Review: Hero 7009 Fountain Pen with Fude Nib

This is another pen from the Shanghai Hero Pen company. I bought this on eBay at only USD $10 to try it out.

When I think of Hero pens, I think of their Fude nib pens and the inconsistent quality control. I've many friends who have pens that work fine and many, including me, who have pens that failed. My previous Hero pen was the 501-1 and it has since spoilt too. Another Hero pen which I can't remember the model had the section part come off. The quality control issue is something to think of when getting a Hero pen. But at only $10, I think it's worth the risk.

The Hero 7009 is made of metal throughout. The body is black and chrome, slim and uniform. Surface is smooth. It has a nice weight, not too heavy or light.

At the bottom of the cap is the Hero's logo and model number behind. The clip is faceted.

There's some sort of pattern going on the body, but not the cap, so the design looks a bit inconsistent to me. It would have looked better if it was all black. The cap can be posted behind and the pen will still balance well in hand.

The grip section is decorated with wavy lines that run parallel. Design on the nib surface is simple, with again wavy lines and the Hero logo.

This is the Fude nib, a nib that's bent so that it can achieve different stroke thickness when writing. It looks to me like a 45 degree bent. The bent is smooth out so it writes quite smoothly on paper.

The pen can be easily dismantled. To dismantle the nib and feed section, just twist it gently in clockwise and anti-clockwise until it loosens and pull it out. When you put it back it, just make sure the slit is aligned with the feed and push it back in instead of twisting it in because that will cause misalignment.

The ink converter is included.

Here are some sketches with the pen.

The nib is smooth on paper. Ink flow is alright. I felt that the ink comes out a bit thin at times, but there's no skipping.

In the sketch above you can see comparison with other Fude nib pens, namely the Duke 209, Sailor Naginata Fude, Duke 551 aka Confucius Compound Art Pen. The two Duke pens have better ink flow than the Hero and Sailor. No skipping for all though.

Here's a sketch on the medium fine grain of the Schut Sketchpad. The paper texture does affect the strokes by making the edges a little wavy and rough at times.

The strokes have sharp edges when you draw slow and rough edges when drawing fast. It's capable of thin and broad strokes.

Conclusion

This is a good budget pen for those who want to try out Fude nibs. It's much smoother than the Sailor entry level pens MY FIRST and Fude De Mannen because the is curved instead of bent sharply.

For $10 it's quite a bargain. You can find it on eBay.

I just don't know how long this pen can last.