The Wing Sung 3008 – An Economical Masterpiece

I have a bit of a fascination with competitively priced pens, I think this stems from the fact that it makes collecting a wide range of different pens an affordable option; yes, you will always get a few duds and some you’ll buy because it was $3.00 and it looks pretty e.g. one of my Jinhao’s that was both inexpensive and pretty but disassembled itself as I removed the cap. Then you get the other end of the economical spectrum my Jinhao 159, it cost $5.00 and is always reliable and probably the smoothest economical pen I own.

This is where my 3008 comes in, I bought a couple on a whim to test different inks (I now own a dozen of them) mostly because I read a review of the TSWBI Eco that mentioned the 3008 and I thought ‘why not’, so I ordered two.

The size and weight are similar to the Eco but I actually prefer the design of this pen, the lines are just that bit smoother and the silver fittings compliment whatever ink is in it. The ink capacity is good; at a guess I would say roughly the equivalent of two standard international convertors. So, it’s one of those pens that because of the larger capacity you might forget to reload and then be surprised when it runs out, I did, and I was.

The 3008 in the pictures was tested as a daily use pen both at work and at home spending time in my bag and my pockets (in a Mala sleeve), it only leaked once when I dropped it and even then, it only splattered inside the cap which was to be expected. It’s had several ink changes and neither the clear feed nor the barrel/section have stained; I use Diamine Imperial Blue and its currently loaded with KWZ Thief’s Red. It writes very smoothly and even though it’s a fine nib it leans towards wet and I’ve experienced no skipping or hard starts.

I think it is an ‘economical masterpiece’ because at around $3.00 a pen it’s fantastic value for money, no it won’t replace pens like my Pilot Custom 74 but for day to day use it’s reliable and that is what I want more than anything else from a pen.

Disclaimer: The pen was purchased with my own funds at retail price. The opinions expressed in this review are my own; and I am not connected with either the retailers or manufacturers in any way.