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Opus 88 Demonstrator: Quick Review


TheDutchGuy

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At the Dutch Pen Show, which was held in Utrecht, Holland on June 16th 2019, Appelboom offered the Opus 88 Demonstrator at a price I could not resist. Id been eyeing this brand for some time, not because I needed another pen, but because I did not yet have an eye-dropper in my small collection.

 

fpn_1560786797__7cb087af-2d80-4377-8f92-

 

Much has been written on FPN about this brand and these pens, so Ill be brief.

 

+ The design really catches the eye. Personally, I love this clear, translucent pen.

+ Construction, fit and finish are far beyond the price point of this pen. It punches above its weight. It is very, very well made.

+ A rubber ring seals the pen, so no need to grease the threads.

+ Whopping ink capacity.

+ Even without initial flushing and cleaning (I know, its a sin) the pen wrote perfectly as soon as I inked it up.

+ Perfect ink flow, not overly saturated, not pale. Just right.

+ The steel Jowo #6 F-nib is yet another example of a well-made, modern steel nib that makes me forget what its made of (along with Leonardos nibs and the nibs on the new Pineider Avatar UR, just to name two). It writes a fine line, on the EF side of F by European standards. Its very smooth, yet has a wonderful pencil-like feedback that reminds me of a Sailor-without-tooth. Who needs gold?

+ Its featherlight for a pen of this size (its by far the largest pen in my collection, larger than the Cross Peerless 125, larger than a Pelikan M800, substantially larger than a TWSBI ECO)

+ Fits my hand like a glove, despite its size (optimal pen sizes for my hands are a Sailor 1911 Standard, a Parker 51 or a Sheaffer Targa).

 

/ The rubber ring that seals the pen is under high pressure when the pen is screwed together. I wonder how long this rubber will last. I also wonder where to find a new ring.

/ The ink stop (operated by turning the filial) doesnt really add anything. The manual warns to remove ink from the pen before taking it on an airplane, so whats the point? In theory it might be used to adjust wetness, but unless you use the wettest ink on the planet I dont think this will get much use.

/ The pen will not fit into a shirt pocket. Nor a suit pocket. It barely fits into my Visconti pen pouch. And it does not fit at all inside the elastic bands of my other pen pouch...

 

fpn_1560787896__daf42628-e055-40ed-9e33-

^-Nope, wont fit.

 

All things considered, for the 80 euros I paid for this pen, euro-for-euro it might be the best deal Ive ever had on a new pen. This pen will see a lot of use. Highly recommended.

Edited by TheDutchGuy
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^-For some reason, the is being removed from the above text. Dont know why (I wrote don t, but it shows up as dont). Very irritating.

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^-For some reason, the is being removed from the above text. Dont know why (I wrote don t, but it shows up as dont). Very irritating.

Check this thread for a possible solution to your problem:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/345254-apostrophes-disappear-when-posting-from-phone/?hl=apostrophe&do=findComment&comment=4190454

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If only they could reduce the number of cap rotations. 4 turns to get to the nib is just irritating. Otherwise such a great looking pen

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If only they could reduce the number of cap rotations. 4 turns to get to the nib is just irritating.

Doesn’t bother me at all. I barely notice it anymore.

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Great review.

I have two of the Opus 88 demonstrator pens; one translucent grey with a medium nib and one clear with a stub. I do like both of them and find the stopper function useful as I do travel on planes with these pens and haven't had a leaking or burping issue yet. I do forget to loosen the plug sometimes, but it reminds me when I start to run dry in the middle of the page. The stopper is a plus for me.

 

What I don't much care for is not being able to post the cap. The unbroken cylinder lines of this pen appeal to me, and this non-tapered design understandably prevents the cap from being posted as it is the same diameter as the barrel. One gives up being able to post the cap to maintain the sleek look of this pen. It's a trade off; look versus posting, and even though I have to keep track of the cap when I use this pen, I keep using it over others that do post.

 

Opus 88 has another version of the Koloro pen that is slightly smaller that retains the eyedropper fill/plug system that does post, and i use that one as well. It uses a #5 nib (mine is a fine) instead of the Demonstrator's larger #6, and is a touch shorter with a tapered barrel that allows the cap to be posted. Overall I prefer the larger Demonstrator even though I have to remember where I put the cap.

 

Both great pens with pretty nice nibs.

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any pics of the pen uncapped?

thanks

fpn_1560920426__b000fb7f-7902-4cde-bea9-

 

This nib also has the elusive quality that it improves my handwriting. Not many pens do that.

