New Pen, Old Years
Six years ago, I bought this Pelikan M800.
Even today, it remains one of the smoothest fountain pens I have ever written with.
German pens remind me of German cars.
Rational, stable, and precise.
They are not overly emotional, but they stay quietly reliable beside you for years.
Over the past six years, this pen has accompanied me through:
- technical articles
- book manuscripts
- courses
- deep thinking
- the low points and high points of life
In a way, it no longer feels like just a pen.
It feels more like an old friend.
And today, the new Pilot Custom 823 arrived.
The character of the 823 is very different from the M800.
If the M800 represents European rationality and order,
then the 823 feels like Japan during the Showa era.
The amber resin, the black-and-gold color palette, the warm glow—
it carries a nostalgic atmosphere reminiscent of Japan’s bubble-economy years.
It is not flashy luxury.
It feels more like a late-night jazz café, vinyl records, wooden desks, and Showa-era jazz.
You begin to realize that many things made in Japan
are not created merely for “efficiency.”
They are designed to slowly guide you into a certain state of mind through the act of using them.
That is exactly how the 823 feels to me.
It does not feel like a tool.
It feels like an object that quietly accompanies a person through life.
The M800 will continue to stay with me.
And now, the new 823 begins its journey into the next chapter of my life as well.
Some people collect pens.
But for me, the most important thing has never been collecting.
It is this:
Whether there exists a pen
that can quietly walk through the years with you.
— Jack Yeh
The Modern Ronin Reflections
新的筆，舊的歲月
六年前，我買下了這支 Pelikan M800。
直到今天，它依然是我寫過最順手的鋼筆之一。
德國筆的風格，很像德國車。
理性、穩定、精準。
它沒有太多情緒，但它會安靜而可靠地陪你很久。
這六年裡，它陪我寫過：
• 技術文章
• 書稿
• 課程
• 思考
• 人生的低谷與高峰
某種程度上，它已經不像一支筆。
更像是一位老朋友。
而今天，新的 Pilot Custom 823 到了。
823 的氣質，和 M800 很不一樣。
如果說 M800 是歐洲式的理性與秩序，
那麼 823 更像昭和時代的日本。
琥珀色的樹脂、黑金的配色、溫潤的光澤，
有一種日本泡沫經濟年代的復古氣息。
它不是那種張揚的華麗。
而是像深夜喫茶店、黑膠唱片、木質書桌、昭和 Jazz 一樣的味道。
你會發現，日本人做很多東西，
都不是為了「效率」而已。
而是為了讓你在使用的過程裡，
慢慢進入一種狀態。
823 給我的感覺，就是這樣。
它不像工具。
更像是一件陪伴人生的器物。
M800 會繼續陪我。
而新的 823，也會開始加入接下來的人生。
有些人收藏筆。
但對我來說，真正重要的從來不是收藏。
而是：
有沒有一支筆，
能陪你安靜地走過歲月。
— Jack Yeh
The Modern Ronin Reflections
