Recently I received a Hero Fountain pen from a relative. With a bottle of Parker Quink, it brought back many childhood memories. The fine nib, I think, was very scratchy, not a smooth flowing experience one would get from a fountain pen.
The Hero’s nib cannot be changed, so I thought why not try something better. A quick check with the Popular bookstore, they have various ranges of fountain pens. I bought a Parker Vector with a medium nib. The sales staff were not familiar and I wasn’t savvy enough to check for the nib size before hand. Just as any Parker product, the nib on paper was smooth.
A few weeks later I got some Diamine inks from GroupHunt to try out. Initially, I didn’t really like Ox Blood but it grows on you. I am currently trying out Imperial Purple on my Hero. Together with green color, I am trying to introduce fountain pens to the kids, with the hope of improving their handwriting.
My searches through the Internet turned up JinHao fountain pens. They were crazy affordable and many recommended the x750. After 2 weeks of waiting, it turned up. The nib was to put it simply, fantastic. Using the same copier paper and Quink ink, it is as smooth as my Parker Vector. All for S$4 without shipping.
Edit:
Based on recommendations on the Internet, I got a S$2 4 color nail file. Using water and the two smoothest sections, I polished the Hero’s nib, it is much smoother, less vibration in the hand when writing. Good enough to be considered for daily use.