Pilot Custom 823

[PatientType]

I purchased a used but good condition 823 in black and with a medium nib. The pen was so spectacular that I hunted down a brown pen with broad nib. The broad nib version was a little hard to find but the pen is a very expressive writer, as the original review points out. These are marvelous pens!

[amateriat]

My 823 is now on its way, while I scribe away with the lovely 74 Demo...it's almost more fun than I can stand.

 

 

- Barrett

[Highbinder]

These are marvelous pens!

 

Since my last post I've had my 823 a couple of weeks and I agree 100%!

[Ed Ronax]

Excellent review, thanks.

[downwiththepc27]

I kind of doubt that the ink pot would help with the filling capacity. The air space is caused by air leaking through the seal in the back of the pen to fill the suction formed by pushing the plunger in, so there is no remedy for this other than an impossibly perfect seal. It shouldn't be too much of an issue, though, considering that a piston-filled pen uses half the pen body for the piston mechanism. This system is probably the largest capacity self-filling mechanism in existence, second in capacity only to the eyedropper.

For anyone who hasn't seen my post in the Japanese subsection, here's the process I discovered for getting a near 100% fill every time

 

1) Take the empty pen and fill it up as you would normally. It should fill somewhere around 2/3 of the way

2) Flip the pen over, so that the nib points up

3) Pull the plunger back, so that the rod is fully extended (don't worry, this step is clean. just make sure ink doesn't drip off of the nib)

4) Carefully push the air bubble out of the pen. As soon as you can't see any more air, stop

5) Hold the blind cap firmly, so that the pressure from the vacuum doesn't push it back out

6) Flip the pen over, stick it back into the bottle, keeping the plunger depressed

7) Expel all of the ink, then fill like normal

 

It will fill almost all the way to the top, guaranteed!

[amateriat]

Arrival.

http://mysite.verizon.net/bwbenton/Pens/pilot74and823.jpg

(Apologies for the blown highlights, etc; quick n' dirty Casio p/s snap)

 

The 823 arrived from Carmen just a shout before noon, mint as-described. Loaded it with Noodler's Old Manhattan (a.k.a Blackest Black). More details later, but for now I'll say the M nib does indeed write like a "plump" fine, and offers just enough feedback without feeling toothy. Smooth in its own way, while different from the 74's B.

 

Have to run to some more tech jobs now, but will try to squeeze in a quick visit to Kinokuniya (MaiDo) in Manhattan, and see what extra trouble I can get myself into. (Hint: They have the Pilot notepads...)

 

 

- Barrett

[amateriat]

The Update (for anyone who cares):

 

It really is getting better all the time. I've been writing with both pens extensively the past several weeks, and it's all been good. The 74 is sweet, the 823 super-sweet. I mentioned in a thread I started a day or so ago that going back to my Lamy 2000 the other night gave me a bit of a start: I've become so used to the grip section of the Pilots that the 2k's taper now takes a fair amount of adjustment to get used to again. Subliminally, this is likely why I ran out to FPH and bought the 74 right after committing to buying the black 823 from Carmen: the possibility that, when the smoke cleared, my now three-pen set may eventually come down to two. (No Lamys? We'll see.)

 

Moving between the 74 and the 823 is effortless and natural. I briefly toyed with the idea of swapping the 74 for another (amber) 823, but don't really see the need. This pair fits my requirements so well it's a bit scary.

 

And, to think, all this started with my dashed enthusiasm with a Lamy D3...

 

 

- Barrett

[Blackforest]

nice posts - one question though: is it really necessary to screw out the end of the pen for writing? doesn't that bother you in practice?

 

regards

christian

[amateriat]

Christian: Actually, a lot less of a bother than you might imagine, compared to some of the unintended "rituals" I've occasionally put up with in regard to certain other FPs. And, since we're talking dedicated, bottle-fill-only numbers, this step is almost not worth mentioning.

 

One thing to remember is that there's usually enough ink in the feeder to run off a paragraph or two, even with the mechanism sealed. Just remember to unscrew it a few turns when you're ready to sit right down and write yourself (or someone else) a letter.

 

 

- Barrett

Edited April 7, 2010 by amateriat

[Highbinder]

nice posts - one question though: is it really necessary to screw out the end of the pen for writing? doesn't that bother you in practice?

 

regards

christian

 

It's needed for extended periods of writing but with the blind cap screwed tight theres plenty of ink on the feed to write a few short notes.

[amateriat]

I had one of those wherever-you-go-there-you-are moments at FPH the other day: I was between tech gigs, and decided to stop in to buy a bottle of Amodex ink & stain remover (I've yet to get ink on clothing or the like, but I occasionally get an inky finger), and I cruise the pen displays only to discover that they now have black 823s! The guy I normally deal with there (who sold me a new Custom 74 not two months ago) hadn't tried one yet, so I gladly handed mine off to try. I think they're getting around $320-330 for one.

