Great Pen Bad Nib - Opus 88 Demonstrator 2022 Color Of The Year Fountain Pen Review
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- čas přidán 15. 09. 2023
- Thanks again so much to Appelboom for supplying this Opus 88 Demonstrator fountain pen for review. Please check their site for details.
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This pen is such a beauty!
About the nib: the regular Jowo #6 EF nib is probably as flexible as the "flex" one. The good thing about Jowo compatible pens is that you can swap the nib to pretty much whatever you want. I see the Opus 88 pens as the perfect nib holders: great for artists.
Agree! I love using the pilot parallel nib in mine.
@@geckonia Lovely combo!
Anything "strictly against" using older dip-pen nibs? Looks good to fit, and I DO have a dremel and about A MILLION of them to fart around with... many more flexible and offering (or very suggestive) a wider line variation than on the market... haha... I am thinking of mischief (just so you know). ;o)
You can even squeeze 3.6mL in there if you pull the rod back and fill it to the brim. Then you can shove the rod back forward to push the air in the antechamber and feed out; also has the advantage that it's ready to write immediately instead of having to wait as if you've put a cartridge in there.
Flex nibs do not work with plastic feeds. If you’re gonna put a “flex” nib on a pen it really needs to be an ebonite feed. I had an FPR pen with the ebonite feed that would even struggle to keep up with the ink needed for the nib but after taking a razor blade down the slit in the feed a couple times, and cleaning it out so there’s no little bits of ebonite left in the channel, it is a fire hose. Not in a bad way either. You can really flex it out and have beautiful stunning line variation and the nib is never starved for ink.
Opus 88 pens are nice and I can appreciate that they offer a valve-operated eye-droppers. This mechanism is difficult to find at an affordable price in modern pens. And I agree the uncapping takes too many turns. I have a Majohn C4 which takes just 2 turns to uncap, though it tends to want to cross-thread when capping. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised with the build quality of the C4. I recommend checking it out if you haven't already.
I had my eyes on that! do you like the pen overall?
@@lorenzoemmepi3302I love it and I always have it inked up. And (also to my surprise) I've never had it dry out on me. It has, at times, been sitting on my desk while I have been away for 2-3 weeks, and then starts up immediately when I return and use it again.
When I first got it, I found the nib to be a little scratchy and dry, so I had to tinker with it a bit. But it's now the smoothest steel EF nib I have.
Thank you for another amazing review Doodlebud!!
My pleasure!
Thanks Doodlebud. Your engineering and manufacturing insights are fascinating.
The alignment issue aside, sometimes there is a little swarf or grease in the feed from manufacturing. I have has a few pens which skipped when they arived and taking the nib apart and flushing the parts with soapy water has resolved it.
Thank you - an excellent video.
Yup, flushing a pen when you first get it is a good practice
I have an Opus 88 Demo. I have two nibs (non-flex Fine and ExtraFine). They both write very well - I mean 100% perfectly. I like using the pen a lot. I wish that Opus made pens in smaller diameter with the #6 size nib. As far as I can tell the Minty is the thinnest one. The build quality is great. Price is very fair. More about the size - it really is huge but also I do use it more than other huge pens I had like the Sailor King of Pen
Love my Opus 88 Omar with the broad nib…love the shut off valve for the added security to prevent ink leaking while in pocket. Thanks Doodlebud for another show and tell video on fountain pens. Cheers from blustery Nova Scotia! MikeR.
Haven't used my Omar in a while, I should bust it out again
I don't know about Opus exactly (don't have one at the moment)... BUT with eydroppers, some companies don't just intend the "shutoff valve" to be strictly for shutting off. Apparently, it started as a "hack" among artists, that you could vary the "wetness" of a pen by the shutoff valve, and some companies have since started INTENTIONALLY making the shutoff "dual-purpose" as an ink-flow control. I know, it has a feed and "Any feed worth salt would still allow the nib to write fine until it was dry"... BUT on some models, apparently, it's fiddly enough that without a supreme amount of farting around, completely shutting the valve is tantamount to "wet enough to avoid hard-starts but unwritable"... or something like that. I don't exactly get it either, but I'm not a pen engineer, and admittedly, my fluid dynamics knowledge kinda hits a bit of a skid past fundamental syphons, flow-actuated (or gravity-actuated) water pumps, and laminar flow around golf-balls... SO It's just worth acknowledging that there might be engineering involved and it might also just be an excuse to cheap-out and let the valve widen tolerances where they shouldn't need it...
NOT to say anything argumentative, like "You're wrong"... when I think I could see a little "baby's butt" going on, even considering the lighting... BUT it's within the "rumor-mill" and you might want to know if you don't already... haha...
