Comparison between twsbi AL orange and AL lava.

comparison between twsbi AL orange and AL lava. I am satisfying my own curiosity too.

i have an orange and 2 lava versions. this is 1) to ensure i am fair to 2 dealers, 2) face it, lava will be snapped up in no time, 3) it is easier for comparison.

To the naked eye, their color tone is similar. Too similar. However, a close up will show that the orange AL is coated in a straight line fashion. The lava on the other hand, has a finer coat and is very much uniform. that is the biggest difference. I attribute that not due to a change in color pigment but a different method used in coating.

 

the picture will have the details.

the orange AL. note the "grains".

the lava AL. First pen.

the lava AL. second pen.

PSMKII - pen stand - mark 2

yup, it is done. using PSMK1 as its base design, it retains all its features - mobility, cheap, and fully functional - and removes all the unnecessary stuff. It is a little bit shorter than PAMK1, and removes all the protruding items which makes the keeping of the stand a little tough. grooves are added instead to the body, some a bit rough at the moment since this is a first prototype, but will certainly be smoother with its replicate. anyway, the details are in the pictures.

simple enough isn't it? you can make it yourself, i am sure. But if you live near me and wants a replication of this, i don't think it will be a problem.

Now to move on the PSMKIII. the one with the whistles.

basic internal structure of the stand.

slightly shorter than a twsbi eco. top side

another side.

bottom view.

the stand transformed.

Takes an eco. No problem

takes a short muji. note the different groove used.

even if the pen is rounded at the edge. no problem.

can be used in this way too as a "desk pen".

bottom of the pen stand.

the 2 grooves made.

the drain on top to ensure the pen stays in place.

2 piece structure, again.

comparison with PSMK1. sleeker design.

 

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i needed another pen stand, so i made another. This time with the prototype as the example, the parts are made more properly (the grooves are cut at the right depth!) and in a shorter amount of time. i think this design is starting to mature.

The top is the new one, the bottom is the prototype.

PSMK1

the first pen stand made. it is a prototype, and a working prototype. it features full mobility, cheap, and fully functional.
mobility: it disassembles for easy carrying, and assembles in seconds. as long as a twsbi eco.
cheap: takes about 14 ice-creams sticks, some glue and about an hour that includes designing. making time is about 30 minutes at most.
fully functional: it can take a big and long twsbi eco or a short muji pen. the base is stable enough, and the portion which supports the pen is fully stabilized. there are some artificial drains and intended made drains to ensure the pen stays in place.

Some details are in the picture, but it should be simple enough to understand how it works, and how it can be make. as mentioned, the key is in the design, and the design is there. you can make one yourself very easily.
Now to name it: PSMK1.  time to work on PSMK2.

Top view when kept for movement. as long as a twsbi.

side view.

bottom view

transforming it into a pen stand. it takes a twsbi eco easily.

Takes a short muji pen too.

the piece of the pen stand which slides out to become the pen support. note that angle cut which is the key to this pen stand's design.

the groove or the drain to make sure the pen cap stays in place.

The stopper at the other end of the pen stand to make sure the pen doesn't slide off. it can be beautified later, but that's not for the lazy me.

the inside of the pen stand bottom. the angle cut is the same as the pen stand support so that it flushes together when kept.

the 2 pieces support to ensure the stability of the stand.

pilot con-10. Not a true converter.

Quite some time back, there was a discussion about the "converter" which came with metro, or as it is officially called con-10. I had warned that this is not a real converter to store ink for use by the pen, but rather use for quick washing of the pen only because there are incidents where the rubber sac collapses on the side and get stuck in the pen body. That happened to me 3 times in my pilot 78G and birdie when i used it 20 years ago. 

 

Today, i happened to chance upon this from a metro user. This photo serves as the main proof of what can happen to this con-10 when used like a con-20. Be warned, because it is real and can cause a lot of mess.

The Dark Square. a conversion of a ball-point pen from farrer hotel.

Long story very short. This hotel gave me a nice looking ballpoint pen. The body looks nice, and it deserves an upgrade. I modified it to be a fountain pen using a cartridge, for now. The pen body has a rubber coating, which is undergoing treatment now to prevent it from getting sticky.

Wing sung 659 / Lucky / Pilot 78G clone review

well, this might be something you are waiting for a while. is wing sung 659 the new pilot 78G? well, the answer isn't a definite yes...

1) nib and feed unit:
well, it can go into a pilot 78G without problem, but the 78G nib and feed unit is loose on the wing sung. and to be very accurate, the feed of a 78G isn't the feed of a penmanship. the black feed is a 78G, thicker by a micro mm, the transparent blue feed is the penmanship feed. it is of a different material too.
with the wing sung nib and feed in the 78G, it writes without problem. the only thing is the EF doesn't feel different from the F. i need to do a little more experiment to confirm that.





2) the converter:
now that is where it gets exciting. the converter will fit a pilot 78G, and to top it off, it has a bigger capacity than a con-50 but yet will fit a 78G. by comparison, it is smaller than a con-70. and it costs about $1 per piece as compared to a con-50 that costs at least 8 times more? well, it is an alternative.

3) can it be ED?
wing sung can be ED, i tried with water with no leakages. the demonstrator ED will be a killer, but i shall leave that to you to show its beauty.

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For the moment of truth about wing sung 659. For the record, they were not wrong to state that their nib is of super quality, unlike pilot's superior quality.

The ink used is pelikan brilliant red. it did not harm the other pens which i used it in.
Firstly, the body will stain. the feed holding area, the converter has stains. the feed has stains too. that can be removed, but compared to the platinum cool's feed, it is not pleasing to see.


 
 
 

My past experience with the original wing sung is that its quality is inferior to hero, especially when it comes to its gold plating. I have a wing sung pen used 20 years ago which the gold plating totally disappeared due to the ink used. At that point in time, wing sung is still not under hero. and my hero gold plated pens stood the passage of time.

 Thus i was skeptical about the wing sung 659 gold plated nib. I was right. the ink did strip the gold off. The gold plating is of inferior quality like it was when it was still wing sung. Hero's technology did not get imparted over, as I was informed. Note that the steel nib below will still function, except that it doesn't look as nice.