Wingsung 601 Vacumatic Filler

[Mech-for-i]

I wonder who did the internal beta for this pen, using what kind of protocol. Well in fact I wonder if the Mfr care enough to Beta production batch pen instead of prototype / pre production runs. Its common in manufacturing that a good design would do well in those early stages but come out problematic in real production. The Manufacturing / Assembly in production line and tolerance thus variate and variate enough ... this is not just QC , its got to be taken into account in the engineering stage .. I had a feeling that this might be very largely a part of the problem.

[richardandtracy]

  On 1/23/2018 at 4:37 AM, matteob said:

...There is no way a Japanese or German company would allow such a situation even with a cheap line like a Preppy or Safari.

Maybe not German nor Japanese, but certainly Italian.

I bought the FPN LE Stipula Etruria in 2011. The call it a pile of poop would be to over praise it. I sent it back with a letter, and in that letter highlighted every single one of the 37 places where it didn't write properly. I have never had a Chinese pen write that badly. Ever. I have never paid as much for a pen either.

I put my comments in 'lothianjavert's review of the Stipula Etruria linked to in the Review forum index (can't post a direct link from this tablet) if you're interested in reading exactly what I said.

 

So, it is worth pointing out that poor QC is not exclusive to Chinese pens. And that the worst QC I have ever come across was from Italy, where a QC regime simply did not exist.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

[Mech-for-i]

  On 1/23/2018 at 8:03 AM, richardandtracy said:

Maybe not German nor Japanese, but certainly Italian.

I bought the FPN LE Stipula Etruria in 2011. The call it a pile of poop would be to over praise it. I sent it back with a letter, and in that letter highlighted every single one of the 37 places where it didn't write properly. I have never had a Chinese pen write that badly. Ever. I have never paid as much for a pen either.

I put my comments in 'lothianjavert's review of the Stipula Etruria linked to in the Review forum index (can't post a direct link from this tablet) if you're interested in reading exactly what I said.

 

So, it is worth pointing out that poor QC is not exclusive to Chinese pens. And that the worst QC I have ever come across was from Italy, where a QC regime simply did not exist.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

lol .... and certainly French too, I've had one time buy a pen from a pretty well known and respected brand , and had to practically disassemble it and re assemble it myself before it would even write. Italian ; well, let's just say they are somewhat temperamental

[matteob]

@richardandtracey can't find that review. Only comment on the Stipula I can find from you is a compliment of the nib but it having too much ink on it. Italian QC is bad sometimes. My first car was a Fiat and it was terrible. I had a Fatip Piccolo razor too with casting and plating issues. Only good Italian products I have is a handmade notebook from a Siena maker and my DeLonghi coffee machine. French stuff I have only experiences with Clairefontaine paper and Opinel knives: both excellent. Best product I own for design, quality, tolerances etc has to be my Victorinox Swiss Champ knife. The quality of the Swiss Army Knives from these guys is exquisite. I wish some pens were as well made with the same quality/price ratio. Their guarantee is amazing too. replaced two blades for free on a much used 20 year old Climber model.

Edited January 23, 2018 by matteob

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

I was honestly shocked when I came to know that Italian fountain pen manufacturers have such a large group of followers today these days. Unless it's vintage I don't see my country's fountain pens anywhere.

 

I don't think I'm going to trust Visconti or Montegrappa or Stipula with hundreds of euros any time soon..

 

If they ever release beginner fountain pens at a 10-15€ cost... Maybe.

Edited January 23, 2018 by RoyalBlueNotebooks

[matteob]

@RoyalBlueNotebooks: they sell on the luxurious Italian style image. I love Italy and I love Italian design but sometimes the actual execution is bad.I am talking about mass production though. Italian craftsmen are some of the best in the world so surprized at quality control issues on a premium pen. However Lavazza coffee, Delonghi machine, Prorasso and TFS soaps, handmade leather journals from La Stamperia Nannini Siena: tutti perfetti!

Edited January 23, 2018 by matteob

[richardandtracy]

Matteob,

Post 7 here https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/212785-fpn-stipula-etruria-11-italic/

 

Regards

 

Richard.

