Pilot Custom 823 Brown Demonstrator

I want to preface this by saying this is my first pen review. I want to be as honest as possible. I find it difficult to rate a pen based on a 0-5/5 scale, so I will be using 0-100/100 scale and also a short description of my overall feeling for each section.

First Impressions - 50/100 - Disappointed
I like multi-functional pens. For me that means I have to be able to both write and draw with them. I liked the look of this pen from the photos in Stylophiles Online Magazine http://www.stylophilesonline.com/01-06/01823.htm The pen arrived from Japan exactly one week from the date I purchased it. I opened up the package to find a small pilot outer cardboard box. Inside was a small and flimsy plastic box. I was not impressed, my Pilot VP came in a nicer box and at less than half the price. The pen was not padded inside the box and just floating around. I imagined it had a hard trip.

Appearance & Finish - 70/100 - Finish seems below par at this price
I said before this is the brown demonstrator, but the color just seems like a darker bronze. It is much more translucent than I thought it would be. I feel like the pen is a nice shiny finish, but when I hold it, it really doesn't feel special. Just feels like plastic. It doesn't have the same build quality of say my Pelikan M800. The trim and clip seem seem very nice, but I don't feel like the pen body is as nice. There is a seam is visible on the body threads and I feel like you shouldn't be able to see that. The cap threads nicely, but it doesn't feel like it's a tight fit. The cap screws off way to easy, so I feel like the pen could certainly unscrew if kept in a pocket. Another detractor was the stickers that came on the pen. One on the cap and one on the body. The sticker on the body came off easy, but the adhesive was very difficult to get off the cap.

Design/ Size/Weight - 90/100 - Comfortable, Excellent weight and size
I'm guessing this pen is acrylic/plastic. I like the torpedo shape. The size is almost identical to a Pelikan M800. The weights are also similar. The 823 is not as wide as the M800 though. I don't post any pens and this pen is very well balanced.

Nib Design & Performance - 100/100 - Performance is impressive
The nib is a fine point and 14kt monotone gold. The nib is large (slightly larger than the Pelikan M800). I almost always choose Fine nibs because I have small handwriting and I use all the pens to draw as well. This is one of the smoothest nibs I've written with. It's also quite wet, which is the way I like it. The line width is narrower than a western fine. I would say there is flex, but the nib is a little "soft".

Filling System - 75/100 - Ink capacity is large, but not used fully
This is my first experience with a plunger-vac filled pen. It was very easy to fill and the instructions that came with the pen were in both Japanese and English. This pen has the potential to hold a ton of ink (a reason I bought the pen), but it doesn't. It only fills up 2/3 of the way no matter how many times I try to fill it. Don't get me wrong, it still holds a lot of ink. I feel like the pen looks a little odd when the barrel is only 2/3 or less full.

Cost/Value - 78/100 - A great writer makes it worth it
I paid $230 + $13 shipping on ebay (from seller engeika). I've read that this pen sells in Japan for around $195. For me, I have to say this pen is overpriced. It's a nice pen, but not worth $243. I would even say that $195, is a bit steep. I think the pen would be a great value at $175 or so. At the same time, I am very happy to have a great writing pen and sometimes you can't represent that necessity in terms of money. Would I buy this pen again? Yes!

Overall Opinion/Conclusion - 80/100 (not an average) - Buy it for $200 or less
While the pen doesn't live up to the hype I felt like I read, it's still a great pen. It's a great writer. I would buy another if I could find one in the $200 price range. For me the most important thing is the writing experience. It's great to have a nice looking pen, but if the pen doesn't write it doesn't matter how good it looks. So if you want a pen that puts down a great line and so far hasn't given me any issues, I'd recommend it fully.

Thanks to TNS for the review format. Any comments, questions and opinions welcome !

This pen, in black though, is on my wish list, although after reading your review it has probably slipped down a bit. Thanks a lot for the review. It is always nice to read an honest one. We can't all be impressed with everything that we buy can we!?

