Aurora 88
Fine Nib
Aurora was a brand that never really hit my radar, that was untill I seen this limited edition, I just loved the way it looked and couldnt help myself. It is one spontaneous purchase I have not regretted as this has become one of my favorite pens in my collection to date.
The Nib 8/10
The nib is something very unique to Aurora, I had read that they have a special feel to them, wand wasnt quite sure what that meant until I had a chance to write with it. They dont polish down to the super smooth tip that most others do, the nib has a wee bit o' bite to it, and while that may not sound like its something pleasant I have come to be very found of the feedback it gives, for those who may not like it though, its not a lot of feedback and would be something easily taken away by a professional, or a hobbyist who knows how to smooth a nib out. The reason I gave it an 8 and not a 10 was that this is a stiff one dimensional nib, having a bit of flex or softness isnt everything depending on the nib, and since this comes to work with me quite a bit I like it for the task as having a no nonsense nib when I have to jot things down quickly has become my preference in the workplace.
The Filling System 10/10
Yup its a piston, but not just any piston, a piston with a unique feature that you wont find on many other pens with this filling type. The head of the piston is actually a small cup, the cup holds a small amount of ink, thus if you forget to fill or have one of the black models and the ink window failed to get your attention, you can screw the piston all the way down and the cups contents will act as a reserve to get you through the day. It does work, as my first week with the pen I purposely ran it down to see it in action, and I got through half a day of work (I ran out just before lunch) and got home to fill again no problem. the piston is smooth and works just as well as my other piston pens.
The Flow 10/10
Perfect flow here for me, not to wet that everything smudges, but not at all dry that I get any skipping or hard starts. A perfect line from start to finish every time. its a beautiful thing. One really cool feature about this pen is that it comes with a red ebonite feed, yup RED lol it really doesnt mean anything that its red, but it is kind of cool. Ebonite feeds are not usually found in a lot of modern pens, but they are supreme when it comes to flow management, or so I have read, really im not so sure about that as I have a lot of modern pens with plastic feeds whose flow is just as nice, but it still is a great touch to a premium level pen.
The Maintenance 9/10
I love a pen that is easy to flush and care for, on this model the nib and feed are held in a tube that screws into the grip as a unit, but even from there the nib and feed are friction fit into that section, so they can be removed completely. There is even notches between nib and feed like a Pilot to ensure proper alignment when putting back together, this whole thing is good because ink did one time get between the walls of the screw in section and the grip, which on a demo pen is rather unsightly, but simply twisting out the section made for a quick clean up. The only knock is that you need a special tool to twist out the piston from the backend, thus making it not as easy as my Pilot or twsbi pens for a quick flush.
Fit and Finish 7/10
One cool touch that Aurora does here on a demonstrator pen, the caps pocket clip aligns itself perfectly with the fitment of the nib when the cap is screwed down closed. Again this serves no purpose but it does show someone put some time into putting each pen together to ensure this happens for each customer who buys one of these pens.
Everything arrived perfect, but there is now a small tiny little chip in the black coating to the band on the cap, at this price level, since i have never dropped or knocked this part, I would think something like that would never happen for regular usage, but other then that one tiny fleck, all is great on this pen, and the little red lettering for the LE Number is a nice touch to this model.
Conclusion, 8/10
I simply love this pen, its size weight and balance are superb, I love its looks and ease of cleaning, I could ask for more sure, but compared to other pens in its price category it offers as much pen per dollar, with some unique twists to have it stand out in the crowd. Some very small but nice attention to details such as the nib to cap alignment and the use of the ebonite feed really go a long way to making this pen as nice as it is. I would certainly buy this pen if I only had it on a trial bases and it left my hand. Did I mention that I love it ?
Fine Nib
Aurora was a brand that never really hit my radar, that was untill I seen this limited edition, I just loved the way it looked and couldnt help myself. It is one spontaneous purchase I have not regretted as this has become one of my favorite pens in my collection to date.
The Nib 8/10
The nib is something very unique to Aurora, I had read that they have a special feel to them, wand wasnt quite sure what that meant until I had a chance to write with it. They dont polish down to the super smooth tip that most others do, the nib has a wee bit o' bite to it, and while that may not sound like its something pleasant I have come to be very found of the feedback it gives, for those who may not like it though, its not a lot of feedback and would be something easily taken away by a professional, or a hobbyist who knows how to smooth a nib out. The reason I gave it an 8 and not a 10 was that this is a stiff one dimensional nib, having a bit of flex or softness isnt everything depending on the nib, and since this comes to work with me quite a bit I like it for the task as having a no nonsense nib when I have to jot things down quickly has become my preference in the workplace.
The Filling System 10/10
Yup its a piston, but not just any piston, a piston with a unique feature that you wont find on many other pens with this filling type. The head of the piston is actually a small cup, the cup holds a small amount of ink, thus if you forget to fill or have one of the black models and the ink window failed to get your attention, you can screw the piston all the way down and the cups contents will act as a reserve to get you through the day. It does work, as my first week with the pen I purposely ran it down to see it in action, and I got through half a day of work (I ran out just before lunch) and got home to fill again no problem. the piston is smooth and works just as well as my other piston pens.
The Flow 10/10
Perfect flow here for me, not to wet that everything smudges, but not at all dry that I get any skipping or hard starts. A perfect line from start to finish every time. its a beautiful thing. One really cool feature about this pen is that it comes with a red ebonite feed, yup RED lol it really doesnt mean anything that its red, but it is kind of cool. Ebonite feeds are not usually found in a lot of modern pens, but they are supreme when it comes to flow management, or so I have read, really im not so sure about that as I have a lot of modern pens with plastic feeds whose flow is just as nice, but it still is a great touch to a premium level pen.
The Maintenance 9/10
I love a pen that is easy to flush and care for, on this model the nib and feed are held in a tube that screws into the grip as a unit, but even from there the nib and feed are friction fit into that section, so they can be removed completely. There is even notches between nib and feed like a Pilot to ensure proper alignment when putting back together, this whole thing is good because ink did one time get between the walls of the screw in section and the grip, which on a demo pen is rather unsightly, but simply twisting out the section made for a quick clean up. The only knock is that you need a special tool to twist out the piston from the backend, thus making it not as easy as my Pilot or twsbi pens for a quick flush.
Fit and Finish 7/10
One cool touch that Aurora does here on a demonstrator pen, the caps pocket clip aligns itself perfectly with the fitment of the nib when the cap is screwed down closed. Again this serves no purpose but it does show someone put some time into putting each pen together to ensure this happens for each customer who buys one of these pens.
Everything arrived perfect, but there is now a small tiny little chip in the black coating to the band on the cap, at this price level, since i have never dropped or knocked this part, I would think something like that would never happen for regular usage, but other then that one tiny fleck, all is great on this pen, and the little red lettering for the LE Number is a nice touch to this model.
Conclusion, 8/10
I simply love this pen, its size weight and balance are superb, I love its looks and ease of cleaning, I could ask for more sure, but compared to other pens in its price category it offers as much pen per dollar, with some unique twists to have it stand out in the crowd. Some very small but nice attention to details such as the nib to cap alignment and the use of the ebonite feed really go a long way to making this pen as nice as it is. I would certainly buy this pen if I only had it on a trial bases and it left my hand. Did I mention that I love it ?
