i have a 823 Smoke with the Fa nib. Later i went ahead and had a Spencerian modification done to it. It is(even w/o the mod) the best modern pen i own. It is a fantastic pen, and worth every penny.
This pen is the current pen I’m saving my pennies for! I just need to figure out which nib size I want. I didn’t care for the Amber version, but I love the smoke version! (Edited to add: thanks for the review!)
I got the amber 823 about a year ago. Fantastic pen. If the smoke color had been available at the time, I probably would have gone for that one... Still, these are great writers and they just ooze quality!
Great review on a classic pen! I always appreciate how you show the section diameters on video. Measuring with the calipers on the video is an even greater plus as sometimes manufacturer specs can be off. I really like wider sections and finding them on an actual pen that I like is sometimes difficult. Thanks so much! Keep'em coming!
Thanks! I started doing the section diameters because that's really important to the comfort of a pen, to my mind. You can make a pen longer by posting it, but you can't do anything about a pen that's too thin or too thick.
So: I just read your three-years-later follow-up on your YT review on Goldspot's site, and yeah, I'm with you all the way. I've been using the 823 as my Main Axe for over a decade, and the love hasn't diminished a bit. I also have two 823s (Amber/M and Smoke/F), and while the difference between the nibs is significant, that's sort of what I was going for: I use the F-nibbed 823 for more-excursive writing and note-taking, whereas the M-nibbed one gets broken out for shorter stuff (but not exclusively). The pen hits all the right notes for me, including being *very* easy to travel with.
Mike, I will check the instruction. I assumed it was the same bottle you got with the pen (in the box). By your comment, I assume that one did not have the insert then (and, yes, I assumed it to be like the plastic filling insert others have used). Thank you for both your prompt reply and your answer. You confirmed what I thought to be the case about its purpose. With both the CON 70, which I use for other Pilot pens, and the Vac Filler, I feared the pressure one must exert. I am old but quite active (runner, et al), but I have trouble not pushing the nib to the bottom when filling the CON 70 and other vac filler I own.
The bottle in the box is a 70ml one, and it does have the plastic insert. I totally understand the nerves involved in those filling systems. Next time I fill this pen, I'll make a video about how I do it for the channel.
Have had similar experience as you with Pilot gold nibs: 2 out of 3 needed adjustment; never had a problem with a Pilot steel nib; as far as nib options for 823 go: would prefer if it was available with a properly tuned EF nib, ideally rhodium plated - are you listening, Pilot?!:)
So, my question deals with Pilot’s instructions. I knew I had seen others fill the pen from various ink bottles without difficulty. Pilot warns not to use bottles from 20 ml to 80 or 90 ml; rather, they argue one should use their custom 80 ml over any other bottle, even their own! Thus, I had hoped you would demonstrate the 80 ml bottle, with its plastic insert. My question: Is the fear that one might damage the nib? Since I am an old, retired professor, I do at times let the nib touch the bottom of bottles. IS THAT A BIG PROBLEM?
Hi Kieth, That's weird. I just googled around, and I didn't see anything about a Pilot 80ml bottle. That sounds like some really odd advice from Pilot. Re: touching the nib to the bottom of the bottle, I try not to do that, but it's unlikely to harm your nib unless you are pushing down on it. The complication with the vac fillers and that old CON-70 converters is that "pushing down" on some part of the pen is part of the filling system. I think it's easy enough to fill a vac as long as you're holding the pen in one hand and the piston rod in the other. A plastic filling insert (or something like an ink miser) could be less likely to damage a nib than a hard glass one.
You do not have to submerge this pen up to the section. It's one of the very few pens that can actually fill through breather hole already, since the tolerances are so tight. Also, you should actually not disassemble this pen. You WILL crack your barrel, because you will never be able to tighten it back properly (too much force). It's a really well designed pen and I wish Brian Goulet did not spread this misinformation that you can remove the sealing gasket by disassembling the pen; I mean you can, but with time your barrel will initiate cracks. I bought this one in amber and FA nib. It's a very soft, very nice flex nib. You can get it by purchasing a 743 FA and exchanging nibs or buying it with FA nib from Tokyo Pen Quill shop.
i bought a pilot 823 based on the good reviews about it. It does write very smoothly, unfortunately, I discovered it had a hairline crack running through the threads the first time i inked it where ink seeped through and stained my fingers. Good thing the merchant changed my unit when I complained, but i'm wondering now just how durable the acrylic of the pen body is.
@@cebukitty I had exactly the same thing happen with the one I bought a few weeks ago. Ink leaked the first time I filled it. I sent it back. I suspect it is a design flaw.
Great video. Kinda late to the party😂. 2019 - 2024😅. @11.33 where does the Diplomat Aero ranked. I would love to get the Pilot 823 but can only afford Diplomat Aero - Leonardo MZ Blue Hawaii price range. Thanks once again great video.
I love the Aero, and I have a whole lot of them. I think the 823 is better, but it's also quite a bit more expensive. I like the Leonardo MZ, too, but I think I like the Aero better. It's gonna be about preference, at that price point though. See if you can get your hands on both and try them out.
Great pen! You can definitely get it in a whole bunch of nib sizes, but it's exclusive to Japan. Specifically Tokyo Pen Shop. They have an online store and usually there's a backlog for the various pens.
@@inkdependence I have one with the FA nib. I replaced the feed with an ebonite one from the Flexible Nib Factory. Now the nib flexes very well and never railroads.
@@inkdependence heard the same thing. I put in an order for a Waverly nib, but by the time it came back into stock, my pen budget was allocated to something else. 😔 Will have to try again in a future date and be more patient.
Thank you for this great review. I would like your opinion on this vs the Lamy 2000 please. Looking to get one for my husband and can’t decide which one. I like the Pilot because he prefers fine nibs but the price of the 823 is a little high and I’m not sure if it’s worth the extra cost over the Lamy. Any opinion? Thank you.
I had a Lamy 2000 for a little over a decade before switching to a Pilot Custom 823. The Lamy was generally fine, but the nib, out of the box, never seemed quite as good as I thought it should be, and I'm not too keen on having to have someone fine-tune a nib on a pen at a price point where it shouldn't need it. The 823's nib in my experience has always been virtually perfect from the moment I've removed it from its box: I say "always" because I've owned three - my first one inexplicably went missing some two years after buying it; I subsequently replaced it, then bought another (replacement was Smoke finish with F nib, third one Amber with M nib). Best writer I've ever had.
My favorite pen. I have the amber with a fine nib. Opinions vary, people either love or hate the aesthetics of the amber. I'm firmly in the love it category. I've tried more expensive pens and none compares more favorably to the 823.
Yes you can. unscrew the back just like the Vac 700 R and you can pull the whole vaccum rod out and make sure you don't lose the little gold trim ring. I did it twice to my pen to fully clean it out by pumping water from the back using the bulb syringe. This makes it super super easy to clean, and you can also grease up the rubber part as well. (Of cos the users manual says no, but hey, you do what you want)
I know this a very late reply, but Matt from Pen Habit(a fountain pen review channel on YT) said that for him Pilot 823’s writing experience is equal to, if not better than pens like the Aurora Optima or Classic Pens LB5 (the latter basically ends up on most FP reviewers’ best all time pens list and costs upwards of $1200). Hope this helps you
