Wing Sung 812

January 7, 2009

This review is of a Wing Sung 812.

The pen was obtained from Hong Kong Via E-Bay for US$20 ($7 + $13 postage). I understand Wing Sung have been taken over by Hero, and this is one of the models that didn't survive the takeover, so this pen was NOS.

First Impressions

When I first looked at the pen I said to my self 'It's a shrunken version of the Parker 61 Insignia'. In fact the pen is the most blatant copy of a P61 I've seen, even down to having a P61-esque arrow over the nib. The section length to pen length appears to be the same proportions as the P61. I say appears, as the connector is actually at the silver line in the black part of the section, and there is a 4mm wide black ring on the end of the barrel to extend the section.

The overall quality and feel of the pen is quite nice. Despite the fact that the cap and barrel are gold anodized aluminium it feels quite sturdy. It feels to be a nice quality pen and nicely balanced, and feels almost identical to the Bahadur 612 ( https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=89858 ). This pen feels - to me - to be an improvement on the Hero 616.

Until you write with it. Oh dear.

Writing with this pen is a deep disappointment. The nib is scratchy, has poor feedback and feels nasty.

On capping it, every time you remove the cap, there is ink all round the end of the pen and over the arrow. The pen also leaks at the section-connector joint.

Size

The pen size is:-

135mm capped.

119mm uncapped.

143mm posted.

11mm barrel diameter.

Weight 15g

Construction 4/5

The construction is identical to that of a lower price point Hero pen. The cap is gold anodized aluminium, with a sprung clip. The section and barrel are moulded polystyrene - in the case of the barrel the polystrene lines the barrel to make it quite sturdy and extends the section length by 4mm before reaching the aluminium part of the barrel. The connector is clear with a squeeze filler protected by a plated steel sac guard. The end of the barrel has a gold anodized aluminium tassie screwed into a gold anodized fitting on the end of the barrel - as per the MkIII Parker 61's. The mouldings are sharp and precise with very even colour and no stress lines in the plastic. The cap and barrel are well formed with no areas indicating over stressing during the forming, and the anodizing colour is uniform. Generally the construction is good.

Price 3/5

It cost US$20 and it felt quite expensive for a pen of this type.

Looks 4/5

It looks like a slimmer and shorter version of a Parker 61 Insignia. A very elegant shape with nice proportions. The gold anodizing of the cap and barrel is not far off the colour of the gold on the P61 Insignia, so it looks nice and understated.

Durability 4/5

Due to the quality of construction I'd expect the pen to be very durable in normal use. The barrel and section are well made and sturdy. The aluminium cap could dent in the future. The barrel is lined with polystyrene to support it in the same way as the Parker 61 Insignias are - a nice thought.

Writing 2/5

This is just about the worst Parker 51/61 clone pen I have written with - it feels horrible. I would describe the nib as extra fine and very scratchy. The line is nice and wet, and doesn't skip. There is almost no feedback. The pen balances nicely whether posted or unposted - the lightweight cap doesn't alter the balance one jot.

The pen is very lightweight and it is possible to use it for hours - if only you could put up with the nib.

The problem with ink leakage also rates a low mark.

Value for money 2/5

It's a very nice pen. Shame it doesn't write well or leave you with the same colour fingers you started with.

Overall 3/5

I want to like this pen. However, the problems with the way it writes make it a no-go for me.

Regards

Richard.

Edited January 7, 2009 by richardandtracy

January 7, 2009

I collect mostly Chinese pens because only these are available here in Indonesia. And they are very cheap actually, less than $2.

New pens usually need to be washed and maybe little adjustment and some smoothing on the nib. Few of my pens actually perform really good.

January 7, 2009

I had a Wing Sung that looked like a Parker "51" clone. Couldn't get it to write. Flushed with soapy water. No go. Then I tried a water and household ammonia mix, and it wrote like a champ. Liked it, so I got another, did the same thing, and gave it to a snail friend as a holiday present last year. Seems to work okay for him too. If you haven't tried the water and ammonia mix, you might want to, just in case there are residual manufacturing oils stuck in the pen.

January 7, 2009

To get the pen to work well I'd have to do a fair bit of work on it. Quite frankly I don't think it will ever feel like a superb pen, but it could be better than it is.

Pengrump, the pen does flow nicely, it's the leaks and the nib that let it down.

Regards

Richard.

Edited January 7, 2009 by richardandtracy

January 7, 2009

To get the pen to work well I'd have to do a fair bit of work on it. Quite frankly I don't think it will ever feel like a superb pen, but it could be better than it is.

Pengrump, the pen does flow nicely, it's the leaks and the nib that let it down.

Regards

Richard.

Ugh! Leaks! I hate leaks (though I'm pretty fond of leeks.)

January 7, 2009

What can I say except: Chinese quality...questionable at best!

That's why my Chinese pen pal only buys Japanese, American, European goods.

He has been my pen pal for many years, and if he doesn't trust the quality or safety of goods produced in his own country (and he is a natural-born Chinese) I believe him. That's enough to make me stay away from Chinese pens. Not only the nibs and quality of the material, but what's to say that the plating or the metal may not have lead in it?

Edited January 7, 2009 by Dr Ozzie

January 7, 2009

Writing 2/5
This is just about the worst Parker 51/61 clone pen I have written with - it feels horrible. I would describe the nib as extra fine and very scratchy. The line is nice and wet, and doesn't skip. There is almost no feedback. The pen balances nicely whether posted or unposted - the lightweight cap doesn't alter the balance one jot.
The pen is very lightweight and it is possible to use it for hours - if only you could put up with the nib.
The problem with ink leakage also rates a low mark.

I have to ask - what would constitute a 1?

Mind you, I have a Jinhao X450 that would be a solid 1 because it barely writes at all - it'll write for a little while, but God help you if you stop writing because it'll never start again. Actually, that might even be a 0.

EDIT: I see you gave the Guang Ming a 1, so that answers that question.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Silvermink

January 7, 2009

I really don't want to do any China bashing. I will just say that your experience with the Wing Sung 812 pretty well mirrors many of my experiences with Chinese branded pens. I understand that many components for Western pens are made in China and seem of very good quality. But in the Chinese name brands, I have had little success. I suppose quality control is the main issue. I do have a Duke FP and a Jinhao "Long March" FP that write really well. Maybe we are all glad the model 812 did not make the transition to the new Hero ownership.

January 7, 2009

I do have a Duke FP and a Jinhao "Long March" FP that write really well.

I have a Jinhao Long March that writes flawlessly as well. I'm not sure if maybe Jinhao's QC and engineering are better on their commemorative models, but I haven't seen anyone complain about the writing characteristics of that one.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Silvermink