Rotring Core

[Melnicki]

>> I would LOVE to know how to go about turning one of these into an ED. <<

I was wondering this last night... there doesn't seem to be any metal in the body. (Why do they give you those windows if you can only see the cartridge through one of them?!!) But there are a bunch of openings in the section by the threads where the cartridge goes. I imagine that ink will leak leak leak unless we find the perfect O-ring. I don't like leaks, so I'm not willing to try.

 

What I do have to say about the Core is this: I resisted it for a while because it is ugly, but tried it out. I dislike it a lot. It does indeed write "nicely" (as in better-than-I-expected), but let's be honest -- for the same price you can get a gold-plated Chinese semi-Cheapie (I'm talkin' Duke and friends!), and have a much smoother write. (Unless you got your Core as a bargain, which seem aplenty).

 

It's "sporty"? yuck. To each their own. I'm very much drawn to unique and weird things, but these pens are mutants (Have you seen the Skynn??? shudder...)

 

But I do have something great to say about the pen: I use them for my labwork. The XS nib is an extra-fine, writes RELIABLY (no skipping at all!), and writes wet (often a desire for most XF's) but not too wet (I think my Hero 616 is too wet, and thus the lines are not consistently thin -- too wet means feathering on some papers... not with the Core, though...) This means I can write in tiny spaces, like when I have to cram observations into my data sheets. It handles Legal Lapis with less nib creep than I've seen in other pens (but still there), and has a quite good snap-cap: not too easy, not too hard... Perfect for a toss-around pen that you can drop on the ground (seriously, I've done it so many times with my two Cores. not a ding yet!) but still be able to open and close OFTEN on demand (if you're a never-leave-the-pen-uncapped sort of person, like myself)...

 

Okay. verdict: get a Core for a utilitarian pen. Get a smoother nib with gold in it for pleasure writing. (I'm voting neutral)

[Viseguy]

>> I would LOVE to know how to go about turning one of these into an ED. <<

I was wondering this last night... there doesn't seem to be any metal in the body. (Why do they give you those windows if you can only see the cartridge through one of them?!!) But there are a bunch of openings in the section by the threads where the cartridge goes. I imagine that ink will leak leak leak unless we find the perfect O-ring. I don't like leaks, so I'm not willing to try. ...

I did try a while back and it does leak, though not too badly. But, as I recall, there were flow issues (too much), so I didn't pursue it. Too bad, 'cause that pen does hold the proverbial ton of ink!

[BillTheEditor]

Ha! More proof that people either love or hate Cores. Yesterday I was in Probate court (I'm the executor for my mother's estate, was there to get my Letters Testamentary). My attorney noticed I was signing the paperwork and the oath with a Parker Sonnet (the flighter I bought here). After we left court, she asked about the pen and we had a little mutual admiration exchange (she had her father's Shaeffer PFM), during which I recommended Noodler inks and Pendemonium. She mentioned that she had bought her brother a "big pen that was orange and gray" but he hated it and wouldn't use it -- too big, too ugly. I asked, "It was a Rotring Core, wasn't it?" Yup.

[Melnicki]

>> I would LOVE to know how to go about turning one of these into an ED. <<

 

I did try a while back and it does leak, though not too badly. But, as I recall, there were flow issues (too much), so I didn't pursue it. Too bad, 'cause that pen does hold the proverbial ton of ink!

including sealing with silicon grease?

[penmanila]

i'm a patron of classic pen designs (ie, 30s wahls, old vacs), but i like the attitude of this pen, and the industrial look of other , boxier rotrings. i think the rubberized finish is what gives the core that sporty feel, plus the emphatic chunkiness. this pen has a sense of humor (or maybe we do, to appreciate it).

[chupie]

I still can't get mine to work well at all

[BillTheEditor]

I still can't get mine to work well at all

It's really easy to roll the Core without realizing it, so that you are in effect trying to write with half the nib, or even on the side of the nib. Is it possible that's why you're having trouble?

 

Not sure in what way it is that you can't get yours "to work well at all."

[chupie]

No, I noticed that about it. It just doesn't start up well, skips a ton. When it writes, I LOVE it. It's just not consistant at all. Although I haven't tried the amonia thing yet. Think that would help?

Edited January 9, 2007 by chupie

[BillTheEditor]

No, I noticed that about it. It just doesn't start up well, skips a ton. When it writes, I LOVE it. It's just not consistant at all. Although I haven't tried the amonia thing yet. Think that would help?

Ammonia? I don't think it would make any difference, given what you said, but you might as well give it a try.

 

Are you using cartridges or a converter?

[chupie]

Cartridges.

[BillTheEditor]

Cartridges.

Thinks (Well, so much for that theory ...)

 

Herbin and Private Reserve cartridges have both worked well for me. Maybe an ammonia flush will do the job after all. Isn't there an air passage in the feed? If that's partially blocked by crud of some kind, and the flush gets rid of it, the pen should write. It couldn't hurt.

[chupie]

I guess I'll pick up some ammonia.

[chupie]

The ammonia flush has seemed to really alleviate some problems!

