Hero Fountain Pens

[MrClegg]

Hello Peeps,

I've generally been browsing at fountain pens (as you do) and I regularly see Hero pens turning up for sale. Other than they're made in China and they're not expensive I know nothing about them. Even basic things like do they accept Euro cartridges?

 

I've never really seen pens as works of art but some of the Dragon patterned pens are beautiful. I noticed a Hero 'Buddha' on Ebay that is very red with gold inserts, I like things to have function as well as form but regardless it's a very beautiful thing.

 

Are they viable writing tools or are not really up to the job and a waste of money if I want a pen? Should I just view them as art in pen form?

 

I appreciate that people have very different views on things so perhaps if anyone has experience of using them as writing tools they might care to chip in a few observations.

 

Thanks

Craig

Edited January 25, 2010 by MrClegg

[PenFisher]

I have a Hero 100 in stainless that was about $30 new. This is a Parker "51" cone that replicates the Flighter model and it is a very good one. The pen has a 14kt gold nib and an all metal body with metal barrel threads and a good aerometric filler system. I have been very happy with both the quality and the writing characteristics of the pen - especially given the low price. Other than this model and the 110 model which has a 12kt nib and is made of plastic instead of metal, I have no personal experience with the Hero brand.

[cuza]

Check out the Hero 616 P51 knock-off.

 

 

-- cuza

[jaqcp]

I have purchased and used a Hero 800 (a gift to someone else, but I did have to product test it first, of course) that did very well and some Heor 616s for my young boys (these were purchased as sacrificial lambs to train on). Most Heros are aerometric fill, though some are cartridge.

 

The 800 is a $20 Parker 45 clone and was pretty decent. I purchased it on this site from a fellow FPNr. It looked good and wrote fine (stiff like the Parker). My friend has been very happy so far.

 

The 616s are a clone of the Parker 21 (-ish) and really do write very well. Purchased in a ten-pack they can be very inexpensive (<$2 each). They are certainly cheap and they fill poorly and I don't expect them to last too long, but that was expected. They are certainly worth what I paid and I am satisfied from that point of view.

 

When considering these pens, remember that the Hero pen company has existed over 75 years. They produce some cheap (shoddy) stuff, but also serve thier own nation. They are Chinese, yes, but not necessarily a cheap company. They have some very high quality items. Quality control is somewhat inconsistent compared to other companies, however.

 

If you want to try a few (they are seductively affordable!), check out Todd at isellpens.com (no affilliation beyond being a very satisfied customer!). He has a whole raft of models to choose from and may be able to better counsel you on what models would best fit any specific needs.

 

Hero is certainly a respectable and reputable company and I fully expect to own more in the future, but I would have a hard time seeing these pens hold their value or appreciate over time like others. I see them more as affordable pens for beginners, everyday usage (usable but loseable), or gifts to young people, but not as collectable.

 

There are people with more knowledge and experience who will disagree strongly with a few of my points and I ask you to consider that as well. I am just relating my experience and opinion, nothing more.

 

My $.02.

[Joe in Seattle]

I bought a Hero P51 clone some years ago for around $8. It writes as well as my Parker P51 and I use it for iffy inks such as Bay STate Blue. No complaints here; my piece writes beautifully.

[cuza]

Take a look at this interesting link: http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Parker/Parker51ClonesPart1.htm

 

 

-- cuza

[smeden]

The Hero 616s and similar pens are great if you like their super fine nib. But they are awkward to fill and I never seem to be able to fill them completely.

 

If someone know how to fill them correctly I would be happy to learn.

[jar]

I've only tried a few dozen or so Hero pens and so far I would say they are overpriced even if free.

[Dan Carmell]

On the contrary, I think most Hero pens are a great bargain and great writers. I particularly like the 100, 700, and 800 series, which largely are modeled on the Parker 51 and 45. I don't think you can buy a cheaper 12K or 14K nib today and there aren't too many pens offered in this price range with squeeze fillers, either. I use the term squeeze filler purposely because while some of the these filler do include a breather tube that should make them aerometric fillers, they often are rather ineffective.

 

I have a small clutch of Heros that are as good writers as any of the pens they are modeled on.

 

Dan

[sph33r]

Just to butt in with a slightly off topic thought. I don't know if I'd pay $20 for a Hero 800 to have a Parker 45 clone when you can find NOS 45's on Ebay for $20. My experience with Hero is that I'd rather have the real thing unless the real thing cost a lot of money.

[Mike]

 

I've never really seen pens as works of art but some of the Dragon patterned pens are beautiful. I noticed a Hero 'Buddha' on Ebay that is very red with gold inserts, I like things to have function as well as form but regardless it's a very beautiful thing.

 

Are they viable writing tools or are not really up to the job and a waste of money if I want a pen? Should I just view them as art in pen form?

 

(Obligatory warning for the obtuse, feeble-minded, and humourless: the following post may contain one or more of the following: sarcasm, hyperbole, devil's advocacy, disagreement with the prevalent groupthink, personal opinions unpaid for by any third party, and/or outright mockery.)

 

I have several Hero pens (100/616/330/70/001), and they're generally quite good writing instruments, which I have found to be true of most Chinese pens that are actually meant to be written with. The Hero 616 and 330, for example, are quite excellent pens if you don't mind the relatively slim size and fine, hooded, nibs. They are not, however, especially beautiful things, unless you like the Bauhaus, form-follows-function aesthetic.

