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Thread: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

  1. #21
    Senior Member awa54's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    drippy usually means an air leak... the 600 has o-rings in all the right places to avoid that!

    Let me remind you; "the cap is crap" (tm), so don't expect a sturdy clip for your $15 investment ...as I mentioned the cap from a $15 Hero 100 fits nicely and is much better made, so for $30 you can have a pseudo-vac 51-esque Chinese pen that writes very nicely *and* holds a s**t-ton of ink without the potential mess of an eyedropper filler.

    Go for it!
    David-

    So many restoration projects...

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    Senior Member INeedAFinancialAdvisor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Quote Originally Posted by azkid View Post
    I'm seriously thinking about picking up one of these. However the last Hero I had, a 616 I think, had something wrong with it. It was really drippy and wrote way too wet. But that was when I first started and I didn't bother to do much troubleshooting. Hopefully it was a fluke and/or not an issue with the 601.
    For My part, as i said above; i have 4 of them and have had absolutely no issues with them and they are constantly in my rotation. One of them is my edc pen. I say go for it!

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    Senior Member gbryal's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    I got one and mostly like it, but on mine the nib isn't the best and the tines are too far apart. It definitely doesn't write like my 51.

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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Quote Originally Posted by gbryal View Post
    I got one and mostly like it, but on mine the nib isn't the best and the tines are too far apart. It definitely doesn't write like my 51.
    Try swapping in a bent nib. I liked my 601 before but I liked it a lot more after.

    (not my video)

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    Senior Member Pendragon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    It might be that Chinese pens have inconsistent quality. It could also be the case that those having problems are more vocal about it than those satisfied with their pens.

    I have read reports about the Hero 100 being poor quality and that the pens crack and leak. The theory seems to go that this is due to the plastic being too thin. I have been using my Hero 100 off and on for nearly 15 years with zero issues and no quality problems. I have also had zero issues with my Wing Sung 601A, which writes quite nicely and is of good build quality. The quality is somewhat better than the Hero 100, although the Hero does have a gold nib that is very smooth.

    My advice? Take what is posted here and other online venues with a grain of salt. It is real world experience that counts. Why not buy the 601 or 601A and decide for yourself whether or not it is a good pen? If it works out well, you got a great pen at a bargain price. If it doesn't work well, then you are only out $15. IMHO, it is a gamble worth taking.

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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Quote Originally Posted by catbert View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by gbryal View Post
    I got one and mostly like it, but on mine the nib isn't the best and the tines are too far apart. It definitely doesn't write like my 51.
    Try swapping in a bent nib. I liked my 601 before but I liked it a lot more after.
    I totally agree. Nice upgrade for almost no money!

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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Thanks all. I've been wanting to experience a hooded nib Parker clone. The 2019 601 version has two jewels or beads. I'll report my experiences.

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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Wing Sung 601 arrived. I like it. Looks well made and writes well.

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    INeedAFinancialAdvisor (November 13th, 2019)

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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Glad you like it so far

    Enjoy

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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Just got my 3rd 601. Well actually, I gave the first one to the eldges grand daughter, another to a friend for Christmas, and the last one today that I will keep as my own. They are an exceptionally well constructed pen that writes effortlessly.

  13. #31
    Senior Member gbryal's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    I took mine apart after accidentally ramming the nib way up the feed. Once I returned it to operational status it now has a very pleasant cursive italic effect from some slight twisting or bending of the tines which I am not inclined to fix.

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    Sailor Kenshin (December 18th, 2019)

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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    A mix of a couple of comments I made somewhere else. No pictures, since I was not doing a real review...just adding thoughts to some one else.

    I received a hooded WS 601 today. Impressive pen. Heavier plastic than a normal Chinese pen, those of the sort I bought about 15 years ago, like the Hero 616. Solid stainless steel cap, brushed down like the P-51 Special, with a finely detailed arrow clip, a Parker 51-like clutch ring so there is a definite cloomp as the cap fits on. Elegant purple jewels.

