Review: Hero 007

[Seele]

Too often the Hero 007 is frowned upon just for being the "entry-level model" in Hero's hooded nib collection. To my mind it does not make a lot of sense, it's like saying a 1-series BMW car is rubbish because it's not as costly, as big, or as powerful as the 7-series, you really have to judge the 1-series for what it is.

Sure enough, the 007 cannot be expected to have the same material quality as the 100, and you certainly won't get the same engineering panache either. But then it is intended to be a different product geared towards a different clientele, who sees a pen as a tool and nothing - if anything - beyond that.

Here's the thing: even as a totally utilitarian tool it still needs to be designed well to have a functional form that is pleasant to the eye and usable. Unlike what they say, form does not follow function: form is an integral part of function. Some hot-shot stylist might make an inch-thick pen that looks great, but nobody except King Kong would want to use it!

Here are the vital statistics: weight: pen only 6.2g, with cap 11.8g. Length: pen only 123mm, capped 135mm, posted 145mm, maximum diameter 10mm; centre of mass: pen only 63mm from tip, posted 90mm.





You can see it is quite a light-weight and slim pen which would not be too much of a shock to BiC or Kilometrico users, and the barrel tapers gently to an end jewel. But you can also see that it is built to a tight budget: the end jewel is actually a metallized moulded plastic plug which is held in place by friction. Add a tiny dab of epoxy resin, then you won't have to worry about it. If you're totally bonkers, you could very well turn a metal plug on the lathe and put that in! For hair-splitters, this plug could have been made much shorter, so when it starts to get tatty, there won't be too much of it to get tatty.

Also obvious is the "aerometric" sheath which is made of thin aluminium, as used in the newer generation of affordable Hero pens. Functionally it is a little less positive than the steel version. However, some would prefer to remove it and squeeze the ink sac directly.

An interesting point is that the end of the barrel that screws into the main section is fitted with a metal ring, when screwed home it covers the clutch ring on the pen itself. When capped, the open end of the cap is positively stopped by it, the result looks rather nice and sophisticated. The construction of the cap is decent enough save for a certain roughness of the clip and end jewel, which features the Hero logo at the end flat. This is a little bit of a let-down when compared to the svelte look of the pen. Let's face it, for its modest price, you aren't going to get Montblanc fit and finish.

After loading it with blue Quink, it is obvious that it is meant to be a "gateway" pen: the steel nib does not allow for significant line thickness variation, but it glides across the paper surface with smoothness and yet good feedback. With its light weight and slim shape, I feel quite convinced that one who is used to ballpoints, rollerballs, or fibre-tip pens can adjust to it in mere moments; it could very well be a first pen either for a youngster, or someone who wants to give fountain pens a try. Certainly it might be one of the cheapest pens around, especially if you buy in retailer's packs, but it does its job exceedingly well. It does not matter the slightest whether the user sees it as a first pen, a springboard to something better, or as the one "user" that's going to go the distance; the fact is simple: it works, and works very well indeed for its intended purposes, and that is what matters really.

... and I did not mention James Bond even once!

[Oldheritage]

Nice review. I use Quink in my Hero as well since it's easy to erase it.

[Seele]

Thanks Oldheritage; I have been writing product reviews since the 80s, so I have a somewhat quirky way of doing it; goodness knows if it is entertaining or annoying! I use Quink as it is easily available around here, so it's for practical consideration. My bottle of black Quink is of the old Solv-X recipe and I like that. Many many years ago I tried Hero's own inks, and they turned out to be fully satisfactory; I might have to do a bit of scouting and see if I can get hold of some: I have a bottle of Pelikin blue-black which I feel is too light, but Hero's blue-black has quite a kick to it, if memory serves.

[Oldheritage]

I'm gonna vote for entertaining

It's pretty much the same here. The only bottled inks that are readily available here are either Quink or Pelikan. I found my Hero and my grandmother's restored Blackbird fountain pen to write better with the Quink ink.

