Wing Sung 233 review – nice fountain pen from China

Fountain pens become more and more popular these days. Some people even use them for drawing. And this “ink drug” has not missed my hands and mind. And recently I’ve started my “back to school” story. I’ve unpacked my old fountain pen (some “premium” Chinese Sz.Leqi pen, the review of which will be published in a while, hopefully). Purchased some inks. And started this new ink journey, full of “dirty coloured” hands and interesting experience.

One of my first fountain pen purchase was an old Chinese made pen from 1980s or 1990s – Wing Sung model 233. Unfortunately, I could not confirm even the approximate manufacturing date of this fountain pen. The great Internet also lacks such information. But I’ve found some Wing Sung pens dated 90s. So, at least these years of production are confirmed. The previous owner claimed “end of 70s – beginning of 80s”. So, not sure whether to believe this or not. But I have many doubts about 70s. Though in the Soviet period there were many similar pen models sold in the USSR. They were slightly different, but the overall look was the same.

Another “suspicion” was the style difference between the cap and the pen itself. The cap is not the original one, it comes from another pen – White Feather. However the companies look to belong to the same big company now.

Pricewise, I have paid about USD 3.5 for this pen. Which is a real steal. Especially considering the experience you may get (though this will be explained later on in this article).

Specifications

Length – 13.5 cm with cap on; 12 cm with cap off; 15.3 cm with cap on the barrel
Width – grip 0.9-1.1 cm; cap 0.8-1.2 cm; barrel 1.0-1.2 cm
Nib length – 2 cm

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Composition

Steel nib, Fine size I assume, “gold” plated. The “gold” coating has been teared away throughout its use by previous owner or owners. It has some unusual shape, very similar to some of the Sheaffer’s and Pilot’s vintage and modern pens, or Waterman’s Carène. It is pretty hard, with almost no flex. With only two inscriptions on the nib – some Chinese hieroglyphs and “made in China”. I have tried to find the meaning of the two hieroglyphs, but just managed to find that it should mean the name of the company – Wing Sung. However in some translation websites these hieroglyphs sound like “Zheng Sheng”, if my handwriting of Chinese hieroglyphs was correct to conduct such search. If you are from China or know Chinese, please confirm this or tell the correct version.

The feed is made of plastic, with a decent quality, unlike many modern fountain pens from China.

The grip and barrel are made of good quality hard plastic (polycarbonate). With orange coloured ink window.

This Wing Sung 233 fountain pen is a vacuum filler. Silicone (or rubber) canister and a steel canister case. Not the best filler system, but does its job. The only drawback here is the remaining ink control. The filler is not transparent, and the ink window is also tricky to use. Especially with low level of ink in the canister.

The cap, though it comes from another pen brand, is made of aluminum, same as the original pen. With a metal pen holder inside. The clip is sprig loaded. Yes, this cheap old pen has this feature. But the spring is very stiff. Stiffer that the majority of users will consider as acceptable. This cap is matt finish, coated with a “golden” coating, with some red-violet shapes of leaves or flowers, as I would call it.

Writing

As this Wing Sung 233 is a Chinese fountain pen, it should be matched with a Chinese ink also. For this review I’ll use Youth Ink, red colour. As this ink package states:

Brilliant in colour. Free from sediment. Fluent in writing. Non-corrosive to nibs.

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And this is true in fact, the writing experience is pretty smooth. Especially for such a cheap ink. I’ve payed about USD 6 or 7 for four 50 ml bottles of this ink. Nice everyday writer as for me. Though this ink in no way can be considered a good quality ink.

In terms of smoothness, I would place this pen somewhere near Lamy Safari and TWSBI Diamond 580 in terms of smoothness. However, you should take into consideration its age, as it could be polished during its use.

The writing experience with Wing Sung 233 fountain pen is pretty comfortable, with easy strokes. Somewhat scratchy, but for the F (fine) nib this is normal. It is much better that some other modern “standard” or “premium” Chinese branded fountain pens.

