New Aurora 88 Black Mamba Limited Edition Arriving This Month

September 3, 2019

Being produced in just 888 numbered pieces worldwide, the Aurora 88 Black Mamba Limited Edition is scheduled to arrive this month. We are now accepting pre-orders - you will not be charged until your pen arrives and is ready to ship to you.

The guilloché pattern of the Black Mamba is inspired by the skin texture of this venomous predator. Happily, the piston-fill mechanism allows for this pen to be filled with the bottled fountain pen ink of your choice rather than snake venom, and the pen is supplied with an 18k solid gold black-plated nib in your choice of tipping size rather than with skin-piercing fangs. Retail $795, our price $716.

September 3, 2019

I love that finish but man I just can't ever justify buying black coated nibs.

September 4, 2019

That nib in real life is unreal.

September 4, 2019

That thing will look awful in a year when the black is worn off. Hard pass from me

September 4, 2019

No thanks.

September 4, 2019

ugly pen. in general, I am turned-off by the aurora piston "reserve" gimmick. I think it is a feature people rarely use in real life and translates to a laborious cleaning process.

September 4, 2019

Aurora 88s are fabulous pens, I own several.

Main reason is how they feel in the hand.

Who cares about the reservoir gimmick, I've never noticed any difference vs other piston fillers, I just use the pen, doesn't bother me a bit.

More specifically on this pen, I don't love all black/stealth pens.

As Honeybudgers says, I can't justify buying a black nib either, I've had sufficiently disappointing experience with the nib discoloration on my Sailor pro gear stealth.

Looking closer though the guilloche work on the body looks rather cool, and unusual.

I suspect this pen could grow on me. Luckily there are too many other 88s that I want before this one. Just got the Saturno!

Edited September 4, 2019 by sansenri

September 4, 2019

Every couple years I look at getting an Aurora but the ink reservoir thing has always turned me off. Maybe I'm over thinking how much effort that will take to clean. Is the 88 still considered the flagship Aurora model or has something else taken its place?

September 6, 2019

Well, to each his own- I was captivated by this pen the minute I saw it advertised and put in my pre-order right then.

September 7, 2019

I would love one.

September 8, 2019

I just learned of Auroras Goccia nib, which is patterned after Sailor's naginata togi nib which I love. So now Im on the hunt for an Aurora.

September 11, 2019

I just learned of Auroras Goccia nib, which is patterned after Sailor's naginata togi nib which I love. So now Im on the hunt for an Aurora.

Don't know about the new Goccia nib, both the 88 and the Optima are great pens.

Don't let the story about the ink reservoir bother you, it's no big deal, I regularly wash my Auroras without much fuss. Like many other piston fillers, it needs a bit more patience than a converter, but if you have the attitude for using a fountain pen, which does need a bit more care and patience than any old ballpoint, this is not going to bother you either.

Choice between the 88 and the Optima is just a matter of aesthetics, they feel almost identical in the hand.

I love the long section, very comfortable.

September 13, 2019

Really enjoying the discussion/debate here - we now have the pen in stock and think our own new images do a much better job of conveying its actual appearance than the manufacturer images we were using before. You can check them out at https://www.nibs.com/pens/aurora/aurora-88-black-mamba-limited-edition. And thanks as always to the FPN community for your passion, knowledge, and insight!