Question about NOS Hero/Shanghai hero pens

[AnnieB]

Hi,
Like pretty much everyone else, I have some of their lower end (616, 100, etc etc) and I use and abuse them and they've been reliable. The thing I was wondering about was their 'higher end' pen line, like the 184 (out of production in ~2007, pictured below) and 188. All of these pens are marked as having 14k nibs. Does anyone know if they are 14k or just *ahem* creatively labeled?

From a google cache of a geocities page, long gone...
5877

Any info at all would be appreciated =) I've bid on a 6-pen-lot of them on ebay, mostly to satisfy my curiosity, but I don't want to wait until the auction is over to test them myself :)

[krazyklod]

No idea about the nib but if you win you must do a review!

[AnnieB]

I wasn't sure whether to edit my original post or reply in the thread.. Hope this is ok.
I wanted to ask about this nib... The nib pictured below seems to be the standard nib available with the Hero 184 (which, if my research is correct, went out of production sometime in 2007). There were several styles, some enameled, some with different metal on metal finishes... Anyhow, the NOS pens I've seen online have the nib pictured below. To my mind this seems to suggest that the nib is either 14k gold or -really- misleadingly labeled. Would you agree?
I've mostly decided to get at least some of the line because they seem to be slim/petite pens (13.6 cm with cap on, not posted) and I really like the acanthus leaf scrolling thing they've got going on.

5905

[kaisnowbird]

Hero 184s actually come with real 14K gold nibs. However, that doesn't mean it's decidedly better than their steel nibs in terms of writing pleasure. Chinese open gold nibs, as opposed to hooded nibs, can be springy, but sometimes have skipping/hard start problems.

From the picture, it seems that both the gold and silver colour on the nib are plated. The gold overlay on the barrel is reportedly 24K gold plated, which means they might fade if used regularly.

Hero 100 is actually not a 'low end' pen. It too features 14K solid gold nib and was the most highly esteemed fountain pen in China for a few decades. Take a loupe and compare your Hero 100 with 616 and you should be able to tell the difference.

Hero's quality control has gone down hill since the late 90's. I'd love to find a NOS Hero 100 from the 80s.