Pilot Custom 823 Vs Visconti Homo Sapiens

[s_t_e_v_e]

Apart from being vacuum filled pens, these two are quite different pens. I feel like the Homo Sapiens, though a very cool and unique pen, has more drawbacks than the Custom 823. Here's what I currently like and don't like about each of them:

 

Visconti Homo Sapiens

Like

• Cool design with the unique basaltic lava composite material
• Palladium nib that many rave about. I like soft nibs like the OMAS 18K nibs. No, I don't plan on even semi-flexing the nib, I just want to enjoy the cushioning these nibs provide.
• Vacuum filler
• Large size and hefty
• There's nothing currently out there that compares directly to the Homo Sapiens

Dislike

• Material absorbs ink and the section can stain after dipping in a bottle of ink if not diligently cleaned (this could drive me crazy)
• No ink window (kind of important to me)
• Power filler difficult to maintain, clean out
• not user serviceable
• expensive (double the price of the Custom 823)
• Generally more cumbersome to maintain

The Homo Sapiens limited editions take care of many of things I dislike about the original but the those are waaayyy out of my meager budget. Even the HS is a bit of a stretch. I'm selling a few pens to raise funds for it.

 

Pilot Custom 823

Like

• Legendary Pilot reliability
• Vacuum filler
• Large size and balanced
• Large soft 14K nib
• Subtle demonstrator (smoke and amber versions) that looks cool without looking too cheap
• Reasonable priced

Dislike

• Very generic design, nothing too fancy
• Having to open the blind cap before writing is very annoying to me, though I'm aware of the trick to work around this problem
• Power filler difficult to maintain and clean out but since the pen can be disassembled easily, it makes life much better
• Only available in gold trim

I have used the Custom 823 before but never ever used or held the HS.

 

What are your thoughts on these two pens? Which one would you choose and why? Are there any modern alternatives to these pens?

[WmEdwards]

I have both. MY 823 (Broad) worked straight out of the box, flawlessly. My HS (1.3 stub), not so much.YMMV.

Edited March 31, 2017 by WmEdwards

[Bluey]

You could try looking for the Pilot 823 with a soft nib. That would essentially mean that you will be getting the softer nib on the V, but in a much more reliable pen and at a better price.

[82Greg]

I have and like both. Unquestionably, if you can only choose one, its the Pilot 823. You could try to get alternative colors/trims from dealers in Japan.

 

Main issue is one of reliability. Pilot pens work well out of the box. They repair what they sell--fairly promptly.

 

Visconti is having some quality/quality control issues.

 

Alternative solution, 3rd mortgage and get both.

[Erik Dalton]

This would be a very hard decision for me. I have two 823's one medium and broad. They are among my favorite writers and hold a lot of ink.

Recently I had the use of a Homo Sapiens Bronze for about a week. I can honestly say that it was the nicest writing pen I have ever used. The nib was so special, the pen itself well balanced, and just a dream to write with. It felt so natural in my hand that I felt I could have gone on forever without tiring.

The basaltic lava body and the bronze hardware take no special care, I don't think you can scratch the surface of the pen body or cap.

A very impressive pen. Despite the illusion of the big outer body, the inner ink cavity only holds 1.5 ml of ink.

The Pilot is a workhorse pen, the Visconti you buy just to have one. That being said, I remain smitten with the Visconti, and I can't promise I won't buy one, just to have it.

[overwriter]

I also have both and I think Old Salt nailed it. They are both fabulous but the 823 is a workhorse(and likely to attract less attention in the boardroom) and the Homo Sapiens is a really great pen to own and write with.

 

I do not have the largest collection and these are easily the most expensive ones. I don't know what the Homo Sapiens cost since is was a Christmas gift from my lovely wife of 31 years(at the time). I shudder to think what it cost but my guess is that if I had spent that much on a pen there would have been a discussion.

 

I would never give either of them up.

[Lam1]

I have both and if I were to buy again, after having both for about 2.5 years, I would never buy the HS again.

 

I love the nib in the HS and the feel of the material, but that's about it. The pen is poorly finished - you should see the cap threads of mine, they seem carelessly carved with a knife (although, last Christmas I gave a London Fog to my son and the finish on that one was good). The only way to have my HS to fill reliably is to use the traveling inkwell, the threads annoy me when writing and, finally, the cap is becoming harder and harder to take off (and I do mean really hard). For all these reasons, I used it 4 times in these 2.5 years, still the plating of the cap top is coming off, despite the fact that I take very good care of all my pens.

 

The pilot 823 never gave me anything but pleasure to use (except for the annoying unscrewing the blind cap). I wouldn't call its nib soft, nor I recommend disassembling it to clean, but it certainly is a very reliable pen. I just wish it were thicker and not so... generic, as you said.

 

But the writing characteristics of these two pens are very different, IMO.

 

Good luck with your choice.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Lam1

[rickygene]

I have both. The 823 is 100% reliable, very comfortable in the hand and is a very good writer but is a conventional looking pen with a subtle beauty. The Visconti is stunning and a good writer, but is nearly three times the price.

