Yiren 566 A Re-Badged Hero 359?

[pomps]

Greetings; I'm new round here but have been collecting FPs for 25 years and a user of the Safari for ages. I've recently begun actively collecting Safari clones. Thus far, I have:

 

• Jinhao 599a
• Oaso s007
• Hero 359
• Hero 1515
• Yiren 566
• Lanbitou 757

I see a number of these listed, but I'm wondering if anyone can point me to additional clones. My one criterion is that they mustn't be knock-offs -- nothing that says 'Lamy' on the body, comes with fake Lamy packaging, etc. (In the wristwatch world, we'd call these 'homages' as opposed to 'replicas' / 'fakes'.) Much obliged for any ideas that anyone's willing to share!

You can add the TrueColor FP6328, a range of Baoke like Baoke PM141, 149A,150A, 151A... Chren 3813, Haolilai Golf, Medici 211, Penton (SKB) F17, Wingsung 9359

Edited April 2, 2017 by pomps

[Dip n Scratch]

I haven't bought a Hero 359. I am wondering what cartridge types are most appropriate for the Yiren 566 and Lanbitou 757.

I am wondering if the Hero branded cartridges specifically marked '359' will fit the other two pens as well. I am not after any weird colours yet. Blue/black is OK for now.

[bob_hayden]

I can't speak for the Lanbitou but the situation is complicated. There is quite a bit of information in this thread if you want to go through the whole thing and dig it out. One example of the complexity is that the plastic Hero Safari clones take the 359 cartridges but the metal ones take standard international cartridges, i.e., you can't just go by brand.

 

The Hero 359 has a cartridge nipple like Parker rather than international. I think Parker, Lamy, and Hero 359 work with the Hero 359 pen. The Yiren has the same nipple but not enough room for a Lamy cartridge. It's OK with Parker or Hero 359 cartridges.

 

All this has to be taken modulo the fact that in cases where there is or is not room in the body for the cartridge things may be the other way round in the next pen of that model you try ;-)

Edited May 16, 2017 by bob_hayden

[maximme]

they have so many names for Yiren, that I mistaken it for another...

BUT i am very pleased with the way it writes
and also NOT confused with the other brand as YIREN is clearly written everywhere
on the pen.

[Dip n Scratch]

Lamy T10 cartridges have the step towards the back & are straight sided. It wouldn't surprise me to find that the extra bit is just dead space.

Is it this extra bit that means you'd have to use pliers to extract a Lamy cartridge from inside a Hero pen barrel

A Parker cartridge is 75mm long & tapers. On the end there's 15mm that does not hold ink

Is the Hero 359 fit cartridge around 73-75mm long? It seems to be the typical length for a 'long' cartridge.

A Jinhao long International cartridge is 73mm total length.

[Dip n Scratch]

Is the Yiren 566 normally a very wet writer?

The example I received is, to the point of flooding & leaking.

Is this fixable or do I bin it and buy another?

[k3eax]

As has often been said, fountain pens work on the principle of "controlled leakage". The leakage is metered by the ingestion of air into the ink reservoir, ie. the cartridge or converter. Too great a volume of air could be ingested as result of a poorly fitted converter/cartridge, a converter whose piston does not provide a proper seal, or possibly a feed whose air-channel does not provide proper metering. And so, i would suggest that you first try a different converter. But, please be aware that the Yiren converter is not the standard international size.

 

Keep us informed if you resolve the problem.Your solution could be of value to us all!

[bob_hayden]

 

Is the Yiren 566 normally a very wet writer?

The example I received is, to the point of flooding & leaking.

Is this fixable or do I bin it and buy another?

 

I have quite a few of these pens and have not encountered that problem. You could eliminate the converter (if any) by fitting a Parker of Hero 359 cartridge. (Some cartridges marketed as fitting Parkers really are for Lamy pens and do not fit all Parker pens -- or this Yiren.) Which makes me wonder if you are already using a cartridge, but not one the pen is designed for.

[Dip n Scratch]

The pen did the same mis-behaviour with a genuine Parker Quink cartridge as it did with the converter.

 

Can I do anything with it? It is probably going to end up in the bin, so if I have a fiddle & cannot fix it does it really matter?

Either the nib has not been set properly on the feed or the feed itself is defective.

[bob_hayden]

I am a retired mechanical engineer and can usually fix something if I take it apart. But that does not help you much as I have little experience taking fountain pens apart and so can't offer any advice in words. These are really cheap and so it probably does not make economic sense to put much effort into the defective one. Consider keeping it for parts, though, if you order another. And the nib may fit other brands and models. The nibs on mine are above average.

