Hero Pens

[Kelly]

I inked up my Hero 100 Stainless Steel fountain pen with Noodlers Legal Lapis. It writes fantastic! The fine line is perfect. It was as smooth of a fine nib as I have. I inked the red 329 with Waterman red ink. Although the pen is not as attractive as the 100, it writes great. It is a bit scratchy, but it writes a finer line than the 100. I think that I will primarly use it for marking up documents with red ink (circling, adding comments, etc) so it will be perfect. Both of these pens were well worth the money. I will give them a better workout tomorrow as I plan on using them all day at work.

Cool! So far my 160 is the perfect purse pen and it starts without a problem every time.

[amh210]

I just got my 187, which is brown matte, looks like a cigar, and writes great.  However I don't think I know how to fill it with ink! No instructions come with it. It has a "pump" style filler (is that the same as aerometric?) but I don't think it is filling much. One place I read suggested you have to pump it 5 times or so while dipped in the ink. Another made me think I push the soft part down, then submerge, then let go.  SO, can anyone tell me how they fill these pens? (Most of my converters I fill via syringe, but I'm not sure how to do that on this pen, since this isn't really a converter.)

You dip the pen in th ink and then pump the squishy thing 4 or 5 times. You should see some bubbles emerge at first. Slowly draw the pen out of the ink. Let the excess run down and touch the nib bottom to the side of the ink bottle to let any large accumulations flow down.

 

Return it to the barrel, wipe of the surfaces and happy writing!

 

Andy

[Betty]

I inked up my Hero 100 Stainless Steel fountain pen with Noodlers Legal Lapis. It writes fantastic! The fine line is perfect. It was as smooth of a fine nib as I have. I inked the red 329 with Waterman red ink. Although the pen is not as attractive as the 100, it writes great. It is a bit scratchy, but it writes a finer line than the 100. I think that I will primarly use it for marking up documents with red ink (circling, adding comments, etc) so it will be perfect. Both of these pens were well worth the money. I will give them a better workout tomorrow as I plan on using them all day at work.

He he, I love these pens so much that I want to order a few more, but first, I have to try to see if I can get it at a cheaper price. They are not worth that much in China, so there has to be better prices out there somewhere Nevertheless, the $30 is one of the best $30 I've spent on a pen.

[Bill D]

I just got my 187, which is brown matte, looks like a cigar, and writes great.  However I don't think I know how to fill it with ink! No instructions come with it. It has a "pump" style filler (is that the same as aerometric?) but I don't think it is filling much. One place I read suggested you have to pump it 5 times or so while dipped in the ink. Another made me think I push the soft part down, then submerge, then let go.  SO, can anyone tell me how they fill these pens? (Most of my converters I fill via syringe, but I'm not sure how to do that on this pen, since this isn't really a converter.)

You dip the pen in th ink and then pump the squishy thing 4 or 5 times. You should see some bubbles emerge at first. Slowly draw the pen out of the ink. Let the excess run down and touch the nib bottom to the side of the ink bottle to let any large accumulations flow down.

 

Return it to the barrel, wipe of the surfaces and happy writing!

 

Andy

Let me also add to Andy's good advice that when you pump the filler, do it fast and hard! If you pump it gently, you aren't accomplishing anything. You also need to pause a few seconds with the nib in the ink after each squeeze & release. I found all this out the hard way... I was ready to send my Hero 100 back until I studied up on how to fill an aerometric Parker "51". Check out Richard Binder's website for more information.

 

Bill

[Macuser]

He he, I love these pens so much that I want to order a few more, but first, I have to try to see if I can get it at a cheaper price. They are not worth that much in China, so there has to be better prices out there somewhere Nevertheless, the $30 is one of the best $30 I've spent on a pen.

Betty - If you can hold off for a few weeks, I have a friend whose husband is going to China the first part of January. He is going to check to see if the prices are drastically different there. I will keep you updated.

[pvdiamon]

Thanks for the help on filling the pen! Do you clean it the same way, simply squeezing and releasing with water? Do you squeeze and release at the end of cleaning, with the nib out of water, to empty it? thanks again.

[Sidney]

The way I do it, and I hope it's right, is to squeeze as much of the ink out that I can and then continually fill it with water and squeeze it out into the sink until the water comes out clear. Then I wipe the end with a paper towel, holding the paper towel on the nib for an extra minute or two hoping to wick all the water out of the feed.

 

I eagerly await someone more knowledgeable to say whether I am doing it correctly or enlighten me on the proper, or easier, procedure.

[Bear]

I have a Hero 2016 purchased from isellpens.com. I tend to stay away from fine nibs, and we all know the Asian nibs run finer. (The medium on this hero is almost equivalent to an American or European fine.) Despite that, I love this pen. It writes beautifully and never stops.