 

Mind you, they don't cost as much as a used car, and they don't provide the great and exclusive pride of ownership you get with pens lovingly mass-produced of injection-molded plastic by highly-skilled Ubermenschen in a modern ISO:9001 factory in a nearly-picturesque industrial city in central Europe, and the customer service and factory warranties are as nonexistant as the fidelity of Italian politicians, and spare parts are unobtanium, and you should consider yourself lucky if they come in a generic cardboard box rather than a plain plastic sleeve or piece of bubble-wrap... but that aside, if you aren't the sort of bourgeois hyper-nationalist who uses proletariat as a swear-word, and want a pen to actually write with, they're generally extremely serviceable.

 

I am, however, immensely cynical about the more ornate Chinese pens, regardless of manufacturer, because it's fairly apparent that many of them are made as "oooh, shiny!" trade goods for the Western market - i.e. they're designed to be purdy, rather than (necessarily) functional. (Would you buy a pen with Paul Revere, George Washington, Napoleon, or Oliver Cromwell on it? Pope Pius XII? How about a pen with your country's flag? Your country's name in ornate gold-plated script? How about a pen commemorating Josef Stalin, or Leonid Brezhnev? No? So why would you buy a pen with long-dead heroes/politicians/martyrs, flags, names, et cetera from another country on it? Because it's exotic and foreign, and because you're a bit of a gullible foreign doofus, that's why. Pens with "exotic" and ornate Chinese designs = souvenir trash to peddle to insufficiently cynical foreigners, IMO.) My cynicism might be somewhat unfounded - Duke makes a staggering array of highly(!) ornate pens, and I rarely if ever hear substantiative criticisms of them. ("Gee, an oversized pen made of metal over metal with metal accents on metal trim is rather heavier than I like" is not a substantiative criticism.) And I should mention my incredible surprise at the quality of the Cartelo 100, which seems to be a Jinhao by any other name; it writes extremely well, despite: A, being bright pink, B, being $0.99 with shipping, and C, being a cute novelty pen with rhinestones on it. Then again, it's almost certainly intended for domestic consumption, so maybe that just reinforces my point a bit.

 

I've never owned or used the Hero 'Buddha' model, and hopefully never will - it's several orders of magnitude too gaudy for my tastes. That said, I'd say there's about a 75-80% chance it's actually a viable writing instrument, rather than just a pen-shaped object...

[PhotoJim]

If someone know how to fill them correctly I would be happy to learn.

 

Remove the metal sleeve (which prevents you from seeing how you're doing). Dip the nib. Squeeze the tube about 1 cm from the top. Hold a second or two . Release. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. You can fill the ink basically up to the top of the thin little filler tube inside the sac, and I don't have too much problem filling to this point.

[cocojj]

Just a comment on Mike's comment--it can go both ways. Some of the ultra-cheap ones also have less quality control so you may have more chances of getting duds than if you get the "higher end" models intended for the Western market. It would probably help to check first for any comments/feedback on the particular model you are looking at (to see if there are inherent design problems or recurrent issues), then get the pen from a reliable seller to increase likelihood of getting a good one. But my impression of the very pretty ornate Chinese pens is that they are usually heavy, unfortunately.

Edited January 26, 2010 by cocojj

[richardandtracy]

Just to butt in with a slightly off topic thought. I don't know if I'd pay $20 for a Hero 800 to have a Parker 45 clone when you can find NOS 45's on Ebay for $20. My experience with Hero is that I'd rather have the real thing unless the real thing cost a lot of money.

Can't find it anymore, but there was a review I read that reckoned the Hero 800 was better than the P45. The P45 isn't exceptional, so something that's better could start to be called 'Good'

 

My biggest problem with the Hero pens is the fact that the nib is 'Fine' or 'Extra Fine'. I prefer Medium-Broad.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[smeden]

If someone know how to fill them correctly I would be happy to learn.

 

Remove the metal sleeve (which prevents you from seeing how you're doing). Dip the nib. Squeeze the tube about 1 cm from the top. Hold a second or two . Release. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. You can fill the ink basically up to the top of the thin little filler tube inside the sac, and I don't have too much problem filling to this point.

 

Thanks for sharing this trick. I was now able too fill a lot more ink in a 616.

[Flounder]

I've got 2 Heros, an 849 and an 850. The 849 had a leak, so the seller very generously sent a 850. At the time, I was drawn to their unusual integral nibs. They're both squeeze-the-ink-sac type fillers. Overall, they are very similar pens. Despite having identical medium nibs, and no obvious tipping differences on my cheapo 10x loupe, the 850 is much smoother to write with, and was pretty comfortable in a 3 hour long, all essays exam, so there is some variation in manufacturing (er, aside from the 849's leak).

 

Neither can be posted, and both have a bizarre habit of popping their caps off, inside a pen case inside a bag, so don't see much use.

 

Having said the above, I would buy these cheap, exotic far eastern pens again, and it's quite enjoyable scrolling through all the outlandish ones on eBay. Do your investigative work first though! I had my eye on this "Classic 626" thinking it had a screw cap and screw posting, but the seller informs me it's a push fit. And I'd love a 616, if I could find one in any nib size besides fine.