9018 Hero Fountain Pen - Fude Artist's Signature Nib

The hero 9018 ships in a cellophane bag with no instructions. I recommend checking out the parka blogs review of this pen for some really good pictures and info (which is how I heard of it).I actually prefer the drawing performance of the sailor fude de mannen (the green one), another inexpensive fude tip pen, but this pen is really hard to beat considering that it comes with the converter, which would add another $6+ to the sailor's cost. If you are planning to use bottled inks, this is a great deal. The downside of this pen is that if I wanted to get cartridges I have no idea which to buy. Some places say it takes international, some places say Parker. No consensus. So it's converter or nothing. I thought about buying these as inexpensive giveaway gifts for artist friends to share the fude fun, but I don't think they would have suitable bottled inks and since I don't know what cartridge to buy, a pen with no ink would be a lousy gift. Bummer. The sailor, on the other hand, has cartridges available. If you don't want the mess of filling from the bottle, go for the sailor.I think the pen writes slightly drier and scratchier than the sailor fude de mannen. It still has similar playful line variation - it just seems to skip a bit when I draw quickly and doesn't feel as nice on the paper. There is also a terrible nails-on-chalkboard screeching sound when the pen body is unscrewed from the nib part to access the converter, which really shows the cheapness of the pen. I am also not a fan of the weird cheap crosshatch texture to the plastic grip, either. The cap and body of the pen have a fine glossy finish with gold accents, so if you leave it capped on a table it could be mistaken for more expensive than it is. Probably not with the cap off, though.It is a fine choice for sketching. Considering that I want to invest in several pens loaded with different inks, which I could take for urban sketching and easily lose, the hero is a very competitive choice and I will certainly not hesitate to grab it for a sketch.--I've been drawing with this for a bit, debating whether to buy more of this pen or the sailor fude. I have been working in a small format and I have noticed that the sailor fude gives crisper fine lines and details, while working with the Hero feels clumsy and harder to control. The very tip of the pen is fatter than the sailor, so when you are working very very small it feels like drawing with a blunted stick instead of a pointed one. I have added a photo comparing the two nibs. The hero is on the left and the sailor is on the right. (This fatter tip might make it a better choice for writing/calligraphy, though!) Also, working with the cap on the pen makes the pen way too heavy, so it is necessary to put the cap somewhere else and hope you remember where that was when you are done. It has made enough of a difference where if I just need a pen for personal sketching, the Hero is fine and I'll happily draw with it. But if I am making art for a client, I have stopped using it because it is not the best tool I have and I don't want to be sweating whether I can get those small details just right or not. For that reason, I think I will be investing in more of the sailor fude de mannen pens. For making art, the sailor pen just edges out the Hero because it is comfortable and lighter in the hand when capped, the tip is more precise, and the ink feed is the most reliable. The Hero is still a great economical choice if you want to get into sketching with a fude pen, or if you work at 5x7" or larger.

I use this for sketching. It's my first and only fude pen, and I don't think I'll be going back to standard nibs. Switching line weight by simply tipping your pen feels very natural (like a pencil) and helps you stay in flow compared to juggling pens.A few notes:- It's heavy — about 2x as heavy as a pilot metropolitan, 4x as heavy as a TWSBI Eco. Cap posts well but I prefer not to.- Using the reverse end is very scratchy, but it gives you a nice thin line. However it will not keep up with fast strokes.- Blocking in with the bold edge will drain your ink fast. I'd prefer a body-filled mechanism like a TWSBI Eco because of this, but I can't find any with a fude nib.- Exposed metal means this body is not suited to an eyedropper conversion.- Nib angle seems to be 55 degrees, meaning you'll hold it 90 degrees from the page like a felt/technical pen if you want thin lines. 40 degrees or less would be more comfortable for me as I spend the majority of my time making such lines.- Nib has ample clearance from the feed, avoiding the feed scrape you might get from the low-end Sailor fude pens.I read these Hero pens have a high failure rate, but it seems sturdy and for the price I wouldn't complain if it died in about a year.P.S.: To my point about capacity — it turns out Jinhao sells spare fude nibs on ebay for about $5-6. If you grabbed the correct size and fit it to a cheap noodler eyedropper or even a TWSBI you might have quite a potent tool, provided the Jinhao nibs are any good.

I purchased this thinking that perhaps I could get it to work for script writing. So far I have not, but I have HS some fun with it.It is a rather heavy pen, feels substantial in your hand. I do not like that the barrel has a metal screw but the section is plastic, I am worried that the metal might strip the plastic if I am not careful. Most of the rest of the pen is metal, which is where the weight comes from.The ink converter is removable and I believe that you can use standard international refills. But this pen uses ink quickly so you are better off using bottled ink with the provided converter.It is a very nice looking pen. One star off for the plastic section, otherwise a nice pen. It can put down a thick line very quickly, and wet. I have not yet mastered the thick/thin ability but I rate this to user inexperience, so no stars off for that.

I love this pen. I had to look up how to fill it on the interwebs. Super-easy, it was just new to me. I bought Noddler's Ink as was recommended by an illustrator to fill it. You get varied thickness of lines based on how you hold it and draw. It's smooth and sometimes scritchy-scratchy. Great for creating emotion through line. It's heavy and feels like an expensive fountain pen with a very reasonable price.

Great pen, writes well, with large bold line of ink. Does not work well with a lubricating ink, needed to go to a "dry" water based ink. Good feel in the hand, but for me still need to post the cap on the barrel for my hand size. Please note this pen has weight to it which I personally like. With lighter pens I sometimes feel like my writing gets jerky and worse than usual :-) Converter does come with included agitator which was a surprise considering the price point of this pen. I will perhaps update this review as I get more time with the pen.

This is my first fountain pen used for sketching. After much research with artist/sketchers I follow on instagram, I chose the Hero. The tip takes a bit to get used to controlling the line thickness. I tried using the backside of the nib by rotating the pen "upside down. A trick I saw on IF. Still this is not the nib of the Hero 504.The cartridge fills easy although it took a few times to fill it fully without air at the top. I used Noodler's Lexington grey.Looking forward to more use.

unusual pen. makes interesting variable lines with ease