2014 Badger & Blade Awards - Pens

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At Badger & Blade, we’re fascinated with and inspired by exceptional quality....

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[decraew]

... and I fully agree with the article, beautiful pen, and knowing Pilot, it will be of very good quality as well !

 

[Rick2035]

A very nice pen, indeed. What were the other ones considered?

 

[syngent]

I ran through a gambit of pens From FC to Edison, Sailor to Platinum, Visconti, Pelikan and pretty much every pen that was made for under 300 bucks

the last two that were in the running was between a Franklin Christiph 1901 and the Pilot, In the end The pilot had more pen for the money then anything else in that price range, it actually stacks up to pens that are almost and in some cases more then double its price

 

[Rick2035]

Excellent effort, James. Well done.

 

[Kevan]

I ran through a gambit of pens From FC to Edison, Sailor to Platinum, Visconti, Pelikan and pretty much every pen that was made for under 300 bucks

the last two that were in the running was between a Franklin Christiph 1901 and the Pilot, In the end The pilot had more pen for the money then anything else in that price range, it actually stacks up to pens that are almost and in some cases more then double its price

I have to agree. I love me some Franklin Christoph, but at the end of the day they're just a C/C pen in a pretty casing -- like Edison. FC has great nib options that put them up there for contention, but gold adds greatly to the price. Same for Edison. Sailor has nibs no other company on the planet can touch, but only the Realo is a piston-filler, and the specialty nibs drive the price up considerably in some cases. Platinum has the Music nib (as does Pilot) and the cap seal, but again, it's just a C/C option. Not that there's anything wrong with a C/C pen, but if an internal filling mechanism is available at this price, you've got to put it as an advantage.

The 823 stacks up to Pelikan and Montblanc, easily. The build quality, heft, fit in the hand, vac-filling mechanism, ink capacity, and the 15 nib options in the "custom" range just makes this thing an outstanding value. If only Pilot made it in solid colors, I think people would take much more notice of it. For $233-$250 delivered from Japan, or $288 in the US (but you need to get it from Japan for the nip options), it's just awesome. The only other pen in my mind that stacks up to it in sheer value would be the Lamy 2000, but again...using both, the Pilot is the better pen.

I love mine and use it every single day. I just wish I had gotten a broad nib on it.

 

[syngent]

The Lamy was right up there as well, just the 2000 is such a love it or hate it design I thought the 823 had more universal appeal