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New Aurora Duo-Cart


writebyhand

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Aurora is offering a "refurbished and updated" version of the Duo-Cart pens. I'm trying to understand what is going on. Is Aurora taking an old stock of vintage Duo-Carts and simply refurbishing and selling them? Or is this a newly manufactured new model that is simply based on the Duo-Cart with some design updates?


Edited by writebyhand
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It's as reissue of the vintage duo cart. The red version is the same, but cheaper IIRC

 

EDIT: the black version is cheaper.

Edited by sciumbasci
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It is interesting. The Duo-Cart and 888 used Aurora proprietary cartridges and not the Aurora/Parker style used now. The Duo-Cart cartridges have been long gone so my guess is that these are like the Archivi Storici pens, old pieces parts that have been refurbished to use the newer cartridge. Neat idea.

 

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Is it a reasonable value at the price offered? Wasn't the original Duocart sort of a mainstream school pen?

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Is it a reasonable value at the price offered? Wasn't the original Duocart sort of a mainstream school pen?

Today I happen to be using a Duo-Cart pen; an 888.

 

http://www.fototime.com/1C6370D2B5FE593/medium800.jpg

 

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Okay jar, what's the digital message?

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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The dou cart is a nice looking pen. If they offered it with a gold nib I'd buy it

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For a steel nib.. Aurora duo is expensive.. :crybaby:

in fact, in my opinion, Italian pens, unfortunately, are over priced products :gaah:

Edited by Mr.Rene
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Too low? Too high? Just right?

I can't afford it. :( :(

Hero #232 Blue-Black is my Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Your Kilometrage May Vary (#ykmv), a Philippine blawg about ink and fountain pens.

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And I found the verbiage confusing too.

 

So far, I haven't seen these advertised anywhere else but Fahrney's. Maybe it's too soon or maybe it's an exclusive. I have no idea. More info would be a good thing. :-)

 

 

Aurora is offering a "refurbished and updated" version of the Duo-Cart pens. I'm trying to understand what is going on. Is Aurora taking an old stock of vintage Duo-Carts and simply refurbishing and selling them? Or is this a newly manufactured new model that is simply based on the Duo-Cart with some design updates?


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  • 4 weeks later...

The cheapest I can find it is $145 and I think that's too much. The red and black is gorgeous and it's a hooded nib. I'd love to own one, but $180 is too dear for an Aurora Duo. Dang it! If anyone finds it cheaper, let us know, please.

Phone calls last just minutes, emails get deleted, but letters live forever.

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I know I am really wanting the red and black version. Do I want to spend the money for it. If only we knew what completely refurbished means. I know I will eventually talk myself into it. LOL. Time for a trip to Dromgooles!

 

 

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The two I saw looked like brand-new pens--like made this year. I don't think they are really refurbished, save for maybe the cases.

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The two I saw looked like brand-new pens--like made this year. I don't think they are really refurbished, save for maybe the cases.

 

They are new pens some got vintage cases but many will have newly made cases and only the outer box will be vintage. It's a confused mess and I think badly translated Italian in the descriptions. It looks like a nice pen but I think I will pass on it.

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Ok. I just watched a review of this over at The Pen Habit and now I am interested.

 

Can someone direct me to where I can get more of an education on what is being offered here?

Is there an advantage of getting a new one over hitting eBay for a vintage?

What is the proper name of the vintage model being redone?

Does the new one have any improvements over the vintage besides the cartridge system?

What should I expect to pay if I wanted a true vintage over the reissue?

 

Don't own any Aurora pens, so I am totally inexperienced in what they offer.

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I received mine yesterday. It's the black and silver version and yes, it is a new pen. :-) In fact, my packaging doesn't even include the vintage box that holds the pen. Evidently, they only had so many of these that were supposedly stored in their basement to go around. This is no big deal to me at all but I suppose that for the first five minutes or so, it would have been kinda cool to have the vintage box.

BTW, the outer packaging is the same on all of the pens from what I understand and it's just the inner case containing the pen that is/was vintage.

 

It's a very nice pen that really does come close to vintage offerings. I have an 88P and some Parker's, (51's, 21,45) and this fits right in and looks terrific lying next to those in the pen case. It also has a similar feel in the hand.

