Heroes And Ink Samplers

[Surnia]

Hello FPN!

 

I've been a lurker for the past month or so, and have already been sucked into purchasing things that I'll have to completely re-budget myself for (Looking at two TWSBIs after my Duke arrives, one piston and one Vac along with 3 sampler sets coming in. Two from Pear Tree and one from an InkDrop subscription). Going along with the theme of re-budgeting, I'm also already planning for Christmas gifts... and wanted a few opinions (I'm a University student, My overall budget is.. small xD ). Yes its a very early decision, but I have some other commitments that require... significant amounts of upfront cash to plan for (being an exec for a club committee's far more expensive than anticipated. I will be getting the money back though, I just need enough to pay ahead of time before I get it back).

 

I was planning on getting my friends some Pilot Petit1 pens for Christmas, along with their 3 cartridge refills and leave it at that. However, I realized that I can get a BUNCH of sampler inks (with far more colour variation), and combine them with the cheap (but decent quality) Hero pens. The advantage to that route is I'm saving about 1/3 the money I was originally intending to spend, plus I can get far more variety of colours with the inks.

 

I was wondering if anyone has recommendations amongst the cheaper Hero pens? I've looked at the 616, 329 and 266; and have heard mixed results and success with the 616 and 329 models (Leaning to the 329 if its between those two) in the 10 pack sets. I've only found one reference on FPN and with google that talks about the 266, and aside from the cheaper looking plastic would seem to be aesthetically better with the metal bodies. Some of my friends are your stereotypical semi-cutesy asian girls, so I'm not sure how well they'd take the colouring of the 329/616 bodies though. In any case I'll be picking up at least 2 packs, and I'll have spares to swap around with to make sure they work although I'd prefer if a majority of them were working well in the first place (plus I can distribute the green/burgundy ones to the guys)

 

In regards to the Ink Samplers, how long does 2cc of ink typically last? I know fountain pen ink doesn't "last" as long as ballpoint fills, but I'd rather them not run out of ink within a week (if they decide to continuously use them). Typically I think they write about 1-2 pages of notes per class (sciences), so about 4-8 pages a day. If the need arises I can move my budget back up to where it was with the petit1s and order more samplers per person for them.

 

Thanks for your help FPN!

 

 

 

...Wow I started each one of those with an I.

[Muncle]

Hello FPN!

 

 

 

In regards to the Ink Samplers, how long does 2cc of ink typically last? I know fountain pen ink doesn't "last" as long as ballpoint fills, but I'd rather them not run out of ink within a week (if they decide to continuously use them). Typically I think they write about 1-2 pages of notes per class (sciences), so about 4-8 pages a day. If the need arises I can move my budget back up to where it was with the petit1s and order more samplers per person for them.

 

Thanks for your help FPN!

 

 

 

...Wow I started each one of those with an I.

 

I just want to jump here. I don't know much about the Hero pens, but I've got plenty of samplers.

 

The samplers I have ideally hold one to two fills of a colour, depending on volume of your pen, nib structure, etc. The problem I find is that it's hard to fill many types of pens, since the level of ink is rather shallow. I often have to angle a pen in so I can get the feed and tip just right.

 

That being said, if you fill one of the samplers full, they make a great way to load up pens on the go, and will hold a few fills. If you got one sample pack of the same colour per person, that may be the way to go.

 

My two cents

[rwilsonedn]

If you are giving these to pen newbies, I'd lean toward the Petit-1s. They are lovely, bullet-proof pens that will start right up after sitting in a drawer for a month. Really smooth, consistent writers, too. They are the antithesis of everything bad people have heard about fountain pens, and perfect, imho, for an introduction. Any Chinese pen, including Hero, can be more of a problem if someone doesn't take the time to flush the pen thoroughly and check the nib before use. My two cents.

ron

[TWRDO]

I would say somewhere between 2-4 fills per 2cc sample, depending on the pen. Short international cartridges hold slightly more than .5cc, for example, and my TWSBI piston-filler will take over 1cc. I generally use my samples .5cc at a time so I can try them in 4 different pens.

[jomielll]

I also think the Petit1 pens are a better idea. I've been giving my coworkers Platinum Preppy pens and they enjoy using them, and if they want a different color ink I just take their pen home and refill the cartridge with different ink. I think a lot of people are turned off by how messy fountain pens could be if you are not careful, and nothing would turn off someone to fountain pens than refilling from a tiny sampler and having it spill!

[cocojj]

I agree the Petits are cuter and probably more attractive/easier to use for non-FP people. Is it possible to give them the Petit and repacked sampler inks (e.g. you can buy in bulk then syringe them into little containers to save money) instead of the Petit ready-made refills?

Edited September 9, 2010 by cocojj

[Surnia]

In terms of the Heroes, I planned on flushing, nib check, and a small write test before I filled them with ink and wrapped them up. If its possible to do a feed/write test with water, all the better! otherwise I'll have to leech off of my sister's purple to do testing on all of them.

 

Good points about the refilling issues, Maybe I can give them all the Petit1 and a sampler (with their preferred ink colours), and I'll just refill the cartridges for them? I"m not sure if any places offer empty petit1 cartridges... but it would offer a good compromise between the two options. Actually thinking about it... Most of us are Chemistry students so syringes/plastic bulb droppers are quite easy for us to acquire and use...

 

Muncle, I was actually contemplating taking a sampler vial and using it to hold some ink in case I run out while note taking during class!

Edited September 9, 2010 by Surnia

[AlanE]

Go with the pilots. I got a whole bunch of hero 616 p51 lookalikes for virtually nothing on E Bay and that is approximatley what they are worth. I dont think anyone would thank you for one of those. The hero 100's are pretty good but are much more expensive and have a 14ct nib.

 

Cheers

 

Alan

[Surnia]

Go with the pilots. I got a whole bunch of hero 616 p51 lookalikes for virtually nothing on E Bay and that is approximatley what they are worth. I dont think anyone would thank you for one of those. The hero 100's are pretty good but are much more expensive and have a 14ct nib.

 

Cheers

 

Alan

 

yes I've been trying to grab one on ebay for cheap, but the bids always shoot into the mid $20s by the time they end. Bit too much to gift away when you need to include ink, and its not to a special someone

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, I think I shall go with the pilot route, and a single sampler. If they enjoy the ink colour and the pens, I'll leave it to them to get sucked into buying their own inks and pens >=)