[Ludovic Montgomery]

Very nice review. Really like the look of this pen. I am a newbie in fountain pens I have a Lamy Nexx M with a triangular grip section so it's impossible to hold the pen incorrectly. What do you think is it more difficult to get used to round type grip sections?

[Seele]

Ludovic,

I always have a bit of an issue with Lamy pens as they seem to think about looks more than practicality to my eyes. A regular round-section pen is actually more user-friendly as you can get it in just the right angle for the nib to make contact with the paper surface at the sweet spot. Parker's 75 for instance has a triangular-section grip as well, but the nib can be rotated to make the nib hits the paper at the correct angle.

At first sight it might seem like a smooth-surfaced round-section pen would be harder to hold, but not to worry; you can get a secure grip very easily and it feels natural in a moment. It is likely that the 007 is worth a try for is low price, if you are getting one (or a pack of ten for that matter) it is worth doing the prepping work:

1. After screwing off the barrel, wiggle the sac sheath off the pen to expose the ink sac. You might prefer to leave it off permanently, but it is a personal thing. Examine the breather tube inside, the end towards the front must be secured to the back of the feed: when this example arrived I found that the tube was loose, so I had to grab hold of it through the ink sac and push it back into place. You might also want to take this opportunity to glue the barrel end plug in place too!

2. While it might not be totally necessary, I always flush the pen before use to get rid of any residual oils - if present - left inside during the manufacturing process. In a small container, like a shot glass, put in luke warm water and add a drop of dish washing liquid and stir until mixed. Dip the pen in and manipulate the ink sac so that the soap solution is pulled into the pen. Expel the solution and repeat a few times. Then change it to luke warm water and repeat to flush out the soap solution, shake it to remove excess water inside, and let dry, which might take a couple of days. When dried it would be ready for inking up. In place of dish washing liquid, some people favour a drop of ammonia solution, but dish washing liquid is what I have and it works well.

Hope this is of some help.

[Ludovic Montgomery]

Thank you for the advice!

You convinced me, I will order a Hero 007 or 616 soon and I will definetely follow your instructions. Although I am more into the modernish design, these Parker hommage Hero pens still look fantastic.

Oh God, first watches, then fountain pens, and last week I ordered a DE razor. This forum really gives ideas how to spend your money. :)

[Seele]

Thank you for the advice!

You convinced me, I will order a Hero 007 or 616 soon and I will definetely follow your instructions. Although I am more into the modernish design, these Parker hommage Hero pens still look fantastic.

Oh God, first watches, then fountain pens, and last week I ordered a DE razor. This forum really gives ideas how to spend your money. :)

Well... at least I am not enticing you to spend hundreds or thousands, and that's not a bad thing. To my mind, enjoyment is not proportional to the cash spent, and I am modding a couple of these very affordable Heros, we'll have to see how they turn out to be.

By the way, if you are considering a 616, either buy from a reputable dealer in the US, or get one branded "Hero-Doctor" in a single-unit blister pack; as far as I can ascertain those are made in the Shanghai main factory.

[Ludovic Montgomery]

Thanks I already found the Hero-Doctors. I share your oppinion by the way. I think the advantage of mass production is exactly this. With a little searching and forum reading you can get a high quality product that works properly for years for a few dollars.

Good luck for the modding, and don't forget to upload the results here.

Cheers!

[Seele]

There is hardly any point in me showing redone pens as they look exactly the same; what I tend to do is to improve fit and finish on the inside. For instance, some of them have insufficient ventilation which can result in leaking into the cap; I have an example of another model which was prone to it after having been left in my pocket for a while, and I traced the problem to a faulty feed which offered no ventilation. As it's a very inexpensive pen (new model "non-star trek" 329) I could very well throw it away but I am looking into finding a good part. Good ink flow is of course a desirable characteristic and I aim to make my affordable Heros to do that.