Hero: Blue Black

[Signum1]

Ann (Our Moderator),

 

There are three ink reviews uploaded tonight.

 

The Ink Review

 

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/609/heroblueblack.jpg

[WillSW]

I have used this ink a fair amount - it has nice shading and dries quickly, and is fairly water resistant. Plus, very cheap! A nice ink if one can appreciate it.

[Tweel]

Thanks for the review. Is this the #62, or #232, blue-black? I wish I could buy Hero ink locally, or knew of somewhere online (with reasonable shipping) that I could get it.

[Signum1]

Thanks for the review. Is this the #62, or #232, blue-black? I wish I could buy Hero ink locally, or knew of somewhere online (with reasonable shipping) that I could get it.

 

You are suggesting there are different batches of blue-black inks. On my box of the Hero's Blue-Black the only numeral I see is 202. On my box of Hero's Washable Blue I see numeral 203. These inks are cheaply priced. You can find these inks by visiting your local China town's book store.

[rockydoggy]

The blue-black Hero ink that I got in NY's Chinatown a year or two ago is #232.

[RookSeven]

Thanks for the review. Is this the #62, or #232, blue-black? I wish I could buy Hero ink locally, or knew of somewhere online (with reasonable shipping) that I could get it.

 

You are suggesting there are different batches of blue-black inks. On my box of the Hero's Blue-Black the only numeral I see is 202. On my box of Hero's Washable Blue I see numeral 203. These inks are cheaply priced. You can find these inks by visiting your local China town's book store.

 

Exactly where in Toronto did you buy this ink? I would love to get some next time I'm wandering close to Chinatown.

[Signum1]

1. Sun Wa Book Store at 280 Spadina (Spadina and Dundas).

 

2.Chan Sheung Kee Book Co. at 457 Dundas St. W. (Dundas and Huron).

 

The price is cheaper at the second book store, but visit both while you're in the area.

 

I purchased the Hero Blue-Black at the first location.

Edited September 16, 2011 by Signum1

[Tweel]

You are suggesting there are different batches of blue-black inks. On my box of the Hero's Blue-Black the only numeral I see is 202. On my box of Hero's Washable Blue I see numeral 203.

#62 (more grey, more shading than 232) and #232 (more blue, less shading than 62) have been reviewed here on FPN, as has #203 Washable Blue. Sounds like you have yet a third Hero blue-black!

 

These inks are cheaply priced. You can find these inks by visiting your local China town's book store.

If only my town had a Chinatown, or at least a Chinese bookstore...

 

I came across a full bottle of 234 "Advanced Carbonic" black at a local thrift store, and really like it.

[Kuhataparunks]

Thanks for the review. Is this the #62, or #232, blue-black? I wish I could buy Hero ink locally, or knew of somewhere online (with reasonable shipping) that I could get it.

I see an offer for $4.57 on eBay with free shipping.

That's why I came to reviews, to see If it's okay for being quite jokingly cheap, haha

[Oldane]

This Hero 232 ink is not easy to get hold of in Europe. After a couple of frustrane attempts of buying from China (one shipment was lost, another was cancelled because the seller said he couldn't find a way to ship it to me), I finally managed to have two bottles sent from US. It was so cheap that the cost stayed under the Customs/VAT threshold.

 

"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it likely is a duck". This certainly behaves like an iron-gall ink of the old scool (think the discontinued I-G Pelikan Blueblack or the also discontinued Montblanc Blueblack). I goes down blue on the paper but darkens to a dark blueblack or black depending on the wetness of the pen. It is very water resistant - the blue washes out but the grey/black stays. It is very feather and bleed resistant. Another forum member tried bleach on it, and it changes color to yellowish by that treatment - typical of I-G inks.

 

One thing that is not typical of iron-gall inks is the generous flow (I-G inks use to be somewhat dry). In fact it's too wet for my taste in my Pelikan M800 (which is a wet pen), but it has come in handy for use in those other pens which has so far been too dry for the I-G inks I have tried (Montblanc Blueblack, Salix, ESSRI, Diamine Registrars, Akkermann no. 10). I'd say the flow is on par with the Diamine inks. So it could well be worth a try for those people who use to find I-G inks too dry.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Oldane

[Oldtimer]

The blue-black Hero ink that I got in NY's Chinatown a year or two ago is #232.

 

This is from 201, but i would like to add that I am beginning to appreciate this ink. Mine, bought not many months aho, shows a 232 inside a red shaped diamond on the bottle. I really like that it shades and is a nice formal color that suits any type of writing. Great for italics, maybe not so much for EF nibs

[lapis]

I bought mine in May 2015 from ebay in the UK for £6 + £3 shipping to Germany. Not bad!

Apparently the same ink as yours -- at least as re the red diamond (which says 232 on it) on the label -- my bottle looks like this:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31%2BgcIL1q0L.jpg

 

Definitely an IG ink. And really nice shading as you say. Also, tending towards a deep dark blue and it's completely "waterproof" in the sense that after a bath in water and then a dry-out, it remains clearly legible. I think I like it even more than my old MB IG Midnight Blue (Ident.-Nr. 105194). A note to anbody else: get it if you can! I mean, for that dough! Often to be seen in ebay or Amazon, even if temporarily sold out or discontinued.....

 

Mike

Edited February 16, 2016 by lapis

[Lamyrada]

I bought mine in May 2015 from ebay in the UK for £6 + £3 shipping to Germany. Not bad!

Apparently the same ink as yours -- at least as re the red diamond (which says 232 on it) on the label -- my bottle looks like this:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31%2BgcIL1q0L.jpg

 

Definitely an IG ink. And really nice shading as you say. Also, tending towards a deep dark blue and it's completely "waterproof" in the sense that after a bath in water and then a dry-out, it remains clearly legible. I think I like it even more than my old MB IG Midnight Blue (Ident.-Nr. 105194). A note to anbody else: get it if you can! I mean, or that dough! Often to be seen in ebay or Amazon, even if temporarily sold out or discontinued.....

 

Mike

 

 

EXACTLY, that's the bottle. I also purchased a red but I did not like it since it looks like cheap ink. I use it on Parallel pens for calligraphy learning. The black stains cartridges and leaves a residue on nibs.

[BobR]

This Blue-Black has been my daily ink for my Moleskine planner (that of the awful paper). Naturally I use a Hero 100 or Hero 329 pen. One of the world's great dark blue inks.

[Lamyrada]

Wanted to buy 1-2 additional bottles and cannot find that exact one, guess next best would be Pilot Blue Black? My original bottle cost me $5 for 60ml--- I usually go for a balance between value and price. I have no money to waste .

Edited February 16, 2016 by Lamyrada

[Oldane]

I have turned to this Hero 232 Blue Black lately for my daily writing needs. It flows better than most IG inks (but then, it also bleeds through a little more, but flow and bleeding goes hand in hand). The color is great for formal use. I just bought 5 extra bottles for about $6 a bottle including shipping from a Hong Kong ebay dealer. It seems it's a little on and off whether it can be found on ebay.

[seanruss]

my Hero washable blue has the same funny odor. I bought 4 bottles on my last trip to China for about $1.30. Don't really use them much. They didn't have any blue-black or i would have gotten some of those also