In A League Of Its Own : The Pilot Custom 823

[23Larsen]

 

 

DESIGN - THE AMBER DEMONSTRATOR (6/6)

 

The Custom 823 comes in three standard designs of translucency transparency - Amber, Smoke and Clear resin, all with gold plated trims. The resin material seems substantial and feels heavy. A silver trimmed version may be a nice thing for many fountain pen nerds including myself. I went for an Amber one with a medium nib and find it quite challenging to resist getting another Smoke version, with recently slashed prices in Rakuten/Ebay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I agree completely about the 823. I recently got one myself (amber F-nib) and i´m having real trouble finding other fountain pens i want now...except another 823 in the smoke color, and maybe an WA-nib.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for an awesome review!

[sannidh]

 

 

I agree completely about the 823. I recently got one myself (amber F-nib) and i´m having real trouble finding other fountain pens i want now...except another 823 in the smoke color, and maybe an WA-nib.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for an awesome review!

I am also lured by a WA nib on a smoke one. And thank you for the nice feedback 23Larsen.

[jwkeckley]

What an incredible review. Photography was stunning! I always wrote off the 823 due to the aesthetics... but your photos are making me reconsider. In my opinion, it's probably the only pen under 300 bucks that can compete with the flagships of the other major brands... Sure to be one in my collection soon (: Thanks again!

[jameswatts]

Love my Custom 823. One of those pens that the instant I held it I knew it was a perfect pen for me.

[tinkerteacher]

Why, oh why did Pilot make such an interesting fountain pen ... and then insist on selling it only with its most boring nibs.

 

Luckily for us, there are a handful of intrepid merchants who have rectified that situation.

 

 

Pilot 823 with FA nib, a pefect marriage of ink supply, beefy body, and juicy wet flexy nib.

 

(please excuse the bad light, out of focus photo. kudos to the OP for his excellent photos)

Edited July 8, 2015 by tinkerteacher

[neotobeo]

Excellent review. I have had my eye on the 823 for some time now.

[Tas]

Lovely review of what is clearly a brilliant pen.

So happy for you.

 

This and a Conid of some kind are now the only two pens on my radar - although I just heard The Writing Desk got hold of 10 more Micartas . . .

[sannidh]

What an incredible review. Photography was stunning! I always wrote off the 823 due to the aesthetics... but your photos are making me reconsider. In my opinion, it's probably the only pen under 300 bucks that can compete with the flagships of the other major brands... Sure to be one in my collection soon (: Thanks again!

 

Thank you so much jwkeckley..If you are comfortable ordering it from Japan, it's under $ 200 here.

And the transparent resin feels quite substantial, you can feel its heft unlike the CH92 one.

 

Best,

Sonik

Edited July 8, 2015 by soniknitr

[sannidh]

Love my Custom 823. One of those pens that the instant I held it I knew it was a perfect pen for me.

[sannidh]

Why, oh why did Pilot make such an interesting fountain pen ... and then insist on selling it only with its most boring nibs.

 

Luckily for us, there are a handful of intrepid merchants who have rectified that situation.

 

IMG_2389.jpg

 

Pilot 823 with FA nib, a pefect marriage of ink supply, beefy body, and juicy wet flexy nib.

 

(please excuse the bad light, out of focus photo. kudos to the OP for his excellent photos)

 

Thank you tinkerteacher for sharing the pics. May I ask if the 823 a Tokyo Pen Shop offering ?

[sannidh]

Excellent review. I have had my eye on the 823 for some time now.

 

Thank you neotobeo. Do share a pic with us when you get yours

[sannidh]

Lovely review of what is clearly a brilliant pen.

So happy for you.

 

This and a Conid of some kind are now the only two pens on my radar - although I just heard The Writing Desk got hold of 10 more Micartas . . .

 

Thank you so much Tas.

Btw, that's some nice looking Titanium nib..

Happy that you are finally considering a 823

[Frank C]

I used Custom 823s exclusively as my work pens for several years. I love the nibs, the extra large ink supply—about 2.5 ml with the inverted fill technique—and the fact that it is a demonstrator. I could just grab a pen in the morning, hold it up to a light, and instantly know if I had enough ink for the day. They are also my travel pens. With the ink shut-off valves, one can be fairly certain they won't leak with pressure changes. I do keep my pens nib up in my shirt pocket, though, and open the ink shut off with the nib up, too.

 

I also like the vacuum filling system. At one time, I was trying to acquire at least one example of all the commonly available filling systems. The Custom 823 was a well-made example of a vacuum filler.

 

Pilot USA has great customer service. I once gathered up about 20 Pilot pens in various states of disrepair—I do use my pens at work! I sent them all off to Pilot. There were bent nibs, broken finials, leaks, the usual gamut of pen maladies. About six weeks later, they all came back, repaired, parts replaced, tuned, and writing as well as ever. And at no charge. Try doing that with a Montblanc!

