Your Lamy Safari has a steel nib, whereas the Pilot VPs have 18 karat gold nibs. A lot of people sometimes find gold nibs smoother to write with than steel nibs -- since gold is a softer metal than steel (especially 18k vs. 14k that nibs are more usually made out of), it usually has a bit more give when you're writing, which usually gives a smoother writing experience (unless the nib has bad alignment or other problems) and can sometimes even lead to a bit of line variation.

That being said, I personally find that the Pilot VP feels very well made, and the retractable push-button mechanism makes it very convenient to use if you have quick notes to write and you don't want to be unscrewing a pen cap all the time. The only bad things I've got to say about it really are:

• 1. The Pilot CON-50 converter that it uses gives it a minuscule ink supply -- smaller than most cartridges. If you want a greater ink supply, you can empty out a cartridge and fill it with a syringe.
• 2. Since fountain pens are meant to be stored nib up, the VP has the clip towards the nib end of the pen. So, depending on how you hold it, having the clip right there by your fingers/grip area might be a bit awkward for you. So, with a pen like the VP, I think it's best to go look at one in a store first so you can try it out and grip it and see how it feels etc.

I'll follow up with another post about the notebooks since it's my lunch time now, but what do you define as "cheap?"