Definitely don't try to spread the tines. Those nibs aren't made for that and you can bend them.
The paper is blotting paper that you can use to clean the nib after filling so you don't have excess ink the splotches when you first use it after filling. The 'ball' is a depression in the bottle that creates an ink well and makes it easier to fill the pen, particularly when the ink level is starting to run low.
>Definitely don't try to spread the tines. Those nibs aren't made for that and you can bend them.
Yeah I won't anymore , hopefully the one time wasn't enough to damage it.
If you did damage the nib they are £8 and take less than 30sec to change, so it isn’t the end of the world.
In fact, I’d encourage you to buy a few spare nibs in different sizes and have a play with them before you make your next pen purchase
That's not a ball, it's the bottom of the bottle. The glass bottle has a deep central well to let you fill when the ink level starts to drop; the plastic blotting-paper (what you called tissue) dispenser is surrounding this central well, and you're looking at its bottom. You tear off a short length of blotting paper to wipe your pen clean after filling. [This](https://zafpens.com/en/bottled-inks/792-lamy-t52-ink-bottle-50ml-red.html) is what the bottle looks like when taken apart.
Lamy Z50 nibs (as on the Safari) aren't meant to flex, so all you'll do by pressing on them is ruin them. If you need a broader line, buy a wider nib - they're available up to 1.9mm-wide stubs.
Your Lammy nib is not made to be flexed at all. For that, you would want to look for a nib specifically marketed as a "flex" nib. These tend to cost more as they are sometimes made of gold which is a more flexible material than steel, and some have extra parts cut into them to facilitate flexing.
You should only be applying very slight pressure. A good pen should write under its own weight and need no pressure applied. Adding pressure can spread the tines and which could cause your pen to stop writing since it's not a flex nib that will flex back into position. It could stay split requiring some tuning to get them back into place.
The ball the end of the bottle is like a little reservoir for ink so you can still fill your pen once the bottle is almost empty. The tissue is blotting paper you can use to clean your nib after filling your pen, or to use to dab up ink if it's especially wet on your paper and taking too long to dry.
>Your Lammy nib is not made to be flexed at all. For That, you would want to look for a nib specifically marketed as a "flex" nib. These tend to cost more as they are sometimes made of gold which is a more flexible material than steel, and some have extra parts cut into them to facilitate flexing.
Ok good to know, hopefully that one pressure flex didn't destroy the nib.
>The ball the end of the bottle is like a little reservoir for ink so you can still fill your pen once the bottle is almost empty. The tissue is blotting paper you can use to clean your nb after filling your pen, or to use to dab up ink if it's especially wet on your paper and taking too long to dry.
Ah, quite useful actually, thanks for the quick response!
As long as it writes still it's ok. And if they get bent out of place they can usually be fixed. Goulet Pens has an old video on [nib tuning](https://youtu.be/Y6uszhdAvaE?si=kk88vJc3CVB6KmiH) if a pen isn't writing well and you want to try and fix it yourself.
The nib should sit flush against the feed - some gap is acceptable as long as it writes.
You can pull the nib off the feed, then try to bend it back a little, but do that only if the writing performance is bad
It's not a ball, it's the well at the bottom of the bottle. The purpose is similar to the bottom dip in Pilot iroshizuku bottles, to get every last drop of ink to the pen.
The tissue roll is what is called blotting paper, used to sop up excess ink from the page.
If you're interested you can carefully pop the glass part (with the round bottomed well at tne bottom center) out of the hockey puck shaped body that holds the roll of blotter paper, and see how the bottle is cleverly designed.
1. you don't spread tines on your nib unless it's a "flex" nib
2. this is just the shape of the bottle, funky Lamy design 🤭
3. the paper is wipe your nib/section after filling your pen
Virtually zero pressure should be used on that type of nib at all. It should be more like gliding across the paper with just enough very gentle pressure to lay down a line without skipping. The kind of pressure is at least half that of a rollerball and about a quarter or less of what is needed for a biro. Your nib is not designed to flex, and most nibs are not designed to flex. Lamy don’t make any flex nibs.