Great review, and I have PLENTY of nibs laying around that would probably be imminently "fittable" to the thing,.. room to play when I've got a little time set aside. As an artist, I LOVE to play... ;o)
Very cool. I recently had tines too tight, jinhao's most common problem when it seldom has one, instead of bending it I decided to try running sand paper through the breather hole and then gaining access to sand the thickest tine from in between them, but it didn't let enough paper in to grab. Surprisingly, the nins, with gentle persuasion opened up with a downward writing angle, and I ran it straight along the edge of the sheet and cornered and kept going. Three times around the sandpaper sheet took a scary big amount of material, but it opened my tines and after straightening and a slight polishing of the nib with my ladies' nail sander set, the pen writes super well! I'm putting your video on my fountain pen playlist! You have many there already. Have a great weekend.
Not a bad looking pen, i just cant believe they ADDED turns to their pens, used to be 3 on the one i bought. Also, please continue to do the measurements the way you did in this video: super accurate "[this] is this....section widest is this....thinnest is this", efficient & accurate, please continue. May the triune God bless you!
Hi DB!: Good overview on this pen. I think you are spot on about how those nibs turn out to be more prone to be factory defects. Pen doesn't do anything for me personally, but I can see how nice it would be to have a HUGE ink capacity. Like if you were writing a short story or a book. Keep the great videos comin'!
I have several Opus 88 pens, including a clear Demonstrator with a B nib that I bought used. My other ones are EF and F (Picnic, Jazz, and Bela). The new pens required silicone grease to fix the squeaky threads and the sticky shutoff valve piston, but since I use them for longhand journaling I live with the many turns, although I'd appreciate fewer turns tbh. I don't have use for flex writing, so I don't see myself struggling with that type of nib. Thanks for another informative review.
I really like the Opus 88 pen for long writing sessions. I put a Franklin Cristoph gold nib on mine though.
Yup they hold a ton of ink and I find them to be very comfortable
I love all their nibs.
I purchased a couple of their nibs for the pens that I make and found them to be good quality. One did need a bit of adjusting though. That one was a Broad Jowo #5.
Previously, I had been using Jowo #6 nibs from FPR, including their ultraflex which is one of my favorites.
Now Ive also used Bock #6 (250) more recently.
It seems like most nibs need just a bit of tuning, even my Lamy ones!
Thanks Doodlebud! 3.5 turns makes it a no-go for me. Can’t work for my office writing activity.
I have several Opus 88 pens. I find them well made, comfortable, and reliable writers. Clearly, the issue with this one is that flex nib.
Yeah this nib isn't JoWos best offering
My Opus pens have amazing cap seals. Im not saying they need 4 rotations to make this happen but maybe they're not interested in taking the risk of a change. I've had several occasions I've left my Opus filled and capped for a month or two and it didn't miss a beat when I uncapped to write. Not even a dry or dryer stroke. Even more impressive, I left my Opus capped well over a year (through COVID lockdown) and when uncapped, it wrote perfectly. No hesitation, hard starting, or slightest hint of a dry stroke. There wasnt even a significant amount of ink evaporated from the barrel (it was full when i left it, so it was easy to tell). Truly impressive.
I have several pens that seal well, but the Opus is truly somsthing else. Does it warrant 4 rotations? I can't say.
I wish this video came out two days ago... I literally just ordered this pen with this nib.
Well, a fun mode you can do is fit the pilot parallel nibs into this pen body and have a huge pen and ink capacity for some calligraphy!!
Yours might work great, and I hope it does. If you have issues let them know or see about swapping out to another nib
Why don't you contact the shop to cancel or ask for a different nib? Even if it has arrived i think you can return it, and ask for the one you really want.
It's waiting at the local post office for delivery on Monday. I'll have to see how it writes... I'm okay at tuning nibs; but the one time I tried on a flex nib, I found it to be challenging. First time ordering from this vendor (Vanness), but I've heard good things so hopefully they will take care of me if there are problems. The worst part is I paid an extra $10 for the flex nib.
@@CIRCLEDARK Vanness is a very good shop! They are in business since 1938. I am sure they can guide you to whatever you want. Hope all goes well and enjoy your new pen!
Hi Doooo-oo-OO-oo-dlebud!
Heya!
Seens perhaps a little of grease or oil from forming process. It makes ink flow a bit harsh. A bit of vinager can prepare the nib for better ink adesion. With time it will became better.
That works when oily residue is left in the pen and that is the issue at play. But it won't help when thats not the reason its not working properly.
Ebonite grip section is a nice touch. Much like metal sections, sometimes acrylic sections can be a bit slippery for my sweaty hands.
To be honest, I’m a big Opus fan but I find the colour scheme challenging. Why not a snap cap setup? Finally, I want a broad nib. If I’m paying that sort of money,that’s something I won’t compromise on. Good in depth review.
They come with nib sizes EF-B + stub so you're covered there. Seems all of their pens are threaded caps so not expecting a snap cap soon
Opus sure makes some attractive pens.
They do a great job all around. Cool designs, near features, and decent pricing
I have similar issues with a JoWo soft EF on my Maiora Alpha. Hard starts, a bit scratchy etc. I'll just swap it with a regular medium.
