I have a Sigaro Blu. I have the feeling that Aurora nibs are really variable as the ef on mine is the wettest, juiciest nib I've ever written with. No flex, but it's a joy as far as I'm concerned. I also appreciate the heft of this parricular model - significantly heavier than the base model. That said, I'm intrigued by the vintage 88, a very different pen. I will get my hands on one one of these days. By the way, I managed to get a good deal on the SB so came away not having entirely emptied my pockets. Thanks for a fascinating perspective!
I'm a huge fan of the vintage Aurora 88. I also really like the modern version, but the vintage is just so much better. My own ebonite is far more faded than yours, so it makes for a nice look on its own. And you're right about that silly ink reservoir. I hate cleaning the modern ones out. When I do, I unscrew the nib, but the pen should be much easier than that to clean. The vintage version really is a users pen. The modern is a luxury item.
I’ve gathered through a lot of reading that ‘color-plated’ Auroras have more issues and/or feedback than their ‘bare’ counterparts. This is research I did before buying my own modern 88 since I had heard murmurs. I have an Aurora 88K from the ‘50s with a flex nib (or at least a semi-flex) as well as a modern 88 in the Rose Gold/Satin with a medium 14kt nib. The latter is my daily pen and has been for the 6 months I’ve owned it because I love it so much. I don’t change ink colors in pens very often, so the difficult cleaning isn’t really a turn off for me. I do really like my vintage 88K, even though I’m not a huge fan of slip cap designs-right now it needs some work after a tumble while I was cleaning it… Great video showing the design difference, I do wish they would call the modern ones something else. It could still be reminiscent, like I’ve seen the 18kt limited versions called the “888” by different people, even from Aurora themselves at times.
I love the style and shape on the modern version, but I've heard the same story about the bad nib from various places so that's put me off. Second hand you can get a MB 146 for less money and the nib will (most likely) be way better. The vintage 88 is a classic, although the cork seals on mine were leaking and needed replacing. But with some experimentation I found the correct sized rubber (silicone?) 0-ring that now works perfectly, and no special tools required.
Great show. The Black Mamba looks wonderful in photographs (IMHO), but now that I've watched your show I have no desire to buy one. As with most of these expensive new pens the price far exceeds the value. Cheers from Oz.
The Aurora 88 is my absolute favorite fountain pen of all time. I now have eight of them, including two of the same original vintage 88 you showed here, one a Nikargenta, the other with the golden cap. I adore the vintage 88. It’s as close to ‘perfect’ as a fountain pen could be to me. I wouldn’t part with it for anything in the world. I love my modern 88s greatly, too. Fantastic in the hand, stylish, swell writers. Classy keepers. Aurora nibs, whether gold or steel, are my favorites. I have 26 Aurora pens; not one dodgy nib, so far. I also love the subtle, pleasant feedback of most of their nibs. I don’t have the beautiful black mamba. I did flirt with buying one, but bought the Venere instead. I’m surprised to hear you say you find the Mamba’s nib scratchy, dry and disappointing. A $700 pen would cause me a ton of grief with that. Also, I don’t have much trouble cleaning out all my piston filling 88s. The Aurora Talentum is a superb cartridge/converter, less pricey, comparable alternative to the 88 if anybody is interested. The Aurora 98 is another that has a special place in my heart. You’re right that the modern 88 bears little resemblance to the original 88. I’d say for that you’d do better to look toward the modern Aurora Duo Cart instead. That pen looks far more like a natural descendant of the original 88. It’s also a pen I’m extremely fond of. Thanks, Olivier, for an ace review of this venerable model, both the old and the new.
@Olive Boy - Great review. It is refreshing to hear a pen reviewer be really honest about the pens being reviewed. Too many pen reviewers are influenced by the freebies and discounts they receive some of whom inturn sell said pens afterwards on their websites for profit.
Excellent video and brilliant comparison and thoughts. I’ve got two modern Aurora which are my favorites pens: a 88 and a 80th Anniversary. They write very well but their nibs needed some adjustments. So I wonder with you if modern pens are really reliable, if modern companies can do their job in the right way. Thanks!
