Will I Ever Find A Good 88?

[Aysedasi]

2-3 years ago I bought an Aurora 88P. It was a nice pen, but the nib was damaged (I knew that when I bought it - cheap). Oxonian did his best with it but I never got on with it and later sold it. I missed it - I love the style of the 88 and the piston-filler makes it a real winner. So recently I bought an 88K on Ebay. Good price. The pen was excellent - until I filled it and it leaked all over the place. The seller (in Romania) took it back and refunded me. Undaunted, I recently bought what I understood to be a pretty old 88 which was said to be fully functioning with a lightly dented cap. Well, it arrived yesterday. The cap looked as though a rabid dog had chewed on it mercilessly, but, hey, ho, I only really wanted a user-grade pen. But it wouldn't fill - at all. The seller (in Italy) told me to warm the section and the top of the barrel in warm water. Hey presto - it filled absolutely fine. It wrote pretty well too. Until I'd been using it for a minute or so and I realised I was covered in ink. There is a crack in the hood and ink is also escaping from the (air?) hole in the barrel...... I'm really disappointed.

 

Both of these recent purchases have been reasonably cheap - and I supposed I've learned the hard way that you get what you pay for. I'm still interested in getting hold of another (they can't all be duff, surely)? but I doubt that I'll risk Ebay again.......

[Blade Runner]

The Aurora Archivi Storici is a modern re-issue of the old 88. I bought one (piston filler), and it works great and has brand new components.

[flexnib]

Follow this link on etsy and contact the shop. He has had some real nice 88's for sale in the past at very nice prices.

 

https://www.etsy.com/people/tiadesign

[Leftytoo]

Sorry to hear of your problems. My vintage "88" is one of my favorite pens. Sounds like your pen is burping. Mine did, too, but I got rid of 95% of the problem by doing three things:

1) I unscrewed the section, and discovered an ebonite plug that can be twisted to control ink flow to the nib. So I throttled down flow.

2) When I re-assembled the section, I put beeswax on the threads to form an air-tight seal.

3) Finally, each time I fill the pen I immediately stick a wad of paper towel against the nib to suck out the first blob of ink that forms.

 

Really worth the effort, because this is a really great pen and a joy to use.

Bob

[Inguz]

If you find another one that doesn't fill I would also suggest you Google Dan Smith, I think he goes by Danzemman here. I sent him 2 Auroras that weren't filling and just got them back from him beautifully restored. He changed seals and made sure everything was working properly for a pretty decent fee.

[tknechtel]

I bought several great Italian pens, including a wonderful reliable 88, from Paolo Mijno here on FPN. I'd recommend any of his pens.

[Aysedasi]

Thanks for the advice guys. Frankly, this pen is low grade and I don't believe it's worth spending more money on it. So it's going back to Italy. I shall keep up my search for a nice 88. I don't want a modern one as it's the hooded pen that has the character that I want.

[Aysedasi]

Follow this link on etsy and contact the shop. He has had some real nice 88's for sale in the past at very nice prices.

 

https://www.etsy.com/people/tiadesign

 

It doesn't look as though there's anything available at the moment.

[JonSzanto]

Keep after it, it is worth the hunt (the vintage, NOT the modern). I found one and realized I loved it, spent a year to get a matching (in different nib size). Just a couple weeks ago jlepens (here on FPN) found a nice one at the LA Pen Show. Stick to it - you'll get one eventually.

[daoud62]

I was similarly disappointed with the two 88P's I bought on ebay, and I paid too much for them (as there was a bidding war and I was determined). Luckily, I managed to get the bent nib on one tweaked by Richard Binder, and the really bent nib on the other rectified by Tim Girdler. Neither of them has ever leaked, thank God. I saw two nice ones at the LA Pen Show, and they were going for $200 a piece, which I think is a fair price for an 88P that works straight away without a problem. You can find them for cheaper on ebay.it, but you are taking a big chance. I understood from an Italian friend that Aurora 88's were commonly given as gifts in the 1950s to high school and college graduates, and many of them were simply mishandled or forgotten about...these forgotten gifts, it seems, are the pens that one finds commonly for sale on the auction site in Italy.

[MarcShiman]

I have an 88 that I love to use, but these pens have caveats with them. Personally, I like a little character in my nib, and a 51 just doesn't do it for me. The 88's can have very expressive nibs.

 

Their problem - you have to keep using them, or the pistons dry and seize up. They become difficult to get going again. Its because of this that a lot of the Italian pen dealers don't stock a lot of them. I had a friend in Italy a few years ago lamenting that he had 5 or 6 of them for sale, but because they hadn't been filled, he couldn't sell them without opening them up again.

 

You have had some bad luck in buying them though - usually they are quite restorable.

[JonSzanto]

Personally, I like a little character in my nib, and a 51 just doesn't do it for me. The 88's can have very expressive nibs.

 

It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one that feels that way!

[Aysedasi]

I love 51s - I have about a dozen - but the 88 is an even more elegant pen, in my opinion. I search for them, but tend to find most of them have very fine nibs (which are useless to me) or have flex (which is also useless to me!). The last two I bought very cheaply, I admit - around the $80 mark, hence my comment about getting what you pay for. Frankly I'd be pretty unlikely to pay more than, $100 for one, unless I can make a few sales to raise some funds.....

Edited February 27, 2014 by Aysedasi

[MarcShiman]

if your thing is broad, stiff nibs, you won't like vintage Italian pens. They generally have long, elegant and very fine nibs that flex easily.

[frenchguy86]

I hope the one I bought on ebay and not yet received will work fine, got it for a good price and in the description the seller said it has a slightly bent nib... after looking at aurora 88P on the web I found out that very few still have strait nib...

 

Price on ebay always seems great, but status of the pen in the end always seems hit and miss for vintage pens.

[fabri00]

It doesn't look as though there's anything available at the moment.

 

Write him an email.

88 is a common pen, and Im sure he has many, but not listedi in his site.

[Aysedasi]

I may try that. Thanks

[DrRoger]

May I suggest also Tom Westerich (penboard Tom) who has some good 88P. I guess you'd not consider a duocart with convertor? My experience is that they run a little wider than the 88P but that's based on a sample of four of each.

Roger

[Aysedasi]

Call me an old traditionalist, but the lure of the piston-filler is just too great........