Wing Sung 613 First Impressions (C/c Parker 51's Copy)

[WJM]

Today I received Wing Sung 613, a model mostly overshadowed by the more well known Wing Sung's like 698, 618 and most recently 601 and 626. Wing Sung 613 is a c/c Parker 51 copy.

I wondered how would it compare to the Hero 616 and somewhat disappointingly it's doesn't differ much. Not that there's anything particulary wrong with 616, but I hoped for something a bit more substantial. The material feels about the same as in my Hero 616 Jumbo. Caps and barrels are interchangeable after you take off the aluminium tube from the 616's sack. The 613 looks a bit better than Hero - the 51-like clutch ring is nicer than the lousy ink window of Hero 616.

Also it seems to me that the nib of 613 is smoother than the one of 616, mind you I have this pen for a few hours and wrote just a few sentences with it. The nib feels about the same as in Wing Sung 618 (I assume it is the same).

One thing that bothers me is the c/c. I have no idea what standard this converter is, it has a very wide opening. At first I thought it could be the same standard as in Lingmo Lorelei (looks similiar, and is from what I know Sailor compatible), but no, it's wider than that one. Then I tried a Pilot cartridge, this on the other hand is too wide.

Any ideas what cartridges or convertes would fit this pen?

Edited May 14, 2018 by WJM

[LiquidInk]

Looks nice, I got a jinhao because I wanted a hooded nib that was c/c... wish I knew about this one. Maybe I'll get it next time.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Why would you want a converter that fits this pen? Doesn't it arrive with one?

 

Also thank goodness it's a screw-type converter, light years better than the aerometric one.

[WJM]

It does. I just like to have options.

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

My Wing Sung 613 .

Edited May 14, 2018 by Stefan-Ionut-Marius

[WJM]

After some time using it I can say that 613 is a very pleasant pen to use and a good writer. Comparing it still to Hero 616 I'd add that, while material feels very similar, the 613 is better made.

 

As for the cartridges or converters I wonder whether Pilot converters would fit this pen. I don't have one, but I sort of managed to fit Pilot cartridge into 613. It's a VERY tight fit (to the point I had to use some gripping material to take it out) and requires opening the cartridge manually (with scissors or something) before putting it in the pen, it won't open just by pushing it like a cartridge normally would.

[LiquidInk]

I have a dumb/newbie question. I got the wing sung 613, writes well but how do I fill the c/c completely? It has a metal float in it, to mix the ink I suppose. It however gets in the way when I try to fill it since I can't get a good vacuum to draw up the ink.

 

Or should I fill c/c first then attach it to the pen afterward?

[WJM]

I have a dumb/newbie question. I got the wing sung 613, writes well but how do I fill the c/c completely? It has a metal float in it, to mix the ink I suppose. It however gets in the way when I try to fill it since I can't get a good vacuum to draw up the ink.

 

Or should I fill c/c first then attach it to the pen afterward?

 

From my experience with it, you don't.

 

I removed the metal thing from the converter, but it didn't change anything. The piston won't go all the way down, and the converter can't fill more than ca. 2/3 of it's whole capacity. You possibly could try to turn the pen upside down, push out the air and try to fill it further, but I tried that with no success.

[Mech-for-i]

Hmm ... I've had my 613 filled numerous times and it seems there is nothing specific that seems to be not working. I can fill it quite easily , just the normal fashion. I stick the section into the ink bottle and draw ink simply using the screw piston, in and out might be 4 or 5 times to saturate the ink collector as well as getting as much air out as possible. not really different than other C/C pens ... and as far as the Converter goes, I think its a pilot compatible ( OK I am not sure but I think its is , same aka Wing Sung 659 ), and all I do is push the converter in as far as I can.

[basterma]

I have never seen that cartridge opening before on a Chinese pen.

[old4570]

I guess no Calipers (?) ( Dial - digital ) ..

A fine ruler for an approximate opening size ?

[KellyMcJ]

My experience with these was lackluster. I love Wing Sung pens, and in my experience, the 618 is the best hooded nib pen that they've done. 618s are perfect and I'd love to see a 618 with a clutch cap instead of a screw cap- I'd snap one up in a New York minute.

 

I've also tried the rubber diaphragm 601 and it was a much less than stellar experience as well- I have a new one with the piston on the way.

 

613 converter opening, 0.267" OD, 0.230" ID, 2.925" OAL

[Mech-for-i]

Te 613 really is just update of an old 1950's design to take C/C .. nothing else .. so I really would not be holding too much for it. and the price pretty much reflect too. Afte all its only what might be 1/5 of that of the 618 ...