[chupie]

My friend was over tonight and was looking at recipes. SHe wanted to copy one and said "Can I have some paper and one of your fun pens?" So I gave her a Clairfontaine pad and my Rotring. Man, she LOVED it. She loved the grip and how "cool" it looked and of course the color of the Dostoevsky ink really sent her. So, there is a "man on the street" thumbs up.

[ViolinWriter]

Count me in the fan club. I have two Cores. The Lysium is presently filled with Pelikan turquise (sooo colour coordinated) and the Technor is filled with Widow Maker.

 

They are my "go to" pens when the hand tires of the other, more standard sized barrel pens.

 

I initially purchased one as a try out for a larger barrel for a pen that might, due to size, help my hand relax when writing. It was a thought that paid off in huge dividends.

 

As such, they are life savers. Literally. Tension for me can mean my shoulders seize and these pens make it possible for me to write on and on and on with no creeping tension from writing hand to shoulder. This means myviolin is still playable by me, even after a long day of composition and writing.

 

Both are incredibly smooth writers, start up immediately and maintain a very even flow no matter what paper they are scribbling on.

 

They are, on first impression, ugly as track shoes with a business suit. After a while, the ugly wears off and they become absolutely lovely, unique in the company I keep and never misplaced. How can you lose a pen that's so very large? And so unique in its proffile?

[Judybug]

HATE IT

Me, too! I'm just basing my opinion on looks though. I've never used one of these. I consider these to be the athletic shoe of fountain pens - they may be very comfortable, but they are hideous-looking.

 

Judybug

[satrap]

:roflmho: LOVE the Core!! In every color!

It is not for kids only; I am 53. :bunny1:

[jd50ae]

I had to vote "apathetic/neutral" because the Core is, while not patently repulsive like most of Michel Audiard's so-called pens, unquestionably ugly. Yes, it looks like an athletic shoe. They're ugly, too -- whatever happened to plain old "tennies"? Is it really necessary to encase the feet in objects the size of sarcophagi? What did Cro-Magnon Man do, all those millennia ago, before there were Air Jordans?

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/logos/tooshort.gif

 

But I digress. I can't honestly vote "hate it" because the doggone thing writes really nicely. I have a Tanakor with the larger nib in it, and it's one of my best writers.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/core.jpg

Amen........................

[chupie]

It's funny though, this is consistently THE pen, out of all the pens I use that people exclaim over and think is "neat". So, ugly it may be, but it definitely has an appeal.

[ViolinWriter]

I have three Cores. Two Lysiums and one Technor. Two are labeled XL (really mediums) and one is the XS, and a fine point to be sure.

 

Great pens? Honestly, that is just sooo easy to answer. Yes, of course they are great. They are Rotrings.

 

Ugly? Not a bit. Of course, if you expect the shiny sleekness of an Art Deco design, you are, simply, out of luck.

 

Odd? Well, duh!

 

Big? Well yes, except in your hand.

 

Fun to use? Does anyone need to ask? Of course they are fun to write with. Not only is it an engineering marvel design wise, it is just a great pen with consistent ink flow, a smooth nib and reliable starting. Every time. No matter what paper you're using.

 

The Core is great to use when everything else is going wrong. Grab it and write with it when your shoulder muscles appear to have morphed to a steel rod like composition, and your head is pounding out the Anvil Chorus. With a real anvil.

 

This is that pen. This pen goes a long way to relax your writing hand, and all else begins to relax along with it. It isn't as good as an hour on the couch talking with Uncle Sigmund, but it can be a way to write a letter to your pipe smoking, analytic uncle when your life is a knot of tension and you need a quiet chat, a cuppa and some sage advice. How canl you cure the terminal writer's block that's haunted you for days?

 

You write. With a pen that sets your hand at ease. The mind follows the hand and life becomes good. Well, life gets better.

 

Suddenly, the ink flows well, and your ideas match the flow. Cores are sweet writing pens, laying down just the right amount of ink. That is true no matter what ink you use, whether the brand-loyal Rotring, or some jazzy Noodler's or Private Reserve. Even if you mix your own, your Core will never let you down.

 

Of course, popping in a converter or cartridge of real Honest to Betsy Red is encouraged. Doubly so on national holidays. You can alternate the Core with a pen ornamented to the gills with flags. Whip out the "Got-Rocks" encrusted FP in patriotic red/white/blue, or even a patriotic American made Bexley if you're so inclined. (That is, if you have such pens or a Bexley in the first place. I don't.)

 

A great feature of the Core is that posted or not, the pen is perfectly balanced. It's also a good length, posted or not. It's not a smallish pen that disappears in your hand without the cap. Sans cap, the pen is feather light. With the cap posted it seems weightier until you start to write. Then the Core balancing act kicks in and any heaviness just disappears. It is a pen that can feel it is as much a part of your hand, as a pair of good running shoes become extensions of your feet. This means, as you write, the full "Zen" of writing really kicks in.

 

It's like a violin bow I own that is fully one third lighter than my best (concert) bow. However that lightweight bow feels two or three times as heavy as the truly heavier, in grams, best bow I've ever owned. Go figure.

 

It's all in the design. Someone paid attention in physics, then designed a fountain pen that is "over the top" in function, which is where all the form belongs in the first place. I mean, this is not your uncle's desk set pen. Who could ask for more?

 

Of course, they've stopped making them.