Retro-Looking Triumph-Imitating Wingsung 233

[KBeezie]

Got a pair of these, my other choices were black and teal, but they all have the same amber ink window so I went with Burgandy and Taupe for the best match of color to the ink window.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/wingsung233/write.jpg

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/wingsung233/1.jpg

 

The nib on the burgundy one is pretty scratchy, did try to go and see if maybe one of the tines was misaligned, which I did make it a tiny bit smoother, but I think in doing so I also separated the tines a tiny bit (appears to be a visible gape between the tip).

 

Anywho, here's a scan of the write sample (as well as a re-write after I "butchered" the nib).

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/wingsung233/write_scan.jpg

 

Overall feels decent in the hand, little light weight and the design almost seems like a cross between something concocted in the 80s down to something 70s ish. Oh and they actually call this "Vintage", I suppose it could be if it's new-old-stock like the seller said (I think WingSung actually stopped making pens by the end of the 90s). The inside of the pen certainly smelled like old boxes.

 

The cap seems to have fun going onto the pen, it snaps down into a sharp 'click' once the cap has hold of that silver band around the section. Equally so it seems to have a death-grip on that section when you go to uncap it, takes about as much force to uncap on both pens. Little easier on the taupe I have, but both equally require some work to take it off, and unlike a Jinhao X450 where you just yank it off, you're probably going to want to be careful with the 233 being mostly plastic. I suspect after a few uncappings it'll losen up, like some of my other pens.

 

PS: Toucan Gold behind that amber ink window makes the idea of an ink window seem pretty useless.

 

 

[KBeezie]

You know... I think this is the only Chinese pen I have that actually says "Made in China".

[WirsPlm]

I've had a Wing Wung 233 and yes, the nibs are a bit scratchy but I think it's mostly because it's dry, it only took a bit of smoothing to get mine to be mechanically good but it was too dry for my tastes so I PIF'd it, they're nice pens if you like dry writers though, I was kind of sad to give it up because apart from the nib I adored it.

[theverdictis]

Really like the amber ink window in the pens but totally understand your point about the colour ink making it redundant. Also really like the look of the nib on the 233. Where did you purchase this from?

 

Ben

[KBeezie]

Really like the amber ink window in the pens but totally understand your point about the colour ink making it redundant. Also really like the look of the nib on the 233. Where did you purchase this from?

 

Ben

 

eBay as usual. ( jewelrymathematics though I think you can make offers, but I bet they'll just ignore em if it's like one or two pens in the offer )

Edited April 12, 2014 by KBeezie

[KBeezie]

I've had a Wing Wung 233 and yes, the nibs are a bit scratchy but I think it's mostly because it's dry, it only took a bit of smoothing to get mine to be mechanically good but it was too dry for my tastes so I PIF'd it, they're nice pens if you like dry writers though, I was kind of sad to give it up because apart from the nib I adored it.

 

Well the flow doesn't seem quite *that* bad, but I do have both 12,000 grit micromesh and mylar paper (1 and 0.1 micron) on the way, so I can probably smooth out the nib tipping a little once I've confirmed it's aligned.

[KBeezie]

Apparently it's not all that difficult to disassemble. The nib itself just unscrews from the top (leaving the feed bare). And you can unscrew the section from the amber. Can push the feed down thru that small section, and there's the clear breather tube that goes into a hole next to where the feed line comes out.

 

Useful for 2 reasons:

 

1) It's easier to align the nib when it's not blocked completely by the feed

2) can clean that sucker out real good when it's all apart.

[KBeezie]

K, so did align them, but they were separated from the start. But still writes ok, smoother now. Just not sure how you'd crimp the tines on a circular nib like that without hurting the alignment (or that it's even needed at all).

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/wingsung233/red_nib.jpg

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/wingsung233/burgandy_write.jpg

The Beau Blue is after alignment and cleaning out.

[rochester21]

Nice photos. What lens are you using, if you don`t mind asking?

 

About the pens: these low-end wing sung-s are decent performers, only some of them(50%) need a bit of tweaking to make them smoother. Unfortunately, the filling system is bad(a few versions also accept cartridges, those are better), in the sense that they don`t fill properly and tend to actually leak small amount of ink. This was my experience when i bought 10 wing sung 380.

 

Also, the cheaper versions fitted with the conical nib have a softer feel on paper, because they use a softer material for making the nib.

Edited April 12, 2014 by rochester21

[KBeezie]

Nice photos. What lens are you using, if you don`t mind asking?

 

About the pens: these low-end wing sung-s are decent performers, only some of them(50%) need a bit of tweaking to make them smoother. Unfortunately, the filling system is bad(a few versions also accept cartridges, those are better), in the sense that they don`t fill properly and tend to actually leak small amount of ink. This was my experience when i bought 10 wing sung 380.

 

Also, the cheaper versions fitted with the conical nib have a softer feel on paper, because they use a softer material for making the nib.

 

I use a roughly 40 year old lens back when Tamron made an "Adapt All" series of lens that could fit on any cameras (the lens had a interchangible mount designed to fit different cameras). It's manual focus Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 1:1 (Lifesize) Macro Lens that's used on my Olympus E-P3 camera via a Adaptall-to-Micro 4/3rd Adapter.

 

Nib doesn't seem *that* soft

 

And yea I'm familiar that some WingSung have cartridge ones, one of them is in my PIF (3203).

[Kansas Pen]

KBeezie - Great buys.

 

I love the Sheaffer Triumph Nib style. I collected a few in the past years. But they all either sprung a leak when the sacs dried out or the mechanisms froze up from previous years of hard use.

 

There are a lot of these in Kansas - close to Iowa I guess. But the antique people don't test them or repair them so you basically are throwing dice. They just rent space in the antique stores and list them at whatever price they see on eBay - evidently for a restored one. Even worse in the recent years.

