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Oh god, this thread is right. There are 823s going for ~€200 when sale price in my country is in the range of 380 - 400+ I see where the thread title comes from now
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Nov 7, 2023 16:39
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If it helps anybody, I’m a weirdo and I can’t stand most modern Pilot nibs - I don’t like that level of smoothness. So they aren’t universal hits. But yeah, I’m well aware I’m in the minority.
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Nov 7, 2023 19:58
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Muir posted:Pilot is one brand where regional pricing differences can be huge (and the yen is historically low against the dollar right now). US retailes like Goulet have it for $336, but you can buy it on eBay direct from Japanese stores for about $180 shipped. eBay is full of reputable Japanese sellers doing just this and I have bought multiple Pilot pens this way. gently caress this is dangerous knowledge for me right now. I need to ignore my open ebay browser tabs.
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Nov 7, 2023 20:18
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Pilot has no power over me anymore Unless I fall into a large vat of money and buy a Namiki Emperor.
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Nov 7, 2023 21:18
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howe_sam posted:Pilot has no power over me anymore the only way out is through also the Pilot Ishime is awesome, check that one out
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Nov 7, 2023 22:22
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Me after buying my Kaweco Brass: Ah, excellent, I will not buy any more pens and just use this one Me this morning: There are 2 pens in the mail
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Nov 7, 2023 22:52
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I just bought a Lamy Dialog 3. Having your airbnb 100 meters from a large fountain pen store is dangerous.
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Nov 7, 2023 23:19
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I went ahead and sprang for the Smoke 823 in Broad. It's gonna take a little while to get here, but I'll just consider it an early christmas present to myself.
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Nov 7, 2023 23:40
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The Claptain posted:I just bought a Lamy Dialog 3. I tried one when I bought my 2000, and I was shocked at how good it felt. I don't love the design, but I keep thinking about it as my next splurge pen.
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Nov 8, 2023 00:13
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Wanted to chime in on the Pilot conversation: I can see the Custom 823 being a "last pen" and that is why I was considering getting another one with an SM nib, the S being an indicator for more of a brush feel and that sounds amazing and I am not sure why I didnt order the custom heritage I got last month with that already. About the Sailor having a "pencil" feel... for someone who adores a pilot with iroshizuku ink... I really disliked it and even the pelikan is a tad too coarse for me, I will not fill it again once it is empty. There is the Pilot Namiki Custom 74 that looks to have the same nib as the 823 but you'll have to mess with a converter, it is half the price tho...
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Nov 8, 2023 18:35
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Keetron posted:There is the Pilot Namiki Custom 74 that looks to have the same nib as the 823 but you'll have to mess with a converter, it is half the price tho... Not quite, the Custom 74 uses Pilot's smaller #5 nib*. The Custom 743 is the C/C Pilot that shares the #15 nib with the 823 *and of course Pilot's nib size numbering system is completely different from the one Bock and Jowo use so a #5 Pilot <> a #5 Jowo.
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Nov 8, 2023 18:47
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howe_sam posted:Not quite, the Custom 74 uses Pilot's smaller #5 nib*. The Custom 743 is the C/C Pilot that shares the #15 nib with the 823 and then you are still better off with an 823 unless you like using many different inks and thus enjoy a smaller ink capacity.
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Nov 8, 2023 21:39
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Keetron posted:and then you are still better off with an 823 unless you like using many different inks and thus enjoy a smaller ink capacity. Or you want one of the fancy nibs only available on the 743.
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Nov 8, 2023 22:40
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howe_sam posted:Or you want one of the fancy nibs only available on the 743. Then you just need to buy both and switch the nibs.
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Nov 9, 2023 01:00
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If anyone is looking for a nice blue, I have to recommend a ink I never see anyone talking about Robert Oster - Tokyo Blue Jean. It’s now my favourite blue. The shading is just the best ever and the ink behaves really really will in fines and in big stubs. It can even handle poo poo copy paper. That pilot 823 is starting to become too tempting I hate all of you.
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Nov 9, 2023 23:31
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KingColliwog posted:
*taps thread title* I actually just picked up some cheap ebay knockoffs. The Asvine V126 is a vacuum filled pen that is a knockoff of the pilot 823. I also got a majohn a2 which is a variant of a knockoff of the old pilot capless. I’ll very likely get a pilot 823 for myself but will probably wait for christmas. My credit card has a big vet bill on it and I don’t want my current balance to get much higher. Limiters get removed for December, though!
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Nov 10, 2023 00:10
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KingColliwog posted:If anyone is looking for a nice blue, I have to recommend a ink I never see anyone talking about Robert Oster - Tokyo Blue Jean. It’s now my favourite blue. The shading is just the best ever and the ink behaves really really will in fines and in big stubs. It can even handle poo poo copy paper. Huh, neither Jetpens nor Goulet carries that one. I wonder what determines which inks they have in their store?
