Hero Pens

[WLSpec]

So, I have been interested in quality fountain pens for a while now, and recently came across the Chinese company Hero. As you probably know, they manufacture inexpensive fountain pens, many of which can be bought on ebay. I was thinking about purchasing a Hero 100 (with a 14k gold nib) or even a few, as this is one of the only gold nib pens you can purchase for about $15. Is it worth spending even $15 to try one of these just to have around, or not? Also, why do Chinese fountain pen companies seem to be so infamous? Thanks.

 

Will

[Ink Sandwich]

As a matter of fact, I recently bought 2 Hero 616 pens - two of them because in my experience, their QC is, let's say, a bit relaxed. One of them wrote really well (after some minor treatment), the other one still makes a strange clicking sound with its nib. Both of them feel very flimsy, to put it mildly. I bought them as knockaround pens I woulnd't mind losing. It wasn't the first 616 I bought. I dropped the one I had several years ago and the plastic cracked, and I liked it enough to buy it again (for ~$4 per pen there isn't a lot of hesitation).

The 100 is supposedly superior, but also much more expensive by comparison, and I'm not sure I'd risk the investment honestly. I've thought of getting a 100 myself for quite some time because I like the design, so I decided to buy a Wing Sung 601, about which I read a couple of favorable reviews. It's also cheaper than the Hero 100, so that might be a choice for you.

Edited September 23, 2018 by Ink Sandwich

[sciumbasci]

Hero 100 are for sale from trusted resellers at double the price.

Are you sure you will get the real pen, and not a fake?

[WLSpec]

Hero 100 are for sale from trusted resellers at double the price.

Are you sure you will get the real pen, and not a fake?

Do you have any vendor recommendations?

[Mech-for-i]

you would be well advised to seek further info at the - China, Korea and Others (Far East, Asia) - forum sub section .. $15.00 for a Hero 100 sounds a bit too cheap to be real ... typically they should be selling at at the very least twice that , usually more ... I believe many of the so call infamous info regarding Cinese fountain pen had to do with some entrenched prejudice but more due to mis-info, whether passed down , or being made up, or simply y word of mouth ( and usually more of gossip than actual info ). Actually Hero is not just about cheap fountain pen but I wager the market just is not friendly to a Chinese fountain pen that costs nd that manifest in retailers only supplying the bottom price bracket products mostly.

 

It is indeed the truth that many old and cheap Chinese fountain pen had questionable quality , first due to age, then due to aged design and sub par manufacturing in those days but this had not been the case since the mid 90's .... the current norm though is that many of the better quality Chinese fountain pen ( or even that of the cheap and current one ) simply are not marketed elsewhere ... the cost of doing so do not justify the Mfr doing so.

 

The Hero 100 though is a special exception , its well known, its been around since the very late 50's and there were might be only 2 real change to the model ( functional part ) since its debut. Its a well proven design and work pretty well , the question one usually encounter is two fold, namely quality control ( vintage and new production is very well done but for a period between the late 90's to early 2010's the QC seems a bit loose ), and usage ... by usage I mean the pen is clearly tuned to write a language which typically is not cursive Latin based in form of writing or calligraphy. And that typical as for almost all Chinese fountain pen; the Mfr expect user to runin the pen for a fill or two to get the nib into conditioned state ( due to the particular way one write in Chinese ). So most new comer to Chinese fountain pen usually complain about the nib not in a say polished and well smoothed out manner as for writing cursive , which of course is not how the pen designed for nor manufactured for. So a bit of that running in become a norm for most Chinese fountain pen users.

 

The funny ting is there were actually quite a number of gold nib equipped model from China that's new , current, cataloged, and priced pretty in the ball park ... you might want to goto the said sub forum when we Chinese fountain pen users / hobbyist discuss them in details.

[WLSpec]

you would be well advised to seek further info at the - China, Korea and Others (Far East, Asia) - forum sub section .. $15.00 for a Hero 100 sounds a bit too cheap to be real ... typically they should be selling at at the very least twice that , usually more ... I believe many of the so call infamous info regarding Cinese fountain pen had to do with some entrenched prejudice but more due to mis-info, whether passed down , or being made up, or simply y word of mouth ( and usually more of gossip than actual info ). Actually Hero is not just about cheap fountain pen but I wager the market just is not friendly to a Chinese fountain pen that costs nd that manifest in retailers only supplying the bottom price bracket products mostly.

