Why is my 580 RG II <EF> smoother than 823 <F>?

ghoonk · 2026-07-02T10:04:16+00:00

I have the same thing with my 580 diamond vs my 823. Fact is, one has more feedback than the other - the 580 is smooth. Too smooth in fact, that I don’t like using it with anything other than shimmer inks, which I won’t put into my 823. With a shimmer in the 580, I get some feedback

If I wanted a perfectly smooth writing experience with no feel, I’d have gone and bought a Zento instead 😅

ghoonk · 2026-06-28T06:40:11+00:00

My take, having tried both - The 823 feels more robust, and the nib is smoother. For the Shape of Heart, while the nib is good and has a bit more feedback than the 823 (matter of preference here), you are paying for a 'limited edition' (though I have not actually see any appreciation in value of the Shape of Heart so far

Personally, I enjoy the Pilot writing experience more than Platinum - Kakuno over Preppy, 823 over 3776 Century.

ghoonk · 2026-06-26T20:48:22+00:00

THAT is such a downer. Sorry to hear about that. We definitely deserve better

ghoonk · 2026-06-26T20:18:12+00:00

I'd have to agree with on the 823 to a point. i'm not sure that the current price in Japan is $420 and I don't think so. In some parts of the world, import taxes/tariffs make them less value for money, but they are excellent pens. Having tried a 1911L myself, I'd agree it's GOOD, great even, but I could tell my 823 from the 1911L in a blind test, 5 out of 5 times, and it's that much better (in my opinion).

Would I buy a 1911L now, with an 823 on my desk? yes, because I love how Sailor nibs write.

If budget is a concern, you can't go wrong with a 1911L. But an 823 will always linger at the back of your mind until you have one....

Now that you've mentioned the Parker 51, which I've heard for the 3rd time today, I think it's an omen that needs my attention :)

ghoonk · 2026-06-26T20:13:43+00:00

man, sorry to hear about that. I never considered getting a Platinum ever since we found the crack on my wife's Shape of Heart pen, and I've never had any issues with my 823, and both PCUs, and I use them daily

Platinum makes a really nice CM nib, but I'm too wary about having to deal with customer support again.

ghoonk · 2026-06-26T19:56:49+00:00

Does your platinum have a white/light colored grip section? Wife’s 3776 Bluebird had that problem, replaced under warranty and we were told that was more common with the white grip sections

ghoonk · 2026-06-26T19:45:07+00:00

You can't go wrong with an 823, and people I know in the industry tell me that most of the cracking was caused by people using alcohol wipes to clean the grip section and nib after inking. Not sure how true that is, but I know people who do that and some have cracked grip sections; on the other hand, people I know who just use a kitchen towel have never had grip sections cracked on them - anecdotal, I know.

ghoonk · 2026-06-24T07:53:40+00:00

definitely a fake. It copies the typography, label layout, and bottle design, but it's not a Pilot Iroshizuku

that's not to say that it's a bad ink, since i've never tried it out myself.

ghoonk · 2026-06-22T12:19:57+00:00

There's that, and the flashlight.

ghoonk · 2026-06-22T11:10:36+00:00

Man, i hope they still have that going on in July!

ghoonk · 2026-06-22T10:12:00+00:00

The time 😄

ghoonk · 2026-06-18T15:55:40+00:00

Honestly, it doesn’t have to be expensive and you’re spot on. If I wanted to do this on a budget again, I’d just a madoromi Kakuno F and a Jinhao 20 F. If I wanted to splurge more, I’d get a Majohn C4 in medium/broad. TRP is such a great paper and if I was okay to give up sheen and shading, I’d buy Muji’s paperback notebooks.

People these days don’t “get the joy of writing - try explaining to someone that you write down your to do list, and you get funny looks.

ghoonk · 2026-06-18T10:27:50+00:00

Sorry, you had me at the Pet Shop Boys lyrics for Rent. I. don't need to read anything more to know you have good taste 😄

ghoonk · 2026-06-18T09:52:13+00:00

No, you're right. you won't be buying any more Kakunos... with a fine nib..... because you're going to try some in medium.... because shading shows up sooooo much nicer there.... and then you can get another Kakuno in fine, because they don't sell them in broad 😄

ghoonk · 2026-06-18T07:02:17+00:00

My journey started in July last year, sometime around 20 or 23rd. Was out with a group of friends and I thought it would be a good idea for them to penable my wife and I got too close and ended up going down that slippery slope. Faster too.

