A Vintage Gateway? Wing Sung 601 "Vacumatic" Filler

September 15, 2019

Longtime readers of this blog know that despite my primary focus on the “high-end” segment of the fine-writing industry, I have a soft-spot for bargains, especially if I find a sub-$20 pen that outperforms pens costing 3-5 times as much. Over the past year, brands such as Moonman and PenBBS have moved to the top of my list quality-wise, but it’s hard to dismiss Wing Sung. But before you write the Wing Sung 601 off as yet another cheap Chinese Parker 51 clone like those that used to sell on eBay at $5 for a pack of 6, let me assure you that all of the recent Wing Sung Pens I have tested, including not just the 601 but also the 618 piston filler, have performed exceptionally well.

The last Wing Sung pens I reviewed were the Wing Sung 618 and the 698, both piston fillers that have proven to be quite durable, despite their all-plastic construction and low price point. I still use them regularly, and my two 618 pens in particular are regularly inked. Enter the Wing Sung 601, which is a bit of a throwback to the late 2000s when Chinese pen companies flooded eBay with extremely inexpensive Parker 51 clones (more on that below), only this pen is of much better quality and uses a pump-filling “vacumatic” filling system.

Yes, you heard that right! You can now purchase a vintage-style “vacumatic” fountain pen for less than $20. And it’s far from a terrible pen. The Wing Sung 601 uses the same stainless steel hooded nib that you find on the 618. Because vacumatic/pump-filler fountain pens use the pen’s barrel as an ink reservoir (like an eyedropper), I actually find that the 601 writes a smoother, wetter line than the 618, even if the nib is still technically a fine/extra fine in width.

The downsides to vacumatic-style fountain pens are (1) they’re a pain to clean, and (2) the rubber sac/diaphragm attached to the pump will eventually wear out, probably every 2 years or so depending on how frequently you use the pen and your choice of inks. With my vacumatics (either true vintage pens or vintage-inspired modern pens), I choose one or two inks - typically a black, blue, or blue-black - to use in the pen, and stick with those colors so that I don’t have to worry about cleaning the pen to a pristine state. With respect to repairs, many people will likely choose to use a $20 pen until it breaks and then toss it in the garbage. However, I think that the Wing Sung 601 presents a low-risk opportunity to learn vacumatic repair/sac-replacement, and some eBay sellers are even offering replacement filling mechanisms.

A note on Chinese companies’ fixation with the Parker 51: Hero and Wing Sung have been producing pens “inspired by” the Parker 51 since at least the 1960s, with varying degrees of quality. It doesn’t take a vintage expert to recognize that these are NOT real Parker 51 pens, in that they don’t say “Parker” anywhere on them, though they do sport an “arrow clip.” I won’t engage in an extended discussion of the history between Parker and Hero/Wing Sung, because that’s been done elsewhere, but the conventionally accepted story is that the Chinese government nationalized a Parker factory in Shanghai at some point in the mid-20th century, and Hero (which I believe owned/owns Wing Sung) has been churning out Parker 51 clones ever since. You can read more about the current status of the Wing Sung brand, and a bit more history, at Frank’s comprehensive Chinese Fountain Pen blog, Frank Underwater.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

While a $15-20 Wing Sung pen is never going to replace an authentic vintage Parker 51 in either beauty or quality, the 601 is an inexpensive, low-risk introduction to this style of pen, particularly the vacumatic-style filling system. If you are on the fence as to whether or not you want to spend $100+ on a properly restored Parker 51, give one of these Wing Sung pens a try to see if you enjoy the shape and style. It’s a close-enough approximation, and even if you decide you don’t want to take the plunge, you have a competent everyday writer that didn’t cost a lot of money.

Wing Sung pens, including the Wing Sung 601 pens pictured here, are widely available on either eBay or Amazon. On eBay, I’ve purchased pens from Seller art-pen-book-dy, and also from Amazon, where pens are generally come with free Prime Shipping. One other thing to note is that some eBay sellers are offering replacement filling systems for as little as $2.99. This is doubly interesting to me because not only is it a cheap and easy fix for a broken Wing Sung 601, but it raises the question of whether this mechanism could be used to fix a broken Parker 51 Vacumatic, since original mechanisms are no longer in production.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I purchased the pens featured in this review with my own funds, for my own use.

Testing Out "Tester Pens": What's the Role of the "Cheap" Fountain Pen?

