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Hero Fountain Pens With 10Kt And 12Kt Nibs?


Beginnersmind0

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Doing some random searching on the Bay and noticed some Hero pens have low karat gold nibs. (10 karat and 12 karat). I was wondering how these nibs hold up against corrosion, and if they might be workable candidates for modifying to add flex?

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Actually that's exactly the purpose of those - resisting corrosion - that is. 10 Karat and 12 Karat is enough and the home market do not see flex as needed property on a nib. Historically also 12K is a favorite. One have to recognize these are modern day alloy not iron based as in vintage nibs. In fact regarding todays metallurgy even steel could be made corrosion resistance enough for the job but gold is seen as high end and thus offered.

Not as common in fact Chinese mfr had provide 8k , 9.6k, and even 6.9k nib ( here's my 6.9K nib equipped Gold Star 288 )

The Karat count also had no direct correlation to flex either. These 12K and 10K are no better nor worse than a steel nib as far as hacking for flex goes. Actually some of Hero's steel nib would be better for that purpose

Edited by Mech-for-i
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You are right that karat has no influence on flex. Rather it is the metals that the gold is alloyed with. Gold can be soft or hard, as can steel. I once worked on a Chinese steel nib to add flexibility. I ground down the thickness of the nib (from the underside) and moved the shoulders back closer to the section. I have done this on many nibs. The particular nib simply wilted. It had no spring in it whatsoever. It was an experiment to see if I could turn a nail flexible. The metal was hard but had no spring, no memory.

 

So I guess my question is, do these low karat Hero nibs have any give that might imply that more flex could be coaxed out of them? The King is an interesting looking pen. If it had a potential for flex I might give it a try.

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well ; Hero had been producing 10K and 12K for so long I guess its impossible to say for sure, the only rational way to answer that is " depends, its a case by case Q " older 12k like those used on the old Hero 200 and the original 800 are actually OK for the purpose , where even older 12K used on the early batches of the Hero 200 is pretty hard ( but they are easily recognizable as Hero use white gold for them not the usual reddish color ). Most of the 12K one can find today are likely the one on their Type 26 aka no.5 nib as well as the ones on the 200A. They are OK for the hack but tend to be still on the hard side. 10K ones, I am not so sure, never though to try it but they generally fee softer to me than like steel one from the same Mfr and still only slight flex property. Just like I've mentioned numerous time on other thread flex is not a needed property on a nib when writing Chinese, and expressive writing as well as calligraphy with the language is better done with a dedicated calligraphy nib. If Hero ever made a nib flexy its likely just happy coincident other than intentional

.

If you got the tools though I would suggest not trying to thin down the nib, but instead work on the other mechanical aspect like the tines , specifically the tine / slit part, say take a look at Noodlers and Indian flex nib or Pilot FA, or better dip pen nib like the Zebra G or Bause Rose, the key to the flex is to actually allow the tine to flex and that require reducing mechanical strength and also an area where the metal can flex.

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The Hero 718 has a fantastic soft wet nib but unfortunately the body makes it almost unusable for me. I'd like to know if other Hero pens with 10k nibs feel the same.

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I believe most current Hero 10K nib of the same size share the same metallurgy and are of the same under batch production. AFAIK there is at least 3 different 10K nib Hero had, a small size one , when pulled off the pen it measure roughly 20.5mm length and use a slim feed. Then there's one which is pretty much no.5 ( aka size 26 ) and there is an older one that's also of the same size but thicker and dual tone finish used on older models but since plenty of those pens are still around on stock I shall mention that.

 

the old one is noticeably harder ore due to the thickness than the material, otherwise the current 10K in those 2 size feel and behave similar ; I like mine on the slim H703 just as it is, If I were to fashion a hack for a flex nib I would instead look for the older size 26 steel nib as used on the 395, very easily recognizable as its two tone finish and had tha signature copper hue ( and that's why its soft it's got fair amount of copper ) . its known for its soft and somewhat ability to flex a bit , so likel could benefit from hack

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  • 1 year later...

The Hero 718 has a fantastic soft wet nib but unfortunately the body makes it almost unusable for me. I'd like to know if other Hero pens with 10k nibs feel the same.

Hero 2065 it's has the same nib like Hero H718 .

I love Fountain Pens, with hooded nib in the classic style, Parker 51/61 type .



Ionut - Marius

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some of the 10k nibs are actually quite soft. They're a little easy to spring, so treat them more like titanium, but they can flex quite a bit.

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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  • 1 year later...

Does the nib of the 718 & 2065 conform to the #6 or #5 dimensions?

Putting that in a Jinhao X450 or 500. The Hero 2065 is just too gaudy to tolerate.

Edited by Dip n Scratch
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The nib on the 718 is indeed a relatively standard #5 size, 10k, western fine size.

 

That said, I personally strongly prefer the #5 14k nib you get with the wing sung 698 14k. That nib is a real treat. Bouncy and soft, about a japanese fine.

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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I bought one of the 2065's as well. I don't know what the hell it is supposed to be styled after, but I wouldn't want people to know I owned such a pen.

So kindly keep it between us... OK? Its for a Jinhao 500 then.

I already have one with a Oliver nib from India.

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I bought one of the 2065's as well. I don't know what the hell it is supposed to be styled after,

 

 

At least I don't hear anyone decrying Hero for 'counterfeiting' or 'cloning' some other (non-Chinese) brand's pen design with that. :)

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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Did they have a 'pimp my pen' contest................

Do you wonder why that is going to be dismantled immediately upon receipt?

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Do you wonder why that is going to be dismantled immediately upon receipt?

 

 

No, not exactly wonder; but personally as a fountain pen hobbyist and the new owner of the pen, I would probably take my time to test how the pen itself performs — functionally, qualitatively and ergonomically — if only to add to my private 'knowledge-base' about pens, before dismantling it for parts.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I bought one of the 2065's as well. I don't know what the hell it is supposed to be styled after, but I wouldn't want people to know I owned such a pen.

So kindly keep it between us... OK? Its for a Jinhao 500 then.

I already have one with a Oliver nib from India.

Could it be a loose copy of gvfc pen of the year?
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  • 3 years later...

Hi everyone, 
I'm actually looking at Hero 718, is it a piston filler? 
Wha makes it unusable for you? What are your complaints about it?

 

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