 

For the most part, if a pen manufacturer makes ink, I use that ink in that Manufacturer's pen. I believe that they were made to work together. Pilot makes a lot of nice inks. Their black is a well-behaved dark black, blue is a nice medium blue with good properties, and blue-black is a reasonable blue-black. They also have the Iroshizuku line, so there are many colors to choose from.

 

I do like demonstrators; I like to see the inner workings of a pen and I also like to know how much ink I have, in an instant. But even if you don't like demonstrators, the amber Custom 823 is fairly dark, especially when filled with ink. At first glance, one wouldn't even know it was transparent. The smoke 823 is even darker.

 

I don't mind finding a pen I have for a lower price later on. If I like the pen, I buy a few more at the new price. That way, my average cost per pen goes down. And I have more pens.

 

Thank you, Sonik, for posting this this thorough review of one of my favorite pens. I agree that it is in a "league of its own".

[Reevers]

Amazing detailed review, with gorgeous pictures.

 

The amber colour with gold trim looks superb.

 

Thanks

[hari317]

...

After reading your post, I really feel the urge to ink up my 823 again and if I do, it will have been after a gap of a few years.

 

Thanks!

Hari

[tinkerteacher]

Thank you tinkerteacher for sharing the pics. May I ask if the 823 a Tokyo Pen Shop offering ?

Tokyo Pen Shop Quill

 

http://www.japanshop-quill.com/pilot-custom823.htm

 

With the recent sharp rise in the US Dollar (is the USA economy the only one not going down in flames?) to Yen exchange rate, they're selling the Pilot 823 with FA or WA for under $250 at the moment.

 

A too good to pass up deal unfortunately.

[Frank C]

After reading your post, I really feel the urge to ink up my 823 again and if I do, it will have been after a gap of a few years.

 

Thanks!

Hari

 

 

Tokyo Pen Shop Quill

 

http://www.japanshop-quill.com/pilot-custom823.htm

 

With the recent sharp rise in the US Dollar (is the USA economy the only one not going down in flames?) to Yen exchange rate, they're selling the Pilot 823 with FA or WA for under $250 at the moment.

 

A too good to pass up deal unfortunately.

 

You should give it another try, Hari. But you do have so many nice pens. As we both know, a fountain pen is a very personal item. One that I love, you may not care for at all.

 

[T]inker teacher, have you purchased from the Tokyo Pen Shop Quill before? If so, how was the service? They seem like a very reputable store. I have been looking at their clear Custom 823s for years. And that 845 in vermillion is beautiful.

 

I don't know about flames, except for Greece and maybe Puerto Rico. But most of the world's economies are in the doldrums.

[tinkerteacher]

First purchase. However, if I ever manage to refill the severely depleted pen aquisition budget (what's that quote from the Godfather about trying to get out?), and I was in the market from another high-end Japanese pen, I'd most definitely go back to TPSQ. Friendly and extremely knowledgable folks.

 

 

Actually, Greece aside, I was thinking more of the complete meltdown of China's stock market that happened yesterday. Greece is small fry compared to the 3-4 USD trillion that just disappeared from the Chinese stock market. Through, this ongoing computer network 'cliche' that has just shut down the NYSE can't be good for the US economy either.

Edited July 8, 2015 by tinkerteacher

[frogbaby]

I just had very positive experience with the Pen House on Rakuten.

I bought a clear 823 broad for $211USD all in.

They were very good to deal with and the pen is excellent.

Only the usual F M B nib selection though

[Frank C]

First purchase. However, if I ever manage to refill the severely depleted pen aquisition budget (what's that quote from the Godfather about trying to get out?), and I was in the market from another high-end Japanese pen, I'd most definitely go back to TPSQ. Friendly and extremely knowledgable folks.

 

 

Actually, Greece aside, I was thinking more of the complete meltdown of China's stock market that happened yesterday. Greece is small fry compared to the 3-4 USD trillion that just disappeared from the Chinese stock market. Through, this ongoing computer network 'cliche' that has just shut down the NYSE can't be good for the US economy either.

 

 

I just had very positive experience with the Pen House on Rakuten.

I bought a clear 823 broad for $211USD all in.

They were very good to deal with and the pen is excellent.

Only the usual F M B nib selection though

 

Thanks for the info. I have never purchased from either one. Always good to hear about someone else's positive experiences.

 

I just heard about the shut down on the NYSE. All the world's economies are co-dependant at this point in time. Greece is a small fry, but their posturing with the EU is making many countries rethink their commitment to the Euro. The UK is just sitting back and counting their Sterling. But the Scots are not letting them sleep well at night. Ron Paul and I just want to back to the Gold Standard. I don't see that happening, ever!

 

Wow! Do I need to buy another Custom 823 before the world ends?