Cleaning a Hero 100

[FrankB]

I want to give my Hero 100 a good flush with clear water. I think I recall someone noting that the built in squeez converter can be removed, but I don't know how. I have tried unscrewing it both clockwise and counter-clockwise, but I am afraid to really force the issue unless I know what I am doing is correct. Can anyone help?

 

I am going to store my 100. It was a pretty good writing pen when I could get the ink flowing, which was almost never. Apparently I got one of the bad ones, and I am truely disappointed with mine. - On the other hand, my Hero 700 and 200A have been consistently reliable and fun writers. The 200A is the performance champ of the lot. I see no more 100's in my future, but another 200A is definite.

[*david*]

It's not a converter and can't be removed. (Well, "can't" is a strong word, but it requires tools and mechanical ability.)

[Nihontochicken]

The Hero 100 is a strangely engineered pen, IMO. I've been told it is patterned after the Parker 61, but I have as yet to take one of those apart. Anyway, getting back to the Hero 100, when you remove the barrel, you will see what appears to be the stainless steel "section" onto which the barrel fits with standard right hand threads. Now, this "section" screws into the shell (hood) with LEFT hand threads. When you remove it, you will see that it is just a collar, not a section in the traditional sense. When you unscrew this collar, the filler shroud with J-bar should just pull straight out of the shell, leaving the sac and real section (small transparent plastic piece) behind. Now grip the section at the base of the sac and unscrew it from the shell, noting it also utilizes LEFT hand threads. This may be difficult. It may bind with a small white plastic collar at the rear of the section with small locking tabs keyed to slots cut in the shell through the threads (entirely under-robust and persnickity-boo engineering IMO). You can try to tap/rap the pen to dislodge this little white plastic collar first, but I doubt it will fall out as it was "designed" (???) to do. This crappy little white plastic collar will want to rotate, and likely will, with the supposed locking tabs jumping the keyways and grinding away against the shell threads, wearing down both. If and when you unscrew the section, note there is a small silicone washer in the front, between the section and the collector, that seals the ink inside the pen. Don't lose it! The collector fits into the section with a really loose fit, and so may just stay inside the shell. It should slide straight out, holding the nib, feed and filler tube. When putting it all back together, note the proper order is to place the nib/feed/collector/filler tube unit into the shell (it locks - slightly! - into proper position with respect to the shell when in the full forward position), then screw in the section/sac with silicone washer forward and WITHOUT the white plastic tabbed collar at the rear, again remembering the LEFT hand threads. Then insert the crappy little white plastic collar, with tabs matching the keyways cut in the shell threads - push it straight in, don't rotate. Then push the filler shroud straight in, with the slots matched in position to the white collar tabs and shell keyways. Next screw in the LEFT hand thread metal shroud collar, and then the right handed thread plastic barrel. If and when you get through all of this, you will appreciate the overly complicated and bogus design nature of the Hero 100. Good luck!

[FrankB]

Yesssss! Thank you, Nihontochicken!! This is the explanation for the 100 disassembly that I saw before. I shall give it a try.

[Nihontochicken]

One more thing I need to add. The major problem is in removing the stainless steel shroud collar from the shell (again, LEFT hand threads). The filler shroud should NOT rotate with the collar, but friction binding of the collar on the shroud will likely cause it to turn if caution is not taken. So, firmly hold the shell with one hand, the shroud with the other hand, and then with your third hand unscrew the collar. This is called dumb engineering, IMO. If the shroud does turn, it will force the crappy little white plastic collar "locking" tabs to jump their keyways and engage the shell threads, shaving plastic off of both. If this happens, the pen can still be re-assembled and work properly, but the supposed locking tabs on the crappy little white plastic collar won't again perform their intended duty.

[*david*]

This very quickly becomes more work than the price of a new pen.

[Nihontochicken]

This very quickly becomes more work than the price of a new pen.

 

Well, maybe not if your labor is priced where mine is, about three steps below China. I'm almost to the point of buying a Parker 61 in order to break it down and determine whether the Hero 100 is so badly engineered on its own merit or whether instead it is just faithfully copying suspect American design.

[psfred]

Or you could just fill with water, eject it, shake the remaining water/ink mixture out like you shake a thermometer (wrap a folded paper towel over the nib end and hold the whole package, even a Hero won't take a full speed flight into the sink nib first!), then repeat until only clear or nearly clear water comes out.

 

Unless you've been using Superchrome ink or something silly like calligraphy "ink" (really thin acrylic paint), this will remove all the ink from the pen without disassembling it.

 

I do this to change colors on the 51's -- works every time once they are clean to start with.

 

Peter

[Johnson]

Or you could just fill with water, eject it, shake the remaining water/ink mixture out like you shake a thermometer (wrap a folded paper towel over the nib end and hold the whole package, even a Hero won't take a full speed flight into the sink nib first!), then repeat until only clear or nearly clear water comes out.

x2

 

I own two Hero 100's and this is all I have ever done when putting a Hero back into storage. A good flushing with cold water until the water runs clear out of the pen, then wrap the tip of the pen in a paper towel and sling that thing! Bits of ink will come out on the paper towel when you unwrap it, then flush again and you'll notice a ton of ink was loosened from the resevoir.

 

Rinse and repeat (literally).