Opus 88 Demonstrator: Quick Review

[Karmachanic]

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.

 

 

^-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.

 

 

For clarity. This pen is a Opus 88 Demonstrator. The Opus 88 Koloro is a different pen.

[peroride]

Thank you for the review and update, @TheDutchGuy

 

Great photos, too!

 

I've only had my Opus for a few weeks and still cannot believe how well the stock Jowo #6 Medium writes so well, even though I have several other pens with Jowo.

 

The pen really punches above weight in value.

 

Another thing is, I thought I liked big pens, but it is almost shaving-millimeters-too-big

 

I wish they made it slightly skinnier but still retain #6 and not go to #5 like the Koloro.

 

I look forward to what they come up with next!

[TheDutchGuy]

For clarity. This pen is a Opus 88 Demonstrator. The Opus 88 Koloro is a different pen.

Thanks for clarifying that. Appreciated.

 

Initial impressions are still standing. Very happy with this pen. If I have to do lots of writing during a long meeting, and it has to be readable, this is the one I grab. It’s a superb workhorse pen if you have to do a ton of writing at a brisk pace. I’ve got Sailor Jentle Blue in it, and it’s a good match. Perfect flow.

 

Drawback: as with most blackened metal parts on pens, it flakes off. In this case from the clip.

[infinitypen]

Thanks for the detailed review. Glad that you are enjoying your fountain pen!

[TheDutchGuy]

Two-thirds of a year later and I still love this pen. I tend to go through phases, my moods may change. I can adore a pen in the morning yet by evening I may think it’s a so-so pen. Few pens always feel good to me and the ones that do are usually vintage pens. This pen always feels good.

 

 

It’s a joyful and distinctive pen that often elicits comments from other people. It’s fun to see the ink sloshing around (these days it’s filled with Robert Oster Fire & Ice). The nib, though a run-of-the-mill steel Jowo nib, is awesome. Very touch-sensitive and with a kind of addictive feedback that improves my handwriting. Last but not least, even though this pen is very large, somehow my hand really likes it.

[BDarchitect]

I just bought one and concur with all the positive reactions TheDutchGuy has written. I have a medium nib that performs as flawlessly as the fine nib he describes. I haven't had the cap splatter, though, but that may be a function of how much jostling the pen gets as I drag it through the day with me.

 

Just to comment on a previous post by Karmachanic (13 July 19), this pen is indeed listed as part of the Koloro line, even though it has a different size nib and body shape. Pen Chalet and the Opus 88 website both indicate it is a Koloro Demonstrator model. Not, in the end, that its classification one way or the other really matters.

[cgreenberg19]

Very nice review!

 

I have an Opus 88 Demo that I like to take with me on vacation because of the solid design and high ink capacity. In regard to the rubber ring issue, I think it's probably supposed to be like that. For me it's a mixed bag of positive and negative because that cap is not coming undone unless you want it to, however I agree that it is quite hard to take off.

 

Again, great review.

[WLSpec]

Awesome review and follow up. I may have to treat myself to one someday... right now focused on a P51 but maybe this next!

[DonM]

I have both the Opus 88 Omar demonstrator and this Opus 88 Demonstrator. I like the looks of the square ends on this one better, and this pen is not a bulbous as the Omar. What I like about both pens is that they are large enough to use unposted. But the Jowo nib is definitely a nail, although it writes quite well.

 

The model designation is inconsistent, as I have seen it listed as both the Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator and the Opus 88 Demonstrator. The box is labeled Opus 88 Demonstrator. (We live in a world of inconsistency, it seems).

 

Just a final note on the shut-off mechanism. If you are going to fly with it, point the nib up and open the valve. Tap the pen body gently so the ink from the front chamber drops back into the main chamber, then shut the valve. I normally keep the valve closed to avoid burping as my hand heats up the pen, then when it needs more ink I open the valve to fill the front chamber and close the valve again.

[drwell]

+1 for me

 

I am a very dissatisfied TWSBI Vac700R user and was recommended by LarryPost.com.au in Sydney to try the Opus88 Demonstrator (clear). Jen at Larrypost showed me the medium and broad nib when I called in. I chose the broad.

 

Compared to the TWSBI the things I liked were:

* lighter

* as much ink capacity

* better fit to my hand

* same release screw when writing to be opened

* squarer ends

* nib seems better than TWSBI when I write

 

Some of the other comments are true but do not bother me

*twisting to take off cover

*not meant to be posted

*large in pocket but still fits my shirt pocket ok and does not fall out when i bend oer owing to clip against shirt pocket

* some drips in the inner sheath but miniscule and easily cleaned with tissue

 

It is very comfortable to hold and has become my daily pen. It is a broad nib so I consume ink but the fillsize does not make that a problem.

[Phonz]

Could somebody please give me the size of the o-ring between the feeder holder and the grip section

I lost it

[carolee45]

I have three Opus 88's, with a 1.5 nib, a B nib, and an M nib.  I love all of them, but for some reason, the B started leaking just a bit, but enough to stain my fingers every time I used it.  I inked it with Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which was a mistake, because it just won't come clean.  Right now I am using a ultrasonic cleaner, and yes, it is getting better.  Is there another black ink equivalent that might not stain as much???

