platinum cool and platinum balance feed total disassembly

Well, platinum is not going to like me, but i don't care.

Platinum cool, or balance, is supposed to be easy to clean. it's supposed to allow us to clean the feed sparkling clean. Not really. It is built in such a manner such that there is a center piece where ink can never be cleaned out normally.

That frustrated me and my OCD.

With the power of OCD, for the first time in history (i think), i took the feed even further apart than others will have ventured, and final took it apart to its most minute part. Finally i could clean this feed thoroughly. ;)

 

 

parker 75, hero 50 and wing sung 500

Hero 50

Note: this nib is very special. it is a screw-out!

 

 getting the family together

internal comparison:
wing sung 500 is similar to the old parker 75.

hero 50 is similar to the newer parker 75.

hero 336 disassemble

hero 336,  does have a collector. I was wondering how it writes without a feed given the equations reasoned that it should, and since today I felt so bullied that I decided to employ that nib extraction technique to the pen as well....
Anyway, I said before this pen has no fins collector. And yea, I just shot my head.

A pictorial comparison of the muji pen set

left to right : muju short fountain pen, muji gel pen, muji mechanical pencil, muji long fountain pen.

Note the differences in the length and the length of the pen body between muju short fountain pen, muji gel pen and the muji mechanical pencil so that you don't get the wrong item. the fountain pen is more expensive.

rotring core disassemble.

comparison : wing sung 612, hero 336, hero 331

comparison : wing sung 612, hero 336, hero 331

First impression : They are the same hooded nib pen. except 612 is trying to copy parker 51 when 336 and 331 might be copying parker 61. not really that important though.

Really? I need hard evidences. So, time to break them apart.

In order : wing sung 612, hero 336, hero 331. in order of their price. for hero 336, it is more expensive than 331.

packaging: 331 wins!

the pens themselves: i kind of think 612's clip looks nicer. no difference to me for 336 and 331.

612 doesn't have an arrow head....

The top and bottom of the pen. again, 612 looks nicer. 336 and 331's top and bottom do look a bit different, though you need to put them side by side to see the difference.

Now, the details:

The metal protector for the sac: each has their names on it. else, it is similar looking. especially 336 and 331.

The feed looks different for 612. 336 and 331's feed is exactly the same.

the nib for 612 is shorter. 336 and 331 is exactly the same.

verdict?

1) 612 is different from 336 and 331.
2) 336 and 331 looks only a bit different from each other, almost negligible.
3) 336 and 331's internal guts are the same.
4) the reason why 331 is more expensive than 336 is just for the packaging. :p

Real vs fake fountain pen : hero 616

These 2 are both 616 heroes, notice the differences?

Presumably one is real, the other is false. The presumed real version is very very VERY well made. 

I managed to get my hands on a very well made 616 for about 20 minutes until the owner realised...:p

the black one is supposed to be real, the red one isn't.

 

 

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 As i get more of the real 616, these are the comparison.

The top 2 are the real 616, the bottom is the fake. They have significant difference in quality, especially in the rubber sac.

This is the guts of a real 616 normal size. I love the transparent feed.