Hero Urushi Pen

[OldGriz]

Yup Urushi.. the Japanese lacquer... not a great high grade custom done Urushi.. but one from Hero Pen company.

Also not done on ebonite like most, but on metal. A nice weight pen with a bit of heft, but not overly heavy. Well balanced and writes like a dream. Puts down a nice med/fine wet line and no skips or halts. A C/C filler that comes with the converter. Overall a very nice pen from Hero. I will definately consider another one (when my daughter or wife decide this one belongs to one of them :bonk: :bonk: )

Best of all $15 including shipping. Of course you wait about 21 days for delivery from Singapore, but Hey you can't have everything..

Here is a link to the supplier Yi Cheng Trading with some additional information about the pen. The gold you see are stylized little koi... nicely done without overstating.

http://www.thepenshop.net/forum/uploads/OldGriz/2006-01-24_150505_Urushi.gif

http://www.manchukuo.freewebspace.com/heropens/herourushilaquer.jpg

Edited January 24, 2006 by OldGriz

[Guest JohanO]

Nice pen Tom!

 

Yi Cheng offers some nice, cheap pens. I have been hesitating for some time to buy a pen from them.

 

But if you find them reliable, I might give it a try!

 

Johan

[Macuser]

Thanks for another great review. Your collection must really be growing!

[wimg]

Hi Tom,

 

Thank you for the review: I think this must be rated as the nicest Hero fp I have seen up to now! Thanks for sharing!

 

Warm regards, Wim

[JimStrutton]

Nice pen Tom, so how many now?

 

Jim

[TheNobleSavage]

Thats a rather neat looking pen!! I am glad you enjoy it!!!

 

TNS

[OldGriz]

Nice pen Tom, so how many now?

 

Jim

SSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! We don't want SWHTM to know the truth...

 

Let's just say that if I keep getting good deals like I have, I might need another Michael's pen case or two... and I have 3 now...

[nmb]

Tom,

 

You're really going for this pen collecting thing! Way to go! Care to pull out that digital camera and take a shot of all of those pen cases now? I'm curious to see what a couple of months have wrought.

 

If you feel shy, I'll start the "Whole collection photograph thread" and we can all jump in. I've been re-counting my collection since I've let it blossom a bit recently and it's up to about 11 that work and 5 in various need of repair. Experience the fun of databases!

[stypen]

Hi, has anyone tried a hero pen with an open 14k nib? How do these write (I'm assuming the urushi only has a plated nib, but correct me if I'm wrong.)

 

Thanks!

[jmk]

Tom,

 

Thanks for your review! I've never owned a Hero before, but after reading your comments about this pen, I decided to buy one and give it a whirl! It arrived last week and all I can say is I'm glad I did! It looks as nice as some of my pens that cost much, much more. It writes very smooth, isn't a hard starter, and doesn't skip. So far, I've used Noodler's Polar Black and Diamine Monaco Red in it. Kind of makes me wonder why most of my pens cost so much more than this one did!

 

One thing I'm trying to figure out is which cartridge to use in it. International cartridges are too small to fit on the feed, Parker is too large (loose fit on the feed), and while Aurora has a little better fit on the feed, their cartridges are too long to fit inside the body. I've tried converters from these companies, too, none of which fits like the converter that came with the pen. Do you know what kind of cartridge will fit in this pen?

 

Thanks!

[OldGriz]

One thing I'm trying to figure out is which cartridge to use in it. International cartridges are too small to fit on the feed, Parker is too large (loose fit on the feed), and while Aurora has a little better fit on the feed, their cartridges are too long to fit inside the body. I've tried converters from these companies, too, none of which fits like the converter that came with the pen. Do you know what kind of cartridge will fit in this pen?

 

Thanks!

Unfortunately, I don't know about cartridges for this pen.... I use the converter that come with it... I did notice that the conventional internation converter did not fit which I found a bit annoying... I really did want to put a better converter in the pen...

I wonder if this pen would work as a eye dropper... MMM, might have to get another one and experiment.....

 

I am glad you like the pen and my review helped... I was very very pleased with the one I got and so were a couple of my friends... so I guess the quality is across the board instead of hit and miss like some Asian pens...

[Worminger]

Hi, it is amazing that a pen, with shipping, can be so cheap. I've bought from Yi Cheng as well (although since I am in Singapore I would have expected shipping costs to be cheaper than they are - I supect some of the mark up on the cost price of the pen is actually in the shipping). Nevertheless a good selection of Chinese pens from Yi Cheng.

 

When in China of course they are even cheaper and I've found some delightful pens wandering around old stationery shops in Shanghai. They can scarcely credit that a foreigner is NOT looking for a rip off of a well-known German brand but an honest to goodness Chinese brand. Interestingly however it is not as easy as one might imagine to get Chinese pens in the shops in China.

 

Worminger

Singapore

[alexalex]

Maybe Waterman cartridges will do? I have two Hero pens with converter problems (loose fit), so I've put Waterman BB carts in them - nice, tight fit and very well working now

[Fafnir]

OldGriz, I also purchased one of these following your review, and it arrived today. I've filled it with Waterman Violet and am very impressed. Its a very nice pen. Mind you, I showed it to my husband and he said 'why do you need another pen?'

 

Wonder what he'll say when the other three that I have in transit arrive?

[Dani]

Best of all $15 including shipping.  Of course you wait about 21 days for delivery from Singapore, but Hey you can't have everything..

Here is a link to the supplier Yi Cheng Trading with some additional information about the pen.

Now it's $100+s&h... Too bad. I will never have an urushi.

[NG-Huy]

I love this kind of pen! Do Hero Pens have quality equal to japanese ones like Platinum, Sailor or Namiki? Does this one have a smooth writing? I may be tempted to buy one very soon.

[OldGriz]

Since the price has gone sky high on this pen...

You might be better off spending a couple of bucks more on a Dani Hanryo (sp?) from WineDoc.... a much better pen at the price...

 

As for the writing... I eventually ended up having problems with the nib on this pen and it is no longer being used... some day I might get around to playing with it and seeing if I can replace the nib and feed with something else...

While it was working, it wrote nice... but the nib was real soft and started going weird on me... and I have a light hand...

When I contacted the seller, he wanted me to send the whole pen back at my cost, which was not going to happen... and when I mentioned he could send me a new nib and I would do the repair, he refused telling me how I got such a wonderful deal and he would replace it if I mailed it back.... so some day I will play around with it.

In all honesty, I might have gotten a bad one... I know a couple of friends who have them and have no problems... so don't take my experience as gospel.

[NG-Huy]

It'd depend how much you mean by a couple of bucks

 

From what I see on winedoc photos, hanryo looks neat. Depending on how much it will cost and when it will be avalaible, I'd buy both (if my wallet permits it)!

[chupie]

The Hanryo is a fabulous pen. I love mine sooooo much.

[OldGriz]

It'd depend how much you mean by a couple of bucks

 

From what I see on winedoc photos, hanryo looks neat. Depending on how much it will cost and when it will be avalaible, I'd buy both (if my wallet permits it)!

I believe the Hanryo is $100 inc shipping....

The Hero Urushi is $100 plus shipping...

 

In my somewhat unhumble opinion... for the price you are not going to beat the Hanryo... it is going to be a much better made pen with a fantastic nib.... and I believe it is also available in a stub nib....