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Hero 68


bizmiard

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So.

 

My two new Hero 68 pens arrived in the mail, not 15 minutes ago (well they could have been sitting in my mailbox longer, but that's besides the point). Some background first, I suppose, since I've never actually done a pen review before.

By the way, technically called: New Hero 68 Fine Iridium Nib Fountain Pen Rotary Blot Black

 

I bought both of these off of ebay from a seller called millionshare. The initial price is 4.99, I got them for a bit less because I bought multiple. Free shipping too, so overall an excellent deal, I thought. On first impression from the ebay website itself, I thought both of the pens looked very sleek with the black and gold colouring. Not that it's actual gold, at that price, but it looks gold anyways.

 

Upon unboxing, the first thing I noticed was the weight of the pen. It is listed at 47 grams on ebay, I would estimate that to be about accurate. Perhaps a bit heavier than my Cross Bailey, but very similar.

 

Unposted length of the pen is an even 5.5 inches (14 centimeters). When posted it is *quite* a bit longer, sitting at 6 and 5/8ths inches (~16.5 cm). It does post very snugly, which I am happy about. The cap clicks on securely, I have no doubts about that remaining in place.

 

Inking- I am happy to say that the pen does come with a converter. I'm sure it takes some type of cartridge, but I don't bother with those. No reason to when I have bottles of ink at the ready and a converter.

 

There is feathering on a sheet of standard printing paper (I don't have anything fancy to write on, I'm sorry). I would definitely not be able to use this on a notebook for school or anything. Now the pen was advertised as a "Fine" nib. I can say for certain that this is not the case. It is slightly beyond what I would call a medium- a fat medium, or an extremely this broad.

 

The nib is made of iridium and some other gold-like material. I would not say gold plated, perhaps it is bronze. It is two tone.

 

I do however notice that my blue ink (tried blue with one pen and black with the other) is much thinner and lighter with this than the black. Now I do not know if this is due to nib variation, ink variation, or whatever else. I will say that the nib bends very easily. It is not however meant to be a flex nib- the quality of the pen makes it so that if pushed too hard the tines will stay apart. They did eventually come back together, but with some coaxing from my fingers.

 

Other features: non-essential

The clip- Gold or brass colored, with a nice look to it. Has a bulge around the top, for cosmetic purposes. Slides easily around my shirt pocket, does not easily fit in my jeans pocket. Still quite secure, but with the weight of the pen I would be wary of carrying it in a shirt pocket lest I bend over and it slip out.

 

The button and end caps- Plain shiny black, I actually like them.

 

Cap fit- not seamless, there is a ridge between the pen and the cap.

 

Grip- plastic grip, with small ridges around all the way for help securing. Feels very smooth up and down, very secure around the grip.

 

Now for some images...

Unfortunately my camera is pretty bad, so you will have to settle for some writing samples. My handwriting isn't all that great either, now that I think about it. Forgive me :P.

 

--

 

If I missed anything, let me know.

 

Edit: These are images from the ebay seller, but here ya go.

http://vvcap.net/db/hLZ4xptKLmZROmnTUmiX.htp

http://vvcap.net/db/zYaCpc6BAg2nvtQ8RlZD.htp

http://vvcap.net/db/Us-sJPaB_NY39hZapLvy.htp

Edited by bizmiard
http://i.imgur.com/2AE7S.jpg
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Looks like a nice pen. Is the finish simply lacquer/paint on brass though? Because it seems a lot of the cheaper Chinese fountain pens have this type of finish, and as a result, the finish wears off really quickly - as my Hero 7022 has demonstrated with its clip by scraping off some of the lacquer.

 

Good review though ;)

Calculating.

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I'll pass on scraping at it since I just got it ;)

I will however update this if I do find it to be easily scraping off.

Then again, at the price I paid for the two (8 for 2 pens + 2 converters + shipping) I don't think I'll be complaining ;)

http://i.imgur.com/2AE7S.jpg
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  • 11 months later...

I bought one from the same source ($4.99 including shipping in quantity of one) and think it is a real bargain. It looks and works much better than most of the cheaper Chinese pens. The nib is not scratchy but does have a pretty rough feel -- perfectly functional but not pleasurable. In answer to a question, the midsection has a design in brass (?) peeking through black paint. Many flecks of paint were already missing when this pen arrived.

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  • 2 months later...

I bought exactly the same pen from the same source.The pen writes better ,i.e. smoother than any of my$200 japanese pens .Including my Sailor 1911 large,My piot custom 74 or for that matter my Platinum .I cant believe it.Thats all.

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  • 1 year later...

I'm a bit wet behind the ears when it comes to fountain pens. I started about a year ago using a Manuscript Dodec (horrid even for a beginner) and it broke within the first 4 months. But I got used to using a fountain pen nib. I then moved on to the Manuscript Scribe and found out how much I should not be putting my trust into Manuscript for starter pens. The nib scratched so much I thought I was using sandpaper to write on the paper, and my pressure was not bad at all.

 

It's been a year. In comes the Hero 68. This pen I know is not the top of the industry, but for the first time I was able to use something which actually flowed properly. It was so smooth. Nice weight. The cap posts, unlike the Scribe, and the plastic is so cheap on the Dodec it cracked the first time I tried to post the cap. (maybe I'm just rough?) I am impressed with this pen quite a bit, but have a lot to learn. Looks like fun, and I'm a leftie at that!

 

Happy writing everyone!

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