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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 Bela is a pleasingly curvy chunk of a pen. Capped, the profile resembles an infinity symbol, with both barrel and cap narrowing at each end. The barrel is a beautiful mix of marbled colour in shades of blue, navy, cream and green. The pocket clip and the smooth, rounded cap and barrel ends are polished to a glossy black, perfectly complementing the pen's curves.
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. Fitted with a stainless steel Bock nib available in a range of sizes.
150mm long capped, 135mm uncapped. 16mm wide, 12mm at grip. Weighs 34g. Ink capacity approximately 3.5ml. While it can be posted, it doesn't post securely, and would be very top-heavy!
Additional information
Product Code:
Delivery
Orders placed before 3pm Monday to Friday will normally be sent out the same day.
UK Orders
FREE Royal Mail Standard delivery for orders over £40, and just £2.50 for smaller orders. Royal Mail Priority is available as an option, for £3.50 on orders over £40, £5.50 on smaller orders. Express available for £9, or FREE with any order over £400. No delivery surcharges for Northern Ireland, Highlands & Islands or anywhere else!
International
International deliveries vary in cost, so you'll need to add the items you want to your basket, and enter the checkout to see the options for delivery. Prices and payment methods will reflect your country, and many countries have all taxes and duties included to make things easier and more predictable.
Orders over 2kg
For all orders outside the UK, heavy orders may cost more to send, but the shipping cost will be displayed in the checkout before you commit.
More Information
For more, see our Delivery Information page.
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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 Bela is a pleasingly curvy chunk of a pen. Capped, the profile resembles an infinity symbol, with both barrel and cap narrowing at each end. The barrel is a beautiful mix of marbled colour in shades of blue, navy, cream and green. The pocket clip and the smooth, rounded cap and barrel ends are polished to a glossy black, perfectly complementing the pen's curves.
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. Fitted with a stainless steel Bock nib available in a range of sizes.
150mm long capped, 135mm uncapped. 16mm wide, 12mm at grip. Weighs 34g. Ink capacity approximately 3.5ml. While it can be posted, it doesn't post securely, and would be very top-heavy!
Additional information
Product Code:
Orders placed before 3pm Monday to Friday will normally be sent out the same day.
UK Orders
FREE Royal Mail Standard delivery for orders over £40, and just £2.50 for smaller orders. Royal Mail Priority is available as an option, for £3.50 on orders over £40, £5.50 on smaller orders. Express available for £9, or FREE with any order over £400. No delivery surcharges for Northern Ireland, Highlands & Islands or anywhere else!
International
International deliveries vary in cost, so you'll need to add the items you want to your basket, and enter the checkout to see the options for delivery. Prices and payment methods will reflect your country, and many countries have all taxes and duties included to make things easier and more predictable.
Orders over 2kg
For all orders outside the UK, heavy orders may cost more to send, but the shipping cost will be displayed in the checkout before you commit.
More Information
For more, see our Delivery Information page.