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Opus 88: Fantasia, Picnic & Koloro


tonybelding

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I love the beige-teal Koloro and have almost bought it 3 or 4 times now, but the choice of resin section in place of ebonite has been bothering me.

Go ahead. Deprive yourself! :P I have Ebonite pens and love them dearly. My Koloro is constantly in rotation.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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Too many great pens already to add anything less than just right at this point ;). The basic, generic steel nibs are a deterrent to at that price.

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

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Too many great pens already to add anything less than just right at this point ;). The basic, generic steel nibs are a deterrent to at that price.

 

I scored an acrylic 88 in brown (I do honestly prefer the ebonite blue/grey and would prefer it more with ebonite, but couldn't turn down the price) with a B nib for $50.

 

I do have to say, the nibs are kind of boring and uninteresting. I have a B, bought an EF to swap, both are fine, nothing amazing, but what you are getting is a wonderful base for a vintage or alternate nib. I swapped in a TWSBI EF from a 580, and the much broader 580 nib looks way, way better and writes a treat. I can also throw in a #5 gold nib I got from a wing sung 698 or any number of custom #5's. Throw a bock titanium nib in there or a 14k JoWo from FPnibs. The shutoff makes them great traveling pens.

 

It's a bummer the nib is uninteresting, but it's so easy to swap that it suddenly makes the pen a lot better. It's like a penbbs pen. I bought it and enjoy it thoroughly with a different nib.

 

The only gripes I have about the 88 acrylic is that it doesn't post very well. it posts, but not super securely, when it easily could've been made to post deeply. Which is a bummer, because that kind of prevents it from being a perfect travel pen. I guess the fantasia works, but I hate threaded post pens with the sole exception of the cross spire.

 

Does the koloro post securely?

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Yes, the Koloro does post nicely.

 

I'm not sure which model you mean by "88 acrylic" though?

 

Picnic. Forgot the name, despite it being in the thread title :P

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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I might be wrong, but I don't think any of Opus 88 pens are made with acrylic. They are all resin/plastic and some have ebonite accents (Koloro).

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

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I might be wrong, but I don't think any of Opus 88 pens are made with acrylic. They are all resin/plastic and some have ebonite accents (Koloro).

 

All of the "plastic" parts of the opus 88's are turned acrylic.

 

They have a very, very strong distinct "superglue" odor of the cyanoacrolates inside the cap and barrel.

 

they're not injection molded

Edited by Honeybadgers

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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I'm actually very happy with the F and EF nibs I got on my (three) Opus 88 Picnic pens. I certainly can't say the same about the nibs that come standard on PenBBS 308/309 pens. So much so, after buying two Picnic pens from Fontoplumo at a bargain first, I couldn't let pass the opportunity to score a third one even more cheaply (by a very slim margin) in my wife's preferred colour, because I enjoy the use of those pens and I wanted her to have one of her own to use as the rare (as in odd) pen that needs a larger capacity for a basic/staple writing ink.

 

I've been tempted by the shape of the Koloro and the coloured accents, but that it has ebonite is not a plus (but also not a minus). Ebonite, celluloid, ... I can understand they may be more expensive materials than plastic/resin/acrylic to begin with, and thus in a teardown the components cost more and so a user may conclude there is more inherent value in the item (but for what, when the ebonite components cannot be repurposed?), but in and of itself ebonite is just as dull, boring and uninteresting as plastic, and some acrylics look far prettier.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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All of the "plastic" parts of the opus 88's are turned acrylic.

 

They have a very, very strong distinct "superglue" odor of the cyanoacrolates inside the cap and barrel.

 

they're not injection molded

I am so happy youve told me this Ill take their pens off my wish list. Acrylic feels too hard and kind of slippery to menot a fan of having it on sections. I hoped they were plastic of Sailor type and the like.

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

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Ebonite, celluloid, ... in and of itself ebonite is just as dull, boring and uninteresting as plastic, and some acrylics look far prettier.

Now I have to step up and defend ebonite a little. It's one of the most classic and time-proven materials for pens. It has a different look, feel and texture from acrylic, and it can be very lovely. Preferring it is simply a matter of taste.

