It’s really beautiful! I think they sold out pretty quickly - they were hand-painted by one artist, so I can imagine it would be hard to make very many of them. I hope you can find one at some point!
@@gingerpeachy yes, you are eight, let’s hope they will get a new batch or something else in that theme, it is truly gorgeous and honestly I haven’t seen so like it.
I bought my first Hobonichi this year. Got the Cousin and I’ve used it every day. I love it but I’m not the biggest fan of the paper. I don’t know if it was a batch issue with the TRP Sanzen cos I know a lot of people are enjoying it. I strictly use fountain pens in it and sometimes the ink doesn’t adhere to the page nicely (hand oils?) and I get some bleed through as well. I’m thinking of a Sterling Ink dated daily A5 planner. I know it uses the same paper but seen far fewer complaints. I want to try Just Scribble but I am not sure I like an avec-type situation. I’ll keep my eyes open… I’m sure we’ll be inundated with releases soon!
I’m considering the Sterling Ink Daily, too, as well as the Papertess Designs A5, which is different because it batches each month together with its weeklies and dailies. I’m kind of liking that idea for the way I journal. I am with you on not loving the paper. I really miss the old TRP. I don’t love the feel of Sanzen, and I experience the same issues that you do. I think it’s just not the old beloved TRP!
Thanks for sharing. At two points this year I was not sure if I would buy another Cousin but then I started to read a chapter a day of the Bible and I am writing a summary of each chapter on the day pages and really enjoying it now. I use a bold coloured ink, usually J Herbin Éclat de Saphir to write over the text at the bottom of the page. I really like your idea of tracking your Bible reading at the front so thank you for this.
Writing a summary is such a great idea! I used to write a key verse from each chapter each day in the vertical weekly section. But I got out of the habit when I got into some more difficult books of the Bible. Yes - sometimes I write right over the quotes at the bottom of the page, too!
I bought Just Scibbles 2025 for my everyday to do list planner. I will be using the Cousin for next year for daily journalling. And an A6 Avec for my EDC. I bought a weeks mega for this year but hardly used it. I need more space to write. I used my Cousin 2024 for daily journalling. I love the daily pages. ❤
Have used my hobonichi cousin every day, so will definitely buy it for 2025. I use it mostly for journaling, but also some planning on the weekly pages. Have had weeks in recent years, but use them little. So I don't think I will buy it for next year. I end up using my weeks this year for my fountainpen inks🤭
I think I will be sad to not have a Weeks in my arsenal next year, but I think I'm with you! I don't know. If I place an order directly from Hobonichi, I may get a "just in case" Weeks, since they're so inexpensive directly from them. I have decisions to make!
I‘m using a Weeks as a pens&inks journal and will do that again next year. I‘m a list nerd and love the TRP in the Weeks plus the size makes it easy to carry around. Same for my finance and delivery tracker, also a Hobo Weeks. I‘m doing my Transcription Project in an A5 HON this year, but I‘ll switch to an A5 Notebook in 2025. I think. Maybe I‘ll rethink that again before the year is out. ;)))) I wanted to use a Weeks for planning, but I didn’t stick with it because I need to decorate… heavily… and there‘s not much space for that in a Hobonichi Weeks… so I switched to a Sterling Ink N1 in the standard TN size. :) I‘m thinking of switching my morning pages to a Hobonichi Cousin next year. I used a Large Moleskine for that for the past couple of years, but even if the paper has gotten a lot better, I‘m kinda bored with it. But I know I‘ll miss it, so maybe I‘ll stick with it. Why is this so complicated ? 😂
Can’t tell you the number of times I bought a planner with the best of intentions, set it up with birthdays and everything, then never used it again. It often seemed that the more I paid for it, the less I used it. Probably still would not use mine as much if I hadn’t gotten a little busier at church along with being a lot more forgetful.
I'm using a Hobonichi Cousin Avec right now, but I'm switching to a Papertess Designs A5 for 2025. Also Tomoe River paper, but the layout is slightly different. The week page is followed by the 7 dailies, and I really like that layout. For 2024 she only had a B6 size, but she recently announced the 2025 releases.
I love the colors/designs of the Weeks BUT never consistently use them. Why don’t I just use what works for me and what I actually enjoy - the A6 Hobonichi Techo.
Tomoe River Paper isn't for everyone! It's perfect for fountain pen ink. When I'm not using a fountain pen, I use a ballpoint. I don't have the patience to wait for gel ink to dry!
