Mech-for-i Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 (edited) Almost certainly a fake involved here ; not necessary the pen but ill willed seller might and had known to pirate those gold nib off the real genuine product and then sell them as genuine one with fake gold nibHero's gold nib of all grade are easy to spot as they all had a reddish hue due to their high copper content but as almost all Chinese gold mibs do. They use gold not for softness but for their very property as they had been since day 1; namely resistance to corrosion. I had plenty of Chinese gold nib pen that are just as firm as steel or might be even firmer in some cases.I have two Hero 200A and their 14k gold nib are both quite firm with that distent reddish gold color. Edited October 8, 2017 by Mech-for-i Link to post Share on other sites
frankb3 Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Aluminium is very difficult to be welded.I ask myself how an aluminium nib can be tipped.It probably wasn't welded, just a blob of aluminum mashed up at the end. I've heard some cheap Indian SS nibs are made like that. An aluminum tip wouldn't last long. What I don't get is why make an aluminum nib, when there is a ready source of cheap steel nibs and they won't bend up so easily either? They made brass nibs in pre-stainless steel era, brass or better yet bronze would be better than aluminum, and the weight wouldn't be so obviously wrong. Link to post Share on other sites
Honeybadgers Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 I am interested in the Platinum pen. Where can I get one for $35.00 ? Amazon. I think the Seremo is a little better, but they're basically sisters. Good pen, but if you can afford the price bump to a $65 Platinum 3776, it's a worthwhile jump. Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them) Link to post Share on other sites
Honeybadgers Posted October 9, 2017 Author Share Posted October 9, 2017 (edited) As fountain pens require no pressure to write, the above suggested to me you were trying to flex the nib. It's a pretty wide spread assumption that gold nibs ''flex better'', hence my comment. You've clearly never used a fountain pen in the real world. There's these things. Called checkbooks. With special paper behind them. Nibs are either nails or not. A nail will not flex, a non-nail will open the tines however much it was designed to do. Press down firmly on a platinum 3776 fine and it will not spring, it will not bend. You have to do this when you're writing on a check, or a patient chart, or anything with a layer of carbon paper behind it. Also, very few people write with the "feather touch." A fountain pen is designed to be used by normal human beings, not masters of spencerian script. I hate this high-horse argument. I've never sprung a nib other than this one in my 50 pen, 100+ ink collection. You can stop trying to make up pseudo-intellectual justifications as to how you might be right. If someone is on this forum it's a fair assessment that they understand the most basic facts about fountain pens. Talking down to someone based on an assumption is supremely rude, and not something you'd do in person. So don't do it now. End of story. Edited October 9, 2017 by Honeybadgers Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them) Link to post Share on other sites
Honeybadgers Posted October 9, 2017 Author Share Posted October 9, 2017 (edited) Almost certainly a fake involved here ; not necessary the pen but ill willed seller might and had known to pirate those gold nib off the real genuine product and then sell them as genuine one with fake gold nib Hero's gold nib of all grade are easy to spot as they all had a reddish hue due to their high copper content but as almost all Chinese gold mibs do. They use gold not for softness but for their very property as they had been since day 1; namely resistance to corrosion. I had plenty of Chinese gold nib pen that are just as firm as steel or might be even firmer in some cases. I have two Hero 200A and their 14k gold nib are both quite firm with that distent reddish gold color. Mine has that color too. It is conceivable that china's less scrupulous dealers ran out of gold sheet stock one day and simply had a sheet of aluminum laying around in the massive factory that also has access to anodization or paint. Or the vendor of the gold sheet they purchased was cutting corners, which China is known to do (recall that horrifying baby formula debacle that killed, injured or crippled hundreds of thousands of babies because they were cutting the formula's milk powder with a synthetic compound that imitated milkfat but was basically poison) Or like frankb3 said, someone took real 200a's, swiped the gold nib and replaced it with their own junk nib. I don't want to disparage hero's modern offerings. These days they are making some competitive, interesting designs. Though in the bargian sector, wing sung seems to be absolutely dominant. And hey, if you want your nibs checked, just mail it over and I'll measure their density for ya I find it eminently hilarious that china is knocking off their own products. Edited October 9, 2017 by Honeybadgers Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them) Link to post Share on other sites
