Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Mark One Pen Review

The Mark One pen is the latest design from Kickstarter gurus Studio Neat. Dan Provost and Tom Gerhardt, the team behind Studio Neat, are friends of mine, and I’ve been lucky to see behind the curtain since this project was just a thought in their heads. And I’m thrilled with the final result.

After the success of their previous project, the Panobook, Dan and Tom rolled right into designing the perfect pen to match an already great notebook.

Starting with the Schmidt P8126 - the refill that knocked the Pilot Hi-Tec-C off the Kickstarter pen charts - Studio Neat built an aluminum barrel along the lines of their first Kickstarter project, the Cosmonaut. You can definitely tell these products are related. Where the Cosmonaut had a rubber coated barrel for all of your stylus needs, the Mark One has a Cerakote finish.

Not familiar with Cerakote? It acts like a paint, but the shell is extremely hard and has a satin/matte finish. I have one pen with a Cerakote finish and I love it, but it is not an easy process to get right. Studio Neat got it right with both the black and white finishes on the Mark One.

Aside from the coating, the click mechanism was custom designed to fit this pen. It was originally designed around the Schmidt mechanism, but Dan and Tom are never satisfied and set out to build their own. The result is a rock solid knock with great feedback. You know when this pen is engaged.

To me, the only question readers of this site might have is why? Why do I need another Kickstarter pen? Why do I need another Schmidt P8126 barrel? The answer is you don’t. None of us do. At $50, this pen is a great price. I’d pay $80 for it easily. You can buy a Retro for 51 with the same refill for half the price and get an amazing pen and writing experience and be set for years without owning a Mark One.

*Top to bottom: Mark One Pen, Ajoto Pen, Retro 51*

But there is something about supporting small makers who make cool stuff that makes me happy. That doesn’t mean I’ll blindly support every project put in front of my eyes - the value still has to be there, for example - but when it’s right, it’s right, and I’m happy to back a project like the Mark One.

Studio Neat has blown away every goal of this project so far, and with over $120,000 in backing at the time of this writing, there is no end in sight. You can see what the fuss is all about over on the Mark One Kickstarter page.

(Disclosure: Dan Provost and Tom Gerhardt are friends of mine. I’ve received several prototypes of the Mark One over the past six months to test and provide feedback on, including the model in this review, at no charge. I’ve backed this project with my own funds and will be choosing the white barrel.)

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Studio Neat, Pen Reviews, Mark One.

Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator is an over-sized fountain pen with an eyedropper filling system. It comes with a steel Jowo nib in fine or medium.

The pen arrives in a nice box with a brown outer sleeve. The box itself is black and has a magnetic closure. When you open the box, the pen and eyedropper are nestled in foam cut-outs. Well . . . they are supposed to be nestled. My pen was rolling around when I opened it; fortunately, no harm was done.

The pen is made of acrylic, but the cap and barrel have a frosted look that I really like. The clip is matte black, and it complements the frosted cap perfectly.

The only branding is on the cap band which is inscribed with “Opus 88” in black.

The finial on top and the piston knob are both thick, clear acrylic.

The pen is filled with a glass eyedropper (which comes with the pen). Simply unscrew the grip from the barrel and fill it with the ink of your choice.

The grip section has a rubber ring that seals when you screw it back on to the barrel. No silicone grease is necessary.

When you’re ready to write, you unscrew the piston knob a few turns to create flow.

The barrel holds an enormous amount of ink (at least 2.0 ml), and since the barrel is transparent, you’ll always know when you’re getting low.

The #6 Jowo steel nib is decorated with some scrollwork and Opus 88 branding. My fine nib writes flawlessly—it is smooth and wet. I experienced no hard starts or scratchiness with this nib.

As I said above, the Opus 88 is an over-sized pen. It measures a bit over 5.75 inches (146mm) in length capped and 5.39 inches (137mm) uncapped. It isn’t meant to be posted, and, really, it’s large enough that posting would throw off the balance anyway. Even though this is a large pen, it isn’t heavy. I find it to be perfectly balanced even with a barrel full of ink. I love how substantive it feels in the hand. This is a well-made pen.

The Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator reminds me (in some ways) of my Conid Minimalistica (review here), but the Opus is much easier to fill and clean, and it is much less expensive.