You're not alone. No way! This was the first year I purchased a Weeks. Barely used it. I used my Day Free more for meeting notes because I didn't have enough writing real estate in my dated Cousin... That's one of the reasons I'm switching to Sterling Ink. I just don't care about the quotes and sick of having to use correction tape to clear it all out.😂 I do feel guilty but it's probably a lot more common than we think. So many of us live & work in the digital world (I spend 10-12 hours/day - sometimes more - in Excel & Project, Outlook & Teams, etc.) It's so it's easy to go into auto-pilot and just do things digitally. I still love my planners, journals & of course my pens but you need to do what works for you.😉
So glad I'm not the only one! I think I'm going to go with the Sterling Ink Daily next year. I watched a long video about their 2025 planners today! I've never taken the time to white-out the quotes in the Cousin. I just either ignore them, stick stickers/washi over them, or just write right through them!
I also have a Weeks that has gone unused this year. I recently started doing scripture writing in it because I didn’t want it to be empty! Your covers are so cute. I plan to do A6 and Weeks size in Sterling Inks and the A6 Techo from Hobonichi, but not sure if I’ll order direct from Hobonichi or not.
I just watched the new lineup video from Sterling Ink. I think I'll try their A5 Daily - it looks like exactly what I want. Glad I'm not the only one not using my Weeks!
I fine your videos to be very relatable, and love them! This one was really fun. I love that violet ink, but my asthma wouldn't like it at all, so I'm going to have to try to find. a dupe for it. I'd also be up for either a "what's in my pen case" or "current favorites" or both!
Thanks so much! Yeah, scented inks definitely aren't for everyone. This is the only one I own, and I'm not sure I would buy any other ones. There are so many good purples - I'm sure there's a dupe out there! Thank you for your feedback!
Good to see a video from you! I’ve always enjoyed watching and would definitely be interested in a “what’s in my pen case”…maybe added in with a “current favorites” I may have to get me a sample of the scented violet, it looks like a really nice purple
Sorry I've been so inconsistent 😫 I have no good excuses! I'm hopefully going to do one of your suggested videos in the next week or so, so keep your eyes peeled! Let me know if you try scented violet and what you think!
yay purple! that one is really nice but i don't think i could tolerate a flowery smell. my fave purple is colorveerse delicious sleep...which if memory serves may look close to the scented violet you show here, its a perfect medium purple.
My advice is to use acrylic paint, which you can wipe out with a q-tip if you're not liking it, and a very small brush! It took me a little time to paint my eyes the way I like them and then do little touchups around the edges. You can do it!
I did end up picking up this pen!!! It is my very first fountain pen ever and I LOVE it! I also didn't get one with much variance in colors but it is still gorgeous. I inked it up with Colorverse Hayabusa (Clair Coco used it in her video and I loved the color). Thank you soooo much for recommending I get this pen in my previous comment! I am in love...need to get better at inking, my gingers are a mess lol
Oh wow, I didn’t know this would be your first fountain pen! You really jumped straight into the deep end! I’m so glad you love it. It’s not unusual to have inky fingers - it happens to the best of us! I am so glad you’re loving your pen and that I didn’t steer you wrong. Welcome to the fountain pen community - come on in, the water’s fine!
@gingerpeachy - I couldn't resist, plus why not start with quality. I saw it on the site when it was available for pre-order and loved it. I didn't want to fall in love with fountain pens and miss out on this one. No regrets! Thank you I am happy to be a part of the family/community!
Field Notes were a struggle in this one at first - it was really tight! - but this case has stretched out a bit since then. I don’t like Field Notes in here because they’re generally not especially fountain pen friendly!
I just ordered this pen today- I had some pen money to spend, and I spent all day trying to figure out what I wanted. This took the leaderboard when I watched all 3 videos I could find on it- all 3 pens looked different and I loved all 3 of them. And I am still comforted that if for some reason it's totally awful (which I doubt from what I know of Leo and the blank maker), that I can send it back. Thanks for this honest review- refreshing and nice to see your thought process. You ended up with a stunning pen, for sure! I'm glad you love it!!
