I want to start this whole thing with talking about the fountain pen that is in my possession the longest, but is – probably – not the oldest pen in my collection. My trusty LAMY AL-Star Aluminium – a classic that is no longer sold. When I got it, it was equipped with a Z50 B (broad) in black, that looked a lot better on the pen.

Key Facts

The AL-Star is LAMY’s aluminum version of their work horse and may be best known pen: The LAMY Safari. This model was sold in the 90s and 2000s with black hardware (nib, clip, finial). With a price tag of under 30 Euros in Germany, it is mainly targeted at students and young people. It uses the proprietary LAMY cartridge/converter system. Check the ink capacity sheet for sizes and options.
This one is due to receive a Z57 Black 14k Gold nib to honor its 20 years of service – as soon as I can afford it. I will report back when it is installed.

My Story

This pen comes with a story… When I entered 5th grade, a new world opened up for me. I was socially anxious and nervous, had trouble to keep up. I entered school with a yellow LAMY Safari but that didn’t survive long. I nervously chewed on the barrel whenever I was lost in thought – and discovered some interesting design features of the barrel. When the Safari was all chewed up, a black one followed that didn’t last long either for the same reasons.

My mother got me a Parker 45 (an all metal one) so I wouldn’t chew it up. This is a story to be told another day, but I didn’t quite honor that pen as much as I would have liked in hindsight. It broke at some point because I found other ways to play with it when nervous and I feel bad for that to this day.

The parker was replaced with this AL-Star Aluminium in 9th or 10th grade if memory serves me right. That was over 20 years ago. I continued using it throughout my school years, wrote all graduation exams with it. My memories of that time are best described as ’things i’d rather forget’, but this pen survived school with me. It still works and it helps me to process these memories. I like it for what it is and for what it means to me.

How it writes

I had to break out a notebook and try it again, because I had not used it in 4 months. The LAMY Z50 nibs provide a consistent performance in my experience and are suitable for all inks I tried. I tend to gravitate to wetter inks (Diamine, R&K) than the LAMY provided standard and they work well.
The pen started without problems on my cheap Rhodia test pad.

The Z50 nibs are LAMYs standard nibs for most of their pens. The abc, Logo, Safari, AL-Star and many more come with these nibs and whenever I get a pen in my hands with a Z50 nib, I know what to expect. I have had the odd production anomaly but could always smooth these out with a smooth nail file.

This nib is not the original one that came with the pen, so it is quite new, but the old battered black Z50 broad still works like on day one. I replaced it because I do not like broad nibs that much anymore and had this nib in my nib box.

I love the LAMY Safari / AL-Star pens for their defined and long grip section because I tend to hold my fountain pens in a very unusual way. While my every day carry also is an AL-Star it is not this one, for aesthetic reasons. I tend to pick more colorful ones when I buy pens today.

Where to get

This pen is sadly no longer available. I think it was one of the good and neutral colors available and it went away without me noticing. I would really like for LAMY to bring this color back. The closest standard color available today would be the graphite, which is darker, has a silver steel clip and not a coated brass clip and comes with a standard non-black Z50 nib.

It seems though that 2022’s special edition, the LAMY AL-Star Whitesilver (sic! one word), is very very similar to the long lost Aluminium one. It comes with a silver steel clip though and I don’t know yet which color of nib it will ship with, but I will keep you updated when it starts shipping later in February.

Wrap up

This is not my favorite pen, it is not even my favorite LAMY pen or AL-Star. But I honor it for the time it served me and I would not give it away. It usually sits on my desk and is ready for taking notes. It never failed to start, went through a lot of water ink dilutions when my cartridge ran out during an exam and never gave up on me.

Pen Size

Length (capped, open, posted): 139 mm, 130.35 mm*, 165.3 mm*
Widest part without clip (capped, open): 14.95 mm, 13.3 mm
Width with clip: 18.5 mm
Dry weight (capped, open): TBD *
*with EF nib

Nib Info

Nib Type: LAMY Z50 EF (german extra fine)
Nib Manufacturer: LAMY

Ink Data

Inking System: cartridge/converter
Cartridge Type: proprietary T 10 (LAMY Cartridges) or LAMY Z28 Converter (or other with pin)

Availability

Special Edition: no
Still available: no, the color variant was discontinued
Release: I have no idea
Acquired: around 2000
MSRP: about 35 DM in 2000 which was about 18 Euro in 2002.

Service Info

Nib Replaceable: yes, LAMY Z50-Z58 nibs fit this feed
Feed Replaceable: no, it can be carefully taken out but replacement parts are not available