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thank you! do you feel the step section/barrel? it looks a little sharp...

No, I don’t notice it at all. The width of the section is something to reckon with, though. It’s by far teh widest section of all my pens. Not everyone wil enjoy that.

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The pen IS girthy! It is almost 15 mm, as large as a 149 at it's widest point. (14.9 versus 14.8 mm).

There is a step between the barrel and section, but the section is pretty long. I have large hands and even my fingers don't encroach on the step to the barrel.

All in all, a very comfortable pen to hold.

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The section is very comfortable, but wide. As in _real_ wide. You won’t know if you like like it until you try it.

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Thank you both for your answers. If it's girthier than MB 149, it would be at my limit of girthiness, though at 27g, it should still be comfortable to hold. Very nice, especially for the price.

 

The pen IS girthy! It is almost 15 mm, as large as a 149 at it's widest point. (14.9 versus 14.8 mm).

There is a step between the barrel and section, but the section is pretty long. I have large hands and even my fingers don't encroach on the step to the barrel.

All in all, a very comfortable pen to hold.

 

 

The section is very comfortable, but wide. As in _real_ wide. You won’t know if you like like it until you try it.

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Very nice, especially for the price.

 

Absolutely! Cant believe I got this pen for 80 euros. Its scary good straight out of the box. I used it for hours at work today and I enjoyed every word. This pen is of high quality, has a great price/performance ratio, improves my handwriting but most of all it is enjoyable.

 

Another bonus: the line width of the F nib is exactly right for me: finer than most Western Fs but wider than a typical Japanese F.

Edited by TheDutchGuy
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First week update:

 

+ Fantastic writer! I keep grabbing this pen. The feel of the nib on paper is awesome.

 

/ It’s impossible to keep the inside of the cap free of ink. If that bothers you (and it bothers me), then frequent cleaning is required. There’s a ridge halfway inside the cap - very difficult to clean ink around that ridge. Better to not use water-resistant inks in this pen!

 

/ It’s my first eye-dropper, so I was not prepared for the side-effects of this huge ink reservoir. As it empties, ink gets replaced by air. Contrary to ink, air expands as it warms op. Today I’d been working in an airconditioned room and then moved to a non-airconditioned room. As I was writing with the pen, the feed became fully saturated and I quickly grabbed a paper towel to prevent ink dropping from the pen. Granted, the climate change I subjected the pen to was unusually large (it’s well over 30 degrees Celsius here today), but to be safe I’ll need to learn to control the shut-off valve.

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Thank you for the review....

 

and thank you for the update also ....

i will now actually buy this for sure

vaibhav mehandiratta

architect & fountain pen connoisseur

 

blog | instagram | twitter

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

First month update.

 

Spectacular value for money. If you need a real workhorse pen, then I cannot think of a better pen at this price point (just under 100 Euros, though I paid 80 euros for mine at last month's Dutch Pen Show).

 

Airplane safe? Check.

Endless ink supply? Check.

Sturdy? Durable? Check.

Pleasant nib? Check! And then some. This nib is great!

Fun to look at? Check.

Fun to use? Check.

Good materials? Check. It feels real nice.

 

The main criticisms: you can forget about keeping the inside of the cap clean. Even frequent rinsing and the use of a light brush doesn't remove all the ink. Also some ink creeps between the transparant section and the feed, which looks a bit messy. Last but not least: those who like their pens small and/or slim should seek elsewhere - thing thing is huge.

 

Over the last month, the Koloro Demonstrator has been my main work writer. Hours and hours and hours. Not only has it performed flawlessly, it has been fun.

 

So how good is it? Let me put it this way: after selling a few pens that I didn't use much, I recently got a Pilot Justus 95. That's a really, really, really good pen which melts into your hand and has a spectacular, adjustable, gold nib. I paid 80 euros for the Koloro and 270 euros for the Justus, i.e. roughly 3.5x as much. Is the Justus the better pen? Yes, absolutely. Is it also 3.5x better? No, no way. The Koloro punches far above its weight.

 

fpn_1563042772__img_20190713_203017_resi

^-My two largest pens. The Koloro appears truly giant, the Justus less so, but in reality the Justus is nearly as large as the Koloro! However the extra width of the Koloro also makes it feel giant, whereas the Justus just melts into the hand. That, and the spectacular nib of the Justus, make it the better pen. Which, at almost 3.5x the price, it should be.

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