 

It is indeed the truth that many old and cheap Chinese fountain pen had questionable quality , first due to age, then due to aged design and sub par manufacturing in those days but this had not been the case since the mid 90's .... the current norm though is that many of the better quality Chinese fountain pen ( or even that of the cheap and current one ) simply are not marketed elsewhere ... the cost of doing so do not justify the Mfr doing so.

 

The Hero 100 though is a special exception , its well known, its been around since the very late 50's and there were might be only 2 real change to the model ( functional part ) since its debut. Its a well proven design and work pretty well , the question one usually encounter is two fold, namely quality control ( vintage and new production is very well done but for a period between the late 90's to early 2010's the QC seems a bit loose ), and usage ... by usage I mean the pen is clearly tuned to write a language which typically is not cursive Latin based in form of writing or calligraphy. And that typical as for almost all Chinese fountain pen; the Mfr expect user to runin the pen for a fill or two to get the nib into conditioned state ( due to the particular way one write in Chinese ). So most new comer to Chinese fountain pen usually complain about the nib not in a say polished and well smoothed out manner as for writing cursive , which of course is not how the pen designed for nor manufactured for. So a bit of that running in become a norm for most Chinese fountain pen users.

 

The funny ting is there were actually quite a number of gold nib equipped model from China that's new , current, cataloged, and priced pretty in the ball park ... you might want to goto the said sub forum when we Chinese fountain pen users / hobbyist discuss them in details.

 

Thanks for this detailed explanation! I will look to see if I can find any for in the $30 range.

[sciumbasci]

I would suggest to check out these sellers on eBay, in the following order

 

office_supplies_pen (aka Bobby, he also posts here from time to time)

mentag

jewelrymathematics

 

All of them have been proven to be exceptional and legit sellers

[Brianm_14]

For various Chinese and other pens, I've had nothing but great results and personal service from His Nibs. Norman inspects each pen and makes any needed adjustments before they leave his shop.

 

I know when I was new to pen buying, I realized his Chinese pens all wrote well right out-of-the-box, instead of the hit-or-miss experience for the same pens priced more cheaply on Amazon or eBay. I also bought a few Pilot pens from him at his recommendation, and that started me on a new road to superior writing. (Those pens are now hard to find, and onlyvat much higher prices.).

 

He also gave me what proved to be great advice advice on what sort of pens might work best with the arthritis I was just beginning to suffer from. All-in-all, a great experience.

 

Google and contact him. I'd ask his advice. Also, this is another exampke of know your seller.

[bugsydog55]

you would be well advised to seek further info at the - China, Korea and Others (Far East, Asia) - forum sub section .. $15.00 for a Hero 100 sounds a bit too cheap to be real ... typically they should be selling at at the very least twice that , usually more ... I believe many of the so call infamous info regarding Cinese fountain pen had to do with some entrenched prejudice but more due to mis-info, whether passed down , or being made up, or simply y word of mouth ( and usually more of gossip than actual info ). Actually Hero is not just about cheap fountain pen but I wager the market just is not friendly to a Chinese fountain pen that costs nd that manifest in retailers only supplying the bottom price bracket products mostly.

 

It is indeed the truth that many old and cheap Chinese fountain pen had questionable quality , first due to age, then due to aged design and sub par manufacturing in those days but this had not been the case since the mid 90's .... the current norm though is that many of the better quality Chinese fountain pen ( or even that of the cheap and current one ) simply are not marketed elsewhere ... the cost of doing so do not justify the Mfr doing so.

 

The Hero 100 though is a special exception , its well known, its been around since the very late 50's and there were might be only 2 real change to the model ( functional part ) since its debut. Its a well proven design and work pretty well , the question one usually encounter is two fold, namely quality control ( vintage and new production is very well done but for a period between the late 90's to early 2010's the QC seems a bit loose ), and usage ... by usage I mean the pen is clearly tuned to write a language which typically is not cursive Latin based in form of writing or calligraphy. And that typical as for almost all Chinese fountain pen; the Mfr expect user to runin the pen for a fill or two to get the nib into conditioned state ( due to the particular way one write in Chinese ). So most new comer to Chinese fountain pen usually complain about the nib not in a say polished and well smoothed out manner as for writing cursive , which of course is not how the pen designed for nor manufactured for. So a bit of that running in become a norm for most Chinese fountain pen users.

 

The funny ting is there were actually quite a number of gold nib equipped model from China that's new , current, cataloged, and priced pretty in the ball park ... you might want to goto the said sub forum when we Chinese fountain pen users / hobbyist discuss them in details.

I totally second this opinion. I've not seen the 100 model for under 35.00 to 40.00 USD ever.

