The Best Among These Pens - Hero 616

[chasy_price]

This is truly amazing and surprising --- that the free complimentary gift Teri (no affiliation) threw in with my ordered Sheaffer Imperial Deluxe II, a Hero 616 --- is actually the most pleasing pen to write with among all those other pens!!!

 

The nib on Hero 616 is just absolutely butter smooth --- it glides rather than writes. I recently received a Pilot Prera - one of those new clear body ones - and the nib cannot even compare to the Hero 616. The nib on Prera is dry and scratches sometimes. I have to say I am somewhat disappointed at the Prera's performance cause I have heard so many nice things about this pen, plus it is not cheap cheap. I almost cannot stand writing with the Prera after I touched the Hero 616... It is simply too different!

 

Penmanship is pretty much a worse version of Prera. I used to like that pen as well - when there was no comparison! Now unless I need extra fine lines or super tiny words, I don't even touch that pen anymore... I guess maybe one day I will feel about the same with the Hero 616, however it is hard to imagine a pen much much smoother than that fantastic nib!

 

And the expensive Parker Sonnet - I have to say I cannot love it too much due to the huge "fine" nib (spring nib) but even if it has a thinner nib I would still write with my Hero 616...Just love the feel of that nib!

 

And although Sheaffer Imperial Deluxe II is smooth too and feels much better on hand (and post much better than the Hero 616) but if we are only doing the "bang for the buck" comparison the Hero 616 is still a winner... In China it is less than 10 bucks for 10 of them. I am seriously thinking about purchasing mass quantity of those awesome pens next time I go back.

 

All in all, I guess the essence of this post is --- if you just want a really smooth pen that cost almost nothing to be around as a daily workhorse, choose Hero 616!!!!! I just absolutely adores it right now.

Edited February 20, 2011 by chasy_price

[chasy_price]

Oh, I am using Parker Quink Permanent Blue-Black ink with it. Just a note.

[jaqcp]

I will certainly not try to argue your experiences, as I have been surprised by cheap pens and disappointed by more expensive ones. However, it should also be noted that almost any pen's nib can be "tuned" to be smoother. Also, I would suspect that in terms of longevity, a Prera, Sonnet or Sheaffer will be around and usable decades longer than the 616. Just a guess.

 

This is truly amazing and surprising --- that the free complimentary gift Teri (no affiliation) threw in with my ordered Sheaffer Imperial Deluxe II, a Hero 616 --- is actually the most pleasing pen to write with among all those other pens!!!

 

The nib on Hero 616 is just absolutely butter smooth --- it glides rather than writes. I recently received a Pilot Prera - one of those new clear body ones - and the nib cannot even compare to the Hero 616. The nib on Prera is dry and scratches sometimes. I have to say I am somewhat disappointed at the Prera's performance cause I have heard so many nice things about this pen, plus it is not cheap cheap. I almost cannot stand writing with the Prera after I touched the Hero 616... It is simply too different!

 

Penmanship is pretty much a worse version of Prera. I used to like that pen as well - when there was no comparison! Now unless I need extra fine lines or super tiny words, I don't even touch that pen anymore... I guess maybe one day I will feel about the same with the Hero 616, however it is hard to imagine a pen much much smoother than that fantastic nib!

 

And the expensive Parker Sonnet - I have to say I cannot love it too much due to the huge "fine" nib (spring nib) but even if it has a thinner nib I would still write with my Hero 616...Just love the feel of that nib!

 

And although Sheaffer Imperial Deluxe II is smooth too and feels much better on hand (and post much better than the Hero 616) but if we are only doing the "bang for the buck" comparison the Hero 616 is still a winner... In China it is less than 10 bucks for 10 of them. I am seriously thinking about purchasing mass quantity of those awesome pens next time I go back.

 

All in all, I guess the essence of this post is --- if you just want a really smooth pen that cost almost nothing to be around as a daily workhorse, choose Hero 616!!!!! I just absolutely adores it right now.

[chasy_price]

Yeah that is probably true. I was just simply amazed cause I did not expect that kind of performance for such a cheap pen right out of the wrapper.

 

Also, this pen seems to bring out a lighter color out of the ink, which is different from some of the other pens. I have never touched a Parker 51 so maybe that is just one of the characters of this type of nib.

[hobobaggins]

I am in agreement with you that the nib of the Hero 616 is completely surprising, but my Hero's have developed some issues. For example, the nib of one has misaligned and now sits in a slightly off-center direction (10-25 degrees from the normal). Hopefully you have better luck with yours.

[Ipno Tizer]

I bought one of these just before Christmas. The only issue I have had with it ia that if you don't push that cap on extreemly tightly, the nib dries out. But if ypou push it on that tightly it can be stiff to get off.

 

But in the other hand this pen has a metal cap and a plactic section but nonetheless I can see no sign of the scratching or chaffing that I've had with my Parker 45. It's solodly made as far as I can see and the Hero writes as well as some expensive pens.

 

There are many cut price pens that are good writers, but in most cases they leave me cold. But I feel no such indifference to the Hero 616. This is one of the few cut price modern pens that I actively like.

 

You have to hand to these people. They can seriously make pens!

 

Chris B.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yeah that is probably true. I was just simply amazed cause I did not expect that kind of performance for such a cheap pen right out of the wrapper.

