Wing Sung 698, First Impression Review

[Georges_S]

What worries me it is that it is not a full body like the twsbi eco, If the plastic at the nib section or around the threads doesn't crack after a while , i'm sold.

 

 

Edit : Btw how is the plastic compared to twsbi's ones ? does it feel the same ?

 

Wrong thread, there is a thread here answering that question, sorry about that.

Edited February 22, 2017 by Georges_S

[woleizihan]

What worries me it is that it is not a full body like the twsbi eco, If the plastic at the nib section or around the threads doesn't crack after a while , i'm sold.

 

Btw how is the plastic compared to twsbi's ones ? does it feel the same ?

I don't have a twsbi because the their big red logo looks stupid to me on any finish.

[coryroth]

FWIW, the below seller took my $17.50 offer for a 698.

 

http://www.ebay.com/usr/jewelrymathematics?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2754

[ubuntolaio]

Can I swap the nib of a Pilot Penmanship ( it's an XXF ) into this pen?

 

[antichresis]

Can I swap the nib of a Pilot Penmanship ( it's an XXF ) into this pen?

 

Yes.

[Trebiem18]

HI Guys, I just bought the Wing Sing 698 last week, I Inked it up yesterday the the the pen is not working ? I did try to turn the piston fill to released some in in the Nibs. then it start writing put after a while there is no ink coming from the nib ? Can anyone advise m e what to do?

appreciate your kind advise. .

[woleizihan]

HI Guys, I just bought the Wing Sing 698 last week, I Inked it up yesterday the the the pen is not working ? I did try to turn the piston fill to released some in in the Nibs. then it start writing put after a while there is no ink coming from the nib ? Can anyone advise m e what to do?

appreciate your kind advise. .

Assuming that the nib is writing properly if you do a dip test (not too dry, not scratchy...), I think it's probably some air leak issue. I would try to take the pen apart, do a nice clean and apply the silicone grease at threads before re assemble. There's nothing fancy in the filling system so there are only a handful of things that could go wrong. I don't think it has something to do with your ink/paper because Chinese pens always have high tolerance for those two factors. I've seen people using crazy gold flake ink in this pen without any issue. So it's probably just air leaking if it's not the nib itself.

[Trebiem18]

Dip test is OK. just like the ink is not following properly at the back of the nib , even I apply some pressure on the nib when the thins spread part alike there is still no ink coming out ? But i will try to take the pen apart and re-assemble it. Do i need any solution to clean the pen or just simple water can do.

 

 

Appreciate thanks.

[woleizihan]

Dip test is OK. just like the ink is not following properly at the back of the nib , even I apply some pressure on the nib when the thins spread part alike there is still no ink coming out ? But i will try to take the pen apart and re-assemble it. Do i need any solution to clean the pen or just simple water can do.

 

 

Appreciate thanks.

I think water should be fine. Just make sure you apply silicone grease on tbe threads/piston when you re assemble. It sounds like a flow problem and I think it's either a bad feed or air leak because this is a piston filler. If silicone grease does not help you could also try to play around with the feed but that's going to be a little bit more dangerous.

[Georges_S]

Dip test is OK. just like the ink is not following properly at the back of the nib , even I apply some pressure on the nib when the thins spread part alike there is still no ink coming out ? But i will try to take the pen apart and re-assemble it. Do i need any solution to clean the pen or just simple water can do.

 

 

Appreciate thanks.

simple water will do,but cold, if possible rinse it with distilled water. When you use your fountain pen for the first time before filling it with ink, always flush it with cold water to remove residual impurety or grease from the factory where it has been assembled.

[Lchu613]

Did they fix their plating to? If you use a IG ink with the gold plated ones, the IG ink will eat the plating away and store it in the feed permanently.

 

I don't know if there sending it to the warehouse or not. I selected international - others on the article page and the same goes for shipping address, too. It didn't allow me for example to buy some inks of the shop, because of laws. So I hope I did everything right.

Wait, have you actually seen this happen?

I'm looking to get a 698 and some R&K Salix and I really like the look of the black one but if that's true I might have to go with the white or demonstrator versions :/

[tintinp]

Some detailed info on the Wing Sung 14k nib would be nice! I'm curious how bouncy/ soft it is, and how wet.

[woleizihan]

Some detailed info on the Wing Sung 14k nib would be nice! I'm curious how bouncy/ soft it is, and how wet.

I think I saw a review somewhere recently, probably on Massdrop. The conclusion is the gold nib feels almost identical to the steel nib so I don't really expect it to be much softer.