    The insides design looks like a sensible modernization of the 51 Vac. Everything screws together in a logical way, so no working with a heat gun to melt shellac that holds a 51 hood in place. The 601 comes with a tool that looks like a converter, but holds a clear grease, probably intended to keep the plunger working smoothly. Part of the "converter" is actually a little wrench that unscrews the plunger assembly.

    "Modernization" means that the 51 Vac and aero were to be worked on at a Parker repair center. "No user serviceable parts". Starting about 1960, with the Parker 45, the company released pens that let an owner unscrew a part and swap in another. And Parker gradually eliminated their service centers. (Marilyn Brown once told me about the last repair specialist at the Parker center in New York. Eventually, he opened a repair shop in Grand Central. By 2010, he had died with the last ten years.)

    Flushing it out? I don't bother to flush a Vac or aerometric 51; at most, I will plunge out as much ink as I can and then soak the pen overnight. Maybe over several nights if I going to store it. Otherwise, I write with various blue inks, and it's no big deal to shade in Parker Penman Sapphire to Diamine Sapphire Blue to Private Reserve American Blue, to classic Quink with Solv-X. Never felt the need to flush a P-51 when I change inks and never change inks every couple days.

    For anyone who really wants to flush a 601, that is simple. The tool lets you pull the filling unit, and then you have an empty barrel.

    Nothing in a 601 interchanges with a Parker 51, but if I were king, I would have Parker contract with Wing Sung to change the 601 slightly to be compatible with the old Parker 51 nib and cap, and then market the pen as the Parker 51 Next Gen, the P-51 Mark IV or V. The rest is all there: feed running through a finned collector that looks a lot like the P-51 collector, the breather tube, the arrow clip.

    *

    A small addition: I dislike the original nib on the 601. I got four Bobby nibs from office_supplies_pen, each, as best I can tell, in a slightly increasing width and a sharper bend. Last night I installed one. It was easy, with a couple of looks and re-looks at SBRE Brown's "How to Disassemble a Wing Sung 601". Now I have a nice medium nib, and I've been experienced pulling the nib, feed, and collector. (Could not pull the breather tube, but that didn't matter). I patiently wrenched the nib-feed-collector around until I finally got it lined up with the hood. (Forgot to mark off the line of barrel and hood to get the correct orientation of the nib, but fixing was no big deal). When I have changed nibs on a Parker 51, I have removed the hood and ignored the collector -- just slid the old nib off the feed and slid on the new feed. Next time I'll try that with the 601, although memory says that the nib might be too tight and too far inside the collector...

    It is a pleasure to work on this pen.

    Of course I will continue to carry a 51 Vac or a 51 aero every day, but the Wing Sung 601 parts fit logically and it is fun to work on. And it writes well.

    A final test: would the 601 have dried out by morning? No, the 601 was just as wet and ready. That is the real test of the Parker 51, which was intended to lay down ink as soon as the nib touched paper, and to got many days, or weeks, between use. (Not that Parker expected anyone to put aside a 51...it was the king of pens back when people used a fountain pen as their daily personal writing instrument. But, still...)

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    azkid (May 23rd, 2020), Chuck Naill (May 24th, 2020), topcat666 (May 23rd, 2020)

  17. #33
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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Very helpful and interesting info, @welch .

    Where did you get your 601? Are there better suppliers than others or can I just go on AliExpress or eBay and buy the first one I find and it will be ok?

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    welch (May 24th, 2020)

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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Not to divert this thread, but it occurred to me the Lamy Al Star and Wing Sung 601 sell for around $20 on Amazon. I see the market similarly for both pens as a good, durable writer.

  20. #35
    Senior Member welch's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wing Sung 601 "vacumatic"

    Quote Originally Posted by azkid View Post
    Very helpful and interesting info, @welch .

    Where did you get your 601? Are there better suppliers than others or can I just go on AliExpress or eBay and buy the first one I find and it will be ok?
    I got mine from office_supplies_pen on EBay for $16.50 and free shipping. Seems like a reliable seller. I also bought a bottle of Hero ink, just from curiosity.

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    azkid (May 24th, 2020)

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