Hero Pens?

[jdboucher]

I was looking on Isellpens.com and saw a brand called Hero. Are they any good? They look cool and are pretty cheap.

[churl]

Hero made their name making knockoff Parkers, and people still rave about the Hero 100 (a Parker 51 clone). I bought a Hero 200A that I am extremely satisfied with. The converters kinda suck, but for the price, I don't much care. Hero's are extensively reviewed in the FP review forum.

[asamsky]

Yes, they're amazingly good for the money. I have a 329 which consistently writes better than much more expensive pens - I've dropped it, left it inked for weeks, and generally neglected it and it always starts right away. A lot of people like the 100 as well. The squeeze fillers are foolproof and hold a fair amount of ink. Nibs tend to be very fine. Apparently quality control is not always the best, but that's true of extremely expensive pens as well. You might check hisnibs.com - he also sells Hero pens.

 

Check around FPN - there are lots of reviews and discussions of the brand.

Edited April 24, 2008 by asamsky

[pmsalty]

jdboucher,

If you go to this thread, and scroll down to H, you will find several reviews of Hero pens. I own one and I use it daily (red ink). Todd at isellpens.com is a good egg. i have bought several pens rom him and he is recommended by several FPNer's.

Good luck

PMS

[Federalist Pens]

Yes, JD, I have a Hero 187 (cigar pen) that I did buy from isellpens a couple of years ago.

I find this a decent writer, with appeal and nice weight at a good price!

 

I understand that Hero is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) pen makers in China.

They are well known for their Parker "knock off" pens (51 style). I bought this particular one because it did not resemble a Parker. It comes with a removable squeeze style converter (think Parker 45).

 

BTW, this pen uses Parker cartridges. I bet the other models with removable converters do as well. This is not something that is advertised(obviously), but good to know!

[PAKMAN]

I picked up a Hero 100 about 6 months ago and it was a very pleasant suprise. Good pen!

[dcwaites]

Here is one set of answers.

 

If you go up to the Search button and put in the query +Hero +"any good" you will get a series of topics.

They are also covered in the Reviews section.

 

In summary, Hero are generally highly regarded Chinese pens. They are made in the same factory that was the Parker factory in China before Communism.

 

The most highly regarded of the Hero pens are the 100, which is based on the Parker 51, and the 200, which is based on the Parkerr 75.

 

Cheaper versions of the 100 that also have a good reputation are the 329 (old style, round end), 329 (new style, flat end) and the 616, which comes in two sizes - normal, which matches the rest of the Hero line; and Jumbo with is almost identical with the original Parker 51.

 

Note, these are inexpensive pens, and some users ( a few) have had ones with faults. If you buy from a reputable dealer like iSellPens, you will have no problems.

 

 

[JayLo]

I've found Hero pens to be a pleasant surprise. I had little expectation and found them to be a considerable pen for the money. I own a couple and enjoy them for what they are. And Todd at ISellPens is highly recommended.

Bottom line, for the price, you should experience a Hero.

[Eric072691]

I've found Hero pens to be hit or miss. A Hero 231A was good to me, but the Hero 360 was really scratchy, on the other hand the Hero 100 is great but not as smooth as the 231.

[J English Smith]

I have a Hero 616 and liked it so much that I have three more on the way! At good prices to boot!

 

The fit and finish compared to a regular 51 impressed me. The one I have writes a bit drier than most of my 51s and is a very fine (XF) nib. It's a good firm clip and the barrel color on the teal one I have is very nice.

 

As I am writing with fine nibbed pens more and more, these are nice "worry free" versions of the P51 to carry on days when I'm going to be out of the office. I love my regular 51s for the history and great flow, but these are very close substitutes for about 1/6th the price.

 

Now I want to try a Hero 100 (P51/61 clone) and a Hero 200A (Parker 75 clone). Parker fan that I am, these seem like the next logical steps.

Edited April 24, 2008 by J English Smith

[BearsPaw]

I have a bunch that I bought from isellpens (no affiliation), and most of them were pretty good, especially for that price point. I really like my 189. I have a 100 that was pretty bad at first, but after I wrote with it for a while, it became a good writer, and now it's one of my most frequently used pens.