Exactly Andy! I felt like the reviews I read on this pen were slightly misleading. Don't get me wrong though, it really writes beautifully!

The 823 is probably my favourite writer. I have it in a fine nib also but in the black. Much smoother than my Sailor 1911 (okay - 'much' is a tricky term to use here. They are both smooth). I really like the weight and feel of the pen and the ink capacity is way big enough for me as I like to change ink a lot. The money must be in the big nib and the excellent fill system. I am no fan of clips as I never use them and it is that part of the pen that I am not taken with. Looks great, quite understated, with the cap off. From cyberpens in UK it comes in below $250 delivered. It's worth that in my mind. I reach for it regularly when I want to smoothly charge on with a few pages. Nearly bought another one in brown but holding off for a silly buy in the new year.

Thanks for the review - must get round to some of those myself sometime soon!

Andy opinions are relative and experiences vary. Cmenice's opinion is a slice of a total pie. Do your homework and decide what is important in the pen you sought in the first place. I have a black one. It is my daily writer filled Dumas Toulipe Noire. I absolutely love it. I don't intend to take away from anyone's experience and feel somewhat responsible for Cmenice's purchase since he asked for feedback on the 823 prior to purchase and I posted to buy it. I'd be willing to buy it off you, Cmenice.

Just to add:
My pen came in a large velvet box with a Pilot ink bottle. I purchased it from Sakura Zeppelin, no affiliation, off ebay.

Another point:


Cmenice is absolutely right, however, not many (none that I know of) fountain pens use their entire ink tank. The diagram in the instructions show the pen filled the same way.

Food for thought. Cmenice, please consider my offer and if you are interested in selling, pm me. I'm currently looking at a amber 823 on ebay whose auction ends in a few days.

@SteadyHand : HaHa! I don't think I would ever sell the pen! I was merely just trying to give my honest opinion/review of the pen. I would buy another as well (in black), but just not for the $240 ish price range. Thanks for the offer though. And don't feel any guilt if you were. This is a great pen.

After having used the pen for a couple more days, I would change little of my review (my edit button is gone. I would highly recommend the pen to anyone looking in the price range of $250, though I would also recommend a Pelikan M800. I take back that the pen is worth $175, I think the pen is definitely worth a solid $200 (which is around what it sells for in Japan) as the nib is simply amazing. The review is also based on pens that I have or have had in my inventory, so like every review, it's biased based on experience.

Cheers!

I think there are two sorts of packaging for the Pilot 823. If you get just the pen, it's packaged much less nicely than if you get the pen and ink bottle set. I was going to go for just the pen, but then I ended up buying the whole set and I'm glad I did, even though I don't love Pilot Black ink. The bottle will be great for use with the 823 once I use up the black ink and fill it with something I really like.

My initial couple of days were similiar. My 823 began to skip a little. Someone here explained the intricacies of a vacuum plunger pen. I was able to master it after that. I'm glad to hear that things are turning around.

The bottle of Pilot Black sits in the package and as yet untouched.

I have the 823 in black and it came with the fancier packaging, big box and ink bottle. I think that for around $200 it is on the top 5 of modern pens that one can buy. I am more into vintage Japanese pens, but also a big fan of the 823. Certainly a pen that i will not be selling. I have it with a medium nib, and i really like the idea of adjusting the flow. A very nifty little addition to the quality of the pen. At the end of the day you get a very well made pen, great filling system and flow adjustment, a wonderful writer and a classy look, all for $200. There are numerous other pens out there that cost way more for what you get (not to mention QC issues etc. with makers like Visconti)

Nikolaos

I've heard (from a dealer) that quite e few folk report the pen as being inconsistent with flow. This, in his opinion, is due to people not experimenting with the valve to adjust. I know that when I first had the pen the flow stopped and I ws a bit confused - just hadn't opened the valve! Top notch users pen - can't rate it highly enough.

I wonder why Piliot doesn't offer this pen with the 743's FA nib...THAT would be my dream pen.

