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Hero 100 - Best Pen Money Can Buy?


Rustyshackelford

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Looking over my collection I have come to the suprising conclusion that my Hero 100s are the best writers that I own. I have about 15 pens and, with the exception of my M805, nothing comes close to the Heros. They perform better than pens 4x their price including my Lamy 2000, Parker Sonnet, Pelikan M200, Aurora Style, and TWSBI Diamond.

 

I just wanted to give some love to these great pens.

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I've been keeping my eye on these pens for a long time, but the recent threads here extolling their virtues may just push me over the edge into buying one. I haven't had the opportunity to try any of the Chinese pens, but I do have three Jinhao's coming in the mail soon. If my experience is good, I may just have to jump into the Hero product line.

Collection Counts: Cross-4, Esterbrook-15, Eversharp-1, Graf von Faber-Castell-1, Jinhao-2, Kaweco-1, Lamy-6, Levenger-2, Monteverde-1, Pilot/Namiki-3, Noodler's-1, Parker-18, Rotring-10, Sailor-1, Sheaffer-19, TWSBI-1, Visconti-4, Waterford-1, Waterman-7

Favorite Inks: Diamine, Levenger, Private Reserve, Noodler's Lexington Gray

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I have been going to China 1 or 2 times a year for the last 3 years. On my first trip there I just stumbled into a store selling both Hero and Duke Pens. I have about 15 know. They are both good writers and I really enjoy them. I really like the Duke commemorative pens. I do have 1 JinHao, which is really striking. However, it is a roller ball and I am having trouble finding refills here in the USA for it. Duke and Hero roller balls take an international refill, the JinHao’s do not. Going back in a couple of weeks and buying a few more.

Lamy and Chinese (Duke and Hero) Pens

Private Reserve Inks

Moleskine, Rhodia and Clairfontaine

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I just received my first Hero yesterday that I purchased from hisnibs.com. Mine is the 329, though. I love it! It writes a wet, fine line every time. For less than $20. Amazing!

 

Bob

I never finish anyth

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The Hero 100 may not be the best pen that money can buy, but it has to be close to the best value for money. The gold nib has just the right amount of flex to give character to one's writing. I actually prefer it to my Waterman Expert.

I have always been a bit of a fan of the Parker 45 - purely from the point of view of a writing instrument. I have, therefore, ordered a Hero 800, which is a close copy (with gold nib). The 800 has, in my view, the advantage of using a Parker cartridge (or, better still, a converter).

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I have been using Hero pens for years mainly cause I am from Shanghai. I now just recently started to buy pens in America... Anyway, I got my Parker Sonnet today from Amazon, and I have to say that I am very disappointed at the "fine nib" being so thick...

 

I am thinking about returning the Sonnet even though it is a nice pen...

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I am using a hero 810 right now and I am loving it. As long a you dont get a hero fake(only heard of a few models being faked), they are great writers for the money. The best part is if you get a multi-pack, then they are so cheap if someone steals them or they go missing you dont get upset. Well maybe if the pen was filled with your favorite ink.

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I actually prefer Duke over Hero, my 209's nib is just unparalleled in my collection for smoothness, durability, and shading. My Hero is actually rather dry... The WingSung #233 is an impressive writer (very wet, excellent line), but a bit toothy.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc122/CxTPB/InkDropLogoFPN2.jpg Member since Sept 7, 2010

TWSBI Diamond 530 - Private Reserve Avocado

Black Kaweco Sport M Nib - Diamine Oxblood

Wing Sung #233 - Noodler's Lexington Gray

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I've not been so lucky. I've had 3 heros and I consider one of them to be usable. One of the two unusable Heros leaked and the other one would probably have been usable with a feed adjustment that I don't know how to perform. The one that does cooperate is great.

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I've not been so lucky. I've had 3 heros and I consider one of them to be usable. One of the two unusable Heros leaked and the other one would probably have been usable with a feed adjustment that I don't know how to perform. The one that does cooperate is great.

 

My experience is similar.

 

First one had a cracked shell and covered my fingers with a generous portion of ink. The second one had a defective filling mechanism.

YMMV

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I'm getting a Hero 100 flighter because it looks just that awesome!

 

What's not to love about the Hero 100? (Other than the extra fine nib that gets on my nerves but that's just my bold nib habit)

The pen looks good and doesn't attract too much attention. Unlike other pens, people really would not notice your pen since it looks just like a biro.

The grip style is almost identical to the Parker 51 and the modern pen. No learning curve required.

The hooded nib attracts no attention at all. Or it should attract no attention.

Best of all, it's dead simple to refill. Press the bar a couple of times when the pen is in the ink, and you have a full pen again. No pistons to guess clockwise or counterclockwise, and no vacuum fillers to do guesswork on.

 

It's officially my goto F nib pen now since I don't want to use my Platinum Preppy too often anymore.

Visconti Homo Sapiens; Lamy 2000; Unicomp Endurapro keyboard.

