Aurora 88 Large Unboxing and Review

[@mantabond]

Hello, good sir. Before we drop our comment please allow us to say how much we enjoy your videos. Your relaxed, casual voice transports one to a garden deck chair on a cool afternoon. Now, then, to the video at hand: we like to think the 88 to be the perfectly-shaped ink pen, a design which adheres to the concept of the Golden Ratio.

[@PenultimateDave]

Thank you!

[@mantabond]

@@PenultimateDave Cheers, sir.

[@catchacoolbreeze]

Once again... Great video. Your production quality is amazing. Great close ups, great lighting, and colors are exactly what I see in real life! Fun video on a classic pen!

[@PenultimateDave]

Thanks!

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Thanks, a really helpful review. I am thinking of getting one of these. FWIW - The nibs in the 88 are the same as those used in the Optima, of which I have three. Aurora nibs tend to be a little broader than one would expect for a European nib. Thus I think you have a fine nib there. Thankfully Aurora now print the nib size on the feed. Which can cause more confusion for people like myself who sometimes swap the metal part of the nib over. One further thing - The feed is ebonite and is therefore brittle, but not fragile. Apparently ebonite gives a better ink flow. Anyway Dave. I hope all is going well for you and yours. Be well :)

[@fossilimprint2954]

Congratulations on your Aurora 88 Large.

[@arunabhalahiri4931]

A classic ink in a classic pen.... Love the Aurora 88...

[@pbpickett7210]

Welcome to the joys of a well-tuned Aurora 88. It is all in those long tines!

[@JoelTurrell]

I am a guy who seems to be a "magnet" for black pens with gold trim, they constitute about 25% of my collection, and yet I almost turned this video off before Dave had uncapped the 88. Then, he displayed the nib. It is a piece of artwork, in my eyes. Now, I will go on my own quest to get an example with those long, sexy, tines. They remind me of the Ferrari roadsters of the 1950s. Strange, I admit.

[@PenultimateDave]

Yeah that was the first thing that attracted me to this particular pen was the long tines. The newer Aurora 88's don't seem to have the long sweeping tines like this one did. I'm not sure exactly how old it was, but it was NOS when I bought it and I think it's from the 80's or 90's, maybe early 2000's not entirely sure as there was no way of me to date it.

[@chrislj2890]

I bought my first Aurora pens last month, an Optima Limited Edition Flex and an Optima Auroloide in medium. The Flex doesn't, and just writes like a decent fine. The Auroloide does have a bit of feedback but it is much milder than I expected with the complaining I've heard, and I don't need to do any smoothing. I was disappointed by how small these pens are, but once posted they are perfect in the hand, and are comfortable for long writing sessions. It has a great ink capacity and would make a very good EDC pen. I'm happy with the Auroloide, but the Flex is a joke.

[@PenultimateDave]

I've never tried an Aurora Flex but from all the videos I've seen they either don't flex or flex but railroad like crazy. I was too disappointed by how small the pens were, and I found that I almost always needed to post the Aurora's. I also found the cleaning of the pen a little problematic trying to get the last bits of ink/water out of the pen.

[@MrAndrew1953]

I’d prefer a Mamba as it has a Matt black black barrel that’s etched as opposed to a glossy one that shows scratches. The Mamba is also more compact which I prefer as that makes it easier to use and control .

[@PenultimateDave]

I’d agree on the Matt finish but I think the Mamba is the same size as the 88 Large?

[@MrAndrew1953]

@@PenultimateDave Can you check that out please? Mamba looks more compact but it’s not a deal breaker. 18 kt nib.

[@PenultimateDave]

I have recently had a Mamba for review and although I didn't have an 88 Large to put next to it as I sold my one that I reviewed, I'm pretty sure it's identical or almost identical in length. The 88 Large isn't actually a long pen compared to many other western pens, the Aurora's are on the shorter side.

[@MrAndrew1953]

Sounds good enough.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I have eight Aurora 88s. And I know for a fact that all of them are of identical dimensions in every way. I have tried all the Aurora nibs, and I’ve found that occasionally they can be inconsistent with their nib designations, mainly in a writing line width that is seemingly a size smaller than the designated one. But like I said, only occasionally. Their Goccia nib is pretty special and worth trying out for anybody considering buying their first 88. Aurora nibs, along with the many pens themselves are my absolute favourites. The 88 is the pen I’d never part with in my life.

[@catchacoolbreeze]

Oh! Quick question - I know you don't like black pens but of the traditional black pens out there - MB 149, MB 146, Pelikan m1000, M800/5, tons of Pilots and Sailors, or anything else you can think of.... If you had to chose which one would you pick and why? I feel I'm in the market for a classic pen and I haven't tried them all!

[@PenultimateDave]

I do have a bunch of black pens including a MB146 BB, MB149 EF, Sailor 1911L Naginata-Togi. If I had to go with one, I'd probably go with the Sailor as it has a Naginata-Togi nib on it which makes it a little special, or the MB149 EF because it has a slight architect grind going on with it.

[@1axel587]

Great review! I have some pens of this type. I seem that your pen will probably be EF(or F). When viewed from the side of the M nib, the pen-point(iridium) is swollen round.

[@PenultimateDave]

Unfortunately it didn't have any nib designations on the side of the nib or on the base of the feed which is where some of the older Aurora's are designated.

[@blackimp4987]

Aurora's mid nib are indeed mid but are more precise than the other western mid nibs, anyway they tend to get a little wider after a little time

[@stardust5379]

Have you tried Oxford Campus note pads. I have found they are smoother than Rhodia.

[@PenultimateDave]

I haven't tried the Oxford Campus notepads yet although they basically have Oxford Optik paper in, I've used their regular Oxford Touch notepads/notebooks using the same paper and I much prefer them to Rhodia.

[@basta.dotto_]

I'm looking to buy an 88, but I heard that some people have had problems with the long tines and with the piston. Do you still have this pen and did you experience any problems with it, please? Thank you! 🙏

[@PenultimateDave]

I don't have the pen anymore, I sold it a few years ago. I never had any issue with the tines, I would say that the tines are long and sweeping and unlike a lot of western Bock or JoWo nibs. The piston I seem to recall was stiff, the issue with most Aurora 88's is that when the body is empty of ink, you can retract the piston again and still get a little bit more out of the pen as there's a reserve/reservoir. The biggest issue most people have is trying to clean out that last bit of ink is very difficult when trying to flush the pen out, without being able to disassemble the pen.

[@fabiodoublebroad5389]

Interesting aurora didn’t go for ebonite feeders

[@asdfyxcv1100]

"Ohwowhra" ... "bless you"