It was a beautiful soldering gun. When I pulled the trigger, I had sufficient heat for soldering right away. Once I dropped the gun and broke the case. I obtained a new case from Wen in Chicago and repaired it. I became very attached to the old red soldering gun.

And then, early in 2004 after decades of reliable performance, my old soldering gun died. I tried to repair it, but I failed. I tried to find the Wen company for help, but could not. The old soldering gun was no longer manufactured.

Sadly, I went to Home Depot and Ace Hardware looking for a new soldering gun. I found lots of Wellers, but no Wens. So I bought a Weller as my replacement for the old red Wen and took it home. When I first put it to use, it frustrated me because it was so slow to warm up to operating temperatures. It was not QUICK-HOT, the slogan written on the side of the old Wen. Nevertheless, I labored on trying to be patient with the Weller gun, but it just was not the same.

So I went to Goggle to see if I could find something out about the old Wen. There I discovered that my old Wen was a "Model 199K." Then I searched eBay to see if I could find this mystical soldering weapon. And I found it. Or, rather, I found them (photo above). So I bought some, paying anywhere from $1.50 to $9.00, depending on condition. As they started flowing I plugged each in and each one worked instantly and with good heat, just like my old one. Life is good again.

One of the guns came with a complete kit (photo below) that included original instructions and a parts list dating that gun to 1961 (just about when the slash-2 BMW motorcycles were introduced). A 43-year-old soldering gun still out performs the moderns units available today!

I have since learned that Wen Products do still exist, though not in its original form. It is now located in Indiana under new ownership and still sells a somewhat inferior 100-watt soldering gun manufactured in China (model 100T1). I can still acquire for the model 199K the "long life tip," part # 19B4 @ $3.50 ea., and the "flat iron tip," part # 19F33, by calling (574) 598-2203.

If 100 watts is not enough for tough jobs, Wen also made the 250-watt model 250K (photo below). It also shows up on eBay, but not as frequently as the model 100 series. Often, when it does show up, it is in unused or nearly unused condition, as was the one in this photo. Though over 40 years old, I believe I was the first one ever to touch solder to its tip.

When looking for Wen soldering irons on eBay, do not be fooled by claims of early vintage with different model numbers. Insist on the model "199" in the name, with or without "K," for the 100-watt iron, or model "250" in the name for the 250-watt iron. These are really superb soldering irons that I have not seen equalled since.