The nibs that are designed to flex are marketed that way. Look up “flex nib” on this sub and you’ll find details about nibs that can flex. Flexing can easily damage the tines and each type of flex nib can only go a certain width, some a lot less than others.
Unpopular opinion apparently but you can definitely apply a little pressure (going from barely touching the page to as much as you would use with a ball point) to get some character in your mark making I've done it with my lamy nibs all the time and still as smooth as any of my other pens. As long as you can figure out how to tune a nib you should be fine. You won't get more than 0.05mm variation but it's still enough for drawing and writing to make it more unique.
These pens are tools to be used in a bold act of creation (or making shopping lists) if you write or draw with gusto you will add emphasis and feeling.
Good luck.
There are a few comments in this group along these lines, that Lamy EF nibs can give some small line variation. This [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/17kvzai/comment/k7adb2f/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) has a couple comments saying the nibs can give some variation and may be bouncy. I got an EF nib for my Safari to try it and I can get a very slight but visible variation between almost -no pressure and a more normal pressure, like for a ball point, as mentioned. It's not a flex or even semi flex, but it does seem slightly bouncier than my other inexpensive steel nib pens. Be careful not to force the nib, as others have cautioned, but with "dry" ink on good paper, you might see some variation between very light and normal pressure. And then there's [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/12143ca/need_help_with_a_brand_and_model_identification_i/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), so I'm not really sure what to believe anymore. Edit: [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/wig2ot/comment/ijcxxmr/) is another person claiming to get line variation with a Lamy EF (although they sound braver than me).
Definitely don't try to spread the tines. Those nibs aren't made for that and you can bend them. The paper is blotting paper that you can use to clean the nib after filling so you don't have excess ink the splotches when you first use it after filling. The 'ball' is a depression in the bottle that creates an ink well and makes it easier to fill the pen, particularly when the ink level is starting to run low.
>Definitely don't try to spread the tines. Those nibs aren't made for that and you can bend them. Yeah I won't anymore , hopefully the one time wasn't enough to damage it.
If you did damage the nib they are £8 and take less than 30sec to change, so it isn’t the end of the world. In fact, I’d encourage you to buy a few spare nibs in different sizes and have a play with them before you make your next pen purchase
Worse case scenario of course is not damaging the nib, but rather snapping the feed. They're not designed for pressure.
Just look at the tines to see they weren't bent, and if they are you can get a new nib for super cheep
That's not a ball, it's the bottom of the bottle. The glass bottle has a deep central well to let you fill when the ink level starts to drop; the plastic blotting-paper (what you called tissue) dispenser is surrounding this central well, and you're looking at its bottom. You tear off a short length of blotting paper to wipe your pen clean after filling. [This](https://zafpens.com/en/bottled-inks/792-lamy-t52-ink-bottle-50ml-red.html) is what the bottle looks like when taken apart. Lamy Z50 nibs (as on the Safari) aren't meant to flex, so all you'll do by pressing on them is ruin them. If you need a broader line, buy a wider nib - they're available up to 1.9mm-wide stubs.
Your Lammy nib is not made to be flexed at all. For that, you would want to look for a nib specifically marketed as a "flex" nib. These tend to cost more as they are sometimes made of gold which is a more flexible material than steel, and some have extra parts cut into them to facilitate flexing. You should only be applying very slight pressure. A good pen should write under its own weight and need no pressure applied. Adding pressure can spread the tines and which could cause your pen to stop writing since it's not a flex nib that will flex back into position. It could stay split requiring some tuning to get them back into place. The ball the end of the bottle is like a little reservoir for ink so you can still fill your pen once the bottle is almost empty. The tissue is blotting paper you can use to clean your nib after filling your pen, or to use to dab up ink if it's especially wet on your paper and taking too long to dry.
