Wingsung 601 Vacumatic Filler

[Mech-for-i]

anytime one of these will not pull ink ; its almost certain the sealing is the issue, any such filling system require true air tight sealing and if not there simply put the mechanism just will not function

[eharriett]

  On 4/20/2018 at 2:37 AM, Mech-for-i said:

anytime one of these will not pull ink ; its almost certain the sealing is the issue, any such filling system require true air tight sealing and if not there simply put the mechanism just will not function

Yeah, I figured something like that. Never having torn down a button filler pen before, I’ve never tried any kind of repair. I just wanted at first to make sure it was working. After this ink fill is done, I’ll probably clean it and attempt an amateur disassembly to see if I can fix it rather than break it more.

[hinky]

I ordered the vacumatic about two weeks ago. It arrived yesterday and I filled it with water to check for leaks. It seemed to fill just fine but it's hard to tell how much ink is inside because I got the solid colored one (and filled it with just water). Taking it out for a spin today, just chucked in my bag, to see if it'll leak (I hope it doesn't 😅).

 

If, in the future, the diaphragm fails, would it be possible to convert to eyedropper (add silicone grease to the threads of the pump cover)? I mean, if I remove the pump mechanism, there wouldn't be metal parts left, right? 🤔 (Haven't tried disassembling yet)

 

*edited for typo

Edited April 20, 2018 by hinky

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

  On 4/20/2018 at 4:26 AM, eharriett said:

Yeah, I figured something like that. Never having torn down a button filler pen before, Ive never tried any kind of repair. I just wanted at first to make sure it was working. After this ink fill is done, Ill probably clean it and attempt an amateur disassembly to see if I can fix it rather than break it more.

Have you tried pushing the button quickly? My pen works better that way even though here in the forum I've read that it's better to release the button slowly.

[Mech-for-i]

  On 4/20/2018 at 6:33 AM, hinky said:

I ordered the vacumatic about two weeks ago. It arrived yesterday and I filled it with water to check for leaks. It seemed to fill just fine but it's hard to tell how much ink is inside because I got the solid colored one (and filled it with just water). Taking it out for a spin today, just chucked in my bag, to see if it'll leak (I hope it doesn't ).

 

If, in the future, the diaphragm fails, would it be possible to convert to eyedropper (add silicone grease to the threads of the pump cover)? I mean, if I remove the pump mechanism, there wouldn't be metal parts left, right? (Haven't tried disassembling yet)

 

*edited for typo

 

with a screwed in section and a similarly screwed in mechanism I say its perfectly possible to convert to a ED, in fact I was thinking its likely possible to be hacked as a Japanese ED ( with stopper to the section).

[truthpil]

Has anyone tried the gold-nibbed version of the 601?

I wonder if it's worth the extra price.

 

The newer diaphragm-less version is very appealing...

[eharriett]

Not seen them. I’ll have to look them up.

[sciumbasci]

From a durability/serviceability point of view, which is "robuster"?

The diaphragm or the vacuum filler?

[Osmaroid]

  On 4/22/2018 at 6:22 PM, sciumbasci said:

From a durability/serviceability point of view, which is "robuster"?

The diaphragm or the vacuum filler?

Almost certainly the version with twin O-Rings is the more robust (both versions use the same vacuum filling method, by the way, so both can be called vacuum fillers). The diaphragm in the original Vacumatics were always the weak point that aged or were affected adversely by some inks in exactly the same way as the conventional sacs in lever or button fillers, not surprising as the diaphragm was, in fact, made of exactly the same materials as the more common sacs. However, unlike the lever and button fillers, there is also a requirement for a perfect, adhesive-free seal of the diaphragm between the barrel and the vacumatic mechanism - another area for problems. Conversely, the twin O-Ring version makes the seal pretty much perfectly with a little silicone grease.

 

Having said all this, it was finding a version with the original mechanism that was so interesting to me. If I was going strictly for robustness, I see no advantage of the "O-ring vacumatic" over a similarly robust piston filler, also available under the Wing Sung name (of which I also have several).

[truthpil]

There is one notable advantage of at least the type of button filler used on the latest 601 models ... You can fill the pen with one hand. That's pretty cool.

[Osmaroid]

Good point - I hadn't considered that! I have a token one of them, maybe I will order more.

[Mech-for-i]

Never use the 601 or 618 gold nibbed version but since they are both re-purposing the old 10X series 12K gold nib I suppose it would write just like the old one and I happen to have several of those. Firs thing first not much of a difference between that and the steel nibs. It does write with a softer tactile feedback and feel cushioned when writing but its not softness as to give the nib flex or anything. Which is the kind of feeling one would expect in almost all Chinese gold nibs, a soft cushioned writing instead of the steel's very straight forward very positive one

Edited April 23, 2018 by Mech-for-i

[truthpil]

  On 4/23/2018 at 10:01 AM, Mech-for-i said:

Never use the 601 or 618 gold nibbed version but since they are both re-purposing the old 10X series 12K gold nib I suppose it would write just like the old one and I happen to have several of those. Firs thing first not much of a difference between that and the steel nibs. It does write with a softer tactile feedback and feel cushioned when writing but its not softness as to give the nib flex or anything. Which is the kind of feeling one would expect in almost all Chinese gold nibs, a soft cushioned writing instead of the steel's very straight forward very positive one

Thanks again, Mech, for another detailed post that fully answered my question.

