Years Later, Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen re-review

I've waited a long time before busting this one out, it's about time hahah
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[@GilbertRose-u1u]

At almost 69 yrs old, I just ordered this pen-my first fountain pen since high school! Your glowing review, and those of others about this pen made this selection a no-brainer! I can’t wait to get the old feel of a great fountain pen from my youth- besides, it’s cheaper than an old Mustang with a 289!😉 Passion rules!

[@deniseplasse5126]

I am so loving this series! Its far better than having to go back to the years ago videos. Thanks for this! My grail pen for sure

[@deniseplasse5126]

Well, I just got my brand new Custom 823 in the mail. I have yet to even open it yet (its only been about 5 min that its been in the house) I was rewatching this video again in anticipation of my new pen. Thanks for talking me into this one! ❤

[@archivist17]

I have got no idea how you can resist fully inking a vacuum-filler! It's just so satisfying!

[@PensandTea]

Hahahaha it’s super satisfying I’ll give you that much 🤣

[@rokoshrokosh]

Great review, lovely flow and it really kept me engrossed! The enthusiasm for this pen came through loud n clear- very encouraging for someone who’s considered buying this and just needed a little push..😊

[@rspurdum]

I've had my black custom 823 for 3 or 4 years with M nib and it is, without a doubt, among my top 3 writers. Amazing pen! Sometime during my first year I dropped my pen with the cap on. Yikes! The only damage was a crack in the cap. I did contact Pilot and was able to purchase a new cap. Life is good! If you don't have one of these pens, buy one! You won't be disappointed.

[@liamstrain]

My favorite pilot pen, by far. I have two now - one with the FA nib - and it's my 'go to' for long form writing. Comforted is a perfect way to describe the experience of writing with it. Great re-review.

[@ProducerBoy650]

I don't think the FA is available in the US. I love my 823 and would really love to have one with an FA!

[@liamstrain]

@@ProducerBoy650 - one of the online EU retailers had them on a limited sale and I managed to snag one. Keep your eyes open, they do crop up from time to time.

[@ProducerBoy650]

@@liamstrain I will ! Thank you!

[@randy-9842]

It's the Goldilocks pen on a cold snowy night in front of a warm fire in the lakeside cabin with a mug of Irish Coffee, a cat watching curiously from the corner of your desk as you put pen to paper and a Golden Retriever woofing gently in a dream-state at your feet. I have two such pens: my Pilot Custom 823 in the Amber color just like yours and a Pelikan Souverän M800 in Renaissance Brown with a Broad nib. I rarely strive to match pen color to ink color, but my favorite ink is "Sailor Bungubox Piano Mahogany" so it's a great fit with either pen anyway. Both pens write superbly, fit my hand and personality perfectly and are, as you said: they're not particularly snazzy, they're just comfortable! All other pens pale in comparison.

[@irule102]

Love the 823! I didn't want one for the longest time as it was a vacuum filler, but I kept seeing pics of other peoples 823s and they just kept looking nicer and nicer. I did eventually grab one for my birthday this year, and I love that pen! So glad I picked it up!

[@7_v610]

Hi Kerrie. Thanks for the video. I purchased the 823 with a medium gold nib a few months ago. It definitely hits some sweet spots when I am using it. The negatives this pen comes with (for me), is that the one I have has some hard starts, and I also do not like I have to unscrew the back part of it so that the ink flows as expected. Also, it does eat up a lot of ink, which might be a downside (ink consumption) if it is to be used as a workhorse. From the perspective of smoothness, I also believe is very good (it has some feedback, which might be helpful for controlling your letters, but does not have scratchiness). 😀

[@ramonafirehorse]

This is absolutely my grail pen at the moment. This video may have pushed me over the edge to order it. I have an opportunity coming up to have Use orders sent to a friend’s house to avoid duty and get free shipping on stuff. I’m always nervous to spend money on pens without trying them first but I hear so much good stuff about this I probably need to just pull the trigger.

[@knitsistah2312]

You will love this pen, the medium is so smooth and fits perfectly in my hand. I decided to order the fine nib from Goldspot and I am a little nervous that it won’t be as buttery smooth as the medium. I bought a Sailor pro gear slim and hated it at first use-like writing with a needle-I’m hoping this fine won’t be as sharp🤞🏾 This time I won’t dispose of the box till I’m absolutely sure I love it. 😊

[@christopherkelly9153]

This is my ugliest pen. Every time I look at it I just wish it was prettier. And I look at it every day because it is ALWAYS inked. It writes like a dream, holds a ton of ink, and did I mention writes like an absolute dream every single time without fail perfectly?

