Hero Pens - Why?

[gweimer1]

I like the two Hero 616s I used each day (red and blue inks), and will report here how the Hero 9296 extra fine point is when I get it. It cost me a mere $2.55 delivered.

 

It occurs to me that the fountain pen is an everyday item in several large countries across the globe. There is a need for writing instruments for the everyday person and students. Hero, and other manufacturers, seem to understand that, and have built a business that meets those needs. Writing may be approaching a lost art here in the USA, but I think it still fluorishes elsewhere.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Nonsense...

Indeed.

 

My 616s are obviously not up to Parker 17, 21 or 51 standards, but for a three-dollar pen, and ones I've used every day for about ten years, they are remarkable.

[TSherbs]

They are probably marketed more for toward amateurs, not necessarily the wannabes. But for the record, Hero pens are really terrible, worse than disposable pens, even, what a joke

Every one one of mine has been quite reliable. Sorry your experience has been different.

[erpe]

My 616s are obviously not up to Parker 17, 21 or 51 standards, but for a three-dollar pen, and ones I've used every day for about ten years, they are remarkable.

 

Not only the classic Parker designs are quite reliable, maybe a bit less so than the original but still, I also have no complaints about the modern (Duofold style) Hero's like the 7022 and the 7032.

[fpenluver]

Indeed.

 

My 616s are obviously not up to Parker 17, 21 or 51 standards, but for a three-dollar pen, and ones I've used every day for about ten years, they are remarkable.

mine was series 330 and lasted years as well (still writing today). For the price, it is definitely good value.

 

However, the finishing is not as good, the metal bar on the aerometric is thinner, and I feel the plastic is less dense. Still last long though, definitely the pen you want to use when you do not want to bring more valuable pens.

[Cryptos]

 

Blue_Moon, on 14 Jul 2014 - 06:25, said:

 

I don't understand why Hero pens exist. I confess that I don't know much about them, other than they copy legitimate companies' designs - Lamy, Parker, Mont Blanc, maybe others - I don't know. I guess because of international jurisdiction, they can't be sued - I don't really know, but I'm sure all the legitimate pen manufacturers would have sued them if they could. I don't see why people support them. It just seems to me that they are a company of knockoffs. Companies spend a lot of money in research to improve their pens, create new designs, and bring pens to market that are truly wonderful. From what I've read, Hero comes along and copies the design using inferior materials (in comparison). Now, I read that there are pens coming out that are copying the knockoffs. What is it about Hero pens? Is it just the overconsuming desire to save a buck that people buy them? Help me to understand.

 

Hero Pen Company IS a legitimate company AND a legitimate pen manufacturer. Hero has been around for quite a long time and has many designs of its own too. Suggesting, even in a backhanded way, that they are not legitimate is, well... I guess guilty until proven innocent must be okay in some people's minds then.

Edited July 25, 2014 by Cryptos

[Ted A]

What I find humorous is that there is another thread where someone wants a Duofold "look-alike" and there are lots of suggestions with nary a comment about theft of Parker's rights. And even the comment: "...the point is that almost every maker at the time made pens like the early Dufold; it was the norm..."

 

It seems that if many manufacturers were to make P51 look-alikes all would be well, but since it's just Hero, something bad must be happening.

[Sasha Royale]

Patents have a limited life. Copyrights are not universally binding. Not all countries are part of the agreement. No all governments

enforce with diligence. The Hero pen company is one of the oldest in China. We all know what they, and other China-based companies

do. I have not experienced "counterfeits". I have seen copies and imitations. Mostly it is legal.

 

So, why do they exist ? They produce a product. Enough people pay them enough money to continue. Why can't they be good Americans

and do the right thing ? Yes, there are a billion Chinese who will never pay $40 for a LAMY Safari.

 

Now, to more important issues. I don't like yogurt ! I don't like soccer ! What's the big deal with spoiled milk and guys who can't throw ?

[Ted A]

They are acting exactly like good American businesses. The day after the patent on Lipitor expired the market was full of generics and the price fell through the floor.

[TSherbs]

They are acting exactly like good American businesses. The day after the patent on Lipitor expired the market was full of generics and the price fell through the floor.

 

What I find humorous is that there is another thread where someone wants a Duofold "look-alike" and there are lots of suggestions with nary a comment about theft of Parker's rights. And even the comment: "...the point is that almost every maker at the time made pens like the early Dufold; it was the norm..."