[tintinp]

I think I saw a review somewhere recently, probably on Massdrop. The conclusion is the gold nib feels almost identical to the steel nib so I don't really expect it to be much softer.

oh, thanks then. Before this I came across this video review that indicated it seemed to be quite soft.

....I impulse bought it, since I was ordering some other pens from the seller on ebay anyway. Ah well, will update when I have it in my hands. I'm waiting for buyer's remorse to set in.

Edited April 17, 2017 by tintinp

[sciumbasci]

On eBay I see two options for this pen: soft nib, gold coloured hardware at ~17$, and another that says gold nib, at 42$. What is the difference? Gold vs gold colour?

[mitto]

Generally gold vs gold plated. Anyhow I dont know about the nibs on these particular pens.

[antichresis]

Hello, popping-up to ask if the gold trim has stood-up to regular use? My other Chinese pens have shoockingly short-lasting gold trim which gives me caution on getting a(nother) 698—this time in gold trim.

[FPFun]

I can confirm that it will take a Pilot Metropolitan nib. I just replaced the F it came with (not a soft f) with a Pilot Medium. Writes like a dream!

[lovementos]

Long story short. I got a big pen mail from China today and here's a frist impression review of the most interesting one, Wing Sung 698.

 

IMG_20170119_143730-min.jpg

IMG_20170119_143757-min.jpg

IMG_20170119_144137-min.jpg

 

1. Packaging

The pen comes in this soft plastic box sealed by a sticker. Nothing fancy and the box feels a little flimsy but everything inside sits nicely in slots. So I think they should be well protected. This is a piston filler and the "converter" is actually the included lubricant in a converter-like container. It's very thoughtful and practical for obvious reason. You don't have to buy the silicon grease separately, which costs extra and is just needed once in a while.

 

2. Design, Build Quality

I like the black one much better than the demonstrator. Like the packaging, there's nothing fancy about the design. Medium size, medium length and well balanced. I think the cap has several metal parts which add weight to the pen and can be a little back-heavy when posted. I think the plastic body is also well built and should be durable but the extra weight makes the pen feel more solid in hand when capped. The pen can be disassembled without a tool and the nib/feed is also friction fit so very easy to service/clean. In general, nothing fancy but everything works well.

 

IMG_20170119_143855-min.jpg

IMG_20170119_143908-min.jpg

IMG_20170119_143952-min.jpg

 

3. Nib Performance

It's commonly known that many Chinese pens need some adjustment out of box but both of the 698s write super well right out of the box. Very pleasing smooth nib with a tiny little bit of feedback. Very surprisingly pleasing and no complaint at all. Is it perfect for everyone? No, it's on the smooth side of the nib so if you prefer more feedback, this may not be the perfect nib for you. However, I believe this will be a good writer for many people. Nib comes in two sizes, the "soft" F nib and the "rigid" EF nib. The sizes are between western and Japanese sizes and are definitely on the Japanese side. Unfortunately, for those who like broader nibs, this may not be a good choice for you.

I really like the "soft" F nib because it's really soft. It writes smoothly with or without pressure and I can really feel the softness when writing without pressure. It's nothing like the "flex" Noodler's nibs and is very pleasing. The nib also has some line variation and you can refer to the writing sample. It's definitely not flex or even semi-flex compared to the vintage pens but it does have the similar springiness and softness and also produces nice variations considering it's more or less a western EF. It also requires much less pressure to produce the variation compared to a Noodler's nib.

IMG_20170119_144604-min.jpg

 

4. Size

As said in the design part. This is a medium sized pen and is very similar to the Platinum 3776 so it should be good for many people.

IMG_20170119_144232-min.jpg

 

5. Cost and Value

Retail for $10 in China, can be get for $20 on Ebay. Pison filler, smooth soft nib right out of the box, solid build quality, practical and thoughful packaging. There's nothing fancy but it has almost everything to be a perfect workhorse, including the lubricant. IMHO, it's unlikely something in the sub $30 range will beat this pen. If it has a threaded nib unit with more choices of nib sizes, I will compare it to a Pelikan M200 because 698 is actually larger than the Pelikan and feels better in my hands.

 

6. Final Conclusion

It works.

 

Here's a picture of rest of the pen mail and I'll review some of them if I have time.

IMG_20170119_144203-min.jpg

Which pen is that, the gold one in the very last picture?

 

Thanks

[woleizihan]

Hello, popping-up to ask if the gold trim has stood-up to regular use? My other Chinese pens have shoockingly short-lasting gold trim which gives me caution on getting a(nother) 698—this time in gold trim.

I think the gold plating is solid because I'm not seeing any kind of plating lost. I don't really know exacty how good it is but it's definitely much better than the gold plating on my Ranga.