Wing Sung 698 Feels Dry

[Calais]

Hello,

i recently bought a wing sung 698 but so far the writing experience has been disappointing. Sometimes it's good, the color of the ink is really dark and full, in other moments the inkflow decreases, so my text gets lighter and I feel like i'm writing with a disposable rollerball pen that it's very low on ink. There are also skips, but they're not frequent. It's not a terriblepen, but i feel like it's inconsistent. Look at the second attachment, the text in the first line is thin and considerably lighter than the second.

It has a F nib, which is way thinner than my lamy F nib. I'm using a diamine denim ink. I've been writing with the same lamy F nib for years and it, probably, became my personal benchmark for a "good nib".

The wing sung nib:

• is thinner
• requires more pressure than any other pen (other lamys, parker, random no name pens)
• occasional skips, which i don't know if they're caused by the angle i write

Now i tried to make the nib wetter with the sbrebrown method (which saved my extremely dry lamy lx) but there is no difference.

After turning the piston down a little bit the ink flow clearly increases but i don't know if it will last for long.

I don't know if i should get a new nib from china (which will take a lot of time) or just give up, return it to amazon and get something else

[Mech-for-i]

I believe you are hitting the typical Chinese fountain pen write dry scenario ... both out of the fact that the nib is firm and also that its fine ( as in Asian / Japanese Fine ) .. the dry flow or rather conservative flow is more a character of almost all Chinese fountain pen catered ( naturally ) to the home market .. writing .. well Chinese .. without a need to line variation per cursive writing style, and writing in short strokes and with complex combination of strokes that need to be legible even on the typical 7m ruled notebbook .. almost all Chines fountain pen thus designed and marketed for such will write in a fairly dry manner if one write in typical cursive and nominal kind of handwriting. Its just by nature of the design and how the parts are tuned for .. Flex or any kind of line variation by spreading the tines when writing Chinese is not even a needed property so they generally are not catering to such also, in fact a firmer nib allows the user better control in the typical Chinese handwriting which of course utilize totally different skill for line variation ( and also why the quasi architect grind is so favored )

 

Typically that ask for either slowing down of the writing or tuning the nib and feed for wetter flow or try a nib which generally write wetter ( say the WSE nib generally write wetter than the WS/JL nib , even if they are both Fine and both sized for the 698 )

 

It might not be the answer you want, but for the part, replacing the nib with a wetter one or tune the Nib+Feed ( they work as pair ) ; they would still write dry if you speed cursive, the whole thing is just not designed to write that fashion but that's where you should try their M nib instead

Edited April 22, 2020 by Mech-for-i

[sansenri]

I believe you are hitting the typical Chinese fountain pen write dry scenario ... both out of the fact that the nib is firm and also that its fine ( as in Asian / Japanese Fine ) .. the dry flow or rather conservative flow is more a character of almost all Chinese fountain pen catered ( naturally ) to the home market .. writing .. well Chinese .. without a need to line variation per cursive writing style, and writing in short strokes and with complex combination of strokes that need to be legible even on the typical 7m ruled notebbook .. almost all Chines fountain pen thus designed and marketed for such will write in a fairly dry manner if one write in typical cursive and nominal kind of handwriting. Its just by nature of the design and how the parts are tuned for .. Flex or any kind of line variation by spreading the tines when writing Chinese is not even a needed property so they generally are not catering to such also, in fact a firmer nib allows the user better control in the typical Chinese handwriting which of course utilize totally different skill for line variation ( and also why the quasi architect grind is so favored )

 

Typically that ask for either slowing down of the writing or tuning the nib and feed for wetter flow or try a nib which generally write wetter ( say the WSE nib generally write wetter than the WS/JL nib , even if they are both Fine and both sized for the 698 )

 

It might not be the answer you want, but for the part, replacing the nib with a wetter one or tune the Nib+Feed ( they work as pair ) ; they would still write dry if you speed cursive, the whole thing is just not designed to write that fashion but that's where you should try their M nib instead

Thank you for the detailed explanation of the desired nib characteristics for writing Chinese ideograms. I have always guessed so, but thank you explaining that what I have often considered as an undesired behaviour of such nibs, is a wanted characteristic.

The 698 takes Pilot nibs, so a good solution to the OP's problem is get a Pilot Plumix with a stub nib (reasonably cheap) and swap the nib on the 698! I've done exactly that and it's now a great pen with a more generous flow (for my liking)!