My EF-Flex doesn't misbehave, but I see what you mean about the potential for stress issues.
A nib with shoulders ending well before the tip will flex more than a nib that flattens out toward the nib. I think the cut outs are to cause the flexing to "hinge" on the curve, causing the tines to spread. Nice idea, but in practice I don't think the EF-Flex actually flexes very much.
Yeah it just seems like its not the best way to make a nib do something it wasn't designed to do in the first place
What was the blue pen next to the Jinhao?
Wing Sung 630
hey sup .. im in great help/ advice for repairing my nibs on my pens .. i live in LA and i have no clue where to go nor where i can send them to be repaired.....
I have two ef flex nibs on an Opus88 and a Leonardo, they write fine but not really a flex nib by any definition. The same is true for true for the steel flex nib on the Franklin Christoph, writes like a fine but a flex nib. Do not spend the extra money.
Same experience as some of other comments. I bought this flex nib as a spare for my Leonardo and while it doesn’t have the skip issues, it’s just ok for the flex.
I have one of these nibs in a Maiora and liked it a lot, but I don't use it all the time. I had Noodler's Rome Burning in it. Have you used the brand new 14Kt. flex nib from Magna Carta? I'm really thinking about getting one it's the Mag600 and it's made with black ebonite and has a black ebonite feed. It's cartridge converter. I've heard very high praise from what I have heard from the pen and nib. Looks like a standard nib, no cut outs.
I haven't tried one of their gold nibs yet. We're all just waiting for whoever nails vintage flex in a modern nib
@@Doodlebud I know it Haha!! I guess I'm going to have to be one of the guinea pigs then and buy one to try!
i really want to love these opus 88 pens but i can’t take the cumbersome uncapping and capping
Somehow it became normal in our pen world to expect the buyer to resolve this kinda of issue. Issues with the nib that render the pen unusable are so common that I have no idea how we as consumer put up with. II have around 70 pens and around 60% of them demanded work on the nib just to function. This is completely ridiculous.
Agree with too many turns is a no no no at the time of picking up a pen, at least for me.
The record for a pen I once ordered was 6 turns!
Thats 5 too many!!!@@Doodlebud
I was first going to say for that price they should have better QA, but then I looked up the cost and to be honest the pen looks significantly more expensive then it actually costs and for that price range I think it is warranted not to have a full QA process in place but just deal with the returns.
I have this nib on a bunch of Monteverde's . They (2 of them) seem OK. But overall, I 'm not a big fan of this nib. (Most of my opus 88s are M or B.)
I’m a mild fan of my Opus, but it’s a burp monster. Even with the valve closed, the dumb thing leaks like a sieve in the cap. Even with greasing all the seals and threads. For the price it’s kinda unacceptable.
I've yet to write with an Opus 88, despite having put one in my shopping cart a few times over the years. I really like the looks of this one. I tend to think certain demonstrators look tacky or cheap. But when they are done well, they are fantastic looking. Such as this one. It looks solid, nice looking texture, robust color choice, and a spiffy clip to boot. And as always, you go in for the deep dives on your reviews. Right down to every nook and cranny. Gotta love it.
The nib looks aesthetically pleasing, a shame it doesn't write too well. But of course, can try to do some work on it yourself.
I have a similar flex nib from Goulet, same type of cut outs; no problems like that one, but flex is meh. I have better luck and more fun
with FPR flex nibs, esp. the 5.5 size. Thanks, DB!
Has Jowo got a quality control issue? My only nib of theirs is my Monteverde Omniflex, which I have a love/hate relationship with. In my tiny collection, it is the only real "regret" pen purchase.
All the jowo m nibs I’ve gotten lately are efs or even finer. Don’t they test their nibs a all anymore?
I've had no issues with all of my other JoWo nibs. These "flex" ones are the only nibs that have presented an issue
I had the same issues with my Jowo "Flex" (not at all flex, barely even soft, I'd say semi-soft at best) nib. Every time I actually try to flex it the nib separates from the feed and has to be pushed back into place. Also had misaligned tines and canyoning. Ended up tuning it myself.
The regular Jowo nibs are really great, but these "Flex" ones have been a big disappointment for me personally.
Thankfully, my handwriting is not, and likely will never be, good enough to want or utilize a flex nib. Maybe one day I'll get up the nerve to try a stub.
Stubs are fun even if you only print. I love my .6 stub from Birmingham.
@AndrewWertheimer I just picked up a .6 and a .8 stub from Birmingham. We'll see, but I like the idea of a more narrow stub. Thank you!
@@Mikey-ii8ef hope you enjoy it. I’m also enjoying the Esterbrook Journaler nib. Aloha
Signed … singed … but desing? Uh …
Embarrassed how long it took me to figure out what a "desing" is!
Its the opposite of singing LOL. Another late night thumbnail made on my phone by a guy with giant hands...thanks for the catch