On the thing of modern pens seemingly getting worse, I think it's half "old pens were built for everyday use" and half survivor bias. There were a lot of not so great vintage pens but they're all broken or thrown away now. I have a soft spot for modern auroras, but I have to say their regular nibs are pretty underwhelming. Still, for ~300 used a modern aurora is a pretty good deal. The vintage 88 seems right up my alley though - hopefully I'll pick up one in the future!
You have a great point. I want to do some kind of video essay on the topic of modern pens and vintage pens in reference to survivor bias, once I figure out my thoughts on it. I agree, with a minor tuneup this pen would be definitely worth the $300. I’m definitely on the market for a modern Aurora now!
I used to love Aurora and have several, both vintage and modern but I managed to spring a vintage Duocart, the only pen I have ever sprung, which soured me against them. Italian pens are an expensive lottery, rather like French wine. I've given up gambling, I was losing too much money. Now I've gone German and Narwhal, much better odds and a much higher success rate. I agree that vintage construction was far better but it's still a lottery acquiring the good examples.
I'm a fan of Aurora, having two of their modern pens, both of which work fantastic. I even rather like the feedback they have. Though after seeing this, I'm definitely interested in finding a vintage 88 for my collection.
I’ve yet to own a modern Aurora but I’d really love to someday. Definitely try a vintage one though! They’re rather affordable and are one of the best bang for your buck pens out there.
I love the Aurora 88 in general, anyway it's wrong to say that every vintage 88 is flex. Originally on the bottom of the pen there where a dot/cirle/circle+dot to indicate the nib size (F/M/B) and the color of that symbol used to indicate the softness/hardness of a nib (green= flex, white= semiflex, red= firm nib). That said, I don't think I ever seen an Aurora 88 with that symbol/color still visible.
Another good comparison between vintage and new. Like Visconti, Aurora makes beautiful, expensive pens with often mediocre - if not downright bad, nibs. I'm certainly not against beautiful pens, but the principal function of a pen is to write. If it doesn't do that well, there are other and better uses for the $700 plus that provide satisfaction instead of frustration. Modern marketing often sells status and exclusivity more than the quality of the object itself. An analog is the marketing of Rolex watches. A Rolex is a watch sold at astronomical prices far in excess of the cost of manufacture, but it is well made and reliable. Some pen companies do the same, but many forget the well made and reliable part. I'd much rather choose a vintage Aurora 88 instead of an expensive beautiful stick masquerading as a fountain pen.
I agree with you on all accounts here. I’m sure you’ll enjoy my discussion of this in an upcoming video on some vintage and modern Montblanc I got the opportunity to try out recently- their history and branding is interesting in that respect!
You got unlucky with the Mamba's nib - too bad. My two modern 88s (M and F) both wrote excellent out of the box. In my experience Aurora's modern nibs are better than most modern nibs (vintage nibs are an altogether different story). Also I don't think you do justice to the secondary ink reservoir: it's great and it does give me about a page worth of writing when I'm about to run dry. So, meh.
I’m definitely willing to take a chance on another Aurora sometime, I was just disappointed by this particular one. In terms of the magic reservoir, I’m just not sold enough on that use case to justify all the extra time to clean it. Different strokes for different folks though!
It’s true. The ink reservoir has been useful to me on a number of occasions. I’ve gotten anywhere from half a page to a full page of writing done with the reserve ink.
@@oliveboypens I bought an Aurora Optima 365 with an 18K xf nib a few years ago, and it's one of my best pens and it gets a lot of use. The nib writes quite wet and is smooth as butter, and has never been a bit fussy. But that 'second tank' is as you say; it really doesn't amount to much. The pen, though, has never had any big problems cleaning out the filling mechanism. I think the problem you encountered may be due to the black treatment on the nib. I suspect that black is a powder coat. I also own an Aurora Ipsilon with a 14k nib that's also very reliable, but I don't like it as much; the nib is noticeably toothy and I like it more as a sketch pen than a long-session writer.
I have a Sigaro Blu. I have the feeling that Aurora nibs are really variable as the ef on mine is the wettest, juiciest nib I've ever written with. No flex, but it's a joy as far as I'm concerned. I also appreciate the heft of this parricular model - significantly heavier than the base model. That said, I'm intrigued by the vintage 88, a very different pen. I will get my hands on one one of these days. By the way, I managed to get a good deal on the SB so came away not having entirely emptied my pockets. Thanks for a fascinating perspective!
