Aurora 88 Review

[lowks]

Aurora 88

 

Sometimes life can throw you a nice surprise. I got this Aurora 88 from Peter Jahchan after advertising on the green board looking for an Aurora 88, he so happened to have an Oblique Medium nib, the rest as people always fondly say, is history.

 

History

 

I really did not expect much from the nib ordering this pen, as I have read some pretty unfavorable review for Aurora nibs in terms of it being smooth. The best people have said is that the nib is good but you have got to live with a bit of feedback from it. At that point I had with me 2 Auroras and wanted to know what is all the fuss about 88 that I read about. For as cliche I risk sounding this review can never to justice to this pen, it’s nib defines for me what is “smooth”. You know that pen you think about when people describe how their pen is buttery smooth ? It’s this pen for me. Some people have even expected feedback from an Aurora nib, so that brings us to the nib performance ...

 

Nib Performance ... 6/5!

This nib totally blew me away. It’s so smooth it’s like using a felt tip on glass! It’s even smoother than the numbers I sent to be customized by JM! If you forced me to own up to the eternal failings of our life that nothing is perfect I would say probably the only complaint I have is that the nib is too smooth ?! When I write there is usually no feedback at all! Call it luck, call it whatever you want but having a factory Oblique Medium nib fated my way like this is totally fabulous! It lays a beautiful wet line everytime and this might sound corny but almost brings out tears everytime I write with it. Yes it’s that good!

 

Look and Feel: 5/5

I like the body of this pen, it’s stocky and short but then it holds in the hand just right and for my usage, it has just the right amount of heft for me to write for hours without fatigue or pain. Spots a metal cap and a professional looking black body. I like the ink window and the solid feel of the body.

 

Filling mechanism: 5/5

Can anyone ever complain about an Aurora filling mechanism? With the piston that slurps up a huge amount of ink everytime and even keeps away a secret compartment for ink if it ever goes low. I would be crazy to complain about this.

 

Some pics

 

The pen

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4976132198_0bc595c225_b.jpg

 

Writing sample:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4976132212_d5160d5eaf_b.jpg

 

Summary:

So this is the pen that is more than perfect in my collection that I happen to come across by chance thinking that this pen would definitely go back for a retuning, but this pen just reminds me all the time not to trust everything you read or hear. This pen is of course in my pantheon of pens and travels with me most of everywhere I go. It has even it’s own character ... actually this is for all Aurora pens ... the barrel where I hold the pen (where my thumb and index finger lands) has this “sweat smell” after a while. I posted this on the forum asking for answers but then no one seems to have one, I guess it’s the way the pen is built and no it’s not the ebonite, it’s nothing to do with the feed. I have confirmed this by soaping the barrel down with some detergent and the smell went away. This characteristic is evident in all Aurora pens and have confirmed this. I had a nice time finding it though, never suspecting the pen I did everything from changing my Ts to my shorts till I at last found the source of the smell. This is of course just a small characteristic of the pen and compared to all the joy it brings to me when I write it’s just a small adjustment I have to do, to me it’s not even a flaw ... it’s like a person you love so much an otherwise flaw in another person, just becomes it’s characteristic for them, if that really means anything else to other people I don’t know, as long as it makes sense to me . I currently have three Auroras: 1 Mare, 1 88 and 1 Optima and the 88 is the smoothest of them all.

[jigesh]

Congratulations on your new pen! Nice review. Modern Aurora 88 is one my most frequently used pens.

[lowks]

Congrats on your pens too Jigesh! One of my major surprises of my 88 is how smooth the nib is after all the FUD on Aurora nibs.

[jigesh]

Congrats on your pens too Jigesh! One of my major surprises of my 88 is how smooth the nib is after all the FUD on Aurora nibs.

 

Interstingly, my fine nib (Aurora) writes smoother than medium! I recently got an extra-fine nib, which is too dry and, not surprisingly, has lot of feedback comparatively (right now, it's with Michael Masuyama for increasing flow a bit).

[eric47]

One of my major surprises of my 88 is how smooth the nib is after all the FUD on Aurora nibs.

 

What FUD?

[lowks]

One of my major surprises of my 88 is how smooth the nib is after all the FUD on Aurora nibs.

 

What FUD?

 

It's almost impossible to find someone saying that Aurora nibs are smoother than other nibs out of the box without smoothing ... even if they say it's smooth, they would say it's "Aurora's smooth" or has "it's own character". The 88 that I have with the factory nib is smooth even by other nibs standard. It's not direct FUD just that it feels just the same.

[Silvermink]

Oh, you did get an OM. Nice.

 

The OP traded me his modern Aurora 88 M a few months ago, and it's proven to be one of my best writers.

[lowks]

Oh, you did get an OM. Nice.

 

The OP traded me his modern Aurora 88 M a few months ago, and it's proven to be one of my best writers.

 

Is that a factory nib ? I think more people who got Aurora nibs that are generally smooth nibs and not "characteristically smooth" should just speak up.

[777]

Great pen from what your review says! Wow, a smooth factory oblique nib! Sounds like a real pleasure to write with!

[bphollin]

Thanks for the review. Do you care to share your thoughts on Optima vs 88? I have an Optima and the Archivi Storici 88 "remake", and I can't stop thinking about the purchase of a vintage and modern 88 to round things out.

 

I think more people who got Aurora nibs that are generally smooth nibs and not "characteristically smooth" should just speak up.