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Nov 10, 2023 01:06
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Well I’m sure as hell getting the 823 pilot from eBay now, but the real question is do I also get the new 1911 ring less galaxy addition in the teal for only $260? Because that thing is sick
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Nov 10, 2023 01:26
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LionArcher posted:Well I’m sure as hell getting the 823 pilot from eBay now, but the real question is do I also get the new 1911 ring less galaxy addition in the teal for only $260? Because that thing is sick sb hermit posted:*taps thread title* I know I just groused about how much I don't really like any of Sailor's pen colors, but the Pleiades one looks stunning, so that may end up being a birthday gift to myself when I've got the cash to float it.
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Nov 10, 2023 01:49
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sb hermit posted:*taps thread title* I got 3 of the majohn a2s and at this point I'm using one because the other 2 have some nightmare nib issues that, despite constant fiddling, results in scratchy feedback and stop starts. Meanwhile, the actual VP I have will start up with nothing more than a shake after sitting for 3 months. And it's bafflingly smooth. With all the 823 fever I have to wonder how it compares to the VP since they seem to float in the similar price ranges.
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Nov 10, 2023 01:50
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Rand Brittain posted:Huh, neither Jetpens nor Goulet carries that one. I wonder what determines which inks they have in their store? Oh maybe that's why no one talks about it if it's not something you can find in the biggest US online stores. Mountain of Ink has a good review of the thing https://mountainofink.com/blog/robert-oster-tokyo-blue-denim I mean look at that shading 
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Nov 10, 2023 01:53
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Robert Oster's inks tend to have really phenomenal shading. I have a bottle of their Whiskey color and it's also got extremely strong shading that turns a very nice orange into a really amazing one. I don't have any pens inked up with it right now, but I may use it with my planner for next year once that rolls around.
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Nov 10, 2023 01:59
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Yeah, that looks like something I would have been really into when I was still looking for a blue-that-is-visibly-blue-and-not-cyan-or-black.
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Nov 10, 2023 02:03
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Ravus Ursus posted:I got 3 of the majohn a2s and at this point I'm using one because the other 2 have some nightmare nib issues that, despite constant fiddling, results in scratchy feedback and stop starts. I have a VP and it's really good, the best writer I have although it doesn't use a converter. However, its body is too big for some of the places I want to store it so I'm hoping that the majohn a2 would also work. I don't expect it to write well and I expect that I'll have to replace the nib if I want to use it extensively since I could only find it in EF anyway. EF is too narrow and I'd probably prefer an F at the smallest. Besides, it'll replace a TWSBI Go with an EF nib that is scratchy as hell (because I use it to write on bad quality paper).
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Nov 10, 2023 05:13
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If you like the VP and it's too big the A2 is the same size as far as I can tell. The nib is enh but a few people have been buying a VP internal and just putting it in the A2 body. Which works but the difference in price at that point is pretty slim. The Decimo is a bit slimmer and lighter than the VP of you haven't looked at that.
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Nov 10, 2023 05:21
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Ravus Ursus posted:If you like the VP and it's too big the A2 is the same size as far as I can tell. The nib is enh but a few people have been buying a VP internal and just putting it in the A2 body. Which works but the difference in price at that point is pretty slim.  Well, I'm definitely not going to put the VP internal into the A2 unless it's some sort of weird attempt to hide a VP in plain sight.
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Nov 10, 2023 05:33
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oh hey look, it's one of the stupidly expensive and addictive hobbies I've picked up in the past five years that I love to a ridiculous extent! (which is to say I am not surprised to find a cadre of pen people on SA, can I get in on this?) I collect vintage Sheaffer Balances (used to use one as a daily driver with an Iroshizuku grey ink, loved the hell out of it, but never really felt right about carrying around something so old and important in the chaos that is my handbag) and I have a bunch of modern pens I use for different applications: a fine-nib Platinum Plaisir in bright red that I keep filled with Sheaffer's Skrip Red for correcting manuscripts since it's the only damned red ink I've ever found that doesn't feather on normal lovely printer paper, a TWSBI Diamond Smoke Rose Gold that's a complete tank, a couple of Pelikan M200 Special Editions in Olivine and Golden Beryl that actually currently have their respective inks, the list goes on. My wife and I have more ink than God and we keep somehow acquiring more, like the Colorverse moon-landing set. She likes tiny ultra-fine nibs and I go for a medium or a flex almost every time (we both use Leuchtturm notebooks and planners and I love my beat-up Travelers Notebook to death). She collects vintage Eversharp Skylines, so I go trolling through ebay every few weeks in case something spectacular pops up. I have a hosed-up wrist that makes heavy pens uncomfortable very quickly, so I can't do a lot of really cool pens and the Metro was not a good gateway-drug pen for me; a friend of ours gave us a couple of cheap-rear end Noodler's resin pens to get us started, and then I did the research and got my first Conklin Duragraph and that was pretty much all she wrote. My turquoise Duraflex will run J. Herbin's Kyanite du Nepal with all its shimmer like it's no thing. I guess the thing I'd ask the thread is -- what are your experiences with Birmingham Pen Company inks? So far I really love the ones I've tried but they seem to be pretty new on the scene, if refreshingly free of the kind of twee that Ferris Wheel Press leans into.