September 15, 2018

You may have noticed that I’ve been trying to reintroduce ink reviews on the site by - well, reviewing more inks. A couple things make this a challenge for me. First, I do use my pens regularly outside of the work I do here on this blog. I have a writing-intensive job with an output that regularly exceeds 20 (typed) pages per day, and the way I work/think involves a lot of longhand note-taking and sketching out ideas before I even start on the computer. These notes are frequently shared among colleagues, and handwritten markups of documents scanned and e-mailed to clients. That’s a long way of saying that whatever ink I use in my daily writers needs to be something that I know is reliable and works well on cheap recycled copy paper, which limits my opportunities to experiment with new inks that I don’t know much about, not to mention properties like sheen and shimmer.

At the same time, I don’t like to write ink reviews based on a swab and a couple lines of writing with a dip pen. That doesn’t give me any sense of how the ink truly “performs,” and whether it’s something I could legitimately recommend for daily use - which is what I try to keep the focus on here. But I also don’t want to ink one of my favorite writers up with an “unknown” ink and just have it sit indefinitely (or stain, clog, melt, etc. if the ink turns out to be not-so-nice). So what to do? Enter the low-cost tester pen.

Earlier this year I discovered Wing Sung demonstrators. These inexpensive Chinese piston fillers were some of the best cheap pens that I’d used to date, and that impression has not changed. Even better, Wing Sung continues to release a steady stream of new models, often sold in packs of four or five pens that gets the price down to a few dollars per unit. This eliminates any risk of testing out “higher maintenance” inks in my nice pens.

Wing Sung 3008 Demonstrators, which I first learned about at this year’s DC Pen Show.

So right now I have a dozen or so Wing Sung demonstrators inked up with an equal number of inks I’m testing, sitting in a cup on my desk at home. Four of them are loaded up with various Colorverse “glistening” inks (Ham, Hayabusa, Brane, and Gluon). The rest contain various Noodler’s permanent and quick-drying inks and some highly saturated Private Reserve Colors. Surprisingly, the extra fine nibs on all of these pens are good writers, and I’ve found myself reaching for them at home quite a bit when I’m working at my desk there. If the inks turn out to be serviceable, I’ll slip one of the tester pens into my pen case and take it to work for the day, giving it a more extended “audition.” If I don’t like it, and it sits so long that it clogs or stains, so what? I’m liking my new system.

So Which Pens Am I Talking About, Exactly?

I’ve purchased all of my Wing Sung pens via Amazon, and the Sellers don’t always make the model number clear, so it can be difficult to know exactly which pen you’re buying. The piston fillers that hold the glistening inks are the Wing Sung 3008, which are sold in packs of four and feature different colored aluminum caps and trim. (I first learned about these because Ana had them at the 2018 DC Pen Show.) The rest of the pens are Wing Sung 3010 and Wing Sung 3001 demonstrators, which are cartridge-converter pens that feature a surprisingly good converter. (So good, in fact, that I’m going to see if this converter fits other pens. It seals really well, and includes a small spring in the barrel which breaks surface tension, ensuring good ink flow.)

So far, I’ve been pleased with all of these pens. Of course, at this price point I don’t expect them to last forever. In particular, the pistons and converters will eventually wear out, or the plastic will crack after repeated capping/uncapping. But in the meantime, enjoy them for what they are: fun demonstrator fountain pens that you can fill up with the craziest of inks, safe in the knowledge that if things don’t work out, at most, you’re out a couple bucks.

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates.

Initial Impressions: Wing Sung 618 and Wing Sung 698 Piston Fillers

February 7, 2018

If you’ve been following the links in my Deals and Drops posts over the past few months, you might suspect that I've been dabbling in the world of ultra low-cost Chinese pens. You notice I don’t use the word “cheap”, because I don’t necessarily agree with all that term implies, namely low quality. Indeed, the first two pens that I’ve tried recently - two piston filling demonstrators from Wing Sung - are a far cry from the fragile, basically disposable pens that I became familiar with from my early days in this hobby.

Previous Experience

My prior experience with inexpensive Chinese pens was primarily with Jinhao, and as we all know I’m not the biggest fan. I’ve owned some Jinhao pens that were serviceable writers; however, at the same time, I’ve received Jinhao pens with severe flaws in the finish, and the Monteverde Monza / Jinhao 992 has barrel-cracking issues in addition to quality control problems with the nibs. I did purchase a Kaigelu Duofold clone from now-defunct isellpens.com that was an ok writer, but the pen was also extremely heavy due to the brass barrel. Based on my experience so far, the Wing Sung pens are a cut above their competitors: they are relatively well-built, functional pens that I can actually see myself using, provided they hold up over the long term.