I just wanted to comment again about getting a pen with a resin that is just not one you like. These are pricey pens. I have resorted to ordering more than one so that I can see them and then return the one I don't like because if the larger pen companies can't send an actual photo and they allow returns, that is what will have to happen. We are kind of stuck and the pens I am talking about are expensive. We are not talking $10.00 pens. I would love to just see them in person and pick out the one I want. We do that with just about everything else in life, why should pens be different? The look of the pen is one of the main reasons we are buying it. The writing experience and the aesthetics are on equal ground.
Yes, I agree with you 100%. I understand both sides of the coin, though - it would be a nightmare as a retailer to have to photograph and list each pen out of hundreds or thousands. I have done exactly what you said - when the Estie Candy was released, I bought two on release day. And honestly I still ended up replacing both of them with a different one I saw on a small retailer’s website. I was able to say, “Hey, do you still have the one in the middle in this photo?” And he did, and he let me buy it. It’s one of those tougher things about fountain pens - there’s not a really easy solution aside from buying everything at a pen show!
What a marathon! Really enjoyed it. I think this is the first video I have ever seen featuring the Cross Bailey Light. I think they are great pens but I think that because Cross have their own proprietary cartridge and converter might be a disadvantage. Thanks so much for sharing
Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I need to film a new currently inked video soon. I do like the Cross Bailey Light, but I don’t reach for it because it actually dries out pretty quickly. The cap must not seal completely. But it’s a lovely pen for sure!
Hello. I have a version that has the rubies. It is used and has been lying in my closet since 2010. Let me know if you're interested, I can send you some pics.
This is one of the best Pilot 823 videos - for someone looking to purchase one - that I’ve seen to date. So well explained. I bought the Amber in. F because some people were raving about it and it’s a gorgeous pen. It was the first premium fountain pen I bought and I didn’t know my preferences. It’s sooooo buttery smooth for even a F nib, the color and the weight is perfect for me ( a woman)…but I find myself not reaching for it as much as I do with my Esties and Leonardo’s in EF or F. You’ve explained well that there is a difference in Japanese nibs and so I have been contemplating that the M in Japanese pens might be the sweet spot for me. The European M is too broad for my handwriting. Thank you for also explaining the vacuum release system. I had mine open a little bit at first and I started thinking my pen was defective! I since learned that it has to be open more than I would’ve felt comfortable at first but it writes like a dream now. ❤
Thank you so much for your kind words -- I am so glad this video was helpful for you! Yes, the difference in European and Japanese nibs is pretty significant. Give a Japanese M a try, though keep in mind that they're not all created equal - I find that some softer gold Japanese M nibs (like the 823) can be almost as bold as a European M. But harder ones (like Sailor or Platinum nibs) are definitely a full size smaller than their European counterparts. I would say to try a Sailor or Platinum pen with a M nib if you have a chance! I'm so glad you're enjoying your 823!
I have sung my whole life -- starting with Pre-K children's choir at church! In middle and high school, I competed and sang in state choirs every year, and traveled with the Louisiana Baptist All-State Youth Choir every year of HS. I went to college on a choral scholarship and started my degree in music education, but I had to change my major after 3 years because I barely passed Piano 2, and I needed Piano 3 and 4 to continue the program. But after graduating with a different degree, I joined my local symphony chorus and have sung with that group for about 12 years, somewhat off and on, as well as my church choir! This is probably more info than you were asking, lol. What kind of choir are you singing in?
@@gingerpeachy that's awesome! I have a music degree in voice, piano, and harp. I've sung all over the world and currently am a paid soloist and section leader at a large church!
Woooow!! How amazing!! My spot on stage with the symphony choir puts me close to the harpist. I am always mesmerized watching her play. What an incredible instrument! And I’m always impressed by pianists - I could not play with two hands to save my life. I don’t know how your brain sees so many notes at one time and can put your fingers in the right places. I was made to be a singer and follow one line of notes, haha! You must be so talented!
Great video!! My Leonardo came today. While I was hoping it was more like the colors of your pen, I got more purple,blue and green in my blank. It is very beautiful but I like your pen color better. I have ordered stormwinds blanks before and the 2 colors I got did not have much variation in them so it was exactly like the pen maker’s website. I order a lot of custom pens and usually I’m ok with the resins being different. Hope I grow to love this pen once I ink it up and start to write with it!!
By happenstance, we have the same nibs on each of the different colors, lol. My purchase started w/the amber model (my first FP(!)), then the smoke, and finally, the clear (also purchased overseas...nice that it's available stateside now). Fun vid and good info...thanks!