Since I prefer my non-flex nibs to have as little feedback as possible, I guess I'd be better off getting the steel nib and giving it a little micromesh treatment.

 

Since Victo separately sells fude/calligraphy nibs for this pen, I'll probably just buy one of those and install it for a more interesting writing experience.

Here are the two special nib options:

 

0.5-0.8mm

 

​0.6-1.2mm

 

Edited April 24, 2018 by TruthPil

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

  On 4/23/2018 at 1:21 PM, TruthPil said:

Since Victo separately sells fude/calligraphy nibs for this pen, I'll probably just buy one of those and install it for a more interesting writing experience.

Here are the two special nib options:

 

Count me on-board for this plan. Wonderful news, I'll keep an eye out for ebay and Aliexpress, thank you.

[Laike]

  On 4/23/2018 at 1:21 PM, TruthPil said:

Thanks again, Mech, for another detailed post that fully answered my question.

Since I prefer my non-flex nibs to have as little feedback as possible, I guess I'd be better off getting the steel nib and giving it a little micromesh treatment.

 

Since Victo separately sells fude/calligraphy nibs for this pen, I'll probably just buy one of those and install it for a more interesting writing experience.

Here are the two special nib options:

 

 

I would love to buy a few of these nibs. I've looked on AliExpress and Ebay with no luck so far. Are these only available on Taobao right now?

[truthpil]

  On 4/25/2018 at 10:18 PM, Laike said:

 

I would love to buy a few of these nibs. I've looked on AliExpress and Ebay with no luck so far. Are these only available on Taobao right now?

You might have better luck searching for just "wing sung nib" because these nibs fit multiple models, including the 612, 612a, 728, 729, and probably the 618 as well.

[Mech-for-i]

Basically these nibs fit Wing Sung hooded nib models dating back to the 60's and might be even earlier , Wing Sung pioneered this spec then and stick with it all along, and in fact most Chinese hooded nib fellow this spec on their hooded nob. its commonly only refer to as 18.5mm ( referring to the length of the nib ) as the other 2 common ones had different length ( 19.5 and 21.5 ). Mind that Victo might offer their version of these calligraphy nib, but others had been offering that since the 60's and you can find both vintage and new production of such calligraphy nib in all kind of different design. Caveat Emptor be forewarned, check before you hit that buy button. The one Victo offered are the milder variant and I suggest going ( at least start ) with them. Say I had in my collection a cache of late 90's SIPF calligraphy nib of this size and certainly not looking extreme at all until you start to write with it that is ... their size somewhat deceives ..

[truthpil]

Can you recommend any more exciting calligraphy nibs available on Taobao that will fit this pen?

 

The Wing Sung fude nibs look pretty conservative, so it would be nice to have some with much broader variation.

[Mech-for-i]

the current and easiest to obtain surely are the range of nibs ( and pen ) from the specialist calligraphy supply 紫云庄 ; they have their own Taobao and distributed through numerous art and stationary supplies.

 

 

from left S1, S2, S3, N2, and N1 type , S means Specialist ( or you can understand it as specially tailored for the need ) & N mean nominal use ( meaning its good for daily writing or quasi calligraphy handwriting ). Wing Sung ( the vintage ) also had their own calligraphy nib and can be in their then hooded nib models, and similar Hero, Gui Guan, pretty much all the names, and often one can ( with some effort ) source those pens and less common those nibs but since those pen are so cheap ( often than not the calligraphy pen of the same model would be cheaper than the regular nibbed ) its worth just buying them to pirate the nib off

[5thhistorian]

  On 4/27/2018 at 4:19 AM, Mech-for-i said:

the current and easiest to obtain surely are the range of nibs ( and pen ) from the specialist calligraphy supply 紫云庄 ; they have their own Taobao and distributed through numerous art and stationary supplies.

 

 

from left S1, S2, S3, N2, and N1 type , S means Specialist ( or you can understand it as specially tailored for the need ) & N mean nominal use ( meaning its good for daily writing or quasi calligraphy handwriting ). Wing Sung ( the vintage ) also had their own calligraphy nib and can be in their then hooded nib models, and similar Hero, Gui Guan, pretty much all the names, and often one can ( with some effort ) source those pens and less common those nibs but since those pen are so cheap ( often than not the calligraphy pen of the same model would be cheaper than the regular nibbed ) its worth just buying them to pirate the nib off

I just ordered the new version 601 and have had a few Hero 616s-- is the tubular nib from the 616 similar to that of the WS 601/618 or the Jinhao style hooded nibs? Edited April 27, 2018 by 5thhistorian