 

It seems that if many manufacturers were to make P51 look-alikes all would be well, but since it's just Hero, something bad must be happening.

yeah, makes me wonder about prejudice

[FarmBoy]

According to some accounts here, Hero was once a Parker owned factory AND the 51 was developed and test marketed there. Not to mention the ongoing discussion of the early Hero pens being made on old Parker tooling.

This isn't true of course but I doubt I'll convince anyone .

 

Also note that none of the Hero pens are really copies of the Parker Aerometric "51". They look similar to "51"s but they do not have the same filling mechanism, they are at least one hole off. They also are not trying to be a Parker "51", they are properly marked as something else. I do have copies of "51" that truly trying to be "51"s, some even have the exact Parker wording on them.

 

I have no issues with Hero selling what ever it is they sell. I have issues when people sell the Hero pens in a manner that implies they are a Parker product. Same goes for Homage pens my any maker. Want to make a "51" great, make one. Put your name on it and if you do it right, your product will sell for more than the real thing.

 

Off to ingest more food. Balsamic vinegar is involved and this is important.

[Florida Blue]

According to some accounts here, Hero was once a Parker owned factory AND the 51 was developed and test marketed there. Not to mention the ongoing discussion of the early Hero pens being made on old Parker tooling.

This isn't true of course but I doubt I'll convince anyone .

 

Thank you FarmBoy.

 

I've read this rumor in several (some reputable) sources, but of course without any evidence to support it and it keeps getting repeated. However, there is no mention of the Chinese Parker factory in the 51 Book or on Ernesto and Tony Fischier's site.

[paultyler_82]

I've seen some Hero P51 lookalikes from the "early days" of Hero's Nationalization and production. I would have to call complete and utter BS on the Parker Tooling Myth. The barrel inner diameter was as out of round then as it is in many 616s now. The clips were stamped in a similar fashion as current ones and don't really show more than basic aesthetic similarity to Parker clips, they definately aren't similar enough to have been produced by Parker-made stamps. There is no way those parts were produced on parker tooling and there has not been any proof produced nor written record of any formal connection between Hero and Parker. That myth is yet another attempt by certain people, set on bashing Hero, to make the company seem shady or unethical.

[FarmBoy]

By the standards set here, everyone INCLUDING Mac users is an offender. I seriously doubt anyone is accessing this forum via a Xerox Alto.

Someone here that knows something about computer history.

 

I was at PARC for the anniversary celebration in 1998 or 1999. I forget which.

[FarmBoy]

 

Apple paid Xerox for the rights.

How sure are you about this?

EDIT: Reading further I see this concept was elaborated upon.

Edited July 26, 2014 by FarmBoy

[Sailor Kenshin]

Knee-jerk anti-Heroism is as tedious as knee-jerk anti-Montblancism.

 

I own pens of both brands. Right now among my (waaay too manyyy) inked pens are three Heroes and a MB Generation. For me, a pen has to fit my personal quirks and price tags and that's it.

[aawhite]

Knee-jerk anti-Heroism is as tedious as knee-jerk anti-Montblancism.

 

I own pens of both brands. Right now among my (waaay too manyyy) inked pens are three Heroes and a MB Generation. For me, a pen has to fit my personal quirks and price tags and that's it.

 

What "Knee-jerk anti-Heroism" are you talking about ?

 

So far the information about the Hero factory was presented as a historical subject. If you do not believe it, then say so but do not label it as a "Knee-jerk anti-Heroism".

[Sailor Kenshin]

What "Knee-jerk anti-Heroism" are you talking about ?

 

So far the information about the Hero factory was presented as a historical subject. If you do not believe it, then say so but do not label it as a "Knee-jerk anti-Heroism".

Why not read some of the previous posts instead?

[aawhite]

Why not read some of the previous posts instead?

 

I did, but I still see no reason to label them as "Knee-jerk anti-Heroism".

 

I hardly consider these "recycled" topics of Chinese pens as "knee-jerk". The comments made here are as old as this forum.

 

The people making these comments know what they want to say and have been doing so for a long time. There is nothing "knee-jerk" about these comments.

 

On a side note: Why do I continue reading these topics? Well . . . I just find them entertaining.

[FarmBoy]

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