I know some folks unscrew and disassemble their Hi-Mecha’s for storage in hopes that spending less time under load will spare the plastic, but I’m skeptical that screwing and unscrewing them with any regularity is better than just leaving them put. At any rate, it makes them less fun to look at.
How do you store yours? Any strong opinions either way?
All I know is, each time the halves are unscrewed, more of the plastic in the threads is worn down. Eventually, they are weakened to the point that the main spring causes a fracture.
For myself, I consciously apply pressure against the main spring when I have to unscrew the halves. This relieves friction and counter pressure on the plastic threads. I also do not fiddle with the lead degree settings.
Pretty much my thoughts, and I doubly echo trying to match the spring’s pressure while I thread or unthread ANY mechanical pencil I care about - especially a 40 year old one with plastic threads
I keep my Hi-Mechas screwed together in storage, juuust tight enough that the hardness indicator has a bit of friction and doesn’t slide around effortlessly.
I have said it before, but here it goes again: I would like to see a maker produce metal barrels for Hi-Mecha series. Perhaps it is up to me to order one from Lindsay to start this trend.
That would be the ultimate solution, right? Threaded correctly and machined out of anodized aluminum to keep the weight low etc. I am sure we can make a mass order to help things along…
On that note, does anyone know if the Hi mecha 2000 and 3000 series barrels are all interchangeable? As in, same diameter and thread depth/ pitch across the 2003/5, 3003/5, etc?
That would make things way, WAY easier as far as replacement barrels go… it’d be a waste not to track someone down who’s up to the task.
It’s a very nice knurling. Just right–not too aggressive or light. I’d say it’s comparable to a RR600.
Thread-wise, yes – they are all compatible. However, they have different barrel end bezels (the metal surrounding the plunger). So, for aesthetic correction, you end up “violating” the design by swapping between models.
@drifand is correct in that the most wear to the screw threads is the screwing/unscrewing motions. I wouldn’t really ever bother with changing the lead hardness indicator. Just leave it screwed together. However, I’d make sure it’s not super tight. Just gently snug enough so that the lead indicator doesn’t accidentally spin.
While they aren’t super rare, they are gradually diminishing in number over time. I have a user grade H-2003 and H-2005 that I put to use, but the others are all “mothballed”… I just don’t want to chance the introduction of unnecessary wear to the others. The user grade ones are holding up very well. But I have to say… I’m a bit more confident using a Pentel PSD5… because it’s a tighter build (metal screw threads, with threaded collar inside the body).
The PSD5 / PWP15 has a connecting collar that is threaded on both sides - one end is screwed (and glued) into the plastic barrel upper, and the other mates to the grip.
