Here is yet another fountain pen on loan from my pen-friend Murray MacKay! Thanks, Murray! This is the Opus 88 Koloro. I unbox it, talk about the parts and features of the pen, provide some size comparisons and measurements, and then do a writing sample. After the writing sample, I talk about what I like and what I don’t like about the pen. Please feel free to use the chapters provided below to skip to various parts of the review.
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Chapters:
00:00 Start
00:17 Introduction
01:56 Parts and Features
07:38 Filling the Eyedropper
10:59 Size Comparisons
11:35 Measurements
11:50 Writing Sample
14:56 Likes and Dislikes
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31 Comments
Very cool how the new of the company developed the brand name.
If they put an ebonite feed on it, I think it would have been a great idea. I thought that using the same ebonite as on the body would have been a great idea. I know it would have stained from the ink but still it would have been a cool feature.
I had the Bela. Same resin as you but it was a bit uncomfortable in the hand due to the width of the body.
So, do you like the C4 better? For me, the price of the C4 and that crystal clear acrylic makes it a better value.
Thanks for the review Doug
I thought it was a misspelling of Kokoro, which would be an excellent name for an aesthetically pleasing Pen. Borrowed from Japanese? 心 (kokoro, “heart, mind, spirit”).
The Koloro was the first Opus 88 pen I ever saw at a local pen shop, but back then I felt it was too large for my hands (which makes me laugh now, because I've since come to love the Jazz and the Bela!). I've since seen a Koloro at a shop on display where the staff let the pen run out of ink and people who don't understand how fp work sprung the nib… 🙄
I agree with your points on the flaws and missed opportunities. There's another one that I noticed in the above mentioned test pen: the Ebonite stains easily.
I still want an Omar and, like you, wish there were more color options. As it is, I'll go with green or brown.
Mein Luftkissenfahrtzeug ist volle Aalen!
I like the style of this pen, almost as much as I like the fantasia.
I hadn't realised the scale of this pen until you placed the Pelikan next to it! 😱 This is a bigboi we're dealing with here. Could almost write forever with the amount of ink in that tank. Not for those who like changing inks regularly.
Opus 88 uses Jowo on about half of their pens and Bock on the other half. The two types of nibs write remarkably similar- they really do a great job picking nibs.
I don't own an Opus 88 pen, but if I were to get one it would be the Opus 88 Jazz transparent. I'm not a fan of clear demonstrators so much, nor of eyedroppered pens at all, but there is just something about that transparent Jazz that just caught my eye.
I've thought about getting an Opus 88. I change my monthly ink color more often than I could with this size pen, however. Maybe with an ink I would change less often…
Their use and placement of the ebonite is kind of self defeating. Ebonite needs caresses. And the acrylic choice is strange as well. I do like a nice demonstrator, but this kind of hides the ink. So, a full ebonite with maybe a big ink window that you can see into would seem to be an improvement, least in my mind. But to quote a local newspaper man, what do I know?
I’ve been thinking about getting a Koloro. I’ve decided to sell my other Opus 88 pens. I really like their nibs but their pens are humongous! The size of the Koloro seems more manageable though. The comparison with the Pelikan M800 put the size in perspective.
Currently I am all about procuring an ebonite fountain pen; all-ebonite. There are some very expensive Japanese pens that have ebonite cap&barrel;BUT,the section and feed are plastic! Really torques my jaw.
Almost cowboyed-up for an ebonite Edison Collier Grande with #8 nib;but,chickened out at the last minute. Eating Top-Ramen gets old quickly.
I blame my ebonite obsession on a favorite bowling ball I used years ago;it was black with yellow specks. Loved the feel of that ebonite ball.
Thanks for the review,Doug! And for saying Dan-i'-tri-o instead of Dan-i-tri'-o. I don't know which is more correct;I tend to like the former pronunciation.
My currently inked pens are Opus 88 Demonstrators in fine-flex and medium, and Opus 88 Omars in broad and stub. All of them write with the best ink control with the plunger unscrewed a single turn. Getting used to the pen's habits took a little time. They are the best writers in my humble (and cheap) collection.
I have 3 Opus 88s. A red and a blue Bela, and a Brown Omar. I've been enjoying them all. I've never considered this one mainly because of its golf pant like looks, and the no 5 nib. Nice review Doug.
What a handsome pen! Still out of my price range at this early point in my collecting. But I figured it would be in the $200ish range but saw it in Jetpens for only $93. And on Goldspot for just $74…Not bad!
You had me at Japanese Taiwanese Chinese Legalese 😋 😍
The Opus 88 Omar Demonstrator Stub is my favorite of the 5 88's I own.
As always, a great review. I LOVE OPUSS 88. I will convey a risk that only a dummy like me would have triggered. I left the shutoff valve retracted just beyond the threads, and I dropped the pen. The top broke off at the rod. I tried a fix that ended up ruining the pen. Don’t ask; it was really lame. All that aside, I too have a Bella, which I also love. I did purchase the Majohn C4, which replaces my broken clear acrylic Opus 88. The major difference is the fact that the nibs are great on any Opus 88 I have owned. I took me considerable effort to tune the C4, primarily to eliminate baby’s bottom and increase flow. It now writes well, but the Opus88 options still call (you are not helping by describing still another model.) Seriously, I appreciate you!
As usual most appreciated Prof Doug!
Glad to see you using more interesting pangrams for quick writing. My favorite: Sexy diva Jennifer López wasn't baking my quiche.
Thank you sir.
Isnt majohn chinese?
You’re right; they should have at least made the section out of ebonite. I have the same model you reviewed. It was my first Opus 88 and was good enough to compel me to buy one of almost every model.
I hope a Japanese eye dropper is on PenBBS’s radar for new models
I have an Opus 88 Jazz that is phenomenal. The other Opus 88 Demo writes like garbage & constantly leaks ink from the nib.
Stellar review as always! The ink capacity on this is VERY appealing, but I’m with you on the coloring and blended materials. I would have hoped for more ebonite and less acrylic.
Have you tried the Jazz series from Opus?
Indeed, Opus pens write beautifully. I don't own a Koloro, I do have a Bela and I recently got an amber finished Omar with a 1.5 mm nib. Being a lefty, I'm still figuring out how to get the best of that nib and I have to say it is very forgiving and writes very well.
Maybe a good pen… but it is not for me. It does not give me the visual pleasure I require when I look at a pen 🙂
I want this Esperanto-named pen Koloro! The same as already have two pens with Esperanto name Kaco (which means Penis 🙂
I agree that they should have at least made the section out of Ebonite , although I wouldn't say no to an all – Ebonite one as you suggested. Other than that I love my koloro and for the price you can't really go wrong.
My only negative about that pen is the nib. To me, it should be a number 6 , Thanks for the review
Thank you for measuring the line thicknesses. It is much appreciated.
Having a Clear Omar and a Brown Omar, I definitely like the Brown more, much more. The transparent Omar may get ink in the Cap finial threads, the Cap opening threads, the Section/barrel threads, and ink splatter in the Cap will be annoyingly obvious. I wish the Brown Omar Section was solid coloured. BTW, the Bela and Omar Sections are interchangeable.
The Koloro is one of the few #5 nib'd pens that doesn't have a long, skinny, tapering Section, so it should be more comfortable in the hand; the Faber-Castell Loom is another.