Lamy Safari

The Lamy Safari is well-known in the fountain pen community and needs no introduction.

There are several versions of this pen. The Safari is made of colour plastic, the Vista is the clear plastic version, the Al-Star is made from aluminium, and finally Lx is made from aluminium in metallic colours.

The Lamy Safari is still a very popular fountain pen even today. People love this pen model as an inexpensive starter fountain pen. They come in a variety of different colours. Each year, Lamy releases at least one special edition year making them highly collectible.

There are many things that make the Safari so popular. It is durable, practical and inexpensive, perfect for everyday use. The many colours mean people can choose a colour they like or collect several. The nibs are removable making them easy to try different nib sizes.

The Safari was designed by Bernt Spiegel and the design has remained the same since 1980.

Figures from USD 264854

The long clip is instantly recognisable and very practical. It slides easily onto a pocket or notebook.

The ink window allows you to see the amount of ink left in the pen.

The triangular grip section encourages an ergonomic hold on the pen. The grip section flares towards the nib to stop the fingers from slipping down.

The cap is a snap-cap, making it easy to remove and posts securely at the back of the pen.

It is obvious this pen was made with a lot of intention. Its popularity is proof that a well-designed pen lasts forever.

Bíró Ballpoint Pen

Chances are, you have a ballpoint pen on your desk or on your person right now. The ballpoint pen is a reliable tool we use all the time.

The ballpoint pen that we know today was invented by László József Bíró. Although Bíró was not the first to create a ballpoint pen, his invention was the first to work consistently.

Bíró was a journalist and he noticed that the ink used to print newspaper dried quickly and didn’t leave smudges like the fountain pens at the time. He tried using this ink in a fountain pen, but it would not flow properly because the ink was too thick. So Bíró’s brother, a chemist, developed a viscous ink while Bíró invented the new pen.

There is a lot more to the story of Bíró’s life and his ballpoint pen, but here, we will take a look at his US patent filed on 17 June 1943 - US granted patent no. 2390636.

The pen body

The pen ink stored in a reservoir (b) moves down the conduit (c) due to gravity. The ink passes through channels (6) and touches the surface of the ball (2) such that the ball is covered with ink. The ball rolls as the user writes, the inked portion of the ball touches the paper and leave a mark. The ink will continue to flow down from the reservoir, replenishing the supply of ink.

It's interesting how the shape of the pen cartridge hasn't changed in the last 70 years.

Figures 5 and 6 of US granted patent no. 2390636

The ballpoint

Figures 1 and 2 of US granted patent no. 2390636

Ink is distributed through the hollow portions of the concave socket (e) to the rim of the ball setting. The ball is held in place by the seats (4) and the rim (3). The ball is able to roll freely in this housing allowing strokes to be drawn in any direction but will not fall out.

The First Fountain Pen Patent

I love fountain pens. So I want to start by taking a look at the first fountain pen.

Many websites claim Petrache Poenaru was one of the first inventors of the fountain pen. Poenaru patented his fountain pen in France on 25 May 1827.

Drawings from Petrache Poenaru's patent

His patent describes a pen comprising a tube made from the large swan quill (A), with a cap at one end (B and C), and a series of tubes (D, E, F) fitted with a nib (G) at the second end. At the base of the tube F is a small hole. The nib (G) can be made from the goose quill or a metal.

The tube (A) is a reservoir to hold ink which escapes through the hole, allowing the user to write with the nib.

A cap (H) has a needle at the base. When the pen is capped, the needle fits in the hole to prevent the ink leaking and covers the nib.

In Poenaru’s patent he doesn’t claim to have invented the fountain pen but, improved on the existing pen, contrary to what most websites say. The advantage of Poenaru’s fountain pen is that it is lighter and less breakable in comparison to metal or glass. The quill tube also allows the ink to flow to the nib by squeezing the tube rather than shaking the pen.

Poenaru’s patent suggests that fountain pens made around that time were eyedropper pens, typically made from metal or glass. There was no feed system, a small hole allows ink to flow through the pen. As the volume of ink decreases inside the pen it would create a vacuum. Once that happens the pen would have flow problems as the ink would not want to leave the tube. That could be why you would need to shake or squeeze the pen to get the ink flowing.

In modern eye-dropper pens, ink blurping can be a problem because the heat from your hand heats up the air molecules in the body of the pen causing the gas to expand and push ink out of the feed. Metal is a good thermal conductor while glass isn’t. I’m not sure how good a quill is as a thermal conductor but it is likely that expanding gas would have played a part in Poenaru’s pen to keep the ink flowing.

What do you think, do you think Poenaru’s pen would have been practical to use?

Introduction

Hello everyone.

I am a patent executive living in New Zealand. I studied imaging technology at university. After I graduated, I went job hunting and I applied to an Intellectual Property firm not knowing much about the field. Things worked out for me, as I found myself excited about this field. I am surrounded by inspiring people and innovative technology.

This year, I’ll be starting post-graduate courses in intellectual property to become a Patent Attorney. Even though I’ve worked in the field for 2 years now, I still have much much more to learn.

This blog is for me to share a combination of two of my interests – patents, and a good pen. There are already plenty of websites that talk about the latest in AI technology, mobile devices, or virtual reality technology. My aim is to share the innovation hidden in a deceptively simple pen.