[Sk33t3r]

Very nice! I just have a hard time paying that kind of money for a steel nib pen. Admittedly, I'm a newb and don't really have a great feel for the playing field but if I was getting close to that kind of money, I'd go for a Pilot Custom 74 with a gold nib. But that's just me from the outside world where the Vac700R is my high-end pen.

[A Smug Dill]

21 minutes ago, Sk33t3r said:

… if I was getting close to that kind of money, I'd go for a Pilot Custom 74 with a gold nib. But that's just me …

 

I had two Pilot Custom 74, and they were some of the few pens I sold — too incompatible with me to enjoy or like using, too good to just give away randomly to those about whose comfort or developing tastes I'm not concerned (i.e. I didn't want to give them to friends whose interest in fountain pens I'd want to foster, and give them a wrong or unfavourable impression) or just throw in the bin. I'd buy a steel-nibbed Pelikan M205 instead of Pilot Custom 74 any day for “that kind of money”. As for the Opus 88 pens, I like them, and have two more on order, but the Demonstrator (being one of them) was just added to the cart for the hell of it with low expectations on my part. To me, the Opus 88 Picnic is preferable to the Koloro, and both are preferable to any model that is thicker and fitted with a #6 nib; and it's just a happy ‘coincidence’ that the Picnic and Koloro are cheaper too.

[Sk33t3r]

1 hour ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

I had two Pilot Custom 74, and they were some of the few pens I sold — too incompatible with me to enjoy or like using, too good to just give away randomly to those about whose comfort or developing tastes I'm not concerned (i.e. I didn't want to give them to friends whose interest in fountain pens I'd want to foster, and give them a wrong or unfavourable impression) or just throw in the bin. I'd buy a steel-nibbed Pelikan M205 instead of Pilot Custom 74 any day for “that kind of money”. As for the Opus 88 pens, I like them, and have two more on order, but the Demonstrator (being one of them) was just added to the cart for the hell of it with low expectations on my part. To me, the Opus 88 Picnic is preferable to the Koloro, and both are preferable to any model that is thicker and fitted with a #6 nib; and it's just a happy ‘coincidence’ that the Picnic and Koloro are cheaper too.

 

 

Fair enough. To each his own

[TheDutchGuy]

6 hours ago, Sk33t3r said:

I just have a hard time paying that kind of money for a steel nib pen … If I was getting close to that kind of money, I'd go for a Pilot Custom 74 with a gold nib.

 

Shops such as Appelboom retail the Demonstrator for €100, whereas the Pilot C74 retails for about €180.

[Detman101]

Since getting this pen and leaving my Penbbs pens behind...there isn't anything else that I use daily.
I sometimes fill my Penbbs-487 with Blue-Dew flex nib in order to test out an ink...but that's it.
I don't even carry my Apocalypse pen...my Delike Element...when I go into the woods. The Opus-88 is tough enough to handle the outdoors!
My Opus-88 Demo with SODF-Flex is literally everything I need and want.

[Detman101]

On 6/14/2020 at 3:10 PM, alcecena said:

Could somebody please give me the size of the o-ring between the feeder holder and the grip section

I lost it

If you go to an automotive store (Autozone/Pep Boys) and peruse their O-Ring stock, you can find the one that fits your pen.
 

[danshap]

I found the owner in Taiwan and asked him by e-mail for some replacements, which he sent. I forgot how I found hum.

[TheDutchGuy]

12 hours ago, Detman101 said:

The Opus-88 is tough enough to handle the outdoors! My Opus-88 Demo with SODF-Flex is literally everything I need and want.

 

It’s tough! For two years I’ve used mine almost daily and took it everywhere. There’s not a scratch on it. The threads are both super-smooth and super-tight. In as far as it is possible to over-engineer an acrylic pen, this is pretty much it. The pen never feels slippery or sticky in the hand, very comfortable and easy on the hand. Its modular nature makes a super-convenient pen, so easy to clean and so practical. I wanted to dip-test some inks the other day > close the valve > unscrew and clean the nib > test any ink(s) > reverse process and you’re back where you started. Without emptying and cleaning the pen, you can literally use another ink within 2 or 3 minutes.

 

Regarding it being everything I need or want, I definitely agree about the “need” part. About the “want” part, wellll…

 

About O rings: I lightly silicon-grease the threads on mine and so far no ink has ever reached the O-ring. Not even close. I’d feel confident about using the pen without it.

 

While the stock, steel Jowo nibs aren’t bad, I do feel that this pen’s added value is in its awesome practicality and its potential as a platform for stellar aftermarket nibs. I use a super-soft bi-colour XXF nib from fpnibs.com and couldn’t be happier. I’d go as far as to say that this pen/nib combo is the only modern pen to challenge to my Justus 95.