Opus 88 Koloro In Orange - A Modern Japanese Eyedropper

[Sheaffer270]

After lusting after a vintage Japanese eye-dropper, but being unable to afford one in working condition, I decided to settle for a modern one: the Opus 88 Koloro. Prior to this review, I knew nothing about the company, or this particular pen. It wasn't until I was browsing Pen Chalet and noticed a sale they were running that I stumbled across this (*edit: Taiwanese) brand. They also manufacture luxury or boutique pens which sell for thousands of dollars. Below is a link to their entire line-up of pens:

http://www.jingi.com.tw/product.php?pt_sn=12

Now, for the 88. The pen comes in a magnetic flap box and is nestled in a foam insert along with an eyedropper for filling. There is also an instruction booklet which tells you how to fill the pen and operate the shut-off valve. After taking the pen out of the box and closely examining it, I am happy to report that the fit and finish of this pen is superb. As a soon-to-be Engineer grad with a focus in quality in manufacturing and production, I really appreciate the craftsmanship in this pen. The machined acrylic is pleasantly smooth to the touch, as is the ebonite sections on the cap and shut-off valve knob. The fit of all the trim components is tight with no visible gaps and no rattles in the pen whatsoever. The plastic is very translucent with no cloudy spots or scratches (one of the pics below has a glare on it from an open window, it is NOT a scratch). All of the threads on the pen are well-machined and smooth. There is a slight step down from the barrel to the section but this is cleverly hidden by the threads on the body. The pen fits very nicely in the hand, however I would not want it to be any shorter. Its just a bit longer than a Pelikan M200, but the section is quite a bit thicker which makes it very comfortable for long writing sessions.
The cap, however is quite heavy and throws the balance of the pen off quite a bit. I would use this unposted, but some may not find that to be an issue. The cap also has no slip cap or cap liner so ink splatters are clearly visible, should they occur. i chose a Medium nib after reading that Opus' nibs run on the fine side and i'm glad that I did, as the medium is much more like a European fine. The nib is steel and wrote smoothly out of the box. I plan on swapping the stock nib with a Franklin Christoph SIG Medium nib in the near future. The cap takes ~3.25 turns to uncap, which feels a little long but is still manageable. The section has a rubber o-ring to further protect against any ink leakage. The valve unit is well made and feels solid, however I did put a touch of silicone grease on the shaft as it was a little stiff when I first operated it. It's very smooth now is pleasant to operate, taking very little effort to extend or retract. Overall I am very satisfied with my purchase, I wasn't sure what to expect initially, but am very pleased with the quality and refinement of the pen.

 

I haven't found a good image hosting website that FPN likes yet (i used to use photobucket, but haven't since they started charging money) so here is an album with images of the pen along with a writing sample. If I upload the images to another site I will update the post with embedded pictures.

EDIT: Thanks to Jamerelbe for helping me embed the pictures!

 

 

 

(NOT A SCRATCH, BUT A GLARE)

Edited January 9, 2018 by Sheaffer270

[benbot517]

Thanks for the review! I think these are interesting pens, may have to get one in the future!

[hari317]

nice to see a modern ED pen with shutoff valve. Thanks for the review.

[southpaw]

Thanks for the review of a neat pen. Coiple of questions, if i may. Is the nib a #5 or a #6? What are the dimensions of the pen? Thanks

[Mech-for-i]

Opus 88 is a Taiwan independent pen brand and do thrir own pen turning. Not Japanese

[Sheaffer270]

Thanks for the review of a neat pen. Coiple of questions, if i may. Is the nib a #5 or a #6? What are the dimensions of the pen? Thanks

The pen comes with a #5 nib. The length of the pen capped is 5.6 in (142 mm), uncapped length from the tip of the nib to the end of the valve cap is 4.9 in (125 mm), the section is 0.467 in (12.9 mm) at the thickest point and tapers down to 0.39 in (10 mm) before flaring slightly to 0.415 in (10.5 mm). The barrel is 0.54 in (13.8 mm) at its widest point. The length of the section (I measured from where the threads on the body stop to the flared section at the base of the nib is 0.9 in (22.8 mm). The cap is 2.5 in (63.5 mm) long

[Sheaffer270]

Opus 88 is a Taiwan independent pen brand and do thrir own pen turning. Not Japanese

Correct, when I said "Japanese Eyedropper" I was simply referring to the filling system. I don't know if that is technically the correct term but that is what I have always called them. I have edited the post to reflect this.