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Nov 10, 2023 07:52
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KingColliwog posted:Oh maybe that's why no one talks about it if it's not something you can find in the biggest US online stores. might have to look into this. i love my konpeki, but it does not love campus notebooks and i don't really have other blues
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Nov 10, 2023 09:44
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Cleaning out a bunch of my pens and took a picture of all my Sailors together: I might have a problem...
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Nov 10, 2023 18:23
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Been waiting for that elusive moment where I have extra money just burning a hole in my pocket to get a Realo. It's coming.
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Nov 10, 2023 18:44
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if I haven't used my Metro for a while, I need to give the sac a little goose to get the ink flowing. is that typical?
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Nov 10, 2023 19:15
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What's a while? But that sounds normal. People also sometimes just dip the tip into the ink, or even water to get things moving again.
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Nov 10, 2023 19:18
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teethgrinder posted:What's a while? But that sounds normal. People also sometimes just dip the tip into the ink, or even water to get things moving again. a few days to a week, maybe. I wasn't sure if it was doing that because I dropped it or something, or if that was just normal
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Nov 10, 2023 19:26
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SixteenShells posted:a few days to a week, maybe. I wasn't sure if it was doing that because I dropped it or something, or if that was just normal I regularly ignore my pens for a week or more and they start right up. They might need a little encouragement after a month. What kind of ink are you running? If it's pigment-based, that might explain the behavior you're seeing. But at the same time, if the pen works with a little bit of water to get things moving, that's probably okay.
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Nov 10, 2023 19:36
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Safety Dance posted:I regularly ignore my pens for a week or more and they start right up. They might need a little encouragement after a month. What kind of ink are you running? If it's pigment-based, that might explain the behavior you're seeing. But at the same time, if the pen works with a little bit of water to get things moving, that's probably okay. Yeah once I prime it with some water or forcibly moving ink around through the feed, it works fine, it's just that initial startup. I'm pretty sure it's a dye ink, it's the Private Reserve Fiesta Red, although I can't vouch for whether it has the proper consistency anymore. The bottle's 10+ years old, heavily used, and there was definitely a leak at some point (the inside of the cardboard box is soaked in old ink). Sounds like it's within spec? Thanks y'all.
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Nov 10, 2023 19:41
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SixteenShells posted:Yeah once I prime it with some water or forcibly moving ink around through the feed, it works fine, it's just that initial startup. I'm pretty sure it's a dye ink, it's the Private Reserve Fiesta Red, although I can't vouch for whether it has the proper consistency anymore. The bottle's 10+ years old, heavily used, and there was definitely a leak at some point (the inside of the cardboard box is soaked in old ink). Sounds normal to me.
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Nov 10, 2023 19:53
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Arc Rectifier posted:I guess the thing I'd ask the thread is -- what are your experiences with Birmingham Pen Company inks? So far I really love the ones I've tried but they seem to be pretty new on the scene, if refreshingly free of the kind of twee that Ferris Wheel Press leans into. i only just got a shipment notification on my order i placed with birmingham last month, so i guess so far i can say my experience is... shipping is veeeeery slow, lol. but it's a two-man family operation, so maybe that's to be expected? anyway i'll come back to the thread with a trip report once my order finally comes in! regarding big pens: i also decided to try the pilot metro as the big recommended gateway pen and oof, what a big boy indeed! my preference so far is for slimmer pens like the pilot cavalier, but i still really like the metro as my daily driver at work for a few different reasons: it writes very smoothly even with a fine nib, not scratchy at all like i've noticed with the cavalier; and it's SO hefty that i'm less likely to forget it's in my pocket, and less likely for any of my coworkers to accidentally walk off with it, lmao. (though i find that just having switched to fountain pens in general has discouraged coworkers from using my pens in general...... which is fine by me. lol)
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Nov 11, 2023 00:36
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Arc Rectifier posted:
Hello, fellow Sheaffer-fancier! I only have a few so far, but I think two of them are my proudest purchases thus far: two Lady Sheaffers, one in gold moire and one in a fancy enamel fishnet-like pattern I can't remember the name of. They write like a dream and they feel great in my (small) hands. Birmingham has absolutely killer sales (which is how I wound up with 4 100ml bottles and 2 50ml bottles that I will never in my life get through) and their ink has been well-behaved for me thus far. I haven't tinkered around with their ink-mixing scheme, though I really love the idea of it. Seems like an...honest thing to offer, if that makes sense. As a Pennsylvanian I love their naming trend. And they seemed like genuinely nice guys when I had a shipping question around the time they got Gaiman'd. I don't know if they have any secret Nathan-Tardif-style QAnon views or anything, but so far I'm very happy with my purchases from them. While we're talking about small inkmakers, I bought a few (OK, ten) samples from an Etsy shop called Vintergron and I like them. The Buttercup is the yellowest yellow I own by a head, and April Showers is a really springy grass-green, like a slightly less dusty Chiku-Rin. They are on the wetter side, and also there is a little bit of wintergreen scent to each, which I am enjoying.
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Nov 11, 2023 05:43
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https://imgur.com/a/xX172oZ Saw this on instagram, but what pen is this? Anybody know? I love the body/colors.
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Nov 11, 2023 18:36
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CK07 posted:around the time they got Gaiman'd. They got what?
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Nov 11, 2023 20:01
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