 

If you just want a cheap pen, the lower end Pilots (eg: 78G) are a good deal too.

[psfred]

I believe that Hero IS the Parker factory, it was Nationalized by the Communist Party in 1949 when Chang Kai Shek bailed out to Formosa. Not much of a surprise that their pens look and function much like Parkers, they had the whole Parker factory to work with....

 

I have a few, and now that I hear the 200A is a "clone" of the 75, might get one.

 

For those who work on pens, the Hero 100 is rather more like a Parker 61 than a "51" -- it has the keyed nib and collector of the 61 and a similar hood attachment system, but left hand thread instead of right hand. Also has a plastic section rather than whatever is used on the "51". The Hero 616 is the "real" Parker "51" clone. Nibs from the 329 and I suspect the 616 fit "51"s -- I have one installed in a "51" Special than arrived with a ruined nib, as I prefer very fine nibs. Haven't inked it yet (I suffer from way too many usable pens), but I anticipate that it will work as well as the 329 I currently have filled with FPN Galileo Brown.

 

Some Hero nibs are fairly rough out of the box, but smooth out nicely in use. I do have one 616 with a seriously off center slit in the tipping, but it works just fine now that I have the tips aligned well (although it is quite scratchy upsidedown). Bad ones are not unknown, though.

 

Quality control is erratic, if it exists at all. The lower price pens come in blister packs, similar to inexpensive school pens in the US (or at least they used to be sold that way), and one should expect similar products. Sheaffer school pens were excellent writers -- the ones I have now, some 40 years old, still write quite nicely, but the plastic doesn't look so good, and inexpensive Hero pens should be compared to similar products, not a top of the line pen like a "51". Occasionally you will find one where the barrel got shellaced on along with the hood (some hot water will allow you to get it off, then clean the threads with denatured alcohol), and the nibs can be bad. You can send them back to Todd for an exchange, although I've not had to yet.

 

Most of them have what are by modern standards XF nibs, but wider ones are available. My 336's are the equivalent of modern mediums, so I don' use them much -- too fat.

 

I think they are well worth a try, at least for a carry around pen you won't be upset if you lose it or someone steps on it, etc.

 

Peter

[Eric072691]

That is correct, it as said earlier, HERO Pen Company was Parker's Factory in China. In all accounts Asian pens usually have a different nib rating system and as such an Asian F may write more like a Western XF.

 

On a side note and offtopic,

Is it just me or does anyone else sometimes get a timeout error when trying to visit FPN?

[TonyWong]

The quality of Hero pen is satisfied that if you compare with the price .

 

My Hero pen is just three usa dollors. The nib is not very smooth but it is hard enought to write.

 

But I don't like the method of immit ink .

[Beechwood]

I think that they are great value and would buy another

[richardandtracy]

I gave my daughter a 330. She likes it. The nib's OK for a fine. I just wish they did a medium.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

[jmbarnes]

If you are worried about the tales of quality control (and in my own experience with Hero's you wouldn't need to be) you could always cough up a few more dollars and get multiples. Speerbob on eBay is a well known seller round here, and generally has 10-packs of the 616 '51' clone listed from China. Cost right now is 42 plus 8 in shipping...all and all amounts to 5 bucks a pen. Even cheaper then isellpens.com which I also recommend. Great daily users and a friendly pen to start non-FP users on.

 

G'luck.

[MilenkoD]

I bought a 100 from ISellPens (very reputable seller, IMO). I've had mine for about 6 mothts and I mash it onto triplicate forms daily. Hasn't failed me yet.

FWIW, I bought my wife a Lamy Safari fine-nib. She thinks the Hero writes smoother without a doubt.

[hardyb]

I love all of mine and have purchased them from both Todd and Hisnibs. Both are excellent resources. It was Norman (Hisnibs) who introduced them to me.

[Songwind]

Has anyone got any experience with the 187 semi-flex nib?