 

It's sort of like gold nibs. When noobs ask questions about wanting to get their first gold nib, and how much better it's going to be than a steel nib, I'm usually quick to jump in and disabuse them of the notion. No, gold nibs don't write better, they aren't better in any measurable, functional way. They're merely an affectation, an anachronism, a historic holdover that would never even be considered if fountain pens were being invented today. And yet… When I pick up my 1940s Sheaffer Triumph desk pen with the stripped celluloid body and the massive, tubular, two-tone colored 14K gold nib that writes like a dream, I have to nod and smile and think to myself: "Yes. This is how it should be." I just can't help it.

 

 

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I am so happy youve told me this Ill take their pens off my wish list. Acrylic feels too hard and kind of slippery to menot a fan of having it on sections. I hoped they were plastic of Sailor type and the like.

 

I know what you're talking about and they're exactly what you're describing, so definitely steer clear!

 

Sailor uses ABS plastic in the cheaper pens and polycarbonate in the nicer ones (I think mont blanc's "prescious resin" might be a polycarbonate) and Lamy's makrolon is polycarbonate. The lamy safari is ABS. ABS tends to have that "softness" and polycarbonates can develop that deeper luster.

 

Doesn't bother me, personally, but an ebonite section on the koloro would be really, really cool.

Edited by Honeybadgers

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Indeed! I do like the Montblanc "plastic" as well as a number of other plastics. Mostly any plastics I've tried to date on fountain pens has been fine. I just really dislike acrylic for pen sections. Any time I see Ranga pens do a group buy here with acrylic materials instead of their wonderful ebonite selection, I think "Why...."

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

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Now I have to step up and defend ebonite a little. It's one of the most classic and time-proven materials for pens. It has a different look, feel and texture from acrylic, and it can be very lovely. Preferring it is simply a matter of taste.

 

It's sort of like gold nibs. When noobs ask questions about wanting to get their first gold nib, and how much better it's going to be than a steel nib, I'm usually quick to jump in and disabuse them of the notion. No, gold nibs don't write better, they aren't better in any measurable, functional way. They're merely an affectation, an anachronism, a historic holdover that would never even be considered if fountain pens were being invented today. And yet… When I pick up my 1940s Sheaffer Triumph desk pen with the stripped celluloid body and the massive, tubular, two-tone colored 14K gold nib that writes like a dream, I have to nod and smile and think to myself: "Yes. This is how it should be." I just can't help it.

 

 

 

Yeah I don't subscribe to Gil's position on that either. even ABS feels dramatically different to polycarbonate, I don't love acrylics because of how hard they are, they're borderline slippery like chrome sections. But give me a celluloid pen and an acrylic pen and I can tell you the difference right away in how they feel in the hand.

 

Ebonite is a completely unique feeling material too. Very shock resistant, ALWAYS warm to the touch, I like the sulphur smell they have (all my hears racing cars has left "burning rubber" as one of my genuine favorite smells)

 

It also is a bit more of a "natural" product that has inherent flaws and character, like wood.

 

And celluloid can achieve effects and depths of color that acrylic can't. Hot fused acrylic (like the classic pens LB5) can come close, but no material has ever come close to the beauty of the stacked celluloids of the parker vacumatics and visconti metro/divina metro, in my opinion.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Please stop putting pictures of these pens up... :lol: the more I see the more I want them, and I'm trying to save up for the Baltimore pen show! (The more I stare at your photography the more I'm tempted...)

 

Great review and nice eye candy!

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  • 1 year later...

I just picked up a green picnic from r/penswap and guys she's a beauty. 

 

Is has an extra fine nib and it's a little too fine for me. (great for certain problem inks, looking at you noodler's) But with such a great ink capacity I may want to opt for a fine/medium line for just a bit more richness in the ink color. And also it will take me a year to use up this ink with my EF nib. 

 

I was noticing the discussion on how easy it is to just get a second nib unit and I am very interested in having a few different nibs for this pen just so I can change it up in the same pen. What are your favorite places to get nib units? I see Franklin Christoph has them and some fancy versions. The Picnic, Koloro and Fantasia all seem to have the same #5 unit. 

 

Also I found that tiny O ring that everyone has been talking about. I think that if it falls out you could get a replacement at a tattoo parlor. It looks exactly like the tiny O ring you would put on the back of your stretched ears. Maybe an 8G. People lose them all the time so anyplace that sells body jewelry would have individual spare mini O rings.

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