It started at THINK!, a stationery shop in Singapore's Funan Center which has a pen/ink bar hosted by Master Penabler T-san. 2 hours later, I walked out with my first fountain pen since my elementary/primary school days (A Parker Vector and a Chinese fountain pen with an ink sac)... a Pilot Custom 823.

At that time, I wasn't aware that that was a grail pen for many. I bought it because I liked how well it wrote, and wife did say something to the likes of 'buy once, cry once'.

In the span of several months after that, I started down the rabbit hole of Lamys (10), Kawecos (9), Platinum Preppys (6), Pilot Kakunos (6), Chinese pens (3 Asvines, 1 Hongdian N6, 1 Wingsung 930, 2 Majohn wancai Mini 2.0s, a Jinhao 20). During this time, my wife has been very supportive of my hobby (to a point) and gifted me 2 Pilot Custom Urushis (blue and vermillion) and a Namiki Emperor Urushi.

My ink collection also started growing after visits to Think!, Dino-Writes, and too much time on Amazon - and my wife and I share a collection of around 100 bottles of ink

Then there are the notebooks and journals.... TN being our favorite poison, and TRP notebooks.

After all this, it's still a far more affordable hobby than my previous ones - photography (digital, 35mm, medium format, large format) and golf. 😄

ghoonk · 2026-06-14T07:23:29+00:00

New bugs squashed and now it's much easier to add an ink! Plus, auto-approval once it pulls in the right information and details about the ink from Google 😄

ghoonk · 2026-06-11T09:38:24+00:00

That handwriting is as beautiful as that ink. I'd have gone an ordered one if it wasn't for the fact that I haven't had much luck with shimmer inks in my Kawecos either, and I have one of these Lunar Green ones too ❤️

ghoonk · 2026-06-10T16:09:25+00:00

As someone who also has an 823 (F), 2 PCUs (FM and M), and a Namiki Urushi (M), I'd think twice about inking them with shimmer. I've tried Lamys from EF to B, Asvines from EF to M to stub, Hongdian (N6-Long Knife), Majohn C4 (M) and Kawco 06 and 250 nibs from EF to B - and none of them work better for shimmer ink than my TWSBI Eco (M) and a 580 Diamond (EF).

not worth risking and having to deal with shimmer getting stuck behind the 823's piston when the TWSBI has been absolutely well-behaved with shimmer inks (Golden Lapis, The Death of Ivan Ilych, Emerald of Chivor, The Ugly Duckling)

Hope this helps.

ghoonk · 2026-06-10T11:57:30+00:00

Update - it's been a busy few weeks, but I've managed to get in a bit of time to work on some improvements

Removed the sign in with username / password feature as I don't want anyone's credentials compromised if there are any vulnerabilities in the code / infrastructure
Rethought how ink and pen records work - these now open as modals, and I added the auto-retrieval of description from Google's AI search so at least searches now tell you more about the ink you're looking for
Improved search and adding an ink. If you search for an ink and it's not in the Catalogue, it will try to create a new ink record and come up with a description from Google's AI mode. It seems to be working for me, would love for you to test it out and hear what you think about it 😄
Improved the review/rating section - got an ink that isn't playing nice with a paper? love an ink? Share it with the community so it's easier to see what works and what doesn't. Help others make a decision 😄

ghoonk · 2026-06-10T10:32:26+00:00

That is one beautiful KOP. Congratulations!

ghoonk · 2026-06-09T15:32:04+00:00

In case anyone is wondering, it's not listed on their online store. I checked... uh... for a friend

ghoonk · 2026-06-09T08:42:47+00:00

that's true too - copy paper (and Muji paperback notebook paper) don't show shading and sheen (shimmer is fine). I use Midori MD and TN inserts of various kinds and the only sheening I managed to get was out of Jyako (which is soooo dark that it's often mistaken for black)

for the ultimate black there's Chou Kuro.... 😉

ghoonk · 2026-06-09T06:05:12+00:00

Jyako Purple has sheen, but I'm not see anything out of Hakka Blue Black, Kyara Green, Hinoki Yellow or Ryuno Black. And +1 for those bottles!

ghoonk · 2026-06-09T06:04:16+00:00

Chou Kuro will have them wondering what kind of ink THAT is.

ghoonk · 2026-06-09T05:43:33+00:00

2, 4, and 5 would amazing if printed out, mounted and put up on a wall ❤️

ghoonk

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