Hi,

I'm a new member of the FPG forum, and I am super nostalgic about hooded fountain pens. As they grew on me during my K-12 school years and the first 2 years of university back in Eastern Europe under a communist regime.

So, I grew up with Chinese hooded FPs, you know, those of the Parker 51 knock-off kinds - such as Hero 610 and their newer variant - Hero 329 (the one with the brass emblem inset into the feed above the nib, which looked like a little arrow or starship). I liked them for being resilient writers, not drying up or skipping, but less for their "aerometric" converter.

In trying to resuscitate my love for FPs, I purchased a more modern Chinese version, i.e. featuring a piston converter, like this alleged "Hero" brand and model 3019:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hero-3019-M...s/324447314183

But man, I was utterly disappointed: scratchy and skipping. Sometimes it doesn't even want to write on one of these straight-lined student notebooks. Although I wouldn't call it a "hard starter". It has no problem starting right way, even when stored horizontally (but with cap closed) and for a few days.

I'm using Parker Washable Blue ink.
I think I might have got a dud, with quality control problems - nib not tuned-up / polished properly. In essence, $10 lost for what is otherwise a 1 dollar chinese crap.

Would you be able to restore my confidence in fountain pens? It is a "solid writer" which I am looking for. For writing engineering, computer software programming notes, on a daily basis. Practically a direct replacement to ballpoint "BIC" pens and alike.

I hate scratchy pens, I need something that writes fluidly, without effort, and which encourage you to write more and clear up / focus your thoughts. Something durable and not letting you down.

Psychologically, I seem to have a rejection problem with exposed nibs. The more hooded / hidden they are, and the their tip looks like a tip of a nail or a wire, the better is accepted. I don't know why. Maybe because I wish to consider the FPs as a very utilitarian writing tool, and less of a fancy / artsy / literature / calligraphy type of of thing.
Hooded nibs also look like a dolphin head, too, and hence inspiring calm and peace.

I also think that the hooded nibs keep the ink flow better, and are less prone to drying, I don't know.
Also, when I see a fully (or even half) exposed nib, the first reaction in my brain is that it is fragile and bending (and irreversibly getting damaged).

Would you be able to help me find a good, reliable hooded pen in the current market? Or maybe you can help me overcome my physiological barrier of accepting fully-exposed nibs, and then maybe approach a Pilot Metropolitan or a Lamy Safari?

P.S. The grip on that Hero 3019 (which I think is a counterfeit Hero, because it may not the real Hero company from the seventies and eighties China), is absolutely horrible. I hate it, because first of all it is thinner than the rest of the pen's body / barrel, and it also forces me to keep my fingers (which are no longer teenager fingers since my school years) closer to the nib. I tend to prefer bulkier pens (like Hero 616 aka Doctor's Pen) or pens not having a "reduction area" and which would allow me to hold them at a variable distance from the nib, depending on my mood, how hurried I am with a job, etc.

Thank you.