If You Own Both A Pilot Metro And A Custom 823...

[TheDutchGuy]

It's pretty rare that people are so unanimous in their enthousiasm for a pen. Pens are so personal that opinions tend to vary a lot. I'll have to get an 823 F. To be continued, thanks!

[akrohn2010]

It's pretty rare that people are so unanimous in their enthousiasm for a pen. Pens are so personal that opinions tend to vary a lot. I'll have to get an 823 F. To be continued, thanks!

A Pilot 823 F is quite high on my wish list. If I wasn’t able to get so many other wish list items for the same price, I’d already have it...

 

Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

[TheDutchGuy]

Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

That will have to wait two of three weeks. I ordered the pen from Japan today. Now I will have to exercise patience (not my strongest point).

[Tseg]

Yes, sad there are no pictures through this whole thread. Don't forget to consider the JDM Smoke version. For all intents and purposes it ends up being a black and gold pen once ink goes in it.

 

[TheDutchGuy]

I ordered the amber version, but you're right: unless you put red ink in it or something like that, it will become a cigar.

[akrohn2010]

That will have to wait two of three weeks. I ordered the pen from Japan today. Now I will have to exercise patience (not my strongest point).

Mine either — I feel your pain! Been waiting on an Edison Menlo I ordered in March - Brian Gray said it would be 17 weeks, so still another 6-7 weeks to go.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

I also have both. I tend to keep my 823 M-nib at home and "baby" it somewhat with treatment and what inks I put in it.

 

I have a Metropolitan F-nib that I travel more with due to not being as bummed about something bad happening to a $15 pen.

 

Both are nice, but wheres my Metro is my "it works quite well and I don't feel bad if something bad happens" pen, the 823 is one of my absolute favorites, with only my Sailor Pro Gear B-nib in its ballpark.

[Tseg]

Mine either — I feel your pain! Been waiting on an Edison Menlo I ordered in March - Brian Gray said it would be 17 weeks, so still another 6-7 weeks to go.

 

I'm in the same boat with my Namiki Urushi No. 20 ordered around the same time and was told I may have it by the 4th of July.

 

I remember ordering my 824 and it arrived on the 1st day of the big deliver window and thought Japan orders are not bad at all... and then my Sailor KoP arrived a week after the last day of a long delivery window. That wait really killed me.

[Oranges and Apples]

^---I'm assuming that's because of the 743's PO nib and not because of its C/C design. Intriguing. What is it about the PO nib that makes you favour it over the F...?

It's a unique nib and it's not like any other nib that I have. I have many of Pilot's pens with different nibs but the PO is something I like the best.

[TheDutchGuy]

It's a unique nib and it's not like any other nib that I have. I have many of Pilot's pens with different nibs but the PO is something I like the best.

 

 

Thanks! I've considered getting the PO, based your input, but in the end I chickened out and ordered a F. Mainly because many people said something like "my PO writes even finer than an EF". I'm still intrigued by the PO but I want to try it before I buy.

[Pensei]

I can't imagine that you won't love the F. It's my favorite nib. (Although I share your curiosity about the PO.)

[Erik Dalton]

Let us know when your pen arrives.

[radellaf]

The line width with pilot gold (or bigger?) nibs vs. the Prera/78G/Metro nibs is definitely different. I find the 823 F to be finer than most 78G Fs (though I've had some 78s that were extremely fine and dry and probably adjusted too tight but sometimes I like dry and fine). The 823M is definitely wider than the average cheaper M nibs.

 

I got a smoke 823 F and an amber M maybe 5 years ago, when it wasn't so popular. Not sure what happened. Everyone is talking about it now. Anyway, the F nib is my favorite. I'm hesitant to say it is "better" than the metro F; I might just feel that way because it's softer, prettier, and I paid a lot for the pen (even with a good deal). I can't really separate all the non-performance aspects from the writing in terms of it being more "deluxe" or whatever.

 

It is softer/springier and has a _completely_ different feel to it that I really like as a special thing. Day to day, I like the metro nib's writing better. It's not smoother (the M is, though), so that's not what's nice. It's not really the same spring as, say, a Parker Sonnet, either. I think it takes less pressure to feel some give.

 

I could say a lot about the other aspects of the pen but I'll just go with: the vacuum system is neat, but I generally prefer to pipette-fill a CON40 since I hate to dip a nib in a bottle, and vac-filling out of a sample vial is something I've gotten good at with practice (just did a CON70 - little easier) but not ideal. I _have_ pulled the nib and feed from 823s and pipette/syringe filled them. Do at your own risk but it feels OK. I use my 78G pens more often, but am glad to have an 823 for when I want something less everyday.

[TheDutchGuy]

The wait is over!

 

 

The journey from Japan to Holland took a mere three days. Then it took nine more days to travel the last 40 miles to my home. Odd. I picked it up at the post office today and after paying a substantial import tax fee, I can finally call it my own.

 

I'm not going to review a pen that has already been reviewed by so many others. I will share some personal first impressions, which I'm sure I will change over time as I get to know this pen better. Cosmetically and ergonomically, I love it. It looks great and fits my hand like a glove.

 

The vac filler mechanism is something I'll have to get used to. I know that many people swear by it, but I'm a firm believer in keeping stuff as simple as can be. I have no problems with cartridges, nor with converters. If a converter fails, too bad, five bucks will get me a new one. If the piston seal in my MB 146 leaks, I have a problem. The mechanism of the 823 seems to be just that, a mechanism. Time will tell how well it performs. I struggled to get the pen filled for the first time. It was impossible with the 50 mL Sailor Souten bottle, I had to transfer the ink into another bottle before I succeeded.

 

 

^---Beautiful nib! Difficult to clean after filling the pen. Definitely the finest nib (in terms of line width) of my 11 pens. A very fine, wet line. The nib is smooth but not sterile, there's definitely a "connected-ness" to the paper that I like (not butter on hot glass). It's also a nail, without any hint of bounce or give. It feels like a perfectly executed steel nib to me. In comparison, my H-M nibbed Sailors are significantly wider, have more pleasant feedback, offer more control over my writing and have much more bounce and give. Does this mean my first impression is not favourable? Not at all. The F nib on my 823 is clearly top-notch quality and I like it a lot. I'll need to spend a few hours with it, to grow into it (I had to grow into my Sailors as well and now I love them like nothing else).

 

 

^----Writing comparison of a few pens. Note that the EF nib on the MB is not your typical EF; it's an old nib with the 14C label and MB made these EF's with a slight architect grind. On paper it looks nothing like an EF, which is even more enhanced by the pen's wetness.

 

I look forward to getting to know this pen! :-)

[akrohn2010]

I'm glad you're enjoying it! Look forward to hearing your thoughts after the newness wears off.