Opus 88 Jazz Fountain Pen – Transparent Blue – Fine

To fountain pen geeks the words “Made in Taiwan” are coming to mean “Expect something special and unusual”. And fountain pen geeks like unusual. Opus 88 have been manufacturing on behalf of other companies since 1988 but now they’re designing and making their own pens aiming them quite firmly at those of us who love fountain pens and want something a bit different. The Jazz has a translucent blue barrel set off by polished chrome trim and pocket clip. While the filling system used by these pens is not something new – far from it – it’s rare in modern pens. They may look at first as if they’re piston fillers or perhaps vacuum fillers but these are actually eyedropper pens. More specifically they’re of a type often known as ‘Japanese Eyedroppers’ though these aren’t Japanese. They don’t draw ink up into the barrel themselves you need to use an eyedropper or syringe if you prefer to get ink from the bottle to the pen barrel. So why the piston-like mechanism It’s a valve to seal off the ink supply just above the nib. Why Well for one thing it makes the pens safer to carry as only the ink that’s already in the feed can leak into the cap if it gets shaken about. It can also be used to work around a common problem with eyedropper pens. With a lot of ink and air held directly in the barrel as the heat from your hand warms up an eyedropper pen they can push a bit of ink out through the feed onto the page. It’s not usually a problem when the pen is full only when there’s air in the barrel but if it happens to be a problem for you you can just keep the valve closed only opening it to allow more ink to the feed as needed. In use you just need to unscrew the valve a little before you start a longer writing session and tighten it back up for safety when you’re done. And if you just need to make a quick note the ink that’s already in the feed should be plenty so it doesn’t slow you down. Supplied in a gift box with a glass eyedropper.