Saturday 27 July 2013

Hero 616 Jumbo Cap Clip Swap

A while back, I was browsing FPN and noted a fun wee 616 mod. A member named 'lint' had swapped the clips from gold and silver Hero 616 caps to create a nice two-tone effect. Now that thunder and lightning have been hurled down as just punishment for our warm and sunny July, I've dug out the screwdriver & blutack to follow in his footsteps.

Goldie clip, chromey cap, pretty pen.

At £3.78 for a gold-capped 616 from eBay seller YesPen, I'll say this is not too decadent a whimsy to indulge. The alternate gold cap/chrome clip combo is also quite striking, and you get a strong, small cardboard box and rigid plastic pen case too - very handy for reuse as decent pen packaging. As usual, the 616 Jumbo offers safe tinkering experience, this particular clip wanting far less tension to use on anything less than a permanent basis. Here's a few more pictures.

The stamping on the arrow feathers is actually pretty decent!


I've never quite got the hang of photographing shiny metal.

In the unlikely event anyone from Hero is reading; to commemorate your seven-billionth 616, or whatever, how about releasing a flighter model? I'd buy one - especially if the metal barrel had engraved lines like the cap!

For some inexplicable reason, this cap shape makes me think of Champagne.


Till next time,

Flounder






4 comments:

  1. I really enjoy your Blog, and have even experimented with Colpohony - Rosin - Sealant too !
    The gold/silver contrast of the Hero 616 looks far better, I believe, than all-gold or all-silver. I've been using a gold capped Hero 616 for quite some time now, and the plating seems very robust with no sign of plating loss. I wonder if the plating on the cap itself is Titanium Nitride (TiN); this is also used as a very hard plating to metalworking drills. The clip I've used is one of those very nice (I used the original Hero gold clip but the plating seems less robust than the cap. shorter style parker silver clips. (I used the original Hero gold clip but the plating seems less robust than the cap, it showed signs of wear quite rapidly)

    Aye, Denis

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  2. What a nice comment, I better do it justice with some new content!

    That's an interesting amalgamation you've made: a Parker/Hero mashup! If you're feeling *really* wild, I notice there's a guy on eBay now selling reproduction blue diamond 51 clips.

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  3. Hi Flounder, my comments don't do your Blog justice...(just re-read my 'comments' doh ! Methinks it was a cut and paste which somehow became a copy and paste ! Anyway., you get my drift)
    The corollary of the Parker clip on a Hero 616 is the Hero 616 clip on an old knackered P51 - it's a perfect fit although it doesn't have the little P51 clip positioning indent which stops it rotating. No matter ! Flouders patent Rosin fixes that (literally).
    Your Kaigelu article were similarly enthralling; so much so that I've got a 'kit' together incl the pen in order to have a play myself...(I'm thinking of threading the little plastic bobbin rather that your 'C' Clip approach...

    Aye D

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  4. Oooh. That is certainly the best looking 616 in existence.

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