Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Hero 616 - Made in China


















What does this pen and this car have in common?  Yep... made in China. If you have spent anytime at all on eBay drooling over Fountain Pens...these must have come across your browser.  Well, I fell for it.  Bought a 6 pack, or a 10 pack...I am not sure which anymore.  All I remember is they were about $1 a pen. In red black and I might have a green one floating around.



















The goal was definitely to make this bad boy look like a Parker 51. At first blush they pass the test.  They do look like a Parker... until you pick one up.  If you ever picked up a 51,  you know this one does not feel like a Parker.  It's eerily light...even with ink in it.


















Don't cheat....which one is the Parker 21 and which one is the Hero?


















Filling is...twist off the body...dip (ink is preferred) , squeeze a few times and wipe off the nib.  That's it.  Keep it simple right? Here's the guts.


















In this case,  I don't think it's suicide,  or flattery.  More doing what you have to do to get by.   "It is what it is" comes to mind here.  For a $1 you get a very workable fountain pen that across the conference table looks like a more expensive model.  The nib might not be as smooth, or the metal quite as shiny.  But again.  A buck.

Ebay links:

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-X-PIECES-HERO-616-CARBON-FIBER-FOUNTAIN-PEN-H19-/150340204103?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2300f97647#ht_3447wt_754

http://cgi.ebay.com/H33-10-X-PIECES-HERO-329-CARBON-FIBER-FOUNTAIN-PEN-/350366537827?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5193791863#ht_3813wt_754

http://cgi.ebay.com/3X-HERO-616-Fountain-Pen-Vintage-Style-Classic-Pen-NEW-/180580306069?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0b6ccc95

I don't have any affiliation with these sellers...just passing along the info.

14 comments:

Mer said...

Be careful with those Hero 616's you find on ebay, many of them are knockoffs, if you can believe it. Hero makes good pens, but the knockoffs have a nasty habit of leaking around the threads of the section.

If you're not too thrilled with the smoothness of the nib, you can also consider making your chinese pen purchases from hisnibs.com, as Norm tunes every nib that goes out his door -- and that alone is worth the additional 14 bucks.

(this unsolicited enthusiasm is unsolicited and unpaid, not that I'd mind if it was.)

Good Pens said...

Solid advice here Mer. Even the knockoffs have knockoffs...I forgot about www.hisnibs.com I like that site and will add it into my friend links. Thanks!

Milton 's Blog said...

I bought a PEN from Norman at his Nibs and it has become my best pen in the set next to my Lamy. Yes, Norman does ad value. You know what your are getting when you buy from him.

To avoid the knock off, why can we buy directly for Hero?

M

John M. said...

Thanks for the advice!

My son has that exact same Automoblox Car!!

Anonymous said...

"Imitation" not "Imatation

Good Pens said...

Dear Anonymous-

Thanks for the fix. I need a spell check on my 616! Thanks...seriously, I appreciate it.

and dfadf if you are going to spam my site, please at least click an ad. You rock though.

Daisy said...

Love the Emerson quote. If you do a writing sample with a knock off of a knock off pen would you choose "Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum."?

Daisy McCarty
San Diego Office Furniture

Unknown said...

I found that Montblanc pens are better to use then the Hero 616 I have. If you are looking for a new pen, check out http://www.engravably.com/.

Anonymous said...

I am really looking forward to trying one of these out.

xiaoxia said...

Be careful with those Hero 616's you find on ebay, many of them are knockoffs, if you Ugg outlet can believe it. Hero makes good pens, but the knockoffs have a nasty habit of leaking around the threads of the section.

Anonymous said...

i own a hero pen and oh my god it writes so smooth, i m in love with it

Kagemusha said...

I absolutely LOVE your blog--keep up the excellent work.

I bought a Mont Blanc Meisterstruck in Shanghai for $3 (American). I knew it was a knockoff, of course, and the pen holds rather well in performance. I used to have a knockoff Marksmen which broke the same day I came back from China with the "Mont Blanc" (a bad omen?), and I loved that pen... I had it for ten years and I still marvel at the beautiful strike of ink in my old journals. I did, however, receive a real Visconti Opera Series from a student some years ago--an awesome pen! Most of the other stuff I use (all fountain) are Pilots, etc.

Ebay is also notorious for this type of thing. Here's an example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/CROWN-GREY-FOUNTAIN-PEN-GERMAN-IRIDIUM-NIB-CONVERTER-/230538039406?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35ad23506e
I may actually buy one of these, really, and try it out.

Samual James said...

Thanks alot for sharing such a great samples of the different types of pens. your link Promotional Pens is more benefical for the writers and the businessmans.
I really apreciate you for this information.

raybanoutlet001 said...

ray ban sunglasses
fitflops sale clearance
michael kors handbags
moncler outlet
coach outlet
christian louboutin shoes
nike shoes
nba jerseys
ralph lauren outlet
nike air jordan

Moonman AKA The Camry

OK,  Camry MIGHT be a little bit of a stretch comparison.   Low cost and will run forever.  The Moonman M2 is a super fun Chines...