Design and Build

For my initial foray back into the Chinese pen market, I opted to try two Wing Sung demonstrators, the Wing Sung 618 and the Wing Sung 698. Both of these pens are attractive. Wing Sung did a good job of polishing the acrylic for this price point, and the clips feel secure. It remains to be seen how the pens will hold up over the long term (i.e., more than a month), but when you’re operating at this price point durability is one of those things you may have to sacrifice (or just assume that it’s reflected in the lower price).

I like that the Wing Sung pens (on the right) sport the clean lines and modern aesthetics of the TWSBI 580 and TWSBI Eco (two pens on the left), but in a slimmer, more streamlined package.

The 618 posts quite well; the 698 doesn't post at all.

The 618 is approximately the same size and shape as the vintage Parker 51, though the addition of the piston filler, threaded cap, and chrome cap band do change the look of the pen by modernizing it quite a bit. I would compare the 698 to a slimmer mash-up of the TWSBI 580 and the TWSBI Eco. I could use both Wing Sung pens very comfortably, though I wish the 698 posted.

While both pens have "Wing Sung" engraved on the barrel, for some reason the 698 has "Lucky" written on the clip.

A note on design. Chinese pen companies have been known for their “liberal” approach to intellectual property rights. With the possible exception of the “Arrow Clip” (which I believe is the subject of an ongoing dispute between Parker and Hero, Wing Sung's affiliated company, dating back to the 1940s), these two pens feature more original design elements than I’m accustomed to seeing, placing 618 pens more into the “homage” or “fantasy pen” category. The 698, to my knowledge, is distinct enough from anything else on the market to stand on its own.

Filling System and Writing Experience

This is where these pens almost lost me. While Wing Sung markets these pens as “piston fillers,” the filling system is a touch janky, for lack of a better term. This filling system is more accurately described, in my opinion, as a hybrid syringe filler / piston filler, since in order to get a “full fill” - and a full fill on these pens holds a lot of ink - you need to hold the blind cap steady and pull the piston out a bit as you turn, or else the blind cap will screw down and stop the piston before the pen is full of ink. It takes a few tries to master, and is tricky enough that I wouldn’t recommend this as a first fountain pen, despite the low price.

UPDATE: Based on reader recommendations, I tried again with the piston on these pens. As it turns out, Wing Sung uses a "locking piston" system, where in order to engage the piston you have to first pull out on the blind cap, after which the pen works like any regular piston filler, with no "syringe" action. Once you fill the pen, you push down on the blind cap to lock it back in place. It's slightly more complex than a typical piston filler, but it does work fairly well. I still wouldn't recommend this pen for beginners, since the instructions from Wing Sung don't offer clear instructions on how to fill the pen (unless you read Chinese). Also, the locking blind cap is held in place by small plastic "teeth," and I'm interested in seeing how those hold up over time.

I love vintage-style hooded sections, and other than the Aurora DuoCart and the Lamy 2000, not many pen companies use them today.

At the end of the day, it took me two or three attempts to get a full fill, and wow, these pens hold a lot of ink. I’ve been writing with the 618 almost non-stop for the past couple of weeks, and it’s still ¼ full. If I’m only refilling these pens once or twice a month, I can live with the temperamental piston.

The nibs are unremarkable, and I’d characterize both as “Western fine”. The nib on my 618 is fairly toothy, and I’ll probably take some micromesh to it to smooth it out. The nib on the 698 writes extremely well unmodified, and looks and feels similar to the nib on a Pilot Kakuno.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Right now, I’m categorizing this article as my “initial impressions” as opposed to a full review, because I still have some durability concerns about how long these pens will last and I want to revisit them at some point in the future. Given the low price point, I expect that some users will experience cracking in the acrylic, and that others will have problems with the “pistons,” but that’s to be expected with less expensive pens. Even TWSBI took a while to get the QC right at a much higher price point.

That said, my initial impressions are favorable. I’ve enjoyed using these unique pens, both of which have decent nibs that wrote immediately out of the box without any adjustment, which unfortunately is more than you can say for many pens that cost 2-3 times as much. Again, I would not recommend these as anyone’s first piston filling fountain pen - stick with the TWSBI Eco - but if you’re looking to vary your collection with some inexpensive transparent demonstrators, give these a try.

I purchased these pens from Amazon, where prices will vary. (See a link here for the 618 and a link here for the 698.) Though there are other ways to source these pens, I prefer to rely on Amazon when I can because (1) Prime shipping is generally faster, and (2) I like Amazon’s buyer protection services. The 698 is only available as a clear demonstrator, with chrome or gold plated trim, but the 618 comes in a wide range of colors, and I have a transparent dark blue with silver trim version on its way to me, via the slow boat, apparently. Look for more pics and an updated opinion in the future!

Disclaimer: I purchased these pens with my own money, for my own use. This post does contain affiliate links.