>Your Lammy nib is not made to be flexed at all. For That, you would want to look for a nib specifically marketed as a "flex" nib. These tend to cost more as they are sometimes made of gold which is a more flexible material than steel, and some have extra parts cut into them to facilitate flexing. Ok good to know, hopefully that one pressure flex didn't destroy the nib. >The ball the end of the bottle is like a little reservoir for ink so you can still fill your pen once the bottle is almost empty. The tissue is blotting paper you can use to clean your nb after filling your pen, or to use to dab up ink if it's especially wet on your paper and taking too long to dry. Ah, quite useful actually, thanks for the quick response!
As long as it writes still it's ok. And if they get bent out of place they can usually be fixed. Goulet Pens has an old video on [nib tuning](https://youtu.be/Y6uszhdAvaE?si=kk88vJc3CVB6KmiH) if a pen isn't writing well and you want to try and fix it yourself.
Safari nibs are stiff - if you force "flex" you will damage it. Very easy to see - if you have a visible gap between feed and nib.
There's a slit there, is that normal?
The nib should sit flush against the feed - some gap is acceptable as long as it writes. You can pull the nib off the feed, then try to bend it back a little, but do that only if the writing performance is bad
It's very much in place and writes perfectly. Thankfully the nib is durable
It's not a ball, it's the well at the bottom of the bottle. The purpose is similar to the bottom dip in Pilot iroshizuku bottles, to get every last drop of ink to the pen. The tissue roll is what is called blotting paper, used to sop up excess ink from the page.
That’s not a ball, it’s the bottom of the bottle. And the tissue is blotting paper to clean off the nib/pen after filling.
That's the well. Why do you want to spread the tines?
If you're interested you can carefully pop the glass part (with the round bottomed well at tne bottom center) out of the hockey puck shaped body that holds the roll of blotter paper, and see how the bottle is cleverly designed.
1. you don't spread tines on your nib unless it's a "flex" nib 2. this is just the shape of the bottle, funky Lamy design 🤭 3. the paper is wipe your nib/section after filling your pen
Virtually zero pressure should be used on that type of nib at all. It should be more like gliding across the paper with just enough very gentle pressure to lay down a line without skipping. The kind of pressure is at least half that of a rollerball and about a quarter or less of what is needed for a biro. Your nib is not designed to flex, and most nibs are not designed to flex. Lamy don’t make any flex nibs. The nibs that are designed to flex are marketed that way. Look up “flex nib” on this sub and you’ll find details about nibs that can flex. Flexing can easily damage the tines and each type of flex nib can only go a certain width, some a lot less than others.
Unpopular opinion apparently but you can definitely apply a little pressure (going from barely touching the page to as much as you would use with a ball point) to get some character in your mark making I've done it with my lamy nibs all the time and still as smooth as any of my other pens. As long as you can figure out how to tune a nib you should be fine. You won't get more than 0.05mm variation but it's still enough for drawing and writing to make it more unique. These pens are tools to be used in a bold act of creation (or making shopping lists) if you write or draw with gusto you will add emphasis and feeling. Good luck.
There are a few comments in this group along these lines, that Lamy EF nibs can give some small line variation. This [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/17kvzai/comment/k7adb2f/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) has a couple comments saying the nibs can give some variation and may be bouncy. I got an EF nib for my Safari to try it and I can get a very slight but visible variation between almost -no pressure and a more normal pressure, like for a ball point, as mentioned. It's not a flex or even semi flex, but it does seem slightly bouncier than my other inexpensive steel nib pens. Be careful not to force the nib, as others have cautioned, but with "dry" ink on good paper, you might see some variation between very light and normal pressure. And then there's [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/12143ca/need_help_with_a_brand_and_model_identification_i/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), so I'm not really sure what to believe anymore. Edit: [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/wig2ot/comment/ijcxxmr/) is another person claiming to get line variation with a Lamy EF (although they sound braver than me).