 

I like them both very much but if I could only have one of the two it would be the 823.

[TheRealMikeDr]

I too have both.

 

The Visconti HS may be the best writing pen I own - the issues many have with it are well documented. The 823 writes great and has the Pilot pedigree.

 

Given the option between the two, if money is not a consideration, I would take my chances with the HS.

[alexander_k]

The 823 was a hit with me from the very first moment but the HS is growing on me, especially after Oxonian reground the Dreamtouch nib into a springy, characterful CI.

[FriendAmos]

The pilot 823 ... I wouldn't call its nib soft,

 

 

My view too.

[jameswatts]

I have both pens. The Visconti I've owned for five years -- a 25th wedding anniversary gift. The 823 I bought about two years ago.

 

Every time I write with the HS, I think "Why don't I use this more?" One reason is that I have the personalization on the cap top, and the magnet isn't strong enough to keep the two initials secure, so this is a pen that rarely leaves the house. However, I wrote half a play with it last year. As another writer said the best way to fill it is with he traveling inkwell. Also my extra fine nib is more like a medium/broad because of the generous ink flow. As for the ink staining, a few passes with a damp paper towel cleans away any residue from filling.

 

Short answer: a great pen, one I love to own and use. But I don't use it as much as I think I should.

 

I bought the Custom 823 at the recommendation of my close, personal friend Neil Gaiman (I speak as a cool -- I interviewed him two years ago and got to meet him, and we discussed fountain pens both times). The most I took it out of the box it felt perfect in my hand. Mine have a fine nib. It has become a pen I reach for almost every day. I wrote much of a novel with this pen, and have used it in my "day job" as an arts journalist.

 

Short answer: for me, the Custom 823 is close to the perfect pen.

[Mulrich]

I've also got both and prefer the HS. I've avoided many of the QC issues mentioned by others and the few I did experience were repaired under warranty. They're both nice pens though so you should be happy with either.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I have both. The Visconti is certainly more fun. But it has a few bad habits. I have discovered a cap full of ink more than once. (I've been advised to open and close the blind cap while the nib is up when I finish a writing session to fix that.) The "My Pen" system for the cap finial does not seem to work. I lost the original finial and a replacement I bought won't stick.

 

The pen writes all right, but seems to dry out quickly. I get hard starts if it sits. But, I keep being drawn back to that fun finish and, when it writes well, it's fantastic. But it's not a pen I'll take out of the house.

 

The 823 has a flashy filling system but is otherwise understated. But, it's reliable. I know it will work when I pick it up. If it sits for a while, I know it will work. It has a small nib-creep problem, and yes, there is the annoying fiddling with the blind cap when starting and ending a writing session. But, it's a pen that just works. I wish I had gotten a different nib, but the pen is decent even with an ordinary fine nib. It's not flashy, but I can always trust it to work.

 

This is a pen that is reliable and can go anywhere.

[sirgilbert357]

I think the size is different, but there is also the option of the Homo Sapiens Midi, which is a piston filler (well, a "captured converter" technically) and should avoid some of the quirks of the other version's filling system. Should be a breeze to flush, fill and use. The HS is no doubt my choice, but the Pilot 823 doesn't appeal to me much at all, so it's kind of a no brainer for me.

[s_t_e_v_e]

So I ended up getting a Homo Sapiens Steel Age Maxi. I bought it used and it has the older piston filling system rather than the power filler. I haven't inked it yet, I'll post my experience with it later.

[FOUR X FOUR]

I have a few of each. I like them both. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite

Allan😀😀

[RocketRyan]

I have neither, but for me the visconti is way cooler, it's made of lava... the pilot is just another plastic pen, although from what I've read, a peach of a pen. But it's not made of lava.

[s_t_e_v_e]

I ended up getting a custom 823 too! I removed the shutoff seal on the 823 so I no longer have to open the blind cap to write. It writes beautifully!

 

The Homo Sapiens is also a great writer. Of the two Visconti palladium nibs I own, the one on the Homo Sapiens is rather stiff. The one on my Opera is much softer. The nib on the Homo Sapiens is quite reliable, I havent had any issues so far.

[dukkimoon]

I see so many posts hyping the Visconti Homo Sapiens, but I tried it at the recent DC Pen Show. I could not get myself to love it after multiple visits. Plus, that clip is just...really in the way when I write. Also, could have been coincidence, but I did see a couple of people at the Visconti booth asking/complaining about nib quality control (e.g., hard starts, flow issues, etc.).

 

WIth that said, I agree that the 823 is not much to look at, and it's sucks that you're mostly limited to amber in the US. With that said, GREAT ink capacity, and really reliable nib. The fine is like all other Pilot fines, where it may feel a bit "scratchy", but that's pretty much with any Japanese fine. I'd say that my experience with Pilots (and why i keep going back to them) is that I have yet to have issues with nib quality or overall QC. Across the board reliable pen line.

 

I love the 823. It's one of my go-to's.

Edited September 26, 2017 by dukkimoon