I'm 2 for 2 when it comes to nice, smooth, factory-fresh Aurora nibs (both Mediums that write like Pelikan Fines, FYI).

[lowks]

Thanks for the review. Do you care to share your thoughts on Optima vs 88? I have an Optima and the Archivi Storici 88 "remake", and I can't stop thinking about the purchase of a vintage and modern 88 to round things out.

 

I think more people who got Aurora nibs that are generally smooth nibs and not "characteristically smooth" should just speak up.

I'm 2 for 2 when it comes to nice, smooth, factory-fresh Aurora nibs (both Mediums that write like Pelikan Fines, FYI).

Strangely I have a gold nib Aurora Optima finished by JM and it still looses out to the 88 with the factory nib in my writing taste.

[lowks]

Think though saying that it "looses out" is a bit harsh, since I think JM just made the nib to a Oblique Medium as I requested maintaining the characteristic "toothy" Aurora nib.

[eric47]

First off...thanks for the review. The modern 88s and Optimas are great pens; glad you got one you're enjoying.

 

It's almost impossible to find someone saying that Aurora nibs are smoother than other nibs out of the box without smoothing ... even if they say it's smooth, they would say it's "Aurora's smooth" or has "it's own character". The 88 that I have with the factory nib is smooth even by other nibs standard. It's not direct FUD just that it feels just the same.

 

Almost impossible? I think I came close here. I have some that are as smooth as some of the my other brands' smooth nibs. Sure I said Aurora's have their own character because I think they do; I didn't say (or at least I didn't mean) the smoothness is a special Aurora-type. Aurora makes their own nibs and there aren't any other nibs like them. I say the same things about old Omas inhouse modern nibs that Omas made; they too have their own character -- the ones Bock makes for Omas are different. I don't see what the problem is with saying for example that some of my Omas and Auroras nib are equally smooth; but the nibs are still different, for they have their own character. I feel and can tell the difference between the two.

 

Is Peter J. a dealer? If he isn't (and even if he is) are you sure he didn't adjust or smooth the nib?

 

I have around 10 Auroras (F, M, Italic, Stub) with the screw-in units. Only 1 (a medium at that) needed professional smoothing, that isn't bad. The bulk haven't been purchased from shops or dealers, so I'm hesitant on judging the nibs on those as "out of the box" in case the original owner did something too them. If I'm to judge the ones bought from dealers, then it's 50%. The mini sole (M) was wonderfully smooth; the Optima Demo needed professional smoothing, which scared me away from the big Auroras for awhile.

 

Many of them from shops and private sales have had tight tines (write dry), so I tend to have to open the nibs up from the get go. If I can generalize from my nibs (allowing my tuning and tweaking, and excluding my 88s which have the old nibs with long tines), as the nibs get wider the smoother they are. All my fines have a wee bit of tooth, which I don't mind and is what I would expect anyway (particularly because Auroras run tend to run thinner).

 

Still for some smoothness isn't the pinnacle characteristic of a nib, some like a bit of tooth, see here.

 

I've tried an Aurora oblique. Aurora sent it by mistake when they were supposed to send a stub. The oblique was a very smooth nib, but obliques drive me crazy. But sounds like yours was like the one I tried.

Edited September 10, 2010 by eric47

[lowks]

Yeah pretty sure that he did not adjust it. I asked if after someone told me that auroras do not make oblique nibs.

[Mickey]

I'm yet to run into a nib which, if run wet enough, didn't feel smooth, provided it wasn't severely misaligned. I've had experience with two Aurora nibs, both of which were acceptably smooth running fairly dry (my preference), which is how they arrived. I feel that if you can lightly draw clockwise and counter-clockwise circles with a properly oriented, dry running pen and feel no snags or scratches at any point on the circle, the nib is acceptably smooth and well-aligned. As near as I can tell, pretty much everything else after that is a matter of flow, ink, and paper choice.

 

BTW, has anyone tried smoothing a nib by writing on blotter paper covered with a thin coating of tooth paste?

[eric47]

BTW, has anyone tried smoothing a nib by writing on blotter paper covered with a thin coating of tooth paste?

 

Toothpaste in the feed doesn't sound like fun to clean.

[Mickey]

BTW, has anyone tried smoothing a nib by writing on blotter paper covered with a thin coating of tooth paste?

 

Toothpaste in the feed doesn't sound like fun to clean.

 

Probably not, but most people spit out the tooth paste after brushing their teeth. I assumed at least a comparable level with hygiene with their pens.

[revbyrd1]

Congratulations on your new Aurora 88, I would love to have one myself. Hopefully I will run across one like you did. Thank you for sharing the review.

 

Peace

[praxim]

An old review of the Aurora 88 seemed a suitable thread to bump with this query.

 

I have bought an Aurora 88, an original Nizzoli model, which is now on its way (in Paris, last I saw; nice stopover from Rome). In their shipping note to me, the seller commented that they had filled the pen with water to keep the seals wet, and that it was advisable to keep the pen inked or watered. The pen has been serviced and tested.

 

Comments?

 

I understand that the 88 uses layered discs of leather and rubber for its seal, and that there is a tensioning nut for best fit of the seal in the barrel (I am relying on this article). I am wondering whether, when I get it, I should simply grease the piston, or barrel walls, and be content with that for when it is not inked.

[Manalto]

Oops. Edited out my comment to the OP after I realized the age of his original post.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Manalto