Founded in 1931, the Shanghai Hero Pen Company has earned its reputation due to high-end fountain pens released under such brands as Hero, Lucky, Wing Sung, Gentleman, and many others. Its products are considered to be the best fountain pens in the country and have become popular worldwide.
Some experts claim that its writing tools mimic famous pens produced by other leading companies. However, all its models receive positive reviews from users and are acknowledged for their quality and affordable price.
If you have a keen interest in Asian pens, read this post that describes the Wing Sung 601, one of its successful creations.
Main Thing About Wing Sung 601 Pen
Before discussing the design and appearance of this pen, let’s examine its parameters. The specifications described in the table are the main factors that determine the writing capacities of the writing instrument and its durability.
Product Specification | Details |
---|---|
Dimensions and Weight |
|
Form of Nib | Fine hooded nib of stainless steel |
Material Type | Resin barrel with a stainless steel cap |
Type of Cap | Blind push-type cap with a pocket clip |
Product Includes | Gift box, no ink is provided |
Best for… | Regular daily writing |
Price | Check Price on Amazon |
Appearance and Design Features
The vintage-looking Wing Sung 601 has a polished body made of resin; however, the material is good and solid. The barrel of the pen is performed in army green. It comes with a removable metal cap that integrates an arrow pocket clip.
There are no transparent components in the barrel except for 6 ink windows above the clutch ring. This helpful feature allows a pen owner to check how much ink is left. The windows are hidden when the pen is capped.
The steel cap is also polished and looks shiny. Both the cap and the body are perfectly aligned and look like one whole piece. Their matching is exceptional.
The star of the pen is a hooded nib made of stainless steel. The capacity of its ink reservoir is huge.
The 601 is medium-sized and lightweight. Its massive metal cap adds extra weight to the item, but even with the cap on, you can feel its balance. The writing tool rests very nice in the hand.
Writing Quality
The writing experience of the 601 is fantastic. It offers smooth writing with no line variations as if you were writing with a regular ballpoint pen.
The ink flow is good and gives sufficient lubrication to the nib. No pressure is required to make a line. It writes well in any direction with a hint of feedback.
The nib is small with only 2 mm of metal protruding under the shell. It is very firm and provides fine and extra fine writing. Don’t expect the smoothness as provided by broad tip fountain pens, but this model can easily cope with glossy paper without skipping. The reverse writing is also smooth and dry.
Sometimes users rotate a pen to find the “sweet spot” for writing. This is not easy to fulfill with a hooded nib. Here is a tip: post the cap with the clip in one line with the nib to determine how the nib is aligned to the paper during writing. Make adjustments that are comfortable for you.
Filling System of Pen
The Wing Sung 601 uses the vacumatic pump filler system that allows this writing instrument to hold a large amount of ink. In fact, the whole body cavity contains ink. There is a metal spring-loaded plunger under the metal cap, which operates the ink filling system. The plunger is pushed against a rubber diaphragm. When released by a user, it creates a vacuum that sucks up ink into the pen body.
To fill the pen, immerse its nib in ink pressing and releasing the button several times. The air is expelled from the pen cavity, and the ink is drawn into the reservoir. With each button press, you can see the ink rising higher and higher. The ink windows allow you to watch this fascinating process and control the liquid level.
If you want to change the color ink or flush the pen to rinse any residue, you will need to unscrew the barrel and pull out the ink collector and the nib.
Some items even come with a special container of grease to encourage users to disassemble and maintain these pens. Position all the pen components back and make markings on the barrel (if necessary) to line them up.
Pros and Cons
The pen under discussion has a long list of advantages. Here are the main points that users adore in this model:
- Makes no skips
- Useful indicator windows to check the amount of ink
- No leak issues
- Lightweight
- Holds a lot of ink
- Visually attractive
- Well-balanced
- Affordable price
- Comes in a gift box (some items include a box with grease)
- The metal plunger shows the manufacturer’s attention to longevity
- The clip is fragile
- The nib is hidden behind the hood and cannot be seen during writing
- Some users find a fine nib to be too hard for writing
- Includes no ink
In Closing
The familiar design of the Wing Sung 601 is well known to all pen lovers. They call it a vacumatic Parker 51 clone. Indeed, the 601 is an inexpensive (still quality) equivalent of the time-honored Parker model introduced in 1941.
Don’t be skeptical about this Chinese variation of the writing tool because it is a high-grade and reliable pen that ensures an awesome writing experience. Thanks to its metal components, spacious ink reservoir, and professional engineering, this pen will write for ages.
Lots of online auctions offer unrestored unique pens for a hundred dollars per item, while the Wing Sung 601 goes with a reasonable price tag. It is magnificent in all aspects, and you will surely want to show this pen to other people.
References
- Shanghai Hero Pen Company – https://en.wikipedia.org/
- Wing Sung 601. A Real Vacumatic, Modern Parker 51? – http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/
- Guess Which One Is the Wing Sung 601! – https://www.reddit.com/