Rotring 600 Vs Rotring 800 Vs Faber Sactell Tk Fine Vario

[giacomodelbianco]

Rotring 600 vs Rotring 800 vs Faber-Castell TK fine vario (all 0.5mm mechanical pencil)

 

Do somebody has tested these mechanical pencils and can give me some impressions? What is your favourite one?

 

In this moment I am interested in particular in Rotring 800, because it has the possibility of retract the tip. I would carry it with me at work in my pocket and sometime it could fall to the ground.

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited June 24, 2012 by giacomodelbianco

[attika89]

The Rotring Rapid Pro is nice too. I prefer the 600 though, because it feels more balanced for me, but the Rapid Pro is a very well made pencil as well.

My opinion is that everyone who cares about quality mechanical pencils should at least try the Rotring 600. For me it became a standard...

The Rapid Pro is pretty close, but still not there. It has retractable tip though...

http://www.pen-house.net/contents/html/images/rotring/rapid_pro/0.5_top.jpg

 

TWSBI has a nice looking mech pencil too. Precision(?) there is a retractable tipped version...

And there are lots of others, what worth looking at...

Edited June 24, 2012 by attika89

[flight878]

Rotring 600 vs Rotring 800 vs Faber-Castell TK fine vario (all 0.5mm mechanical pencil)

 

Do somebody has tested these mechanical pencils and can give me some impressions? What is your favourite one?

 

In this moment I am interested in particular in Rotring 800, because it has the possibility of retract the tip. I would carry it with me at work in my pocket and sometime it could fall to the ground.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I cannot comment on the Faber-Castell TK for I've never used it, but I'll provide my feedback on the Rotring 600 and 800. I am a big fan of these so forgive me if start yapping away...

 

The Rotring 600 is my favorite mechanical pencil. Since its release in the late 80s, it has undergone several iterations. Rotring 600 series writing tools are officially discontinued, except for the mechanical pencils that have been released exclusive to the Japanese market by Holbein Works of Japan Ltd under license from Sanford (the current owner of the Rotring brand). This current and Japanese-made version is the latest iteration, which has removed the "Rotring 600" red inscription on the barrel of the first generation, leaving only an indication of the lead size (0.35 / 0.5 / or 0.7) and the tube of the lead magazine being completely made of metal with a separate spring seated within the knurled grip. The previous generations had the tube made of plastic or partially metal, with either a stiff brass spring fixed to the tube or a separate spring like the current iteration. Aside from the aforementioned inscription of the initial generation, the lead sizes were also inscribed, using the comma as a decimal separator as is the convention in Europe, with 'mm' also inscribed. Some older versions didn't have anything inscribed at all; the only way you could tell the lead size was by looking at engraving on the eraser cap--the erasers by the way, went from pink to white as the pencil evolved. These non-inscribed versions were convenient to become corporate gifts for companies to place their company logo on the barrel.

 

[Take a deep breath ]

 

I feel that the writing experience with the current generation to be a tad uncomfortable. The all-metal tube causes the center of mass to shift upwards, make the knurled grip area feel somewhat lighter. As a result, for me anyway, I get writing fatigue with prolonged usage. The older version (a 0,9 mm) with the plastic tubing felt more balanced and therefore more comfortable. The thing is though, that the point is sensitive--I've read reviewers saying their point got bent after dropping it. The knurled grips are replaceable though, but there are two versions: the current models and later iterations use a knurled grip that screws into threads on the barrel; the initial iterations had the threads on the knurled grip itself. The former replacements are easy to find on eBay, but the latter are rare and more expensive as a result.

 

The Rotring 800 is a Japan-exclusive reincarnation of the limited edition Rotring 600 Gold Series pencils that emerged in the early 90s. The original 600 version I like better, and it had lead-grade indicator on the upper end like the non-gold pencils. The Rotring 800 dropped that indicator in favor of a knurled knob that your turn to retract the tip, unlike the original 600 Gold that needed a deeper click. Compared to the non-gold 600s, both the gold LE 600 and 800 have flat knurling on the grip where as the classic have more 'bumpy' knurling. The eraser used in the 800 is distinct from the 600 version in that the eraser holder has a knurled tip. The 800 is OK and useful if you're concerned about protecting the tip.

 

If you're a purist however, you'd go for the classic, discontinued versions from the late 80s and early 90s. Some German sellers have found them in Barnabus Collins' secret room, or buried in the German Black Forest, and are selling them at a premium compared to the current Japanese models that are easier to find online (>$50 USD). The gold edition 600s appears from time to time, but they are also expensive (>$100 on eBay).

 

HTH. Whew. I need a glass of water...

[BCL-2]

ROTRING:
Firstly, currently both the 600, and the 800 (and the newest 800+, which has a touchcreen "pen" tip when the writing tip is retracted) are all available pretty much globally through rotring's own site for one. That is the newest version of course, but it's minimally different from the older Japanese version. The colour of the lettering is the difference I know of.

There is also a more plastic, less "premium" version, the 500.

Check Rotring's site, there you can compare them.

 

For one if the tip of your Rotring bends, they offer replacement tips. This is a major positive sign for me.

hat and the fact that they are selling replacement erasers for them means that they take the principle "Buy it for life" seriously. The construction also reflects that. (unless of course you drop them from high and obviously very damaging events...)

Top notch stuff, and this kind of attention to customers is rare to find nowadays, when you are supposed to throw away stuff and buy new even if the smallest thing fails.

 

FABER-CASTELL:

The Faber-Castell TK-Fine Vario is also a majestic piece I absolutely love the design, though admittedly it's less "BIFL" mentality. It has much more (though high quality) plastic materials.

As for the weight it's also lighter. But I never think adversely of the weight of the rotring pens. Especially since it's not dead weight of heavy ornamentation but the weight of the high quality metal pieces.
A cool aspect of the Vario is that it can change the mode from having a flexible nib, (where the graphite can slightly retract under very strong pressure) and a fixed mode to accommodate both writing and drawing optimally.

At first I was afraid the smoother metal grip won't be comfortable or stable, but that's not the case.

 

 

IMO they all are fantastic, quality pieces, it's strongly a matter of taste.

Edited December 17, 2014 by BCL-2