 

Also, this pen seems to bring out a lighter color out of the ink, which is different from some of the other pens. I have never touched a Parker 51 so maybe that is just one of the characters of this type of nib.

 

 

I'm a big fan of the Hero 616; one of them is always inked for me. I might be lucky, but I haven't run into a bad one yet. Thanks for the review.

[WillSW]

The 616 is certainly a wrench that gets thrown into plenty of people's assumed hierarchy of pens. I have had 616s that were perfect, as you described, and they can be wonderful until the almost inevitable eventual leaking, or drying out, or whatever the problem will be. In fact I was so excited that I bought a pack of 10 from ebay. I advise you now: Do not buy a ten-pack of these from ebay, buy them individually. I have bought many of these for myself and for friends (from a shop in NY Chinatown, which was out of stock last time I checked), testing all of them myself. While the individuals have ranged from amazing to just ok, most the pens in the 10-pack were terrible. I don't use any of them. This probably doesn't make too much sense, since I know that I bought the individuals from a shop in Chinatown that had originally purchased the bulk boxes, but I've also read other people reporting negatively regarding the ebay 10-packs. But, you said you would be getting them in China. Just thought I'd let you know.

 

Try tugging the Prera's tines apart, just with your fingernails. I've done this to a few 78Gs and it gets rid of that dryness right away.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I bought (I THINK) a TWELVE-pack on ebay from SpeerBob. There wasn't a bad writer in the bunch.

 

You can get them individually from isellpens as well. I get a kick out of the fatter models.

 

I have wanted Hero 616s ever since I first joined FPN and saw pics of them.

[amyx231]

my grandma has them...in china - at least i think its them - similar, at least.

anyway, the reason they work well is because everyone uses them-mass sellers.

the reason packs dont work well is..repackaging. who do you think buys the defective ones? idiot american consummers looking for a deal! i mean, you cant actually go to the seller and be like, the pen doesnt work! no salesgirl to make cry.

[amyx231]

im looking for a good good pen to buy later, but im thinking a pack of heros might not be a bad way to go for ink testing - if you know how to take them apart, im sure the parts (ex, sac) can be plenty useful too.

[epic]

I bought a 10-pack of the so called Hero 616 "Jumbos" (also called Doctor's Pens, I think), and I've opened and inked six of them (three to use, three as gifts) and they all work flawlessly with Quink ink. The only major (relatively) fault I could find was that some of them had nibs that were misaligned with the hood tips. I couldn't twist the hoods to the proper alignment with just fingers and brute force. This causes alignment problems when writing, needing more attention to keep the nib aligned properly with the paper.

 

Also, some of the aerometric style fillers worked better than the others, but all worked. The bad ones just took more squeezes, or wouldn't fill more than 60% or so.

 

Other minor quibbles: the caps were inconsistent, with some roughness when slipping them on, and some attaching more positively than others. The cap lips were a bit rough feeling. Definitely cheaper looking and feeling when compared to, say, a Hero 100.

 

Positives: they're so cheap I bring at least one everywhere, and although I would hate to lose even one, it won't hurt as much. The three I use all write flawlessly, even after being left for 15 minutes uncapped (a test I usually do for my pens). They're all more or less smooth writers. The strip of ink window is definitely helpful. They're cheap enough to practice nib grinding on.

 

All in all I'm very happy with the purchase.

[J English Smith]

There is definitely inconsistency with the Heros available on eBay, but I have 2-3 that are wonderful. A shout out for Speerbob; my initial ones came from him and they are the real deal - better caps, shiny sac guard, etc. It is worth it to find a good one. Pleasant to write with and great to carry when I don't want to take a real 51 into harm's way.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have a Doctor pen. It's not a 616 but a slim, shiny, flat-top with an unmistakeable silver nib.

[epic]

I have a Doctor pen. It's not a 616 but a slim, shiny, flat-top with an unmistakeable silver nib.

 

 

Strange, the ones I have were sold on the 'bay as 616 Jumbos (also described as Doctor's Pens) and look almost exactly like Parker 51s. The labels on the blister packs also say Hero Doctor's Pen. Maybe there's more than one kind of Doctor's Pen?

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have a Doctor pen. It's not a 616 but a slim, shiny, flat-top with an unmistakeable silver nib.

 

 

Strange, the ones I have were sold on the 'bay as 616 Jumbos (also described as Doctor's Pens) and look almost exactly like Parker 51s. The labels on the blister packs also say Hero Doctor's Pen. Maybe there's more than one kind of Doctor's Pen?

 

 

Ahh! Not 'Doctor's' but 'Doctor.'

 

See my review?

 

Maybe the apostrophe makes all the difference.

[ubuntu]

Lately I acquired A Sheaffer 330 from Terim on ebay and he threw in for free a 616...actually I started to like the latest better than the Sheaffer I meant to buy :roflmho: :roflmho:

[amyx231]

does he sell 616s separately?

[J English Smith]

I recently purchased two Sheaffer 330s. The F nib is a joy. The EF was initially very good, now it is a bit cranky. Filled it with PR Tanzanite and it is behaving better today. The Hero nib is probably between these two widths. It's certainly a cheap solution to finding a good "eastern F" pen.

[mooshi]

Aww... I've been wanting to get the Doctor's pens for a while. But there weren't many reviews on them, so I wasn't sure of how they were vs the regular 616's. Now that I know they're jumbos, I'll probably get a few after I get some spending money.