I am very impressed with my Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator. It looks fantastic, especially when it is filled with a beautiful ink color. The eyedropper system works well and the rubber ring keeps it from leaking. The nib is smooth and responsive. This is, simply put, an excellent pen.

You can purchase the Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator from Pen Chalet for $120.00. If you’ve ever wanted to try an eyedropper pen but have been put off by how expensive they can be, this is the perfect fountain pen for you. And, if you think the Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator might be too big for your hand, you can try the smaller versions (also eyedroppers) that come in various colors and cost $93.00 at Pen Chalet.

Pros

The Opus 88 Koloro demonstrator is a well-made pen that feels substantive in your hand.
Because it is an over-sized pen with an eyedropper filling system, it holds a huge amount of ink.
The Jowo nib on my Opus 88 writes flawlessly.
I really like the look of this pen with the frosted barrel, cap, and matte black clip. Because it is a demonstrator, it will show off whatever ink you fill it with.

Cons

This over-sized pen might be too big for some people, but smaller Opus 88s are available (though not in the clear demonstrator version).
One thing you have to remember with this pen is to unscrew the piston knob before you start writing. I don’t find this bothersome at all, but it is an extra step.

(This purchase was made with my own funds from Pen Chalet.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Susan Pigott and filed under Opus, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Ohto Rays Flash Dry Gel Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

When it comes to products that skirt really closely to the knock-off line, it can tend to push some people away or make them uncomfortable with the product. Other times, it’s easy to forgive the likeness if the product offers its own unique take on the original. With the Ohto Rays Flash Dry gel pen (“Ohto Rays" from now on), I’m on the fence. On one hand, it looks very similar to the classic Parker Jotter, but, on the other hand, it includes a stellar gel refill that conveniently fits in any other pen that takes Parker-style refills.

Despite the obvious inspiration for the design of this pen, let’s take a look at how it all comes together as a writing instrument. The pen comes in at 5.5 inches long, which is a bit long for the Parker-style retractable genre. Still, it’s quite comfortable and balanced. The barrel can feel a bit skinny, but I don’t mind it. I’ve grown accustomed to this slim feel after using a Parker Jotter in the past. Unlike the Jotter, the grip section of this pen is mostly plastic, save the small tip. The upper body, clip, and nock are all metal.

The click mechanism has a nice feel and sound, and it’s been very reliable in my experience. I’ve noticed that with some cheap model retractable pens that the click mechanism can have issues. That’s not the case here. The metal clip is also the perfect level of strong — not too stiff to make it difficult to use, but not too soft to cause issues with falling off things.

In general, the pen feels really good in the hand, and the plastic grip warms up to your hand with use. The extra length overall adds a sense of balance to the pen that I welcome.

Now, on to the aspect of this pen that I’m excited about. Like the inspiration for the outside of the pen, Ohto also took that inspiration inside the pen with the refill they chose. The refill is an Ohto-branded gel refill that performs wonderfully. I was really surprised that it performed as well as it does when I first started using it. The ink is dark, smooth, and precise, and the line width is incredibly precise and clean. The fact that the refill tip is a "needle-point" style also makes it feel a tad more premium. I’m sure this style tip is helpful when using it with a straight-edge, but I can’t attest to that. I’ve really enjoyed using this refill and have had zero problems or complaints. It’s a fantastic refill that I’ll probably use in other pens due to the ubiquitous size and compatibility with other pens.

The only downside to this refill (and it’s a doozy) is that you only have one option: 5mm in black. In the gel refill world, this is almost a death sentence compared to the wide, wide array of tip sizes and colors available from other manufacturers. I’m holding out a little hope that Ohto has plans to expand their offerings, but I won’t hold out long. Still, as far as 0.5mm black refills go, this is at the top of my list right now.

The Ohto Rays pen comes in a variety of colors, like yellow (shown here), blue (looks like turquoise, though), black, white, pink, and red. At just under $4, these pens are a really good deal. If you’re only interested in the refill, those are just under $2. Good luck finding the pens or the refills in stock! They’ve been incredibly popular on JetPens since their initial release earlier this year.

If you can get past the design decisions, this is a solid pen with a fantastic refill.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!