I'm a huge fan of the vintage Aurora 88. I also really like the modern version, but the vintage is just so much better. My own ebonite is far more faded than yours, so it makes for a nice look on its own. And you're right about that silly ink reservoir. I hate cleaning the modern ones out. When I do, I unscrew the nib, but the pen should be much easier than that to clean. The vintage version really is a users pen. The modern is a luxury item.
I’ve gathered through a lot of reading that ‘color-plated’ Auroras have more issues and/or feedback than their ‘bare’ counterparts. This is research I did before buying my own modern 88 since I had heard murmurs. I have an Aurora 88K from the ‘50s with a flex nib (or at least a semi-flex) as well as a modern 88 in the Rose Gold/Satin with a medium 14kt nib. The latter is my daily pen and has been for the 6 months I’ve owned it because I love it so much. I don’t change ink colors in pens very often, so the difficult cleaning isn’t really a turn off for me. I do really like my vintage 88K, even though I’m not a huge fan of slip cap designs-right now it needs some work after a tumble while I was cleaning it…
Great video showing the design difference, I do wish they would call the modern ones something else. It could still be reminiscent, like I’ve seen the 18kt limited versions called the “888” by different people, even from Aurora themselves at times.
I love the style and shape on the modern version, but I've heard the same story about the bad nib from various places so that's put me off. Second hand you can get a MB 146 for less money and the nib will (most likely) be way better. The vintage 88 is a classic, although the cork seals on mine were leaking and needed replacing. But with some experimentation I found the correct sized rubber (silicone?) 0-ring that now works perfectly, and no special tools required.
Great show. The Black Mamba looks wonderful in photographs (IMHO), but now that I've watched your show I have no desire to buy one. As with most of these expensive new pens the price far exceeds the value. Cheers from Oz.
The Aurora 88 is my absolute favorite fountain pen of all time. I now have eight of them, including two of the same original vintage 88 you showed here, one a Nikargenta, the other with the golden cap.
I adore the vintage 88. It’s as close to ‘perfect’ as a fountain pen could be to me. I wouldn’t part with it for anything in the world.
I love my modern 88s greatly, too. Fantastic in the hand, stylish, swell writers. Classy keepers. Aurora nibs, whether gold or steel, are my favorites. I have 26 Aurora pens; not one dodgy nib, so far. I also love the subtle, pleasant feedback of most of their nibs.
I don’t have the beautiful black mamba. I did flirt with buying one, but bought the Venere instead. I’m surprised to hear you say you find the Mamba’s nib scratchy, dry and disappointing. A $700 pen would cause me a ton of grief with that. Also, I don’t have much trouble cleaning out all my piston filling 88s.
The Aurora Talentum is a superb cartridge/converter, less pricey, comparable alternative to the 88 if anybody is interested.
The Aurora 98 is another that has a special place in my heart.
You’re right that the modern 88 bears little resemblance to the original 88. I’d say for that you’d do better to look toward the modern Aurora Duo Cart instead. That pen looks far more like a natural descendant of the original 88. It’s also a pen I’m extremely fond of.
Thanks, Olivier, for an ace review of this venerable model, both the old and the new.
@Olive Boy - Great review. It is refreshing to hear a pen reviewer be really honest about the pens being reviewed. Too many pen reviewers are influenced by the freebies and discounts they receive some of whom inturn sell said pens afterwards on their websites for profit.
That black mamba is hideous. The vintage one is much kewler!!
Excellent video and brilliant comparison and thoughts. I’ve got two modern Aurora which are my favorites pens: a 88 and a 80th Anniversary. They write very well but their nibs needed some adjustments. So I wonder with you if modern pens are really reliable, if modern companies can do their job in the right way. Thanks!
On the thing of modern pens seemingly getting worse, I think it's half "old pens were built for everyday use" and half survivor bias. There were a lot of not so great vintage pens but they're all broken or thrown away now.
I have a soft spot for modern auroras, but I have to say their regular nibs are pretty underwhelming. Still, for ~300 used a modern aurora is a pretty good deal. The vintage 88 seems right up my alley though - hopefully I'll pick up one in the future!