 

One more thought: if you cleaned the pen before use, did you rinse it thoroughly? Excess detergent left behind could lower the surface tension of the ink and cause it to flow too freely.

[k3eax]

The pen did the same mis-behaviour with a genuine Parker Quink cartridge as it did with the converter.

 

Can I do anything with it? It is probably going to end up in the bin, so if I have a fiddle & cannot fix it does it really matter?

Either the nib has not been set properly on the feed or the feed itself is defective.

Why would you just dispose of the pen without attempting to explore the cause by a dismantling and inspection? After all you might just learn something useful in the solution of future problems with other pen.

Edited June 8, 2017 by k3eax

[FrankH]

Why would you just dispose of the pen without attempting to explore the cause by a dismantling and inspection? After all you might just learn something useful in the solution of future problems with other pen.

Just what I was thinking.

[Dip n Scratch]

To my way of thinking the pen was seriously defective. The value of the pen was minimal & not really worth the energy of investigating, so in the trash it went.

I did find another Yiren 566 a lime green demonstrator. I can't recall whether I inked the damn thing & the result if I did. I will try leaving it with a converter full of ink & get back to you.

[Dip n Scratch]

That green Yiren 566 demonstrator definitely did leak after being filled. Maybe they just don't bother that much about tolerances of the various parts?

 

Bob: How did you manage to get good examples? I have a bagful of Lamy homages I am happy with to be going on with

[bob_hayden]

My Yirens came from hejing1314 and chinapens. Most of them were of the half white half pastel style. They have seen very little use so I cannot offer any long term testing results except to say that I have not encountered any difficulties with them. However, you can now find the Hero 359s for less than $2 each on eBay in the US of A so I do not expect to get any more 566s.

[k3eax]

Any opinions on the reason for the drastic reduction in price for the Hero 359?

[Dip n Scratch]

I was possibly being unfair to the Yiren 566 so I have ordered another.

It was worrying to get two lemons.

The Hero 359 I have never had a problem with. The example I currently have takes a Lamy nib with no problem & has 1.1mm italic nib.

I have Hero 359 and Parker cartridges, but only a empty Lamy, so we'll see what fits best.

Hopefully about a year on there's a different batch out there with better assembly.

[bob_hayden]

Here's a curious twist. I like yellow-green ink, and I always use some shade of green ink to write my Irish mother, and I like the color of the pen to match the ink when possible. But yellow-green is not a real popular color for fountain pens. So I am always on the lookout for such, and I saw one on eBay for $0.99 US so I ordered one. It looked like yet another Safari clone.

 

It showed up today and it is marked as a Yiren 359C. So I guess we have a clone of the Hero 359 which is itself a clone of the Safari! It has a metallic finish that looks like an AL-Star but I think it is actually plastic. The new pen and the older all-plastic Yiren both weigh 19 grams. The ink windows are fully and deeply formed like the plastic ones but unlike some of the metal ones. All parts seem to interchange. Both have a clear plastic section. the new pen does differ from my older Yiren 566 in a number of ways, mostly for the better. In addition to the low price, the barrel lines up with the nib. A Lamy crtridge goes much farther into that barrel, though I have not tried actually using such a cartridge. The nib is marked EF and seems to be between that and F. It writes well with a bit of resistance, which I like. The "O-ring" trim is marginally better secured to the barrel. The finial is marked with a "+" rather than the Yiren logo. On eBay the new pen was listed as

 

Luxury Ink pens 568 Grass green Student school office supplies EF Fountain pen

 

Other colors are champagne, lavender, and blue.

[bob_hayden]

I bought two more 359Cs --the lavender (or magenta) version and the blue which is a medium blue grey that reminds me of Chevy's c.1970. I liked that the blue is not as pale or turquoise as the various Hero 70xx pens I have been buying recently which are a pale turquoise. I put Noodler's Eel Blue in it because the color was a good match. The new pair write about the same as the first and the only difference I see is that it looks like they tried to align the nib with the flats on the barrel but this time they did not quite succeed.

[old4570]

Hero 359 - 1515

Jinhao 588 - 590 - 599 - 599A

Yiren 568 - 566

Wing 6359

LOU SHI 614

Penton F13 (?)

Linbitou 757

 

( A list of the ones I own - probably more out there )