 

The nib is tuned exceptionally well and has terrific flow. While my 88P is quasi flex, this one is surely a nail but that is fine and what I expected. Based on the hooded design and the smoothness plus the great inkflow, I see no need for it to be gold so no points deducted there IMO.

I like the usual Aurora "tooth" and was expecting it with this nib as well but surprisingly, it's a bit smoother than the other modern Aurora nibs that I have experienced.

 

As far as the price, well, I guess you have to decide if it's worth it to you. Initially, I was a tad skeptical but in the end, I'm glad that I went with it.

 

Do note that if you are expecting to carry two modern Aurora cartridges in the pen, you will be disappointed. The modern Aurora cartridges are longer than standard Internationals and this pen will only hold one of them. I am using the supplied converter, (no idea why Penhabit's pen did not come with a converter) and after inserting it and screwing the barrel down, I get the impression that the converter just about takes up the whole barrel of the pen. This is subjective because there is no transparency and it's not an issue for me at all and it doesn't detract from a terrific pen.

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I was surprised to see this pen too. Even more surprising is how I got hold of one...

 

A chain of well know local supermarkets in the north of Italy started giving away this pen as gifts to clients!

(a promotion run some months ago, in which if you spent a certain amout of money you had rights to participate to an extraction of prizes, top prize was a new Fiat 500...the new Aurora Duo Cart was one of the other prizes.)

I'm one who never wins anything, but I was curious, especially to understand why a grocery store is giving away fountain pens...
and also due to the pen's name, new Aurora and Duo Cart, which I had not heard of before.

On its website the store explains that in 1957 Aurora launched a revolutionary design fountain pen, the famous Duo-Cart, featuring a chromed metal cap with linear guilloches, and a black resin hand-polished barrel, containing a double cartridge system and equipped with a hooded nib.
At that time, in order to counteract the massive arrival of the ball point pen, Aurora launched this cartridge loading pen made for the student market using plastic materials. The cartridges were made of polyethylene based on a project by Giulio Natta, Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The distinctive feature of the pen was the ability to contain a second spare cartridge inside it so you would not find yourself suddenly without ink.

However the web site does not say much about the new Aurora Duo cart...

I was particularly intrigued and wondering if they really had decided to re-issue the old model with the same duo cartridges that can no longer be found today.
Even with a steel nib but the old cartridges it would have been great!
I did some research on the internet and my enthusiasm sank a lot: it is called Duo Cart, it does resembles the Duo Cart, it has the steel nib (no issue I was not expecting it to be gold), it is also quite pretty silver and black, and comes with two cartridges ... but it only takes one at a time!

I do realize it would have been industrially sillly to resume the old cartridges...
the only problem is that the name Duo Cart is not so fitting any more...

Well to cut a long story short, we live very close to one of these stores. My wife heard from a neighbour that she had won one of these pens, but has never written with a fountain pen in her life, and was looking to sell it.

So essentially I "won" the pen for a very very reasonable price.

 

So here is the pen.

I apologize for the quality of the photos, free-hand and with insufficient light, depth of field close to zero.

 

fpn_1497141017__p1110142-2.jpg

 

I find it looks good, vintage Aurora shapes, but the black and chrome also make it look modern

 

fpn_1497141173__p1110144-2.jpg

 

fpn_1497141285__p11101452.jpg

the nib

 

and the cartridge

fpn_1497141346__p1110146-2.jpg

 

I am not a catridge expert and tend to prefer converters, the pen comes with cartridges only, Aurora does make a converter so I ended up buying one.

 

A writing sample: the nib writes a medium to fine line, it's rather rigid but I would not say it's a nail, it has a very slight springiness.
I do like how it feels in the hand, next to a 88P it is slightly shorter but slightly thicker at the middle of the barrel, very comfortable in the hand (snap on cap, and no uncomfortable threads!), I am favourably impressed by the fact it does not feel too thin by today's standards.

The nib is very smooth and I am enjoying the writing experience, it's compact to carry around, but comfortable in use.

 

 

fpn_1497141442__p1110148-2.jpg

 

 

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