The grip section has no ribs, just a smooth plastic. But it sits pretty well in my hands. Potentially, it could cause some issues in oily hands, but… As far the pen is pretty light, and even when filled with ink is is still light, you can hold it nice and write without pen sliding out of your hand.

Pen nib

As already mentioned, this pen has a steel nib. It is hard and definitely not designed for any “calligraphy” style writing. No flex, no bend, nothing at all. It definitely designed to writing only. However, can be used for drawing also, I think. As it provides good security for drawing lines and shapes, and will not change the width of the lines or strokes accidentally.

It is not removable, at least I could not remove it and could not find any clues in the web on how to do it. So, for now, let’s assume that it is completely fixed. And considering this price range, this is not something to expect.

This nib is not really wet. Nicely writes on different types of paper – office, high quality office, diaries or sketch books, drawing and other. The amount of ink is just enough to leave solid ink strokes. And your hands will be pretty safe ))) But is this something to worry about for a fountain pen lover?

Filling the fountain pen with ink

The vacuum “eyedropper” filling mechanism is easy to use, but it does not allow to control the filling. As it is covered with metal case, you cannot see the level of ink inside.

From my experience, in order to fill this Wing Sung 233 pen to its “maximum”, you need to make it twice:
1. Press on the eyedropper “button”, put the nib into the ink, and release.
2. Rotate the pen upside down and press the “button” again to release air, then pit into the ink and refill the pen.
This should fill in the canister somewhere up to 80-100% of its ink capacity, and should be enough for a while.

Ink breathing hole is pretty low on the feed, so there is no real mess when refilling this pen. Just clean the lower nib part with a napkin or cloth to remove the remaining ink from the nib.

Wing Sung 233 fountain pen disassembly

In terms of “cleaning ready” construction, you can disassembly the fountain pen almost completely. The only tricky part is the nib and feed. They are either fixed or glued, or I’ve been unable to manage how to take them off.

Update:
The nib also is screwed to the grip and holds the feeder in place. In my specific case, the nib is stuck and I cannot take it off. However I have found several disassembly videos with the same 233 model.

Here is the tear down of the pen:

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So, after you unscrew the barrel, the next step will be to take off the metal casing from the rubber ink container. The plastic part with a rubber container also can be unscrewed from the grip section. And you will see two thin tubes – for air and ink flows. This is maximum level of tear down I could manage to achieve. But this will be more than enough for (almost) any cleaning or maintenance required.

Some drawback of this pen

I understand that talking about drawback of this pen, considering its price, is not something to look for. But I would to mention the main one. And it is drying out of ink inside the pen.

The cap does not provide good sealing, so the ink is gradually drying out. If you are a daily writer, then this should not bother you at all. But If you are a casual writer, do not fill this fountain pen to its maximum. Not sure will you be able to spot any difference throughout one week, but in about two weeks you can see a real difference in remaining ink level.

May be this could be partially solved with some better quality ink or with denser ink. May be I’ll try this one day.

And obviously controlling the ink level. The available ink window is not easy to use and works only when you hold the pen vertically for a few seconds. If it is dark, then the pen has some ink or full. If you can see some ink and the window is “transparent” – almost no ink or too low.

Conclusion

To summarize, this is a really nice pen. The price is also a real steal, ranging from USD 3 to about 10 here in Ukraine. Like “delivery costs more than the product you’re buying”.

It is a good writing tool, with its lightweight body and nice nib. However for someone the lightness of Wing Sung 233 fountain pen will be an issue, especially if you prefer some weight in your hand.

Storage wise, this fountain pen can be stored both horizontally and vertically. I have not seen any major issues with vertical storage. No leakage has been detected.

Overall, this can be a good starter pen, a good writing tool for everyday use, or just a nice cheap add to your fountain pen collection.

Let the ink flow be with you )))