[KellyMcJ]

My new 601 with the piston arrived and WOW! I think it's better than the 618 with slip cap I said I wanted.

[WJM]

Going back to the filling issue, I just managed to get the converter full, but it's a bit of a pain and got a lot of ink on my fingers.

 

Multiple tries by themselves do nothing. The piston doesn't go all way down, and even if it did it likely wouldn't help. The problem is that when you fill this pen, plenty of ink gets in the collector but can't get into the converter, because the piston is already all the way up. And instead of ink, it draws up the air which was in the collector before the filling while the ink gets stuck down in the collector.

 

So, what I did was that after initial incomplete fill I held the pen upside down, shaked it carefully so some of ink from the collector ran down to the converter, and then pushed the air and remaining ink from the collector out. This better be done just over the opened ink bottle. After that, the piston was mostly down and the collector was full of ink, so when I filled the pen once again, it drawn up the ink from the collector to the converter, and more from the bottle to the collector.

[truthpil]

I just got one of these in my Double Twelve haul and am really disappointed for multiple reasons. The converter took up ink fine, but when I put nib to paper it simply wouldn't write at all! It appears that the tines are so tightly punched together that no ink can get down to the paper.

 

I want to disassemble the section and put another Wing Sung nib in it, but can't seem to unscrew the hood from the threaded joint even with gripping material. Should I be able to work it loose with the aid of hot water to loosen up the sealent like on a 616? The plastic is kind of cheap so I'm afraid of breaking the pen by applying too much pressure.

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

I just got one of these in my Double Twelve haul and am really disappointed for multiple reasons. The converter took up ink fine, but when I put nib to paper it simply wouldn't write at all! It appears that the tines are so tightly punched together that no ink can get down to the paper.

 

I want to disassemble the section and put another Wing Sung nib in it, but can't seem to unscrew the hood from the threaded joint even with gripping material. Should I be able to work it loose with the aid of hot water to loosen up the sealent like on a 616? The plastic is kind of cheap so I'm afraid of breaking the pen by applying too much pressure.

 

Just remove the nib with a nail clipper , and after that just put a new nib in.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Stefan-Ionut-Marius

[truthpil]

 

Just remove the nib with a nail clipper , and after that just put a new nib in.

 

Thanks, that's a great idea I'd never thought of before!

 

To answer my own question, I ended up doing the hot water thing and it worked fine. The hood is sealed in place with glue that is stronger than that of the Hero 616, but a few seconds in hot tap water and one strong twist got the hood off. It was quite fun disassembling everything that goes under the hood. The innards are pretty much identical to that of the 601, except that the feed is much lower quality and doesn't even have a channel running down it, but two diagonal slashes to encourage ink flow instead.

 

I replaced the nib with a Wing Sung cursive Fude and now its a great writer. Flow is measured and moderate, so there are nice controlled lines. I understand that this pen is really inexpensive (I got it on sale for the equivalent of US$1.30), but I wish Wing Sung would make it with the same materials as the 618 and 601 and raise the price. The design is good; I just wish it had that same solid feel like Wing Sung's more expensive offerings.

[Mech-for-i]

The 613 is best starter hacking pen for someone who would want to study the vintage hooded nib mechanism, where the classic 616 would add to that Aerometric filling .. that's how they are. As a pen by design and engineering they are totally fine, and in fact a marvel for what it cost, but that cost come with loose tolerance and not a quality workmanship and often than not non existing QC. Which probably is a description I can give to almost all the so call CHEAP Chinese fountain pen whether vintage or new. They made a classic case of quality design does not always end with a quality product, the engineering, workmanship, parts and tolerance, final assembly and QC account a lot and this is where the low price caught up with it.

 

I had a few of them, though all of them come working NIB, a further tune and CLA usually made it perform way above what the price and the ho hum appearance might suggest.Now with essentially the same basic pen mechanism and pen parts ( but renewed molding and better manufactured ) in the 618, and the 601 I can see Wing Sung really only tailoring this to the specific price sector. An aftermarket barrel usually would put the pen above and beyond just a simple swap do to the whole feel.

Edited December 16, 2018 by Mech-for-i

[truthpil]

Great points, Mech. I agree that the design is outstanding but the QC lacking. All I need to do is upgrade the feed, section and barrel and this pen would feel like an excellent product worthy of its Parker 51 heritage.

 

Any recommendations for replacement hoods and barrels?