Pilot Custom 823

[lancelot]

I really need some help. I like the Custom 823 very much, but it's a strain on my pocketbook, and I would hate to get it wrong.

I don't know which nib to select. My Lamy 2000, medium is a little broad for my tastes, however I thought the 2000 fine a little thin at one time and gave it to my daughter. If I had to choose between the two I would go back to the fine. I have read that Japanese pens tend to run one size finer than their European counterparts. Is that true of this model? The writing samples I have seen on the internet do not seem to bear this out.

I have a Sheaffer, Legacy I bought 15-20 years ago. It has an 18k, medium, nib. It writes like butter, but is too Broad.

Any direction would be greatly appreciated.

Ron I

 

[Snargle]

Have you checked out the Nib Nook on Goulet Pens? You can plug in the specific models and nib sizes and compare writing samples for each. http://www.gouletpens.com/nib-nook

 

[lancelot]

Thank you, Larry. Yes, and I can't tell discern much difference. The Pilot 823 medium sample looks even more broad than the Lamy 2000 medium sample to my eyes. How do you see them?

Ron I

 

[Slivovitz]

This chart (link) might give you some comparative idea. For Pilot nibs, I like the FM (fine medium) size, part way between their fine and medium. It seems to be available, though, only from dealers who sell directly from Japan. And I have it on a Pilot Custom Heritage 91 and Custom Heritage 92, so I don't know if it's the same (or even available) on the Custom 823.

The fine nib on my Pilot Vanishing Point is definitely finer than the fine on my Lamy 2000, although with the unusual shape of the VP nib, I don't know for sure how it compares with other Pilot fine nibs. At any rate, it writes quite smoothly, and doesn't seem ridiculously fine to me, just thin enough. For my own taste, I would probably stay away from extra fine nibs.

Although the line width left by a given nib is in principle measurable, it does tend to vary with the paper you're using, and perhaps even the ink. There's going to be a subjective component to this when you actually write with a pen. If the Lamy fine still seems a little broader than ideal, then you may well be satisfied with a Pilot Fine, but no guarantees.

 

[Snargle]

Thank you, Larry. Yes, and I can't tell discern much difference. The Pilot 823 medium sample looks even more broad than the Lamy 2000 medium sample to my eyes. How do you see them?

Ron I

To my eye, the mediums on both the L2K and the 823 look about the same. The fine on the Pilot 823 definitely looks finer than the Lamy 2000 fine. Another variable to keep in mind is ink flow. Even if both nibs have exactly the same tip width, one may lay down more ink than the other due to a "wetter" feed. Also, I've sometimes found that gold nibs will lay down a wider line than a steel nib, assuming the same physical dimensions.

 

[Doc4]

One thing to consider is the springiness (or not) of the relative nibs. A springy nib, with a bit of pressure, will splay out an become broader in ink application (kind of like a bit of a flex nib, but not really ... more of a constant splay) so that can affect performance-width. Not having either pen, I can only speculate but ... would the Pilot be springier and therefore more subject to splay?

 

[lancelot]

I am grateful for the help, gentlemen. Thank you.

Ron I

 

[syngent]

I love my 823, its a fantastic pen at its price point.... I hope you enjoy it

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

If you get a 823 in M and think it is too thick you can always have a nibmeister grind it smaller but not the other way around.

I have a VP in fine and a VP that Richard Binder made a M stub... Both are great but I only pull the fine out when I have to write in tiny boxes at work.

 

[lancelot]

Let me trim my question up the way I should have asked it in the first place. Will a Pilot, Custom 823, medium nib, lay down a line closer to a western/European, fine or medium ?

Thanks, Ron