Decisions, Decisions. I'm Having A Hard Time Making One. Help!

[DRWWE]

I decided it's time for my next pen. My last purchase was a MB Balzac (wonderful pen). As I was thinking about my collection a while ago, I decided my next purchase would be from Omas or Aurora as I have admired both brands but own neither. I also want another MB. I have been thinking about these three pens:

Aurora Optima Nero Perla. Beautiful pen. 14K nib.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w161/drwwe/Pens/110879s.jpg

Omas Arte Italiana Noir, Paragon size. Very cool. Black will be less flashy when I'm using it in front of patients. This one is currently at the top of the list, but that has changed many times. 18K nib.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w161/drwwe/Pens/150945s.jpg

MB Le Grand, platinum trim. Classic. If it writes as well as my other MB, it will be hard to beat. The style is nothing unusual as Meisterstucks are not uncommon. I have a ballpoint from the same series that I have been writing with at work for many years. Somehow the photo came out small, but size is comparable to the others. 14K nib.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w161/drwwe/Pens/p14961b.jpg

 

All are fairly big pens (which I like) and piston-filled. I'll get a fine nib. I will probably own all three eventually (possibly the same colors, maybe different). Any recomendations? Pros and cons? The pens are all within similar ballparks as far as price is concerned.

Edited July 2, 2014 by DRWWE

[The Good Captain]

I'm happy with my plain black & white metal Aurora 88 full-size. Wonderful writer.

[visvamitra]

Omas looks amazing.

[lzykramer]

in terms of maintenance Aurora is the easiest among the three, nib wise unless you go for Aurora stub nib, I think Omas nib is the best, they all have good ink capacity. Great choice....

[FountainPages]

Of course my vote would be the Aurora...simply a wonderful pen, the best I've ever owned.

[napalm]

If you're a lady I'd say Aurora, if gentleman Omas.

[DRWWE]

If you're a lady I'd say Aurora, if gentleman Omas.

I ain't no lady. I have been called a gentleman on a few occasions. I'm leaning towards Omas...

[napalm]

I'd say Omas. Has a masculine look. You already have a MB, better diversify and get something different. The Aurora looks more appropriate for ladies.

[cpark2005]

I'd go with the Omas, diversify the collection. Looks great. I don't have one, so maybe I'm reading myself too much in here, but still.

[Runnin_Ute]

Not feminine at all here, but I like the looks of the Aurora Optima Nero Perla. Why? I have black pens - both with gold and silver colored furniture, why not something different?

[logantrky]

My vote would be the MB LeGrand.

[william2001]

I am completely a Parker fan, so I owned neither.

But I vote for the Aurora, just looking at the design.

-William S. Park

[Calabria]

We have a similar taste in pens. I like all three, they are understated, and cool. I think the masculine/feminine discussion is ridiculous (and chauvinist?) All three have a distinctive, technical look that speaks of professionalism and connoisseurship.

 

That said, I tried out the MB at a store and the piston filler knob snapped clean off. Was that a fluke? Or are they not made as resilient as in other pens?

 

I have gone through a decade of collecting OMAS, and am now disappointed to find out that many of the nibs are made by Bock. Also, the plating is very thin on many models I own and I have seen the furniture corroding (although I don't own this particular pen).

 

Aurora is probably the most trustworthy pen in the lot. All parts are made in-house, the piston mechanism is dependable, the cap screws on tight for air travel, and the ink flow is consistent. That said, the nib is a matter of individual preference, a bit on the rigid side, good for fast writing, but maybe not as expressive as MB.

 

As for the Nero Perla look. I'm undecided whether I like the marbleized pattern. Stay with the 88, or be somewhat more adventurous? I'd really like to hear what others think of that particular look. Is it just too retro? Or is it just too much? Or just right? I can't decide.

[Wolverine1]

DrWWE: you mentioned seeing patients, so, do you need to sanitize you pen when you are seeing patients during rounds or in the Clinic? If you need to sanitize your pens, you might consider the Pilot Vanishing POint FP. The body is made of metal so can be easily wiped down with alcohol. The pens you have in mind are all excellent, but, sanitizing them might damage the finish. My Cardiac Surgeon and Interventional Cardiologist both carry the Pilot VP when at work at the Univ of Michigan Hospital

All said, I would go for the Omas Paragon. I have one in the brown celluloid finish, which I got used from John Mottishaw. It is a wonderful writing pen.

Let us know which one you choose.

[Mari1013]

I have one Omas - the Bibliotheque Nationale - and it's the sweetest writer I own.

[Brettman]

Please, i beg you, do not purchase the OMAS.

 

I have two modern OMAS pens, the Arte Arco HT and the Bologna in Burkina.

 

I have actually had two of the Bolognas.... The first one i sent back because it leaked at the section. At the time, LV owned them. They said they couldnt repair the Bologna and sent me the Arte in exchange (a pen with a $400 MSRP over the Bologna). After a year, i bought another Bologna thro standard retail channels because the cellulose is SOO beautiful!! I never used the Bologna as i came to not like how it was designed with metal threads on the section and on the cap the threads were just in the celluloid. Now, three months ago i decided "Hey, you should use the damn thing..." so i filled it... this was its first filling in essence. Guess what? The pen leaked in the same place. I have sent it back to OMAS to see what they say THIS time....

 

Now, the Arte.... as i said, i recieved it in exchange for my first Bologna. I set it in my case to stare at for a couple years. It is a very heavy pen. My case contains 39 other pens of various manufacture and age. JUST SITTING in the case, the cellulose became pitted and shrank. I have vintage pelikans and MBs in the same case and nothing happened to those pens, but the modern OMAS took a dump.... With the cellulose declining, I decided to use the Arte one day to see HOW heavy it was and atleast get SOME use out of it. I filled it and used it about a week, then I accedentally pushed the arte off a desk one day onto a carpeted floor, the pen hit at about a 15 degree angle with the section down. That force broke the inner sleeve that keeps the entire pen together. The internals of a pen with an MSRP of $1,000 has an injection molded ACETATE inner sleeve that is the back bone of the entire pen! I was disgusted. After i calmed down, i sent the pen to Kenro. 5 weeks later, the pen arrived back in my hands. If you are famililar with the Arco pattern, you will know that, when new, the pattern lines up AND the facets of the pen line up. When i received the pen back, not only did the pattern not line up, but NONE of the facets on the body lined up. The pen now has the appearance of a kit pen in my opinion....

 

I wrote to Kenro and OMAS about my dissatisfaction.... guess what.... neither has responded to my expierence.

 

Please, dont purchase a modern OMAS...