Hero Blue Black

[mrloco]

In a PR thread https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=130653 member Possum Hill said he didn't expect to like gray ink but it became one of his favorites. Hero Blue Black is more gray than other blue-blacks I've used and like possum, I didn't think I'd like it but fine myself using it often. Here's a sample of this inexpensive ink.

 

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/609/heroblueblack.jpg

[mstone]

In a PR thread https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=130653 member Possum Hill said he didn't expect to like gray ink but it became one of his favorites. Hero Blue Black is more gray than other blue-blacks I've used and like possum, I didn't think I'd like it but fine myself using it often. Here's a sample of this inexpensive ink.

 

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/609/heroblueblack.jpg

Is that actually baystate blue, and not concord grape? If so, the color balance is way off (for me, at least). Is this an iron gall?

[mrloco]

Yes that's Baystate Blue and yes the color has a bit of red in it. Here's another post with a scan: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=86878

 

While the Noodler's blue is a bit off, the greyish blue of the Hero is pretty close to what I see on paper--I guess there's not much red in the scan to exaggerate.

 

Re Iron Gall: I've read on FPN "Yes" and "No." I don't know how to tell and the packaging does not indicate. It does however, have "Treated with anti-oxidant and corrosion inhibitor" stamped on the side. I would be glad to know definitively one way or the other and how to tell.

[mstone]

Re Iron Gall: I've read on FPN "Yes" and "No." I don't know how to tell and the packaging does not indicate. It does however, have "Treated with anti-oxidant and corrosion inhibitor" stamped on the side. I would be glad to know definitively one way or the other and how to tell.

Two easy tests: first, after soaking & drying a sample, touch it with bleach (iron gall will immediately vanish except for a faint brown stain); second, (if you're brave) see if it tastes rusty. :-)

[WillSW]

It's not iron gall. My enjoyment of this ink really depends on the pen, I like it a lot when its shading is on full display.

[mrloco]

WillSW - Glad to hear it's not iron gall. I don't have any iron gall inks and had started reading about how often one should flush if this type of ink is used. Not that I'm against flushing but I'm relieved I don't have to flush periodically just for the sake of flushing.

 

And yes it has extraordinary shading that comes through even with regular cursive on plain paper with a not-so-flexy nib.

 

As you say it depends on the pen. In my very inexpensive Camlin Trinity it performs well; however I flushed it from my Parker 51 demi after unspectacular results--not bad, mind you--just not great.

 

For $2.25 a 59ml bottle it's an easy ink to try out.

[ttakacs]

Where did you buy this ink?

[mrloco]

Pearl River in NYC. http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/index.html

 

I believe other folks have found it at the Oriental Culture Enterprises in NYC http://www.oceweb.com/en/index.htm

 

I believe fpn regular Speerbob carries Hero ink as well--check his ebay listings (linked-to from his own site). http://speerbob.com/

 

Finally, one can pick it up on ebay but the shipping cost would push the price up quite a bit.

[zhangvict]

I have a bottle as well. The ink has a nice vintage look to it.

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review, thanks.

[bluemagister]

I can only find this on eBay for $7.25 a bottle! Is there anywhere cheaper to get it? Even SpeerBob doesn't carry the blue-black ink!

[Dace]

The Baystate Blue looks really purple for me to.

[mrloco]

I believe the Oriental Culture Center in NYC will take mail-order-orders. Note there are two Hero Blue-Blacks I've found:

No. 62 Blue-Black is the ink reviewed in this article;

No. 232 Advanced Blue-Black I found at the Oriental Culture Center ($2.45 for a 60 ml bottle).

 

Both are very nice inks but the 232 is more blue/less gray than the 62 and has less shading. I've not tested the water resistance of the 232.

 

 

As for the BSB purpleness, agreed--the scan is much purpler than the real thing. 'Twas a scanned picture that I did not attempt to color-correct.

[bluemagister]

I believe the Oriental Culture Center in NYC will take mail-order-orders. Note there are two Hero Blue-Blacks I've found:

No. 62 Blue-Black is the ink reviewed in this article;

No. 232 Advanced Blue-Black I found at the Oriental Culture Center ($2.45 for a 60 ml bottle).

 

Both are very nice inks but the 232 is more blue/less gray than the 62 and has less shading. I've not tested the water resistance of the 232.

 

 

As for the BSB purpleness, agreed--the scan is much purpler than the real thing. 'Twas a scanned picture that I did not attempt to color-correct.

 

Thanks for the info! I sent an inquiry email!

[seanruss]

Last time I visited China I bought a couple of bottles of ink, one of them being Hero blue ink, they were only about $2.00 in Chinese money which seemed like a good deal (at about 6 chinese to 1 U.S. dollar). I like it, but not my favorite.

[bluemagister]

UPDATE:

 

I've sent several emails to retailers inquiring about this ink to NO avail. Unless Speerbob carries it in the future, I don't know how I can get this ink. I'd be willing to get 3 or 4 bottles of it, too.

[rockydoggy]

I just picked up a bottle of Hero blue-black #232 in Chinatown in NYC ($2.45 for a 60ml bottle at Oriental Culture Enterprises). As was pointed out, #232 is more toward the blue end of the bl/bl spectrum than toward the black--I like it. My question has to do with whether or not it's iron-gall. I soaked it overnight and while some of the ink lifted off, it's easily legible. (Unfortunately, I don't have any bleach handy to do that test.) If it's not iron-gall, it's pretty water-resistant.

[bluemagister]

I just picked up a bottle of Hero blue-black #232 in Chinatown in NYC ($2.45 for a 60ml bottle at Oriental Culture Enterprises). As was pointed out, #232 is more toward the blue end of the bl/bl spectrum than toward the black--I like it. My question has to do with whether or not it's iron-gall. I soaked it overnight and while some of the ink lifted off, it's easily legible. (Unfortunately, I don't have any bleach handy to do that test.) If it's not iron-gall, it's pretty water-resistant.

 

 

I am hoping the Chinese area in Atlanta (the closest major city near me) will have some Hero ink. I know I need 4 or 5 bottles of Hero Carbon from Speerbob, so I will ask him if he can get some #232 in stock.