Opus 88 Flow (Green)

[ParkerBeta]

Opus 88, a Taiwanese pen maker, has recently made quite a splash in the world of fountain pens with its collections of Japanese-style eyedropper-fillers with shutoff valves. The bodies are either resin or a combination of resin and ebonite. I liked the resin-ebonite combination of the Koloro but was put off by the small #5 nib. I almost bought the clear demonstrator (which has the larger #6 nib) but something stopped me, and for that same reason I did not buy any of the Omar models either. However, when I saw the new Flow lineup, I had to have one, and not just any one but the one in green, even though green is not my favorite color for a fountain pen and I have only one or two green pens in my collection. Something about the combination of large flat-top body, stout section, large #6 nib, and the exquisite effect of the red-and-green swirls on the translucent barrel just spoke to me.

 

 

To me, it was obvious that the pen deserved to be filled with green ink. My only green inks at the time were Montblanc Irish Green and J. Herbin Vert Empire, and I felt the latter was a better match to the pen body color. Note the discreet "Opus 88" on the clip. There are no other manufacturer markings on the cap or barrel, though there is a medallion on top of the cap and the nib is engraved with the manufacturer's name.

 

 

The pen is all-acrylic (except for the clip and medallion), so it is quite light. It's a large size (about 6 inches, or 150 mm, capped) with a nice stout section. The girth of the section combined with the light weight (just 15 grams) makes for a very well-balanced feel in the hand and an excellent sense of control when writing with it. The cap does not post, but for a pen as large as this, posting is really unnecessary.

 

 

Recall that this is an eyedropper-filler (a glass eyedropper comes with the pen). It took more than one full eyedropper to fill the large ink reservoir of this pen. You can write for about a page with the shutoff valve at the bottom of the barrel closed before the feed dries out. For longer writing sessions, keep the valve slightly open as shown. I should remark here that Opus 88 is the only pen maker I know of that is making reasonably-priced acrylic Japanese-style eyedropper-fillers today. Most such pens are high-end handmade ebonite models (with or without Urushi lacquerwork) starting at several multiples of the price of this Opus 88.

 

The nib is a large #6 steel nib by Bock. I ordered the "M" size and received a nice reliably-starting smooth nib, but it is not particularly wet (not unexpected for a Bock nib) or wide (this did come as a bit of a surprise -- more like an Asian M nib than one made by a European manufacturer). At any rate, no complaints about the smoothness or functionality of the nib.

 

 

Functionally, the pen benefits from superb balance, a consequence of the combination of large size, light weight, and stout section. The large #6 nib and the wonderful swirls of color on the translucent barrel give it a very high score in the looks department. I give it a few bonus points for the 10-sided faceted design of the cap and shutoff valve, although I must deduct a point or two for requiring four full turns to unscrew the cap. I have nothing bad to say about the clip, though it is not a particularly memorable aspect of the design. Overall, I think Opus 88 has a definite winner with the Flow, and I am glad I did not "settle" for the demonstrator or any of the Omar models (although they are excellent models in their own right, and I will probably end up owning one or more of them, sooner or later) and waited until I could make the Flow my first Opus 88. The Opus 88 Flow is available on sale from various online stores for between $80 (if you take advantage of a seasonal sale) to about $100. At this price it represents very strong value indeed.

 

Addendum: There is another recent review of the Opus 88 Flow in the striking gray/grey color here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/354019-opus-88-flow-gray/?p=4326543

Edited May 31, 2020 by ParkerBeta

[chalkdust]

Thanks for providing us an informative and useful review. My Opus 88 Flow, though new, is becoming a pen I reach for more often than I anticipated.

[penzel_washinkton]

This is my gripe with Opus pens. Why do they require so much turn to uncap?

I wanted to pull the trigger on some of their pens but when I see they need at least 3 turn to uncap (bar some models CMIIW), I shied away from them.

 

I don't see a clear reason why uncapping it requires so many turns.

[TheDutchGuy]

  On 6/6/2020 at 10:04 PM, penzel_washinkton said:

I don't see a clear reason why uncapping it requires so many turns.

 

Neither do I, but it doesn’t bother me at all. In its price range, Opus makes very good, very practical and _fun_ pens which also make a great platform for nib swapping.

[penzel_washinkton]

The word very practical and the number of turns the Opus pens requires to uncap is the exact opposite.

 

My main point is, they could have reduced the number of turns required to uncap.

Edited June 7, 2020 by penzel_washinkton

[MuddyWaters]

  On 6/7/2020 at 10:19 AM, penzel_washinkton said:

The word very practical and the number of turns the Opus pens requires to uncap is the exact opposite.

 

My main point is, they could have reduced the number of turns required to uncap.

There are attributes to the quality 'practical' other than cap turns needed to untwist though. Edited June 7, 2020 by MuddyWaters

[penzel_washinkton]

I agree although saying it very practical is really not the best suited word.

My intention is not turning this into a thread about me whining though, just giving my 2 cents.

[MuddyWaters]

  On 6/7/2020 at 9:25 PM, penzel_washinkton said:

I agree although saying it very practical is really not the best suited word.

My intention is not turning this into a thread about me whining though, just giving my 2 cents.

yeah, you're right, and I'll get off my high horse ....

[Sagarb]

nice review.

[ParkerBeta]

  On 6/7/2020 at 10:19 AM, penzel_washinkton said:

The word very practical and the number of turns the Opus pens requires to uncap is the exact opposite.

 

My main point is, they could have reduced the number of turns required to uncap.

It seems we have a definitive answer to this question, straight from Opus 88. A self-identified "non-collector" I know who loves his Flow asked them the same question through a form on their website. Opus 88 replied that they require 4 turns to unscrew because they want to be absolutely sure that the cap stays securely on the pen no matter what (this is my paraphrasing -- what they wrote is "we just want to make sure the cap is connected to the barrel strong enough"). Nevertheless, I do believe they put in a margin of safety of at least one turn more than is needed to ensure no mishaps.

Edited June 23, 2020 by ParkerBeta

[penzel_washinkton]

Yeah I imagine that would be what they would be saying (the part "strong enough" is quite funny to me since "enough" is so subjective) but again if you think about it, is 4 turns really required to do that?

 

I might be too green in the fountain pen world but I have never seen / heard a user claiming that pens with 2.5 turn to cap/uncap feels it isn't strong enough. CMIIW though

[steve50]

Does it really take 4 turns? The grip and barrel bit looks exactly the same as my Omar, which takes 3 turns to uncap. It's still quite a lot, so I just have it half uncapped and ready to write while I'm using it.

[penzel_washinkton]

I think it differs for each models. Some take 3 turns and some 4turns.