| Hero Black Forest | Platinum Plaisir | |
| Visual Inspection | 2 | 0 |
| Inking the Pen | 0 | 0 |
| Hard Start | 3 | 0 |
| 5 Minute Hard Start | 0 | 0 |
| Writing Consistency | 0 | 0 |
| Grip Test | 0 | 3 |
| Nib Feel | 0 | 3 |
| Handwriting | 0 | 0 |
| Fan Voting | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 5 | 7 – WINNER! |
Scroll to the bottom of this article to vote!
The visual inspection of the Hero pen revealed the nice guilloche pattern in the metal barrel and a superior weight and feel to the Plaisir. Inking the pen was simple with both pens, and the Hero pen began writing immediately after inking. However the Plaisir had some difficulty getting started – some of this is attributed to user error, but is was still very difficult to get the ink flowing initially. Both pens started instantly after 5 minutes with no cap on.
The grip section on the Hero is tiny – too small for my hands and, like with many metal pens, slippery. Whole the grip on the Plaisir was perfect. The nib on the Hero, like many of the Chinese pens that I’ve tried, feels rigid and hard – there is quite a bit of feedback on this one to the point that I would call it scratchiness. The Plaisir nib is the same exact nib that made Platinum famous with the Preppy. Is is smooth and pliable and very comfortable to write with. I would give the Plaisir more points than 3 if it did not exceed my criteria.
NOTE: To keep things fair, all of the pens in the first round of this competition are inked with Waterman Serenity Blue and writing on Tomoe River Paper.
FP Newbie 
One response to “Match #1”
Thanks for the review. I contemplated buying a Hero BF and your review confirms my decision to pass. I used a Plaisir for a while as my dedicated Bay State Blue pen at work. It looks nicer than the previous Preppy but eventually stated showing dings and scratches from heavy use. I eventually replaced it with a Prefonte and been happy with the change.
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