[@clskip]

I just bought the amber 823 M & for my first ink I tried KWZ Azure #5. From the very first stroke I thought ICK! Such a beautiful blue ink but the pen wrote terribly. It was kind of sticky on every paper I tried. But I powered through a full fill, thinking it was the pen’s problem. Those were the 15 most difficult pages I’ve ever written! I cleaned the pen and thought I’d try the Pilot black that came with the pen before sending it back. HOLY MOLY BATMAN! What a BIG difference! I like the KWZ but never again in my beautiful 823! 😁

[@PensandTea]

Ink can play a much bigger role than most people know, it’s crazy! I’m glad you love the pen now though.

[@TheBoatmike]

I've had my 823 for about a year and I love how smoothly it writes. I will probably buy another one when money is available. My $100 and under pens write well, but nothing like the 823.

[@mikej.8885]

Pilots make the best pens. 823 is the perfect pen I put it above my Montblancs. The smoke is good if you don't like demonstrators. And just post it and it covers the having to leave the cap open. The only other pen that is necessary to have is a VP for quick note taking... but the capacity is not good. The cleaning thing is overrated with these pens. This is the ultimate fountain pen for writers.

[@drananth]

I bought this pen in "M" nib, amber 2 months ago, after getting into fountain pens 2 years ago. After using them a while, we tend to want things out of our fountain pens. Primary among the needs is ink capacity and that's where this pen smokes everything else. After using more expensive variants that had piddly ink capacity, the patience tends to run dry, just as the nibs do eventually, usually at urgent moments. Murphy's law? With the 823, all that is under the bridge. And boy does it write! Holy moly! It. Just. Writes. Period. Smooth. It just moonwalks on the paper! Get this pen as your first pen and you will never need another type of pen again.

[@johntaylor8817]

Hi. I love my amber 823, the fine nib is just a perfect writing experience.🤗 Cheers from Australia.

[@salvatoreIII]

Very nice warm ink color. Getting very curious about this pen.

[@davebrown5440]

The mark on the cap could be a tooling make from machining.

[@milchpuder]

I put a FNF two slit red ebonite feed into mine (medium nib) and it's almost too smooth due to the increased ink flow. Great for multishading inks.

[@jimcarter9974]

I too have both the Smoke and Amber colors of the 823. Also with fine and medium nibs. I’m hoping they get another color so I can get a broad nib. As for dipping the pen, I believe you still should vent the pen to help with the ink flow. I admit it’s a minor thing because you are using such a small amount of ink, but every little bit to accurately represent how the ink flows with the 823.

[@RmDIrSudoSu]

I don't have the 823, but I'm looking to buy it soon, but I've the custom 743, 742 (both with FA nibs) and the Falcon, and they're so great to write with. I'm mainly writing music with them (classical composer), I know music nib exist, but I do prefer the FA nibs I manage to get more expression on my score with these. I'm hesitant to buy the 823 with an FA nib from Japan (which would be the same as my 743), or the Fine or Medium, I've not decided yet. I'm afraid that the M would be a bit too wide for me but I saw some writing sample with the F that seemed a bit too fine, I would love to have their soft Fine Medium available but I would have to buy it from Japan.

[@billpemberton6304]

without a doubt, this is really a great pilot pen. a #15 gold nib that is a wonderful writer. if a demonstrator is something you like i would recommend this head and shoulders over a custom heritage se. bigger nib, bigger ink capacity, slightly larger section and easy to clean (piston assembly is easy to remove with a tool). i have three (amber, smoke, clear) and have used them all for a few years with no problems. a most excellent choice.

[@restnrelaxn1]

My 823 developed a crack after less than 3 months of gentle use. I was devastated , and have no idea how it happened. I sent it back to Pilot, and they replaced it with a new cap for free, which I wasn’t expecting them to do. I love this pen, and would encourage any fountain pen enthusiast to buy it. A worthy pen at any price.

[@Afromite]

Pilot custom 823 fans unite. I love this pen. I have 4 (soon to be 5, c'mon clear) and they are home to my favorite blue inks (Baystate Blue, Oxford Blue, and Bungbox 4B) and black ink (Noodlers The Raven, Forevermore) and soon pink ink (Ferris-wheel Sugar and Spite). I love watching these reviews. I also recommend the 743 as it's the same size nib and with more options as the 823.

