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Hero H718


alfredop

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I've had mine for a month or so - I think it's a nice little pen and a pretty good value at the $90 I paid. Mine was tuned well right out of the box - smooth with medium ink flow - more of a Japanese fine than a Western fine. It does have a little weight to it - so keep that in mind if you typically enjoy resin pens. The QC is very good - it looks like a more expensive pen in my opinion.

 

It's not for everybody but I've really enjoyed using it and plan to keep it.

 

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Edited by TheRealMikeDr
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A really nice (not so little pen). Very good quality. The nib was well tuned but only available in EF. I changed it to a medium Jinhao nib which much better fits me. Probably will try a No 5 Jowo stub from Fpnibs.com next. Tried also a 10K gold Duke nib but it did not fit well.

Gistar

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Hello,

 

a video review of this pen here:

 

 

Uncapped is 47g - that's more than twice the weight of the Jinhao X750, and it's 50% heavier than the uncapped Jinhao 159, which is already pretty dense. Wow.

“We could be heroes/Just for one day” ― David Bowie

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My only regret is that I like more the black model, whereas the physical store where I bought it only had the steel model (and I was not aware of the existence of other models).

 

Alfredo

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GISTAR: Is the nib friction fit or screw out? Can the ink tube and piston be seen for greasing/lubrication? If no need for complete disassembly, would like to be able to smooth the piston in the future

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The nib is friction fit. I did not try to disassemble it and the piston (captive converter???) is not immediately accessible. Thinking of buying a raw steel one also to experiment on.

Gistar

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  • 3 weeks later...

@j.a.j.

The Hero H718 uses a built-in converter. I tried to measure the ink capacity in comparison to a Montblanc Heritage 1912. My results are that the Montblanc holds a little more ink than the Hero. But nevertheless the Hero is a pretty nice pen and a pen you can effort.

Regards, Ingolf.

https://schreibkultur.requirements.de ... my blog - currently in German only

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I've received this pen as a gift from my family. I can honestly say that it is a great EDC with a surprisingly great nib. The 10k nib is very good, writes a wet line but is not a gusher, and has a great amount of spring to it. It provides a decent amount of line variation too (dare I call it a soft nib?). The nib comes in what I believe is designated as a fine (if I want to be critical, it seems to be between a Japanese fine and a German fine, so not as fine as a pilot metropolitan, but not as wide as a faber castell fine). The barrel is metal and the cap seems to be of some sort of resin. My only complaint is that capping and uncapping with the twist cap causes some microscratches in the barrel. However, this is also seen on the Montblanc Heritage 1912.

 

Overall, I love the pen and would highly recommend it :)

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@ingolf Sorry, should have been more specific.

 

I'm mostly concerned that is the pen too narrow to my hand. Only measurements I have seen have been about the pen's length.

Non notisi signi.

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@j.a.j.

Now I can give you more exact values. I filled the pen completely with water. Then I pulled the water into a small glass and then used a syringe to extract the water. The syringe has little measure marks. Depending on those marks I get a capacity of 0.6-0.7ml of water (or ink).

I hope this information is useful for you.

Regards, Ingolf.

https://schreibkultur.requirements.de ... my blog - currently in German only

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  • 10 months later...

Sorry for adding to this thread almost a year after the previous post, but I just wanted to thank Alfredo for telling us about where on the Bund to buy it. I bought it from probably the same place he did, the 7-storey bookstore at 465 Fuzhou Road that looks like a department store from the outside. Unlike his experience, the sample was a steel one but the only ones they had for sale were the polished black ones, which I preferred anyway, so I bought one. However, the price is 788 RMB, about $116 at todays rates. The sales tax rate here is 16%, which makes the price before tax just about $100.

 

The pen is very well made and luxuriously packaged with a white leather pouch included, and it is clearly intended for the China market only because the instructions are in Chinese and only in Chinese.

 

It is by no means the most expensive pen in that store either. They also have a very big pen that commemorates international cooperation as part of the Belt and Road initiative and goes for 1200RMB or so. Looks a little like an Aurora Talentum on steroids.

 

My only regret is that I like more the black model, whereas the physical store where I bought it only had the steel model (and I was not aware of the existence of other models).

 

Alfredo

S.T. Dupont Ellipsis 18kt M nib

Opus 88 Flow steel M nib

Waterman Man 100 Patrician Coral Red 18kt factory stub nib

Franklin-Christoph Model 19 with Masuyama 0.7mm steel cursive italic nib

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Hi!

 

I have the model in black, I couldn't be happier.

 

The weight I must admit is excessive, but its performance in moderate days of writing, is spectacular, in slightly longer days in time tends to tire the hand.
Best
Miquel
Edited by Burtelon
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  • 1 month later...

I think it's too expensive for what it offers in my opinion. I regret my purchase. The pen writes excellently and the nib has a decent flex but I'm awfully let down by it's ink capacity. If I would've known at the time of my purchase that it just has a converter inside the barrel I wouldn't have bought it.

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I think it's too expensive for what it offers in my opinion. I regret my purchase. The pen writes excellently and the nib has a decent flex but I'm awfully let down by it's ink capacity. If I would've known at the time of my purchase that it just has a converter inside the barrel I wouldn't have bought it.

 

A retracting nib, good QC, a 10k gold nib, and piston filler isn't worth $70? A captive converter is just a piston as long as you aren't removing the barrel or turning a cheap knob slipped over the end of a garbage blind cap (a-la the italix chaplain's tankard. I hate how that thing feels to fill) The knob feels every bit as good as piston, has a positive retraction mechanism similar to the $1000 visconti divina metro. It's a piston filler, the piston mechanism is just built into the body. "captive converter" is really only a cheap term in my mind used for pens that just have a converter that can be accessed by removing the barrel or unscrewing a blind cap.

 

I'm not sure what you consider a good value when this thing costs in the neighborhood of a TWSBI but has its own unique style, appearance, great fit and finish, a gold nib and a nice, satisfying filling system to use.

 

My only gripe is that while the nib is soft, it's got a low enough gold content that it can be prone to springing if pushed, and it doesn't talk to you like a 14k soft nib does. Treat it more like a visconti dreamtouch or bock titanium than a 14k soft nib.

 

But that gripe aside, the nib itself is un-f**king-believably perfectly tuned. Mine is nice and medium-wet with a japanese FM line, almost glassy smooth with ZERO skips or hard starts, and a similarly wet, glassy smooth japanese EF reverse. It's also shown no proclivity towards drying out.

 

I've heard that the cap threads can strip inside the cap so I'm just gentle with capping it, but the fit and finish, balance (despite being heavy it is very well balanced and not nose or tail heavy) and the writing experience are all what I'd expect from a $300 pen. I have been using mine for about 2 months off and on, but I'm going to put it into primary rotation in this coming quarter.

 

I also love the aesthetics. The Hero lotus flower is distinct enough that it doesn't harp on MB, but it looks ridiculously classy. The polishing and lacquer on the body are both stellar too. I'd call it a premium pen and I wouldn't bat an eye at buying it again for $100.

Edited by Honeybadgers

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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  • 10 months later...

What are your updated opinions of this pen? I'm tempted because of metal body, nice design and what looks like a good size in hand. Not sure the nib is interesting enough to warrant the price though compared to pens slightly more expensive.

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