 

Free your mind -- go write

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The Hero maybe the most cheapest among the gold nib pens. And the writing experience is better than some steel nib pens such as Lamy safari etc..

But I'm really disappointed with its feeding system(Press bar). The capacity is much small than the piston feeding, and it always leak when you inked too much..

Anyway, a cheaper pen for daily use, But not a trusted friend.

 

BTW, new model has no crack-shell problem. It seems that they have improved its craft

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I never thought too much of mine. It had a rather toothy nib, extremely dry flow and poor ink capacity. I was distinctly unimpressed, and then rather dismayed when the clip shredded the pocket on my shirt. I may have gotten a bad one, but that was the last Hero I'll use.

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If you are buying hero, just be aware there are fake hero pens on ebay etc.

 

I recently purchase the hero 100 all steel flighter and its very good even the

weight is similar to a gen . parker 51. but if you buy the Hero 616 becareful

of being a fake even at that price range.

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If you are buying hero, just be aware there are fake hero pens on ebay etc.

 

I recently purchase the hero 100 all steel flighter and its very good even the

weight is similar to a gen . parker 51. but if you buy the Hero 616 becareful

of being a fake even at that price range.

 

+1 There are more fakes Heros than authentic Heros in the market. The company itself estimated that in certain parts of China, 95% of Heros sold are fakes. There are probably more fake Heros than fake MBs. So one does need to be extra careful on what you are buying and whom do you purchase from. Being inexpensive is not a guarantee against counterfeits and fakes. I personally have seen more fake Heros than real ones, really.

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I'm getting a Hero 100 flighter because it looks just that awesome!

 

What's not to love about the Hero 100? (Other than the extra fine nib that gets on my nerves but that's just my bold nib habit)

The pen looks good and doesn't attract too much attention. Unlike other pens, people really would not notice your pen since it looks just like a biro.

The grip style is almost identical to the Parker 51 and the modern pen. No learning curve required.

The hooded nib attracts no attention at all. Or it should attract no attention.

Best of all, it's dead simple to refill. Press the bar a couple of times when the pen is in the ink, and you have a full pen again. No pistons to guess clockwise or counterclockwise, and no vacuum fillers to do guesswork on.

 

It's officially my goto F nib pen now since I don't want to use my Platinum Preppy too often anymore.

 

 

The modern Hero 100 is actually more styled like Parker 61. I do not see it as just a copy of the Parker 51, but as the only offspring of the Parker 51 family that is still kept alive today. The Hero pen factory used to be the Parker factory before the Communist take-over and nationalisation. The first Hero 100s sold in 50s were just rebranded Parker 51s. In the next 60 years the design evolved but still stuck true to the soul of its parent. It has more Parker 51 blood in its veins than the Parker 51 special edition (which is only similar to the original 51 in its looks...) released by Parker few years ago. It has I believe the only true aerometric filler still in production now, and it is one of the only three pen models in history that had a true aerometric filler (the others being Parker 51 Mk1 and Parker 51 Mk2). In my opinion the aerometric filler is one of the most robust design around, and is easy to operate too, just not as sexy as a piston perhaps. The Hero 100 actually has metal threads on the section, which I think is an improvement over Parker 51, and the Hero flighter version has its barrel lined with plastic, and is less likely to dent than that on the Parker 51 flighter and provides better insulation. Perhaps the overall build and finish can be improved slightly. these finer details hidden in the edges etc, but overall at this price-point I don't think you can find a better pen (not to mention that you also get a 14k nib), really.

Edited by wtlh
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I've ordered one of these (from a Chinese ebay shop that I've dealt with before and has been reliable, so I don't think will be sending me any counterfeits).

 

I'm interested in the "mid-range" pen category - most of the people who ask me for advice about pens don't want to spend more than £20-40 on a pen, and I like to be able to give them advice that would let them buy something they could use indefinitely. *I* may spend hundreds of pounds on the things but I don't expect other people to do that just so they can have something decent to write with.

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I do agree sometimes you just get a stud from Hero cause the quality check might not be the best for that brand (or for any Chinese brand... ) So in general Hero 100 is a great pen, but in a few cases you might just get unlucky.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've had several Heros 100 and only one of them (the latest addition) was a bit scratchy. Hero 100 is the pen I can always rely on. I'd love to have a Parker 51, but it is too expensive and Hero 100 is the basically identical pen.

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I got the Hero 100 that I mentioned above, eventually.

 

It's a well-constructed pen, feels properly durable, the filler is not cheap (bleep) like the 616s and the Jinhao 325 I have, and the nib is quite fine... but I found it a bit scratchy and very hard. I'm currently smoothing it, which helps.

 

I paid c. £33 for it including shipping, which is cheaper than a Parker 51 is likely to be, sure. I was getting frustrated at not being able to find a P51 with an F nib, and thought this might be a good alternative, but this is no 51. It hasn't got the subtle combination of width and balance and nib that really makes the 51.

 

I don't know, maybe it will grow on me.

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