[Tefolim]

I do not know how to speak it in English.

 

From left to right:

"102" Wingsung, Parker 51, The Improved Wing Sung 601, Old Wing Sung 601

 

 

[hari317]

I see that the pen is now available on Ebay, at least at the moment. And there is a very informative exploded view in the listing of the filler. It can be clearly seen how it stands wrt to the Parker version.

 

Whats the diaphragm made of? Latex or more resilient synthetics? The Chinese have been making superb synthetic sacs for all their sac squeeze fill pens since the 80s at least.

[Amory]

  On 1/23/2018 at 7:54 PM, matteob said:

@RoyalBlueNotebooks: they sell on the luxurious Italian style image. I love Italy and I love Italian design but sometimes the actual execution is bad.I am talking about mass production though. Italian craftsmen are some of the best in the world so surprized at quality control issues on a premium pen. However Lavazza coffee, Delonghi machine, Prorasso and TFS soaps, handmade leather journals from La Stamperia Nannini Siena: tutti perfetti!

I only buy comestibles here.

Amory

Sent from beautiful sunny Sicily

[antoniosz]

Boo. It leaks... Badly... I should have read the comments more thoroughly

[DasKaltblut]

I finally got mine that I ordered on Jan 3. I've filled it with water...going to throw it into my bag tomorrow and see if it leaks!

[grainweevil]

Oh dear, sad to hear about these leaks. Mine's been inked since the 18th with no trouble (touch wood!). Only difficulty being a tendency to dry out, easily solved with a little beeswax in the ill-positioned vent hole in the inner cap.

[Aysedasi]

My blue one arrived yesterday. It writes very nicely, even though I'm not a fan of fine nibs. I've had no leaks, although I have found it quite difficult to get the pen fully filled.

[hari317]

  On 2/2/2018 at 12:21 PM, Aysedasi said:

My blue one arrived yesterday. It writes very nicely, even though I'm not a fan of fine nibs. I've had no leaks, although I have found it quite difficult to get the pen fully filled.

It should fill upto end of the breather tube. If the tube is short, no full fill. In any case in the vacumatic, the volume displaced by the plunger-diaphragm always remains vacant.

[Tefolim]

New 601 will on sale after Chinese new year.

New colours will be added.

The 500 special yellow 601 only will be provided to those who bought 601 before the 28th Dec. 2017 for free.

[bigt]

My blue one arrived a couple of days ago and seems to be working perfectly- I do hope they bring out

more transparent ones-those I really like!

Tony

[Aysedasi]

  On 2/3/2018 at 4:40 PM, Tefolium said:

The 500 special yellow 601 only will be provided to those who bought 601 before the 28th Dec. 2017 for free.

 

Oh poo...... I'd have liked a yellow one.......

Edited February 3, 2018 by Aysedasi

[Osmaroid]

Just a few words for those of you experiencing leaks. The pen I commented upon earlier had only been flushed with water after test dipping it. I decided to apply silicone grease to the threads holding the hood in place. The hood was only finger tight and came off easily. I applied a little grease to the threads and also to the black O-Ring, then re-assembled and filled the pen. I have now been using it for about a week with no signs of leaking.

Meanwhile, I received a second pen and decided to do the same........however, this time the hood was attached very firmly and could not be removed just using my hands. I changed my mind and decided to see if this was an indicator of better sealing, and so, after test dipping it, I left the first water flush in it (about 12 presses of the button to get a good amount in). That was about 2 days ago, and so far, so good - no leaking.

So it does appear that at least the last batch (I ordered both pens in January) can be made functional with minimum effort. At least the nibs were commendably smooth, especially for such a fine nib. I have bought new pens costing about 20 times as much as these pens and have had to do fairly significant bib work on them - something that is far more effort than I expended here!

[Mech-for-i]

good to know that and as Teflium had inform us, another further improved batch incoming late Feb; I think I would hold until then. Vacumatic the mechanism is in itself noting really too hard to do but it do require good sealing and proper venting of the breather tube; and a tight fitting overall. It looks so that these earlier 601 fail on two of these three, and they are making effort to remediate