Review: Wing Sung 6118 Fountain Pen

I ordered this pen on eBay for $7.12 and it arrived from China 15 days later. It was packaged in an inexpensive black gift box, of the sort that inexpensive necklaces might be packaged. Inside a velvet drawstring pouch held the pen within a thin plastic sleeve. The cheap pouch (available from the same seller for 99 cents) sits atop a bed of black foam. Altogether the package is then in a plastic bag, and inside another bubble envelope, then wrapped in bubble wrap and slid into a plastic envelope. The whole thing is very secure and my pen arrived in good condition.

I ordered a second pen from another seller on eBay for $1.66. It arrived 25 days after purchase in a bubble mailer and in a thin plastic sleeve. I was not expecting much for $1.66

The 6118 is a piston filling pen. It mashes together the looks and features of several different brands. The body of the pen looks much like a TWSBI Diamond or Eco or Pilot Prera. It uses the same piston mechanism as the Wing Sung 6008. The piston works delightfully well, sucking up a huge portion of ink, roughly 1.9ml. The body of the pen is also easy to disassemble- remove the silver ring near the fill knob and the whole mechanism pops out. This allows for easy cleaning and lubrication of the mechanism.

The feed on this pen is also Lamy style and clear. I quite enjoy the clear feed. It lets me see ink flowing through the mechanism. The nib is Lamy or Platinum style. Sadly mine does not also fit Lamy nibs but it does fit and work with Platinum Preppy nibs, but not well. The feed is too long for the Preppy nib and fits awkwardly. It only properly fits Wing Sung knock off nibs. The nib on the pen I received is terrible. I do not have a heavy hand but managed to spring and bend this nib to hell and back. It took some work to get it back to somewhat normal after my springiness test. Once aligned and fitted to the feed again the nib works fine. I did order a replacement Wing Sung nib, but that took 2 weeks to arrive. (More on this later.)

The second pen ordered had a dark grey feed and a terrific nib. It worked very well right out of the envelope.

The cap is a direct riff of the Lamy Safari wire clip and cap. It screws on and off the pen in about 3 to 4 turns. The wire clip has sharper bends than a Lamy but it works just as well. I’ve clipped it to my shirt, a pocket and to my notebooks. It works great. You could post it, but posting throws the entire balance of the pen off. It posts to the silver ring that holds the piston mechanism into the pen. Pulling the cap off the back of the pen incorrectly could cause a squirt or dribble of ink.

Overall, I really like this pen. The piston filling mechanism sucks ink in perfectly each time and is smooth. The clear plastic lets me see all the ink moving around plus the mechanism working. The clear feed adds to the whole look. While the nib on this pen is junk the rest of the pen is well worth the $7 price tag. The rest of the packaging serves only to protect the pen and would not be a great presentation, depending on who you were gifting the pen. The 6008 has significantly better packaging.

I ordered 3 “Genuine” Wing Sung nibs from yet another seller on eBay for just over $3USD. The replacement was as easy as ripping off the old junk nib and sliding the new one in place. You’ve got to be gentle and careful when you slide the new nib into place, Now that I’ve done this, the pen works great. Look for a seller who sells these pens with nibs that have a Wing Sung logo.

In my search for a new nib I found another listing for the 6118, for a whole $1.66. I jumped on it and wow, the second pen is great right out of the envelope. Smooth stiff nib, good flow, and sucks up a massive 1.9ml of ink. At $10, this pen is a good deal if you get one with a good nib. This is a great cheap pen.