You have a great point. I want to do some kind of video essay on the topic of modern pens and vintage pens in reference to survivor bias, once I figure out my thoughts on it.
I agree, with a minor tuneup this pen would be definitely worth the $300. I’m definitely on the market for a modern Aurora now!
I used to love Aurora and have several, both vintage and modern but I managed to spring a vintage Duocart, the only pen I have ever sprung, which soured me against them. Italian pens are an expensive lottery, rather like French wine. I've given up gambling, I was losing too much money. Now I've gone German and Narwhal, much better odds and a much higher success rate.
I agree that vintage construction was far better but it's still a lottery acquiring the good examples.
I'm a fan of Aurora, having two of their modern pens, both of which work fantastic. I even rather like the feedback they have. Though after seeing this, I'm definitely interested in finding a vintage 88 for my collection.
I’ve yet to own a modern Aurora but I’d really love to someday. Definitely try a vintage one though! They’re rather affordable and are one of the best bang for your buck pens out there.
the ink reservoir on the modern 88 always felt like a bug sold as a feature to me.
Right?? Excellent marketing job, Aurora...
The black mamba is hideous! The vintage 88 is much kewler! I have an Aurora 888P and it’s quite delightful! From 1959!
I love the Aurora 88 in general, anyway it's wrong to say that every vintage 88 is flex. Originally on the bottom of the pen there where a dot/cirle/circle+dot to indicate the nib size (F/M/B) and the color of that symbol used to indicate the softness/hardness of a nib (green= flex, white= semiflex, red= firm nib).
That said, I don't think I ever seen an Aurora 88 with that symbol/color still visible.
Cleaning the modern Aurorae (88/Optima) is faily easy, as the nib unit can be screwed out to then flush the “Riserva Magica” with a blunt syringe.
Bummer, but it'd be a miracle to even find a Visconti that writes better than this out of the box.
I’ve heard good things about their new gold nibs! But yeah.
Another good comparison between vintage and new. Like Visconti, Aurora makes beautiful, expensive pens with often mediocre - if not downright bad, nibs. I'm certainly not against beautiful pens, but the principal function of a pen is to write. If it doesn't do that well, there are other and better uses for the $700 plus that provide satisfaction instead of frustration. Modern marketing often sells status and exclusivity more than the quality of the object itself. An analog is the marketing of Rolex watches. A Rolex is a watch sold at astronomical prices far in excess of the cost of manufacture, but it is well made and reliable. Some pen companies do the same, but many forget the well made and reliable part. I'd much rather choose a vintage Aurora 88 instead of an expensive beautiful stick masquerading as a fountain pen.
I agree with you on all accounts here. I’m sure you’ll enjoy my discussion of this in an upcoming video on some vintage and modern Montblanc I got the opportunity to try out recently- their history and branding is interesting in that respect!
You got unlucky with the Mamba's nib - too bad. My two modern 88s (M and F) both wrote excellent out of the box. In my experience Aurora's modern nibs are better than most modern nibs (vintage nibs are an altogether different story). Also I don't think you do justice to the secondary ink reservoir: it's great and it does give me about a page worth of writing when I'm about to run dry. So, meh.
I’m definitely willing to take a chance on another Aurora sometime, I was just disappointed by this particular one.
In terms of the magic reservoir, I’m just not sold enough on that use case to justify all the extra time to clean it. Different strokes for different folks though!
It’s true. The ink reservoir has been useful to me on a number of occasions. I’ve gotten anywhere from half a page to a full page of writing done with the reserve ink.
@@oliveboypens I bought an Aurora Optima 365 with an 18K xf nib a few years ago, and it's one of my best pens and it gets a lot of use. The nib writes quite wet and is smooth as butter, and has never been a bit fussy. But that 'second tank' is as you say; it really doesn't amount to much. The pen, though, has never had any big problems cleaning out the filling mechanism.
I think the problem you encountered may be due to the black treatment on the nib. I suspect that black is a powder coat.
I also own an Aurora Ipsilon with a 14k nib that's also very reliable, but I don't like it as much; the nib is noticeably toothy and I like it more as a sketch pen than a long-session writer.