 

Isellpens.com is easy to work with also. I haven't tried any of the other Hero dealers mentioned on these pages, but sounds like you have a choice of reputable folks to buy from.

 

Bear

[pvdiamon]

I'm still not sure I am filling my Hero correctly It's a 187, and the part where you press the tube is metal, with partially transparent plastic on the side. Is that a view for the ink? If so, I see no ink, even after I squeeze and release 5 times or so in the tube. I'm also not impressed seeing any air bubbles in the ink bottle, but I hear air for several squirts. Should I be able to see the ink in that tube, or do I go on faith that I've filled it after 5 squeezes or so? thanks.

 

John

[His Nibs]

Hi John,

 

As long as you wait 5 or 6 seconds after releasing the pressure bar -- between each of your 5 or 6 presses -- then you'll be getting a full 'charge' of ink. You *may* see a spot or two of ink in the sac, but it's perfectly normal for these type of fillers to show little or no ink in the visible part of the sac.

[pvdiamon]

Thank you. That's very helpful.

[Gerry]

You can often see the ink in the visible part of the sac if you upturn it - nib to the ceiling. You can even try expelling some of the air in the sac while holding the nib up (and keeping a tissue handy for the little bit of ink that is expelled initially). This is equivalent in theory to a nurse expelling air from a syringe before an injection. While holding the sac compressed, if you reinsert the nib into the ink and release the pressure on the sac, it will fill more completely.

 

While effective in getting more ink into the sac, the disadvantage is that the pen may be overfilled (some nib/feed combinations) don't behave well under this condition, but there's no harm in trying, and if it helps, use the technique as much as you like.

 

Gerry

[Goodwhiskers]

Thanks, folks, for the advice about waiting five seconds between squeezes.

 

About filling a hooded-nib pen with an aerometric reservoir, I would add the following advice for bringing the pen on any travel that makes one's ears pop, such as going up more than 1000 feet or 300 meters from the elevation where you fill the pen, or any air travel:

 

either

A. dump the pen's ink back into the ink's bottle and bring the bottle along, or

B. if you enjoy small risks, overfill the pen so that you can't notice any more air inside (as Gerry describes above), carry it nib-upward while traveling, open it next time nib-downward and slowly, and stuff a rolled-up bit of paper towel or equivalent into the cap to remove any ink deposited there.

 

Method "A" is simpler and easier, with less risk of wasting ink, paper and possibly clothing.

Method "B" would be worthwhile if you write during airline flights, because the risk of spilling the bottle due to turbulence while filling your pen during flights would be greater.

 

(edited to remove unintended smilies)

Edited January 3, 2006 by Goodwhiskers

[His Nibs]

Good advice Steve. Although that similarly applies to any filling system in flight, due to pressure changes. Empty -- or completely full -- is the ticket .

[emrecan]

I have a Wingsung(I heard they are same firm Is this true?) 220.I bought it around 1bucks and it has scratchy XF nib.

[philm]

329 / 100 one if each

[pvdiamon]

Today I filled my Hero 187, fine nib, as it ran out of ink quickly from the first time. This time, using the methods described above, I actually see some ink in the part of the sac that is visible.

 

The pen writes very nicely, but it seems to be writing much more wet than my other pens. I'm using Noodler's black, which is usually considered more dry I thought. Anyone else experience a more wet line with Hero pens?

[heidi]

*bump*

Does this pen really have a flexy nib? (as reported on isellnibs.com's by a customer)

 

I'm coveting (sp?) the Hero 2004, 100 Gold, 892, 187 black,& 153 black... Anyone have these? I read somewhere that the 100 Gold was bigger/heavier than the other 100's...

[pvdiamon]

I think the nib on my Hero 187 is more "wiggly" but I have yet to understand if that has anything to do with "flex." It seems like some nibs are really seated firmly, so when you write, you don't fell like the nib is moving, or flexing. Others seem to be seated less firm. I know flex has to do with how pressure effects the tines, but I didn't think flex had to do with how well the nib is glued or screwed into the barrel. Is it? Or maybe I feel flex and don't know it (probably likely!!)

[saintsimon]

Good advice Steve. Although that similarly applies to any filling system in flight, due to pressure changes. Empty -- or completely full -- is the ticket .

AFAIK, this should not apply to the Parker 61 Capillary filler, where 'open' ends on both sides of the ink reservoir (nib itself/filler side) should cope with any changes of pressure or temperature which affects the expansion of air (if there is any 'inside' the ink in that capillary system).

Edited January 8, 2006 by saintsimon