[Houston]

you would be well advised to seek further info at the - China, Korea and Others (Far East, Asia) - forum sub section .. $15.00 for a Hero 100 sounds a bit too cheap to be real ... typically they should be selling at at the very least twice that , usually more ... I believe many of the so call infamous info regarding Cinese fountain pen had to do with some entrenched prejudice but more due to mis-info, whether passed down , or being made up, or simply y word of mouth ( and usually more of gossip than actual info ). Actually Hero is not just about cheap fountain pen but I wager the market just is not friendly to a Chinese fountain pen that costs nd that manifest in retailers only supplying the bottom price bracket products mostly.

 

It is indeed the truth that many old and cheap Chinese fountain pen had questionable quality , first due to age, then due to aged design and sub par manufacturing in those days but this had not been the case since the mid 90's .... the current norm though is that many of the better quality Chinese fountain pen ( or even that of the cheap and current one ) simply are not marketed elsewhere ... the cost of doing so do not justify the Mfr doing so.

 

The Hero 100 though is a special exception , its well known, its been around since the very late 50's and there were might be only 2 real change to the model ( functional part ) since its debut. Its a well proven design and work pretty well , the question one usually encounter is two fold, namely quality control ( vintage and new production is very well done but for a period between the late 90's to early 2010's the QC seems a bit loose ), and usage ... by usage I mean the pen is clearly tuned to write a language which typically is not cursive Latin based in form of writing or calligraphy. And that typical as for almost all Chinese fountain pen; the Mfr expect user to runin the pen for a fill or two to get the nib into conditioned state ( due to the particular way one write in Chinese ). So most new comer to Chinese fountain pen usually complain about the nib not in a say polished and well smoothed out manner as for writing cursive , which of course is not how the pen designed for nor manufactured for. So a bit of that running in become a norm for most Chinese fountain pen users.

 

The funny ting is there were actually quite a number of gold nib equipped model from China that's new , current, cataloged, and priced pretty in the ball park ... you might want to goto the said sub forum when we Chinese fountain pen users / hobbyist discuss them in details.

 

While I agree with everything in this post, there is one point I would extend, and another I would add.

 

First, questionable QC from mainland manufacturers continued well past the mid-90s, in my view. Moreover, the QC is simply not consistent across Chinese manufacturers -- ie, some are better than others. This is not surprising, as it's the case for any size-able group of manufacturers: some have better QC than others. I wouldn't want to suggest that mainland China fountain pen QC got consistently great, across the board, after the mid-90s. That was not my experience, living in China during that period, nor has it been the whole of my experience since. It's gotten far, far better, but it's still not consistently solid.

 

I think it's fair to say that some nations' manufacturers have, as a group, well-earned reputations for more consistent QC than is coming out of China, even through today. Japanese manufacturers' reputation for solid, consistent quality is well deserved. Despite stereotypes, German QC isn't, in my view, as good. Whether or not one likes Japanese pens is another matter.

 

Second, the mainland China market is awash with counterfeits, fakes, etc, as is obvious to anyone who's been offered a Montblanc at a street market. The reputation of Chinese pens for poor QC may very well be caused, in large part, by folks getting pens that appear to be from a given brand, but may not, in fact, have been produced in the same factory. Not that all fakes are bad pens. It's just impossible to know what you're getting when you buy a fake, and it's sometimes impossible to know that you're getting a fake, unless one buys from a very reputable seller that has reliable relationships in their supply chain (ie, distributor and manufacturer).

 

I see blessedly little prejudice or irrational bias on FPN against Chinese pens. I'm sure there is some, but I don't see much. There may well be unconscious bias -- both against Chinese pens and also in favour of, say, German/Japanese/American pens. But what I see more of is straightforward reporting of actual experiences of inconsistent performance and reliability. The same is true, to a different degree, with Indian pens.

 

I have great Chinese pens (both pre-2000 and more recent). I also have some truly awful Chinese pens. For the time being, I still believe that caveat emptor applies at the bargain end of the Chinese pen market.

[Mech-for-i]

I humbly agree with it, I was referring to genuine Hero production only in this thread and might be I am not clear about this ...

[Mech-for-i]

And as for Hero 100 , I've seen some online retailer mixing up between the different variants of the Hero 100 but the model Hero 100 actually refer to the original version ( the typical one in black, burgundy or green; the flighter is actually termed ( in its home country ) the Hero 100 all steel and usually should be priced a bit higher. the othe variants are quite easy to spot as they are all different finished