There have been two main changes to the Pilot 823 fountain pen since my initial review in 2015. First, all three barrel colors are now more widely available. Second, there is a new nib option available. If I thought this was one of the best pens on the market back then, what do I think now? It’s even better, of course.
My initial hangup in acquiring an 823 for myself almost a decade ago was a superficial one: it was only available in the US market in Amber. While a fantastic color in its own right, Amber wasn’t the only color available in Pilot’s home market of Japan. Both Smoke and Clear were part of the lineup, but I would have to jump through international ordering hoops to get one. At the time, that wasn’t as easy as it is today.
An old image of my Clear 823 I resurrected for this post.
I did that dance when I bought my Clear 823 (back in the 2016/2017 timeframe,) and this pen has been a core part of my writing lineup ever since. Many others were in the same boat as me, waiting for their opportunity to easily order something other than Amber. That opportunity arrived in the last couple of years, as Pilot sent the Smoke barrel out first, followed later by Clear. Why not at the same time? Your guess is as good as mine, but at least they are here, and they are glorious.
Why is the Pilot 823 considered one of the best fountain pens on the market? It’s a feel thing. The size and structure of this pen is impressive. It’s big, but not overly heavy. The barrel is mostly plastic, but it has a density to it. The vacuum filling mechanism adds a few more grams to the overall weight, and keeps the pen balanced throughout the barrel when writing.
All of that is before we even get to the nib, which is a true standout.
Pilot’s nibs provide the best out of the box experience out of all of the major Japanese brands in my experience. They are always tuned and ready to write the moment you ink it up, no matter if the nib is Extra Fine or Double Broad, Steel or Gold. And in the case of my review pen, Signature.
Signature Nib, left, Fine with a Cursive Italic grind, right.
What’s a Signature nib? According to Pilot, the name of the nib dictates exactly what it is for. It is Broad on the down strokes, Medium on the cross strokes, and has rounded edges to give it a flowing feel. This is a big letter nib, and great for cursive writing, laying down a ton of ink, and yes, signatures.
Slight line variation between vertical and horizontal strokes.
Pilot has expanded their nib offerings in both the #10 size 14K nib, and #15 size 14K nib, which the 823 uses. They are not widely available for this pen yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this expansion happen since they already exist in the market. The only Specialty nib for the 823 is the Signature, along with traditional Fine, Medium, and Broad nib.
Putting the Signature nib in the 823 makes a lot of sense due to its large ink capacity. The vacuum chamber holds 1.5 mm of ink, which you will need with a nib like this one. To get a full fill, you may need to engage the vacuum rod twice, while keeping the nib submerged in the ink bottle. I got about half of a fill with one snap, which is normal in my experience with my other 823’s. To get it closer to full I would run it twice.
The Pilot 823 is an elite fountain pen experience, and that also accounts for price. At $336 it is by no means cheap, but it is close to being a value compared to the competition. The build quality, the filling system, the nib, and the overall experience make it an easy recommendation from me.
As much praise as I give it, are there any downsides? Yes, I hate cleaning it. Push, pull, push, pull, push, pull …
It doesn’t take three hours, but it takes a lot of work to get it to run clean. And once I get the water clear, I leave the pen uncapped to let the inner barrel air dry. It’s such a great writer that the juice is worth the squeeze, but it is a lot of squeezing.
The other hangup are the colors available. While I’m a translucent pen fan, not everyone is, so the aesthetics of the pen may not work for some. There are no solid barrel options at this time, and given Pilot’s history with this pen, I’d be shocked to see it.
The famed Fujiyama Blue Pilot 823.
My hope for the future of the 823 is that one, the full nib lineup becomes as available as all three barrels, and two, more colors. While the former is likely, the latter is a pipe dream. Pilot has teased a few special editions of the 823 over the past few years, but the main lineup has been static for over a decade. Pilot does like their translucent plastic colors, so there is a chance, albeit a tiny one.
I think highly enough of the Pilot 823 that it would be in the conversation for my only and only pen, if it ever came down to that. To be clear, it will never come down to that, but I can’t think of many pens I rate higher.
(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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