Italic mechanical pencil

I am sure this is not the proper way of presenting this mechanical pencil but for me is a first. I never saw a flat, "italic", mechanical pencil lead.
I guess it is very good for tests where you have to highlight the right answer, or when you pick the lottery numbers

I found this no name pencils on Aliexpress and I am wondering what are the applications for these leads. From what I found out Zebra has a similar mechanical pencil. And at some point in time, Faber Castell had a flat lead holder.
In the picture below with Faber Castell on the lead box (product number 9040), it is marketed as "Flat drawing leads"

Wing Sung 612 Fountain Pen

Wing Sung 612 fountain pen

     Today I will share with you my very old Wing Sung 612 fountain pen, which is a Chinese Parker 51 look alike fountain pen. It has a plastic body, teal color, a hooded nib that is not perfectly centered to the body, a metal cap, and the trim that are plated in gold color. The filling system is an aerometric sac. And the most important thing is that you can get it for peanuts, or a similar one because this exact model is a "classic", you can't find it anymore.

This is not just an old used and abused fountain pen. It is actually the fountain pen I had and used during the first years of school, back when writing with a fountain pen was mandatory.

I found it recently in a drawer and inked it up for a test drive.

The pen looks really good if you take into consideration it was used by a boy, 6 - 10 years old, about 25 years ago. It has scratches on the cap, and on the body. The ones on the cap show more because of the finish. Also, the clip has a slight bend to it, and the trim on the end of the barrel is a bit discolored.

The cap is a friction fit style, with no snap. But it stays well on the pen and there is no risk of falling off. Because of the ease of taking the cap off, the fountain pen is ideal for taking notes. One disadvantage to this style of cap is the higher chance of the nib drying out if it stays unused. Usually a couple of days with the pen unused is not a problem, but longer periods will definitely result in a dry nib. Because the section is smooth, you can hold it how it feels comfortable to you, allowing for a wide range of hand positions. I tend to use a high grip on it, higher than on most other writing instruments.

The clip is hinged and is secure enough, but the end of the clip is made out of bent metal and is a bit sharp and scratchy. I have carried it for a short time in the same pouch with my Faber Castell Loom, and it managed to scratch the body of the Loom very fast.

The filling system is not a very good one. It has a bladder that you squeeze to push the air out and let the ink in. I don't like it and I feel a converter or cartridge would be better. But at that time this system was very popular. After looking at more modern Parker 51 style fountain pens, I was very happy to see that modern Chinese hooded nib fountain pens use converters. I will probably try one of those soon.

What I like a lot is the cap, which is held in place by friction, and for an office environment is the perfect cap. You can take it off very fast and just take a few notes and then put it back on. Also, you can leave the fountain pen uncapped for longer with no drying issues.

If I do not write with it for a couple of days it can have hard starts or if left unused for longer it can dry out.

For me, the pen feels thin, and for longer writing sessions is uncomfortable. Also, the pen is very light and if you write more you have to use force to put the ink down, or at least this is the sensation I get when writing more. On the other hand, a heavy metal fountain pen like the Faber Castell Loom sticks to the paper due to its weight, I just have to steer it.

Looking with the 20x magnifier at the tip, I have noticed that the sweet spot is a bit asymmetric. I mean, the sweet spot is 2/3 on the right tine, while the left one only has about 1/3 of the sweet spot. This makes me curious if it was a "defect" or this was caused by the many pages written and the way I used to hold the fountain pen.

Image from the internet, I haven't kept the package

When I was in school, the diversity of fountain pens available was a lot smaller than today. So these fountain pens were the go-to pen, 99% of my colleagues were using them. Wing Sung, Hero, and other similar Chinese brands that were imitating the Parker fountain pen. The only diversity came from their colors.

Every time I pick it in hand, it amazes me how well the fountain pen writes. You do not have high expectations from a cheap old Chinese fountain pen, but this is proof you can spend less than 5 $ and get a great writer that will last you for a very long time.

I would say in terms of economics, this fountain pen can rival any cheap ballpoint on the market in the long run.

In the end, I have to give credit where credit is due. It is a cheap fountain pen that can last a lifetime, that writes good, it puts down a steady wet line, no skips, no hard starts.

I have found a lot of reviews of Chinese fountain pens where people say that the Chinese are learning to make better fountain pens, that can write smoothly at an accessible price.

I would like to say that they were making them a long time ago.

So wonder no more, just a few dollars can get you a fountain pen that will last you for a lifetime. It is incredible how accessible these fountain pens are.