 

So I quit acquiring them. I have neither the tools to learn how to service them or the funds to get them all repaired at $25 to $40 each.

 

I think your solution is better even if I have to smooth a nib here or there. Tell the truth a couple of my real Sheaffers with the Triumph nib are pretty scratchy. Some were used so much the Iridium was gone or nearly so. One is the tiniest tip nib - like an accounting nib. Too small to smooth I think.

 

I have to look into those Wing Sun #233's. They look very close to the Shaeffer's. Did I read that the Wing Sun factory is closed? I may have to hurry....

Edited April 12, 2014 by Kansas Pen

[KBeezie]

KBeezie - Great buys.

 

I love the Sheaffer Triumph Nib style. I collected a few in the past years. But they all either sprung a leak when the sacs dried out or the mechanisms froze up from previous years of hard use.

 

There are a lot of these in Kansas - close to Iowa I guess. But the antique people don't test them or repair them so you basically are throwing dice. They just rent space in the antique stores and list them at whatever price they see on eBay - evidently for a restored one. Even worse in the recent years.

 

So I quit acquiring them. I have neither the tools to learn how to service them or the funds to get them all repaired at $25 to $40 each.

 

I think your solution is better even if I have to smooth a nib here or there. Tell the truth a couple of my real Sheaffers with the Triumph nib are pretty scratchy. Some were used so much the Iridium was gone or nearly so. One is the tiniest tip nib - like an accounting nib. Too small to smooth I think.

 

I have to look into those Wing Sun #233's. They look very close to the Shaeffer's. Did I read that the Wing Sun factory is closed? I may have to hurry....

 

Wingsung shut down in the late 90s, almost every Wingsung on ebay is basically new-old-stock (or oddly enough counterfeit lol).

Edited April 12, 2014 by KBeezie

[Sailor Kenshin]

I've had a Wing Wung 233 and yes, the nibs are a bit scratchy but I think it's mostly because it's dry, it only took a bit of smoothing to get mine to be mechanically good but it was too dry for my tastes so I PIF'd it, they're nice pens if you like dry writers though, I was kind of sad to give it up because apart from the nib I adored it.

You could use it to tame gushy ink, lol.

 

I have a black one. The Triumph nib-style Wing Sungs tend to be nails that want to leak around where nib meets section. They make wonderful ink dippers, which is why I'm holding on to all my models.

 

Sigh...I have a real thing for cheap pens.

[rezwrrd]

I had my eye on a burgundy 233, but got distracted when a Triumph Snorkel came along. Now whenever I think about how sweet the Wing Sungs look, I'm reminded that I'm saving up for Snorkel repair parts. *sigh*

 

How obvious is the "Made In China" on the nib? I feel like that might be annoying or distracting if it's as visible as a lot of eBay pictures make it look.

[KBeezie]

I had my eye on a burgundy 233, but got distracted when a Triumph Snorkel came along. Now whenever I think about how sweet the Wing Sungs look, I'm reminded that I'm saving up for Snorkel repair parts. *sigh*

 

How obvious is the "Made In China" on the nib? I feel like that might be annoying or distracting if it's as visible as a lot of eBay pictures make it look.

 

I don't really notice it much because the nib is too shiny to see it without really rotating it around and looking for it past the glare. It's not a deep impression like some of the more expensive pens can have.

 

When I take most of my pictures I'm using a circular polarizer in the front to control glare and reflections.

Edited April 17, 2014 by KBeezie

[KBeezie]

You could use it to tame gushy ink, lol.

 

I have a black one. The Triumph nib-style Wing Sungs tend to be nails that want to leak around where nib meets section. They make wonderful ink dippers, which is why I'm holding on to all my models.

 

Sigh...I have a real thing for cheap pens.

 

Well in regards to where the nib meets the section, I would just unscrew it, clean the threads real good, then apply a tiny amount of Silicone Gel around the threads and then screw the nib back on and adjust the feed into position as needed. Should keep the leaks up at the feed and not around where you write (thus far this has worked for me and I know what you mean, didn't start happening til I Disassembled one pen).

[KBeezie]

PS: Kind of a pleasant surprise, I haven't written with the burgandy one in a couple of days, been sitting upright, it wrote right away with the Diamine Beae Blue in it, which is surprising to me cuz most of my chinese pens tend to dry up at the nib if not written with for a few days or week. (my brother has the Taupe one now, but I swapped the nibs so he gets the spaced one, for drawing and what not, it's not going to bother him).

[Sailor Kenshin]

PS: Kind of a pleasant surprise, I haven't written with the burgandy one in a couple of days, been sitting upright, it wrote right away with the Diamine Beae Blue in it, which is surprising to me cuz most of my chinese pens tend to dry up at the nib if not written with for a few days or week. (my brother has the Taupe one now, but I swapped the nibs so he gets the spaced one, for drawing and what not, it's not going to bother him).

 

O noz! U putz BLUE ink in a BURGUNDY pen!

 

I might try the leaky-nib fix as you suggest...or if I do not, the pen will just have to remind me of my Waterman Carene.

[Kansas Pen]

rezwrrd wrote "Now whenever I think about how sweet the Wing Sungs look, I'm reminded that I'm saving up for Snorkel repair parts. *sigh*

 

 

I feel ya!!

[grahamtillotson]

Thanks to KBeezie for the disassembly instructions! I picked one up a month ago and assumed it was all cemented together. Fired up the loupe and saw the tines were spaced too far apart, so very scratchy. Made a highball and spent 15 minutes trying to pull off the miracle of closing the gap on a conical nib while still on the pen. I'll take the nib off and give it another go.

 

Graham