 

A further modification I would love to try is fit an ebonite feed to the pen (the current transparent plastic feed has a round shape and can be easily extracted with the nib as it's friction fit. Unfortunately none of my available spare ebonite feeds fit (Chinese pens have odd size nibs...)

Edited April 22, 2020 by sansenri

[Calais]

I believe you are hitting the typical Chinese fountain pen write dry scenario ... both out of the fact that the nib is firm and also that its fine ( as in Asian / Japanese Fine ) .. the dry flow or rather conservative flow is more a character of almost all Chinese fountain pen catered ( naturally ) to the home market .. writing .. well Chinese .. without a need to line variation per cursive writing style, and writing in short strokes and with complex combination of strokes that need to be legible even on the typical 7m ruled notebbook .. almost all Chines fountain pen thus designed and marketed for such will write in a fairly dry manner if one write in typical cursive and nominal kind of handwriting. Its just by nature of the design and how the parts are tuned for .. Flex or any kind of line variation by spreading the tines when writing Chinese is not even a needed property so they generally are not catering to such also, in fact a firmer nib allows the user better control in the typical Chinese handwriting which of course utilize totally different skill for line variation ( and also why the quasi architect grind is so favored )

 

Typically that ask for either slowing down of the writing or tuning the nib and feed for wetter flow or try a nib which generally write wetter ( say the WSE nib generally write wetter than the WS/JL nib , even if they are both Fine and both sized for the 698 )

 

It might not be the answer you want, but for the part, replacing the nib with a wetter one or tune the Nib+Feed ( they work as pair ) ; they would still write dry if you speed cursive, the whole thing is just not designed to write that fashion but that's where you should try their M nib instead

First of all thank you for the thorough explanation, what you said confirmed my thought that it's not just the nib but it's the whole pen design. What is the WSE nib?

 

Thank you for the detailed explanation of the desired nib characteristics for writing Chinese ideograms. I have always guessed so, but thank you explaining that what I have often considered as an undesired behaviour of such nibs, is a wanted characteristic.

The 698 takes Pilot nibs, so a good solution to the OP's problem is get a Pilot Plumix with a stub nib (reasonably cheap) and swap the nib on the 698! I've done exactly that and it's now a great pen with a more generous flow (for my liking)!

 

A further modification I would love to try is fit an ebonite feed to the pen (the current transparent plastic feed has a round shape and can be easily extracted with the nib as it's friction fit. Unfortunately none of my available spare ebonite feeds fit (Chinese pens have odd size nibs...)

The pilot swap was the first thing that came to my mind but my problem is the overall final cost. I overpaid the pen a little bit since i wanted it right away and I got it from amazon (24€). A plumix or metropolitan will cost me at least 15-20€ for what is just a nib since i will not use them... I don't know if it makes sense spending 40 or more for a pen like this. I was really unsure between the ws and the twsbi eco, maybe i made the wrong choice

[sansenri]

well, clearly that's up to you to calculate.

Yes, you probably paid slightly to much for the 698 in the first place. I paid 15 euro for mine although that was 2 years ago from YC Guo (a reputable seller on the bay based in HK, know as jewelrymathematics). I also recall to have paid the Plumix around 9 euro, but there was some sort of special offer (that was actually mentioned here on FPN...). It remains a solution eventually if you keep the pen.

Viceversa you can also return the 698 if not satisfied and get something else.

Be careful as with most Chinese pens the offered nib is fine and usually dry.

 

(The Moonman M600s I got recently had an option for an M nib (Jinhao branded) instead of F (Moonman branded) which wrote decently wet. If you order the M nib you usually get the F nib also bundled in free).

[Mech-for-i]

well Wing Sung the brand today is just a brand and its owned by Hero and licensed out to multiple operation who would made different Wing Sung pens , WS/JL is the one responsible for the 698 and its termed so because its primarily marketed by Shanghai JL and manufactured by Green stationary Shanghai , and on the other hand Hero also got another Wing Sung subsidiary WSE ( Wing Sung Education ) which is independent of Hero Pens but they also license or rather inherit the right to use the name Wing Sung, their model rage is generally tailored to the school market ( their name already tells ) but they also had their own version ofthe 698 ( Wing Sung 3001 , as you can tell all the 300X series come from them )

 

For the 698 ( aka Pilot style ) nib , except for the M nib which only WS/JL had, F and Ef are both offered by WS/JL and WSE in their own respective range of pens , another option for this style of nib is the original Lingmo Lorelei nib which the Mfr used on their original ( aka version 1.) ) Lorelei model

[Antenociticus]

the quasi architect grind

I'm curious about which nibs you're referring to with this. Nibs out of the factory? And if so, which ones?

