does not. Does the type of pen affect the outcome?

How do I clean our the feed when you dont use a converter? Im going to switch between different colors with lamys cartridges.

I got a Lamy safari for Christmas and i've been writing with it since then. But when i write with it the first stroke never writes and i have to redo the letter i have just written. it really annoys me. is this a genuine problem or just me being pernickity? Can i do anything to fix it?

I didn't use my Lamy Safari pen for quite a while and now the ink doesn't come out consistently on the pen. Will cleaning it like this fix that? I use the cartridge it came with.

Hi, I recently got myself a Lamy Logo fountain pen. I want to clean my pen, is it advisable to soak the grip+feed together into the water? Will it damage the aluminium body? Will it be leaving ink stains on the grip? Or should I remove the feed and nib from the grip and soak them individually?

That'll be coming @unclebrat. If you don't want to completely take it apart though, you can do the 'shake it' method like I have in another vid "Shake That Converter"

Can you also use the bulb syringe trick to clean out the Lamy 2000?

i didn't get a converter with the transparent pen why?

This can happen for a variety of reasons...ink choice, pen needs to be cleaned, even the way you hold the pen can make a difference.

i dont have one of those converter 'thingys' to clean out my pen, what can I do, to clean it or flush it out as the ink has dried inside?

That's exactly why I made this video! :)

What about drying the nib after flushing??? on another fountain pen website, they recommend letting the nib dry for like 12-24 hours afterward... Is this necessary???

Thank you. Not easy reading instructions in German lol

I did the same thing , but is not writing after refilling

I have a Lamy fountain pen and confess that I don't use it often... a few weeks could go by...I use it for making the random notes on a piece of paper. Might the sheer lack of use explain why there are often times where it doesn't seem to work...where no ink is coming forth (even though the ink cartridge is full)? That might also explain why, when I then decide to rinse the bottom half of the pen/nib with water, that 'tons' of ink comes out...even though the ink cartridge is not attached at the time... So I can only surmise that LOTS of ink was stuck/dried up in the lower half of the pen/nib. And perhaps this is DUE to the fact that I don't use the pen often? SHOULD I be trying to write with the pen at least once per day...because in doing so I'm keeping the ink flow more 'active' and therefore less likely to dry out and eventually clog the lower half of the pen? Is there a benefit to keeping my pen stored or at-the-read, in the upright position, so that the ink is constantly flowing downward towards the nib? Also, if I remove the current ink cartridge from my non-working pen and then try squeezing the cartridge (which is admittedly a bit hard for me...the cartridge never feels all that 'flexible')...but if I do my best to squeeze it really hard over a paper towel, should I be seeing SOME amount of ink actually spilling out from the bottom? And if I do NOT, does that mean that the likely culprit is not that the nib etc is dried out or stuck with old ink, but that it's the CARTRIDGE that is dried out? And if so, can anything be done about a dry cartridge, or must it be tossed? Do most folks, if they try to SQUEEZE an ink cartridge that is good and 'fresh'...should we be able to SEE ink dripping out in that instance, or is it in fact hard for a lot of other folks, like me, to squeeze it hard enough to produce drops of ink at the bottom? Thanks!

The tape method didn't work. I just had to use my fingers to rip it off. I also had to dip the nib in the ink bottle to get it going even though I was putting it on an inked feed.

Just asking can I take out the nib and use a tissue paper to dry the inside?

My pen I just got skips every about once a sentence... don't know what to do it's full of ink and its irritating to try to write. I tried this flushing the pen and it seemed to work but it still skips ink...just not as often? confused...

Right, and I'm thankful for that. But couldn't they clean them, too? I mean I get that it's an extra step, so it's probably not worth the time on inexpensive pens like this.

I bought a LAMY AL-BLACK using Z24 convertor. I realized that after writing awhile, the ink flow start to have problems. What can I do?

Hi Brian! whats the difference between Z24 and Z26?

How long do the lamy cartridges last?

Haha, you'd probably get weirder looks if that cashier saw what you were actually using that thing for! :P

you didn't explain how to clean it without the converter :(

Sorry I didn't understood properly it is only water or there is something in it?

Should my nib be loose or easily removed? I feel it’s rather to loose and just slips off easy. Just curious if any fountain pen folks may have a answer. It’s a Lamy so... 🤨 I’m only curious.

Is Lamy Blue their most popular colour?

I just got my new Lamy Safari Bronze set. Looks beautiful, but it writes HORRIBLY! Egad. I must be doing something wrong. I think I'll sleep on it (after finishing the lovely tootsie pop you put in my package) and then try a bit of troubleshooting before I think about returning it. I don't get it ... EVERYONE raves about the Lamy but so far, I think I'd do better whittling a popsicle stick to a sharp point! The ink feeds really poorly as well. I have to twist the converter every couple of sentences to get the ink back to the tip. This can't be right. Especially as the blue ink in the pen nib shows that it was tested by the factory. I think they would have caught any really gross problems. I hope that this is just something stupid I'm doing. I love the look of the pen and the feel in my hand. I just wish it would write! If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

Is it possible to clean my pen without using a converter?

Haha, you noticed that, huh? No biggie, I just scraped it on my heavy-duty tape dispenser blade. It looks worse than it is!

I filled all my pens, I didnt know they had blue ink in them lol OH WELL

how did you cut your finger? :/

Yes you can, the easiest way is with a bulb syringe. Check out my video called "FP101: Fast Pen Flushing".

Please write in the title that its only working with a converter, otherwise people may mistake that video with a tutorial to clean your Lamy Fountain Pen.

I popped in the cartridge and sputtered out. . . My first Al-star was very dry until a flush with water + a drop of dish soap. No biggy, but sometimes I bet people get pens that have been stored for a while and the ink can dry in the feed.

Heads up! There are so called “fakes” on Amazon. I was learning about lamy safaris and google showed Amazon. It’s half the price that was available on pen goulet. Too good to be true! You’re welcome to check the reviews and see people’s comments about the fake version! I am just gonna stick to pen goulet. Or the direct manufacture

I bought a bulb syringe from a store and it was advertised as a baby ear-thing. THE CASHIER LOOKED AT ME LIKE I WAS A WIERDO

Its because all Lamy pens are tested before they leave the warehouse

Aahh..ok. Thanks. And what's the best way to fix these. Sorry

There is NO need to remove the Nib of a new Lamy pen, esp if you use a bulb injector cleaning method which is much more simple method than this

I’m just here - Because…………..Lamy

Here in 2024 👋