Mech-for-i Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 I think frankb3 is likely right on the point Link to post Share on other sites
Mech-for-i Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 I think Hero's business model had been for some years not doing bargain sectoer as regard to export market. I have in my collection plenty of post 2010 Hero(s) that are just doenright beau and very good pen but are priced in the affordable bracket. Most never ever get distributed other than their home market and their specific channel Link to post Share on other sites
MercianScribe Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 ... Press down firmly on a platinum 3776 fine and it will not spring, it will not bend. You have to do this when you're writing on a check, or a patient chart, or anything with a layer of carbon paper behind it. Also, very few people write with the "feather touch." A fountain pen is designed to be used by normal human beings, not masters of spencerian script. I hate this high-horse argument. I've never sprung a nib other than this one in my 50 pen, 100+ ink collection. You can stop trying to make up pseudo-intellectual justifications as to how you might be right... Talking down to someone based on an assumption is supremely rude, and not something you'd do in person. So don't do it now. End of story. Er, not quite end of story: please just allow me to say... This! (Couldn't quite believe that attitude from Highbinder... well said!) Hi, I'm Mat Link to post Share on other sites
ParkerDuofold Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Hi all, Those of you who do not have access to a density lab can also use a simple jeweler's test kit to see if your nib is real gold... and what grade it is: https://m.ebay.com/itm/6-GOLD-TESTING-KIT-Acid-Jewelry-Tester-Scratch-Test-Stone-10k14k18k22k-Silver-/310825248614?hash=item485ea0e766%3Am%3AmdFbj0m_G62XgOKgR-s2w3w&_trkparms=pageci%253A33dc1fda-ad12-11e7-831c-74dbd180421d%257Cparentrq%253A020d1da315f0abc5792a016afffd6fab%257Ciid%253A1 We're always talking about grinding our nibs... a few speckles off the shoulder won't hurt anything. Be well and enjoy life. - Anthony Link to post Share on other sites
Bluey Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 (edited) What many people don't seem to realise is that Hero's are routinely faked. Respectfully, if you paid 40$ then you did not pay for pen with a 14k nib.If you melted down the gold in your average gold nib, it wouldn't make enough money to buy yourself a lollipop. Edited October 9, 2017 by Bluey Link to post Share on other sites
Intensity Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) What many people don't seem to realise is that Hero's are routinely faked. If you melted down the gold in your average gold nib, it wouldn't make enough money to buy yourself a lollipop. I did suggest that, but the OP never properly addressed that possibility, and the thread title definitively states that the genuine Hero model uses a "fake" nib. In the interest of not spreading misinformation, it'd be great to confirm the OP's findings by hopefully finding a definite "genuine" Hero pen of this model and checking out the nib. This post doesn't really count as addressing the possibility properly and requesting thread title change to something more like "Beware of some Hero 200a models sold via eBay having fake gold nibs": "Or like frankb3 said, someone took real 200a's, swiped the gold nib and replaced it with their own junk nib. I don't want to disparage hero's modern offerings. These days they are making some competitive, interesting designs. Though in the bargian sector, wing sung seems to be absolutely dominant. And hey, if you want your nibs checked, just mail it over and I'll measure their density for ya I find it eminently hilarious that china is knocking off their own products." Edited October 10, 2017 by Intensity “I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” Link to post Share on other sites
tubuliferous Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Fascinating! I'd love to have an update on this topic. Has anyone tested other "solid gold" nibs from Hero or other Chinese copycat pen manufacturers? I bought a couple Hero 200A pens maybe a decade ago, and the nibs held up well in spite of my abusive treatment. I played around with those nibs a lot, messing with the tine alignment and altering the tip grind, and the nibs FELT like real gold to me. That assessment is purely subjective, but nevertheless, I never got the sense that the nib material was phony. Link to post Share on other sites
Mech-for-i Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 well I had several 200 ( old model ) and 200A ( current model ) and I did try , the magnet do not work on the nib so they pass the test .. Try that on my other Hero gold nibs ( those that I can take off the pen straight ) , all pass the test here. In the end I think its all about the retailer , goto a reputable and trusted merchant and its unlikely to get into situation like this but I do know as far as online retail goes, this can be a bit challenging Link to post Share on other sites
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