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

well Wing Sung the brand today is just a brand and its owned by Hero and licensed out to multiple operation who would made different Wing Sung pens , WS/JL is the one responsible for the 698 and its termed so because its primarily marketed by Shanghai JL and manufactured by Green stationary Shanghai , and on the other hand Hero also got another Wing Sung subsidiary WSE ( Wing Sung Education ) which is independent of Hero Pens but they also license or rather inherit the right to use the name Wing Sung, their model rage is generally tailored to the school market ( their name already tells ) but they also had their own version ofthe 698 ( Wing Sung 3001 , as you can tell all the 300X series come from them )

 

For the 698 ( aka Pilot style ) nib , except for the M nib which only WS/JL had, F and Ef are both offered by WS/JL and WSE in their own respective range of pens , another option for this style of nib is the original Lingmo Lorelei nib which the Mfr used on their original ( aka version 1.) ) Lorelei model

 

When you say that '' but they also had their own version ofthe 698 ( Wing Sung 3001 '' probably instead of Wing Sung 3001 ...... you actually want to say Wing Sung 3011 ?

Edited April 23, 2020 by Stefan-Ionut-Marius

[Karmachanic]

get a Pilot Plumix with a stub nib (reasonably cheap) and swap the nib on the 698! I've done exactly that and it's now a great pen with a more generous flow (for my liking)!

 

 

Did just that two years ago, and it's been continually inked ever since, without issue. Nice and wet, and it doesn't crack!

 

A few months after purchasing a Pelikan M205 Demo showed up. I thought I'd purchase as an upgrade. Returned it!

[Mech-for-i]

 

When you say that '' but they also had their own version ofthe 698 ( Wing Sung 3001 '' probably instead of Wing Sung 3001 ...... you actually want to say Wing Sung 3011 ?

3011 is their 2nd version of the model, the 3001 was the first and now replaced , WSE had several model based off that design

[Mech-for-i]

I'm curious about which nibs you're referring to with this. Nibs out of the factory? And if so, which ones?

most vintage Hero / wing Sung nib had that, say those on the Wing Sung 500 / Hero 50 , most western F nib will still had a ball round profile bulging to the side of the tip, but most Chinese nib of F grind will had the side pretty flat ad thus from the front its looking like a cursive italic turned 90 degree ( and why they tend not to write cursive well if the user not knowing how to handle it ). The difference is subtle but apparent when writing. That same grind applied to many a current Chinese nib too .. that kind of grind and profile flavor writing the home language

[Antenociticus]

most vintage Hero / wing Sung nib had that, say those on the Wing Sung 500 / Hero 50 , most western F nib will still had a ball round profile bulging to the side of the tip, but most Chinese nib of F grind will had the side pretty flat ad thus from the front its looking like a cursive italic turned 90 degree ( and why they tend not to write cursive well if the user not knowing how to handle it ). The difference is subtle but apparent when writing. That same grind applied to many a current Chinese nib too .. that kind of grind and profile flavor writing the home language

Interesting. Thank you. I need to examine my nibs more closely.

 

Today I've been writing with a Lamy 2000 F and a PENBBS 355 with an "Amber is a Cat" nib – I guess also an F. The nibs do look slightly different in the way you describe when I peer at them through a loupe, but if there's a difference in terms of line variation on the page then it is an extremely subtle one. With my handwriting, at least.

[Bookman]

I own a 699. My pen switched back and forth and back and forth between dry and just wet enough. I adjusted the nib and wasn't satisfied with the result. So I (yes I did!) took my incredibly sharp pocket knife and ran the point down the main channel of the feed to widen it a bit. Since then it has written perfectly. No skips or dry starts. YMMV.

Edited May 25, 2020 by Bookman

[Tasmith]

 

Did just that two years ago, and it's been continually inked ever since, without issue. Nice and wet, and it doesn't crack!

 

A few months after purchasing a Pelikan M205 Demo showed up. I thought I'd purchase as an upgrade. Returned it!

Did the same with one of my 698s. Keep it inked with Diamine Registrar's. Writes great.

 

I have my other 698 with the original fine nib also inked with Diamine Registrar's. Sometimes it will write dry, so I just twist twist the piston a bit to prime the feed and that takes care of the dryness.