Pilot Custom 823 Medium 14K Nib

[a m a r g o]

Yeah, a great review. I can feel my wallet getting all itchy.

I looked at nibs.com and all they seem to have are demonstrators. That seemed a bit odd. Does it come in other styles other than the see-through ?

 

No, only demonstrators, cristal clear, smoke and amber.

[Fabienne]

I just got mine from Todd yesterday (amber demo with a broad nib). It's killing me but I have not inked it yet. I am going to relish your review before I do so I can savour it all.

 

You inked with Apache Sunset. Nice choice. I am going with Lie de The, starting off mild and slow. I am really sparking with anticipation.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Fabienne

[Levatio]

Excellent review and photos.

 

I have one Pilot Custom 823, clear amber translucent body with a medium nib 14kt gold. The nib is quite large, beautifully crafted with nicely balanced tines and a perfectly polished round tip directly from the factory that glides softly over the paper as you write. I verified mine with a 30X loupe triplet magnifier. These nibs are very handsome, high quality. The japanese medium nib writes closer to the european fine nib. Very close to a Pelikan fine nib. The Pilot Custom 823 with its plunger ink pump system holds a ton of ink so you don't have refill it as often. This is a great daily writer and good looking pen.

 

These pens can be found in eBay (search fountain pens or Pilot Custom 823). A good eBay seller is Taizo d/b/a Engeika directly in Japan: http://stores.ebay.c...nese-pen?_rdc=1

 

John Mottishaw, an american nibmaster, is a distributor of Pilot/Namiki and other fine japanese pens: http://www.nibs.com/...ikiPensPage.htm John Mottishaw and his nibsters will customize your japanese nib if you want to convert it into a beautiful cursive italic.

 

Another great nibmaster, Richard Binder, also sells japanese Pilot/Namiki, german Pelikan, american Bexly and other quality fountain pens. He too do magic customizing nibs: http://www.richardspens.com/

 

 

 

 

[Fabienne]

Inked that 823 yesterday and chose Syo-Ro (it's a Pilot ink). Oh, it was fine. So fine. Even my husband (he who has the 149 MB) said he loved it. I saw him turn green. Heh. I really want to try to do a big review of it in video (because I can).

 

I am a real fan of Pilot.

[saskia_madding]

The 823s are what turned me on to Pilots in the first place. I absolutely LOVE my two Custom 823s. I know it's ridiculous, but I bought two back-ups; one smoke, one clear. JUST IN CASE.

[akafridi3]

Beautiful pen! Just got my vac 700 and love the vac filling system

[Blue_Moon]

The 823 is on my wish list. However, I wonder how consistent it is, out of the box. I read mixed comments about the 823 - probably about 70% positive and 30% with some type of problem - dryness, ink flow, etc., again right out of the box.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Blue_Moon

[Apotheosis]

The 823 is on my wish list. However, I wonder how consistent it is, out of the box. I read mixed comments about the 823 - probably about 70% positive and 30% with some type of problem - dryness, ink flow, etc., again right out of the box.

There's never a 100% guarantee in any pens you buy out of the box.

With the 2 problems you've listed it appears that the ink may be the cause and not so much the FP..and pen hygiene is important too to avoid problems.

Pilot FPs are generally reliable with little to no problems (that I know of or have experienced) out of the box.

[Blue_Moon]

There's never a 100% guarantee in any pens you buy out of the box.

With the 2 problems you've listed it appears that the ink may be the cause and not so much the FP..and pen hygiene is important too to avoid problems.

Pilot FPs are generally reliable with little to no problems (that I know of or have experienced) out of the box.

 

I'm currently in the market for an 823, and have been for about six months. Thus, I've read everything I've seen about the 823 in the last six months, and it just seems like there's a significant minority (about 30% in my best estimation) of comments about the pen that indicate problems out of the box. However, most people love the pen, and those who have difficulties manage to get them fixed. That's why I'm writing. In my current Pilots, I use nothing but Iroshizuku, so the ink won't be an issue for me.

[lehrer07]

My amber Pilot Custom 823 F just arrived from Goulet today. I will try to put together a photo-review with several ink types as well (Iroshizuku, Lamy, and maybe Rohrer u. Klingner or Diamine) over the weekend along with some comparison photos next to Lamys, Platinums, and Sailors.

[Blue_Moon]

My amber Pilot Custom 823 F just arrived from Goulet today. I will try to put together a photo-review with several ink types as well (Iroshizuku, Lamy, and maybe Rohrer u. Klingner or Diamine) over the weekend along with some comparison photos next to Lamys, Platinums, and Sailors.

 

Ah...I just responded to you on another thread, asking you to post pics. I've very anxious to hear your first impressions of this pen.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I've owned a Pilot Custom 823 for nearly two years now. It's a fine point. I had some trouble with it, but I finally discovered that my trouble was the ink I was using, not the pen. The ink I was using did not allow bubbles from the feed to bubble up through the reservoir. Instead, they collected at the top of the feed and shut off further ink flow. Eventually, the pen quit writing.

 

There were two easy solutions. The first was the flip the pen once in a while. The other was to use a less viscous ink. I switch back and forth between these solutions since it really is my favorite ink that causes the problems in this pen.

 

I own two Pilots, and can honestly say that they are both amazing, high quality pens.

[akafridi3]

Got this pen recently myself, it is such a joy to write with :-)

[Blue_Moon]

I've owned a Pilot Custom 823 for nearly two years now. It's a fine point. I had some trouble with it, but I finally discovered that my trouble was the ink I was using, not the pen. The ink I was using did not allow bubbles from the feed to bubble up through the reservoir. Instead, they collected at the top of the feed and shut off further ink flow. Eventually, the pen quit writing.

 

There were two easy solutions. The first was the flip the pen once in a while. The other was to use a less viscous ink. I switch back and forth between these solutions since it really is my favorite ink that causes the problems in this pen.

 

I own two Pilots, and can honestly say that they are both amazing, high quality pens.

 

Can you mention both the ink you had problems with and the ink that worked in the 823?

[WaskiSquirrel]

 

Can you mention both the ink you had problems with and the ink that worked in the 823?

 

Noodler's Black was the ink that was too thick to let the bubbles rise up. I had the same problem in a TWSBI Vac700 with this ink and in some converter pens.

 

I now use Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which is a bit less thick, and it works fine. But, as I said, the Black actually worked as well if I would flip the pen once in a while.