[@adamzappia2213]

Firstly, that crack would drive me nuts! My medium nib 823 feels fantastic, however I didn’t like my writing much with it until I wrote in Greek with it (something I’m sort of teaching myself), so it’s still probably going to be a keeper. I’ve since got a 743 with an EF which writes surprisingly well but it will probably get more use for drawing than writing if I keep it long term. Now I’m stuck deciding between fine, soft fine and FA nib as my main writing pens - which will probably be 743’s as I really like the one I have - it’s basically a slightly lighter feeling 823 but with cartridge/converter. Since I’ll be using both black and red document inks in them I’m thinking cartridge/converter might be a better option to make sure I can clean them easily and thoroughly. Anyway, I think I prefer a softer nib and possibly with a bit of flex. I may have to go through a few pens to get it right as I’ve tried the Pilot 15 nibs in fine, and soft fine as well as the fine from the 845 though not long enough to know which I preferred. I still really need to try the FA too.

[@ExiledExia]

One of the best writing pens. I love it so much that I have two: a medium and a broad 😁

[@arlenealennox3136]

I have the amber in Fine, and it is a superb writer. Originally, I really wanted the clear one which is only available in Japan (why?). After a couple of years I decided to get the amber to be my dedicated brown ink pen. I heard a fairly reliable rumor that there is a blue one in the pipe line.

[@murkser4149]

There was a limited edition blue 823 but that was released a while ago and is very rare.

[@PensandTea]

My precious lol

[@Afromite]

My oldest 823 is 9 years old and I actually just had to replace it because I cracked the thread section (I have no idea how) and waited until just recently to replace it... But I did and the found a body for sale on ebay and put that nib into a smoke body.

[@tsusi]

About the crack: I have a similar amber 823/M, and it has a similar crack in exactly the same spot. No idea what caused it. Mine is second hand, but I was a n00b when I purchased the pen. I think could not have been able to spot it back then. Can't feel it either, and only visible in certain angle/lighting. Makes me wonder if certain batch has a weakness (or seam) in molding? The crack has not gotten any worse in about two years, so it does not really bother me any more.

[@catchacoolbreeze]

I get a little bounce from the pilot vp nib... Does it give the same kind of bounce? Is that what you mean by shock absorber?

[@bkbk1184]

Can someone say more about Medium Vs Fine? Is the Fine scratchy?

[@9999rahulgandhi]

I have it in medium, wishing to add Broad; pls share experience of writing with broad 823.

[@DennisBible]

How would you compare this to the 743? Right now I'm torn between these two.

[@lju5001]

If my house was on fire I’d grab my Custom 823 and my Aurora Optima!

[@gigamort]

I keep adding this pen to cart. One of these days.

[@bluemountain.1957]

Always fancied an 823 based on the very positive reviews. Pity Pilot don't offer a lot more variety in colour options. Maybe they do in Japan.

[@ExiledExia]

They have the smoke, the amber and the clear version. No other colors though. In Japan you also have the option to get the 823 with a falcon nib, which is awesome

[@archivist17]

A chrome trim version would be perfect!

[@murkser4149]

Pilot just doesn't seem to do that. Sailor and Platinum offer much more visual variety in their pens.

[@AreaCode4hoe8]

There’s two limited editions. A blue one with good trim still -__- and a teal and still with gold trim -_- Blue with silver trim would be perfect.

[@run-a-milekyle3835]

The clear model was discontinued, so I put an order in for one with a M nib from Japan.

[@BlushnBlue]

Sorry I missed out on that gorgeous ink. The Pilot 823 is my grail pen.

[@user-gl5ld9vm7i]

Pilot/Namiki make the best fountain pens in the world.

[@TheNightowl001]

Author Neil Gaiman likes the 823 and recommends it. It's definitely on my wish list, but I want a Pilot Metal Falcon and a Pilot Custom 74 too, and I need to save up for these "expensive" (to me, anyway) high-end Pilot instruments.

[@hpwan2]

I have extactly the same crack on the cap... looks like a common issue..

[@j-sonS]

I see these on ebay from Japan for $220....do they come with ink too?

[@AreaCode4hoe8]

No

[@marcossakaguti]

If you need to make "funny" voices to be funny, you are not funny.

[@geezusLive-OF]

You’re weird.