Yes that would be a nice combination since my 743 is an ink guzzler. And I want a #15 Falcon nib on my 845 too although the two-tone nib of 845 is already quite a looker and performer too.

Lloyd, I agree. I almost committed to a 743, but, I find myself becoming more finicky with my pens. I'm starting to steer away from any pen requiring a C/C. I purchased a LE recently because it was a great deal. Apart from that, I prefer pistons, vacuum, or something of the like.

I just saw this on sale on Ebay

Amber Custom 823 in large box for $185

Must....fight.....tempation.....I hate "Buy it now's"

What nib did you get in your 845, and how does it write?

This filling system intrigues me... how easy is it to flush the pen out with water? And can you easily empty out a full tank of liquid?

Yes, it's very easy to empty the pen, untwist the knob, pull up the rod and push the rod back in to expel the ink. Though, I haven't tried yet, it occurs to me now that you would need a cup to flush the pen. Not like a piston fill where you can just stick it under the water stream to suck in water. It's not as easy as an eye dropper though

Also, I've tested the ink capacity. My process is as follows. Suck ink in from bottle. Expel ink into empty bottle, then suck it up into an empty syringe. This way I can get all the ink and clearly see the capacity. Not as much ink as I thought. 1.75mL, so it's actually less than a Pelikan M800 (2mL).

I find that I can never quite get it completely empty by just pushing and pulling the piston. The easiest way is to clean it out by pushing and pulling the piston in a cup of water to expel out as much ink as possible. Then grab a hold of the nib section (gently! and I usually use a generous wad of tissue) and unscrew the nib section. The whole section comes off from the barrel! I do this mostly when I have been using Noodlers ink in my Brown 823 and want to switch to a different ink. Noodlers ink (the Midnight Blue) kind of smears and clings to the inside of the barrel, and I can never quite get it cleaned out unless I remove the section and stuff a twisted up tissue to ream it out.

do you unscrew it or just pull it out?
Thanks in advance

oh, so the plunger is really a one-way valve? so it will hold a vacuum if you push in, but will let fluid pass if you pull it out with a full tank? it really is a shame that they don't sell these pens here, i just saw a beautiful picture of a demostrator version:
Click to view attachment

Unscrew it. It's alot like the Pelikan nibs, except that the whole section screws off.

From a lefty's perspective, I ifnd the 823 a joy to write with. It was a better vlaue then my M1000. I hting the Pilot nib is better then the Montegrappa used in the M1000. I also like the Dantrio nib on my eyedropper.

After having read several reviews of this pen I have moved it to the top of my list. Who are the good dealers to purchase from and who (if any) should I avoid? TIA, Mark

email Richie at sales@cyberpens.co.uk

I just attempted to "unscrew" the nib like a Pelikan and it didn't work. The nib and feed actually just pulled right out and the nib isn't really attached. The nib just kind of sits on there and it seems like the whole thing is held together by friction. I thought I busted the pen when I did it because the nib popped off. I've put it back together and inked it. The pen seems to be functioning fine, though much wetter than usual, but that is probably because I just filled it up.

Any thoughts on whether I just did something really dangerous?

I have a Pilot 78G and the feed and nib just pull right out!
I think some of the Japanese pen veterans have mentioned this.
I am not certain if all Pilot pens do this.
I have a Namiki Falcon and was wondering if it works this way (I do not want to risk doing this on this pen!)
It sure makes cleaning the pen easier.

Yes, but the pilot flex/semi-flex nibs are a bit more tricky, as they need some adjustment after being pushed in/pulled out of the section.

Whoa, so it really is OK to unscrew the section? No special sealant needed? Just screw it back on? j

Regarding the filling issue. Gravity can be your friend. With a Visconti Travelling Inkwell you can get a complete fill. For aerometric, pistonfillers etc it allows removal of all air. Worth the purchase price esp if you caqn get it on sale.
Barry

I have one for sale if you are interested.

You'll probably have more than one interested party!!! Is it on the market place?

If it's a clear one, I'll bite your hand off.

It is in the marketplace and it is the brown. jook for my name