Rotring 600 Visual Guide

[aayler]

Greetings,

 

First off, happy new year!

 

Thank you for this amazing resource and I'm hoping someone can help me regarding the nibs on the Rotring 600.

 

My question is - on the steel nibs, other than the indication of the size, ie, F, M, etc., is the Rotring brand printed on the side of the nib? This will be very helpful to ascertain the authenticity of a potential online purchase ...

 

Thank you in advance for any information!

 

 

All the best,

[JPS_Rotring]

The Nibs were made to specifications for Rotring by another company. The 900, 700, 600 and Sigma share the same steel nib made by a german company and the Newton, 400, Lambda, Alpha, Freeway and Freestyle share the same nib made for Rotring by Waterman and later Parker.

 

600 First Edition: No

600 2.-4.the Edition: Yes

Newton: Yes

 

For your question specifically:

Because there are no other manufactures using the same nib it has to be an original Rotring Nib to fit the 600. I've never heard or seen about "fake" 600s or 600 Nibs, so if it looks like a 600 it most likely is one.

Edited January 3, 2014 by JPS_Rotring

[aayler]

The Nibs were made to specifications for Rotring by another company. The 900, 700, 600 and Sigma share the same steel nib made by a german company and the Newton, 400, Lambda, Alpha, Freeway and Freestyle share the same nib made for Rotring by Waterman and later Parker.

 

600 First Edition: No

600 2.-4.the Edition: Yes

Newton: Yes

 

For your question specifically:

Because there are no other manufactures using the same nib it has to be an original Rotring Nib to fit the 600. I've never heard or seen about "fake" 600s or 600 Nibs, so if it looks like a 600 it most likely is one.

 

Thank you JPS_Rotring for the prompt response! It is reassuring to know that it should be an original.

 

Many thanks again for sharing your knowledge of these fine instruments and starting this invaluable resource.

 

All the best,

[dragonaura]

OP: Thanks for this, I wasn't quite sure of the differences between these, at least now I know of somewhere that I can go to identify these

 

 

Here is a quick sketch I did of what the feed looks like:

 

outer shell (brass, anodized) inner shell (plastic) feed and nib glue

 

 

I tried to get a real picture of the build by destroying a broken section I had around, but it didnt work:

 

Wow, If this is brass how hard was it to break this open?

[JPS_Rotring]

first i tried to saw it in half but the sawblade slipped of the round body, then i simply took a set of pliers and pried it open

[steezy]

Thanks JPS_Rotring for the awesome guide! Great pictures as well as a very detailed write up.

 

I recently picked up the Rotring 600 mechanical pencil and love it. I didn't know it also came in a rollerball and a fountain pen. Now that I've seen your pictures, I definitely have to pick one up for my collection. I will also be watching this thread closely.

Edited January 5, 2014 by steezy

[Jeje3325]

Excellent post!

 

This prevented me from getting a Newton at the price of a 600. Thanks!

[Manege Master]

Thanks to JPS_Rotring for this guide. One of the advantages of age is that I bought the full set of Rotrings, FP, RB, BP and Pencil in both the silver and black way back when they were freely available. I found them in art supply stores amongst the drafting and archetictural supplies.

 

I have always thought they were some of the most intriguing and lovely writing instruments made. I have not used them often due to the weight- before I retired I traveled extensively and carrying one of the larger pens was just too much for a pocket. Sad that things have gone down hill since their purchase. It seems often the case that when something is sold the new owners don't respect what they have bought. Too bad.

[Configsys]

I purchased a Rotring ballpoint pen close to 30 years ago and I just realized it's probably a Rotring 600 model based on your excellent guide write-up but doesn't have Rotring 600 anywhere on it. After all these years it stayed in the case and stored in my desk drawer and was never used. It still has the original cartridge and it still writes perfect. I'm surprised the ink is not dried up after all these years! What is this worth if anything?

 

The reason I even brought it out after all these years is that a close friend of mine gave me a Montblanc Starwalker pen as a retirement gift then I remembered I had a somewhat decent pen I bought a long time ago. In fact, I'm not sure if I'll ever use the MB since it's just too fancy and requires all that cap unscrewing before you use it. The Rotring 600 will suit me more since it's built rugged and looks like it will withstand anything. Too bad neither one will ever get much use since like I said I'm retired now;-)

 

One more thing, are Rotring refills still available? If not what alternative refills can I use?

Edited April 2, 2014 by Configsys

[JPS_Rotring]

Schmidt or pretty much any rollerball refill will fit, even MontBlanc rollerball refills! Its worth around 100-120 $

[attika89]

I don't know if it ever came up in the thread, but on my - 2nd gen- 600's clip there is a very faint "Germany" lettering.
Might not be important or anything, I just noticed it a while ago and always forgot to take a photo of it.
http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140403/P1180350_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg

[Configsys]

Schmidt or pretty much any rollerball refill will fit, even MontBlanc rollerball refills! Its worth around 100-120 $

Thank you again for your info.

[sexauerw]

I have seen some Rotring "newton" pens with "Germany" laser-incscribed on the pen/pocket-clip (where the pocket clip connects to the pen shaft). But some Rotring "newton" pens do not have any laser-inscription on the pen/pocket-clip.

 

Sorry I don't have any pictures. If I can find one, I will post a picture of what I mean.

I have both a Lava and a Silver Newton and both have the "Germany" inscription. Here are pix I just took.

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/wIkOcNNUkDTT0T/7774892.0/800/p/Rotring_Newton_Lava_Clip_Detail.jpghttp://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/wIkOcNNUkDTT0T/7774893.0/800/p/Rotring_Newton_Silver_Clip_Detail.jpg

[JPS_Rotring]

It seems that some versions that got exported got the "Germany" stamp, I've never seen one with "Germany" on the domestic market, only rare cases where it was marked "Deutschland" or "W. Deutschland" (before the fall of the berlin wall)

[kl122002]

I bought a Rotring fountain pen today in Hong Kong. The old gentleman who is the shop keeper told me it was "Newton 600". I don't know much about Rotring fountain pen before and so I just paid without checking.

And now I know it is a Roting Newton, with 18K gold nib, no "Germany" inscription on the pocket clip :

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/kl122002/DSC01574_zpsd4d12a9a.jpg

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/kl122002/DSC01577_zps9b258564.jpg

 

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/kl122002/DSC01578_zps0eb23471.jpg

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/kl122002/DSC01579_zpse9581cf2.jpg

 

 

"LL" on the nib side, what does it mean?

Should I return it, or keep it ?

Edited April 8, 2014 by kl122002

[JPS_Rotring]

Keep it, its not a 600 but a Newton. LL is a sideways "F" for Fein or Fine Nib-size ;-)

[TheLacOperon]

Wow that gold nib 0_0

[foxtail1]

Wow, what a great thread! Thanks so much for all this info.

 

I liberated two Rotrings today from a consignment shop, and I am trying to identify them. From what I can tell from your detailed descriptions, I've got a 600 first generation in silver and a Newton in black. Each came in a 2 pen gift box like those that you show on the first page (marked Made in Holland on the bottom). Both pens are marked Germany as shown in the above photos. And both have 18 K nibs marked Rotring (fine on the 600, medium on the Newton). They are both in very good condition.

 

Here are some pictures. Can you confirm my IDs?

 

 

 

 

(Did I mention that I got them from a consignment shop...for $45 each?)

 

 

 

 

[JPS_Rotring]

Your ID is correct, the only thing I can add is that its a non direct import, meaning it came to the us by proxy, which can be seen by the way "germany" is printed on the clip

[foxtail1]

Thank you!