Pilot Custom 823 vs Custom Urushi

[Mrsnuffles]

Hi, everyone! My favorite pen so far is a Pilot Custom 823; it's so smooth, and a night and day improvement over the already excellent Sailor 1911L which I also use. I'm planning on buying a Pilot Custom Urushi in a few months, depending on the answer to this question: is the Custom Urushi a slightly smoother or nicer writing pen than the 823, or do they write the same? I'd be buying the Custom Urushi mostly for the size and materials, but if there isn't at least a small difference in writing experience, than I don't think the expense would be quite worth it for me: it wouldn't feel as special.

[markh]

I have both.

 

The nibs are the same #15 (presuming you have the same size nib) so the feel over the surface of the paper is also the same, with the exception that no two nibs are ever exactly the same.

 

IMO the feel in your hand is very different. The weight, shape, size, and surface feel are different. The urushi pen is over ebonite, which changes the weight balance in a way I like. The urushi has a certain "feel" that's different than the plastic of the 823, though the difference is quite subtle, mostly the combination of urushi and ebonite having a warmer feel in the hand.

 

I prefer the Custom Urushi, but they are both very nice and very functional pens.

 

Is the Custom Urushi worth the price? - This is a very expensive pen. I think at these levels we are beyond price/value thinking - I have a red and black one, I like having them, and paid the price. But to be real, I think we are beyond the point of value justification for these (and other) expensive pens. Owning one is not a logical decision - there is no way to prove that it's a better pen, or worth more money.

 

Fortunately for the expensive pen business, many people purchase them anyway.

 

(On rethink, I'm presuming you are thinking of the Custom 845. The larger Custom Urushi is a much different pen - much larger, larger #30 nib. The pen is much different, and much more expensive.)

 

..

[Mrsnuffles]

Thanks for the reply. The #15 nib, if I'm not mistaken, is on the Custom 845 Urushi, but I'd like to know about it's larger, more expensive brother, the Custom Urushi, which has a #30 nib.

[Lam1]

The Custom Urushi has a bigger (# 30)  nib, indeed. 

As for the nib being smoother or not, I don't think there is a difference if the nib  grade  is the  same, they are both Pilots after all.  

The difference is that the nib of the Custom Urushi is soft and that makes the writing experience completely different.

Of course, the Custom Urushi is also thicker and larger. 

I had two Custom 823  and one Custom 845 and sold them all. But there is no way I'd part with the Custom Urushi. 

[Mrsnuffles]

Thank you so much for the reply, Lam1, it helps a lot! A soft, springy nib is something I enjoy, so the writing experience will certainly feel special to me.

[gerigo]

2 different pens almost feel like they were made by 2 different companies. I don't understand the rationale for the making of the Custom Urushi because it goes against everything that defines Japanese high end pens. Conservative, balanced, and sized to work for everyone. The Custom Urushi is comically large. So much so that you'd find it will not fit in any carrying case you have. When you use the pen in any type of a meeting, people will look at you because you look like you're writing with a bat. If you have anything other than large hands, the pen would feel overly thick and the pen balance very hard to get used to because the nib is so large. Finally the nib has a level of softness that even the soft nibs can't quite compare with. 

[Lam1]

To each their own, of course. 

But I think Pilot needed a flagship pen that could compete with the KoP, 149 and M1000. The Custom Urushi is that pen.

As for the softness, to me it seems that while it is a little softer than a KoP nib, it is not nearly as soft as the nibs on the M1000 or the superflex Eversharp Decoband. 

It is certainly not a pen that everybody would like or even be able to use, due to the size. But for those that like big pens and soft nibs, it is a very nice pen - IMO, of course. 

[Mrsnuffles]

Well, I tried out a 149 in-store a couple of years ago, and the size felt superb. Also, all of my current pens feel too small for me, despite my quite small hands. Though to each their own, as Lam1 says.

[Mrsnuffles]

 I love the 823, but the Custom Urushi seems to have features which I prefer: it's bigger, heavier, has a softer nib, the appearance is more to my preference, and it's made of materials which I would prefer touching more than plastic.

Edited February 17, 2021 by Mrsnuffles

[Mrsnuffles]

Delete.

Edited February 17, 2021 by Mrsnuffles
The comment I was responding to was deleted.