Quick Review Of Hero 7031

November 27, 2017

This is one in a series of all metal Hero pens that seem to share the same nib/feed/section and sell for under $2US postpaid. Some others are listed/reviewed here.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/329870-hero-7023-brief-review-classy-pen-for-under-2/

Mine is a fairly subdued pale turquoise metallic finish with gold color caps at either end and a gold color arrow clip. It would pass for tasteful were it not for the "jewel" at the finial. Now I do have to admit that this is the first such from China that actually sparkles. It's clear. I would say it is moderately tacky compared to the others which are full tacky. There is also a barely visible imprint on the side of the cap with brand, model number, etc. Still I would rate it well above average for looks for a Chinese pen, especially for one under $2.

I inked this from a bottle and got a wet, smooth medium line. Four days later it started immediately and wrote just as well. I used the supplied converter but it looks like short international cartridges would fit. Longs are a bit iffy; there is a ridge in the barrel that you can probably get past if you fiddle a bit. Once in I had no trouble extracting it.

I would rate this an excellent pen that could be used at work from lower management down. Also available in green, black, pink, and rose gold. You can easily find it on eBay by searching for "Hero 7031".

February 16, 2018

I have since received a green one which is barely distinguishable from the blue. The nib seems a bit finer and less wet but both pens write well and have never given me any grief.

March 8, 2018

And likewise the rose gold one I just received. I am thinking about the black one but I usually want an F or XF nib for black ink and I have plenty of black pens with those. I have been exploring M nibs lately as my usual skinny ones do not show colors well, nor shade, nor make for legible writing with light colored inks.

You can find images with an eBay search -- every model and color, done much better than I could. Making my own is a real pain so I only do it for something you can't find elsewhere. For example, earlier today I posted scans of some inks I mixed. You can't find those on eBay;-)

March 26, 2018

The rose gold does not contrast as much with the "jewel" and makes it less conspicuous/tacky. Nib is about medium and very wet and smooth, It's been very little used for nearly three weeks but started writing immediately,

In the meantime I ordered one in "navy" which, in the seller's photos, looked to be a medium to light true blue with no hint of green. What I actually received was the same pale turquoise color I already have. I do not know if "navy" is just another name for that or if the seller substituted. In any event, this pen required some fussy nib alignment but now writes about the same as the rest.;

All in all I am very pleased with these pens. None had serious quality control problems, they write well, and look far better than their price would suggest. With an all-metal exterior they should stand up well mechanically, though I have not had them long enough to judge the durability of the finish. No problems, yet, though.

April 16, 2018

I received one of these Hero 7031 pens in teal two or three weeks ago, as well as a similar colored Hero 7038 at the same time. They were won on an Ebay auction for $.99 each, with free shipping from China. I wasn't able to draw ink into the converter through the nib and feed from a 2 ml sample bottle with either pen. I'm not sure if the converter didn't have enough suction, or if it was poor technique on my part, but I removed the converters and filled them directly from the sample bottle lid. Then the screw action on the 7031 converter stopped working, so with super glue I made it work as a simple straight plunger.

The nib on the 7031 wrote smoother and nicer than the 7038 from the get-go. Not liking the nib or the wider line width I was getting on the 7038, I tried filing it narrower and basically ruined it. It will still write, but its feel could perhaps be described as that of a chicken scratching the dirt. So I put the better converter on the 7031 and keep it inked with Baystate Blue diluted 25% with water, and it has been a pretty reasonable pen. Perhaps not quite the quality of a Montblanc 149, but it does the job!

Edited April 16, 2018 by caduceus

April 16, 2018

I have a 7038 only on order, but have been pleased with my 7031s, But I wonder if we are talking about the same pens? I think of "teal" as darker than turquoise, but the nearest option I see for these pens is much lighter than turquoise. In any event, I have found many Chinese converter pens have difficulty drinking from a small or nearly empty bottle. In my case the small bottles are nearly full 10cc ones I use for ink mixing experiments. When that happens I fill the converter with the syringe I just used to measure out ingredients for the mix. So far I have not had a Hero converter fail, but the ones from Jinhao can spontaneously disassemble.

I am curious as to whether you have the open or hooded nib models. Mine are all open.

April 17, 2018

Hi Bob, My pens are both a pastel blue-green, very light in shade. Lets's see if I can download a picture. Both pens are open nib.

Edited April 17, 2018 by caduceus

April 17, 2018

Thanks. That should help people who stumble across this thread know which pens we are talking about. I know that Hero has two totally different pens with model number 7022 and I wondered if this could be another case of such ambiguity. Your photo looks similar to the pens I have. On mine both tips are gold color while on my monitor the tips in the photo look black, but the shape and layout are the same.

April 17, 2018

The tips and band are gold colored, as is the section. And the finial has a fake diamond (At least I assume its fake!) The 7038 has gold colored tips and band, with a black section.