 

Maybe I just talk a bit too much about 'em?

 

 

- Barrett

Edited April 17, 2010 by amateriat

[amateriat]

Just checked FPH's site: not only do they now have the 823 in black (Smoke, as they call it), it comes with a bottle of Iroshizuku ink...not too bad for a bit over three hundred bucks.

 

And, nosing around the site, it appears they've gotten somewhat bullish on Pilot all of a sudden: perhaps I merely overlooked all this before, but now they've got the Varsity pens, the Fermo, even the Stanza rollers. Didn't see any bottles of Iroshizuku where they normally keep ink which was probably a good thing...), but if they don't sell them separately now, it likely won't be long before they do.

 

Wait...their Pen Fair is on right this minute. What am I doing here?

 

 

- Barrett

Edited April 17, 2010 by amateriat

[amateriat]

Well...

 

Thanks to the MTA's "Not Really Going Your Way" this weekend, I didn't get to FPH's Pen Fair until the last half-hour (i.e., when all but one outfit had packed up and gone home), but I did get a few tidbits that made it worth the struggle to get there:

 

- The Namiki/Pilot reps had left before I got there but I was told to look out for a few things in the near future: a Custom 74 Demonstrator in the same Smoke finish of the 823; Limited-edition Vanishing Points in matte-black and white lacquer, plus a new Raden finish; and (maybe) FPH will have the Iroshizuku inks in-store, but only the "most popular" colors (how to determine that? Sales numbers in other parts of the world?), and only in limited stock. (As an FYI, Pelikan is apparently getting into the act with its own limited-edition inks, at about $18 a pop.)

 

- FPH doesn't have any Fermos in stock, but took orders today; the Pilot rep apparently had one Fermo to demo for people. (Meanwhile, Kinokuniya, farther uptown, can sell you one right now, but for about en bucks more than FPH.)

 

- Visconti (the last guys still at the show when I showed up) showed me their Lava series FP (Edit: it's part of the Homo Sapiens series), and it's a beaut: barrel made of lava silica and other compounds, leading to a surface that's smooth, yet with a bit of soft grippiness, and warm to the touch like epoxy paint, a nice heft without seeming heavy, a truly flexible "23k iridium" nib (that's what the rep said...I'll have to decipher that one later online), and plunger-fill like the 823, but the internal bits are made of titanium, "the only material impervious to any ink type." (Yeah he said that, too...) I simply liked the way the damn thing wrote; it hardly blew away the 823, but it's a worthy competitor, and, priced at under $600, certainly says a LOT of good things about where Visconti seems to be headed right now: really good pens made for writing, and not priced into the stratosphere "because we can." How about that?

 

- They still didn't have the other Noodler's ink (Blue Heron) I'm interested in. Guess I'll just have to get that online. (Was that ink made for a specific seller, the way Old Manhattan/Blackest Black was made just for FPH?)

 

Time for sleep, or something.

 

 

- Barrett

Edited April 19, 2010 by amateriat

[dwong]

This is such a beautiful pen, and it's definitely on my wish list.

 

@Amateriat- That's very nice to hear that the Custom 74 is coming in a smoke grey finish as well, I cannot wait to how it will look like.

[amateriat]

dwong: Indeed, it is: While handling the Visconti Homo Sapiens FP, I couldn't help but think the 823 had some influence on it: same filling mechanism, relatively-restrained, understated design, and non-outrageous pricing. In other words, a writer's pen. As the Visconti rep told me, they want to get this pen into more people's hands

 

But, enough about that pen. Between the 823 and 74, I've rarely picked up a BP or roller in the last few months. This alone has made for a change in my handwriting (a bit of an improvement), and for that alone I'm thrilled.

 

 

- Barrett

[fabrimedeiros]

Excellent review!! I'm thinking about purchasing one.

 

Thanks,

 

Fabricio

[amateriat]

dwong: I'm pretty sure that the "Smoke" designation is for the translucent-black finish, not grey (although I thing grey would great on either an 823 or 74). But it sounds like Pilot has more than a few ideas in the hopper, so who knows?

 

I will keep riding FPH to carry some of the Iroshizuku inks...maybe help pick out a color or two. (Yeah, I wish, but who knows...?)

 

 

- Barrett

[JBat]

Great review by the OP. I'm already close to pulling the trigger on one of these beauties.

[dashreeve]

Great review by the OP. I'm already close to pulling the trigger on one of these beauties.

 

You'll be happy with it, just like others have said, this pen is great. I got a brown (F) for my Birthday and asked for the black (M) for graduation. Might be my best pens.

[NYLegMan]

Amateriat: Try Art Brown for the colors you are seeking. They seem to have just about any Noodler's color you might want, except of course for the exclusives. Just bought Bad Belted Kingfisher and it's an amazing ink!

Edited April 22, 2010 by NYLegMan