[KellyMcJ]

What an interesting pen- I saw these a few days ago and was intrigued. I still am. Very nice!

[avlisyar]

I've had one for about two months. It is quite nice and

for the price, it offers a lot of bang for the buck. It is easy

to fill, easy to flush out and swapping nibs is simple. I

changed out the #5 Broad for a #5 JoWo Broad CI and

I couldn't be happier.

[Honeybadgers]

I really want one of these. I'm not sure I like the 88 koloro's #5 nib, but I don't like the look of the clear eyedropper (which has a #6)

 

I wish the #6 could be had with the koloro's blue/tan color. I'd buy that in an instant.

[Jamerelbe]

Thanks for the review - just FYI, I've found imgur works pretty well for posting pictures on FPN. Within your photo list / album, click on the picture you want to embed, and from the list of links provided on the right, copy and past the one headed "BBCode (message boards & forums)". When you submit your post, the image will appear in place of the link.

 

Another way of doing this: I've just surfed over to your imgur album link, copied the image address for one of your pictures, and bracketed it with on either side: image_address[imb] - and it's embedded the picture below. As long as you don't delete the image from your album, it should stay here.

 

I've been using imgur for a few years now (I think) on FPN, and so far so good - unless they move to a user-pay model too...

 

 

 

[Sheaffer270]

Thanks for the review - just FYI, I've found imgur works pretty well for posting pictures on FPN. Within your photo list / album, click on the picture you want to embed, and from the list of links provided on the right, copy and past the one headed "BBCode (message boards & forums)". When you submit your post, the image will appear in place of the link.

 

Another way of doing this: I've just surfed over to your imgur album link, copied the image address for one of your pictures, and bracketed it with on either side: image_address[imb] - and it's embedded the picture below. As long as you don't delete the image from your album, it should stay here.

 

I've been using imgur for a few years now (I think) on FPN, and so far so good - unless they move to a user-pay model too...

 

 

 

Fantastic, thanks very much for the help!

[zaddick]

Thanks for the review. I know they made some high end urushi pens for others but good to see a more entry level shutoff valve eyedropper.

[Polanova]

Entry level shut-off valve eyedropper for 2800 $ Did I miss something?

[gerigo]

Taiwanese dollar. It translates to about 95 USD

Entry level shut-off valve eyedropper for 2800 $ Did I miss something?

[Polanova]

Thank you, gerigo - wasn`t aware of Taiwanese $`s

That`s indeed a terrific price (actually I`m tempted)

[Honeybadgers]

I'm hoping I can afford one soonish. I am buying a real japanese eyedropper first though!

[southpaw]

Because of this review, I grabbed a blue on blue one and a bottle of Organic Studios Nitrogen ink. Inspire of having a #5 nub, this is not a small pen. I like larger diameter pens and this one suits me nicely. I couldn't leave well enough alone, though, and soon dropped a Franklin-Christoph #5 fine S.I.G. nib into to spice up the writing a bit.

[Sheaffer270]

Because of this review, I grabbed a blue on blue one and a bottle of Organic Studios Nitrogen ink. Inspire of having a #5 nub, this is not a small pen. I like larger diameter pens and this one suits me nicely. I couldn't leave well enough alone, though, and soon dropped a Franklin-Christoph #5 fine S.I.G. nib into to spice up the writing a bit.

Glad to have persuaded you! I also put a #5 SIG nib in mine shortly after I purchased it; but mine is a medium. I agree a #6 nib would be ideal, but other than that I have no complaints with the pen. I hope you enjoy yours!

Edited January 26, 2018 by Sheaffer270

[southpaw]

Glad to have persuaded you! I also put a #5 SIG nib in mine shortly after I purchased it; but mine is a medium. I agree a #6 nib would be ideal, but other than that I have no complaints with the pen. I hope you enjoy yours!

Hahaha! Great minds...

 

Now, I completely agree rd the #6 nib, which is why one of the demo versions is a must! It's a little bit bigger and...you guessed it...has the #6 nib.